Source: Sharecast
Berkeley tumbled as the housebuilder posted a 5% fall in annual earnings but said it was confident about the future against a backdrop of falling interest rates and government plans to ramp up supply using brownfield sites.
Full-year pre-tax profit came in at £529m, while new house sales rose to 4,047 from 3,521 in 2024.
Berkeley also said it was on track for guidance for £450m in pre-tax profits for the current fiscal year, although this would mark a 15% drop year-on-year, with the group saying it expects a similar result for 2026-27.
The company announced that finance chief Richard Stern would become CEO, succeeding Rob Perrins, who will take on the role of executive chair as chairman Michael Dobson steps down in September after the group's annual general meeting.
Persimmon also lost ground.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "The departure of its chair and a warning that returns will be below targeted levels in the medium term put housebuilder Berkeley on the back foot.
"The company is guiding for a substantial drop in pre-tax profit for the current year and for profit to remain flat in the year afterwards, with the relatively downbeat outlook reflecting a volatile operating environment.
"Berkeley previously earned a reputation for shrewdly calling the housing market cycle, so the company’s conservative guidance in its latest results announcement has made investors sit up and take notice. That’s caused shares across the housebuilding sector to fall.
"But the company is not letting short-term disappointment distract it from long-term goals. It is planning major investment and a big expansion in the build-to-rent market.
"Michael Dobson is stepping down after three years as chair, with current chief executive Rob Perrins stepping up to become executive chair and finance chief Richard Stearn becoming CEO. Berkeley will hope this reshuffling of the pack won’t knock its long-term strategy off course."
BP and Shell gushed lower as oil prices fell after the US said it would wait two weeks to make a decision about whether to get involved in the Israel-Iran conflict.
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FTSE 100 - Fallers
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,804.00p -8.34%
BP (BP.) 387.00p -1.51%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,129.50p -1.22%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,307.50p -0.95%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 2,945.00p -0.84%
Shell (SHEL) 2,675.50p -0.83%
GSK (GSK) 1,427.00p -0.56%
BAE Systems (BA.) 1,909.50p -0.55%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,696.00p -0.41%
Halma (HLMA) 3,114.00p -0.38%