Berkeley holds guidance but warns Iran war hitting risk sentiment

(Sharecast News) - UK property developer Berkeley Group reaffirmed annual profit guidance but warned the war on Iran was "weighing heavily" on risk sentiment. In a trading update for the four months to February 28, the company said trading had remained constrained by the impact on consumer confidence of geo-political events and macro-economic uncertainty, although sales enquiries "remain good and the value of underlying reservations has been recovering towards the levels seen over the summer prior to the pre-Budget hiatus".

"While reaffirming guidance, we are aware of the risk of a further deterioration in macro conditions with the potential for higher inflation in the near term and for interest rates to remain higher for longer," Berkeley said on Friday.

The company still expects pre-tax profits of £450m for the 12 months to April and a similar level for fiscal 2027 and is targeting a net cash position of around £300m.

"We are working hard to counter the challenges we face and we are reviewing our planning consents to enhance and restore margins to the appropriate level to enable moving them into production," the company said.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com