UK housebuilder Vistry’s shares plunge as it issues third profit warning
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Business, relegated from the FTSE 100 share index this week, blames delays at developments. UK housebuilder Vistry has issued its third profit warning in three months, in a year-end blow to the construction company that sent its shares to a two-year low.
The business, which was relegated from the FTSE 100 share index on Monday, now expects annual adjusted pre-tax profit of just £250m, down from previous guidance of about £300m. The group – previously known as Bovis Homes – said this is partly due to delays, with a number of developments having not yet been completed, and transactions with partners having been delayed until 2025.
Vistry also said it had also dropped a number of proposed deals “where the commercial terms on offer were not sufficiently attractive”. The company added that it expected better terms and options to open up next year. The news weighed on Vistry’s shares, which plunged 17.5% at the start of trading to 539.5p, making it the worst performer on the FTSE 250 index of medium-sized companies. That was the lowest level for the company’s shares since October 2022.
Shares in other housebuilders also fell on Tuesday; Persimmon was down 1.4% and Barratt Redrow fell 1%. Tuesday’s profit warning is the third from Vistry in as many months. In October, Vistry launched an independent review of operations in its south division after revealing it had “understated” total build costs by about 10%. It estimated at the time that this would knock profits by £115m over the next two years, and ultimately cut annual profit for 2024 to £350m – well below the £419m reported last year. The news sent its shares plummeting, wiping £1bn off the company’s value.
