St Modwen swings to loss, cuts dividend

Property developer St Modwen swung to a first-half loss and cut its dividend after a writedown in asset valuations on sites in Wales.

Pre-tax losses for the six months to May 30 came in at £150.5m, compared with a profit of £35.6m a year ago. The company declared an interim dividend of 1.1p per share, down from 3.6p.

Net asset value per share fell 13% to 423.1p, while its adjusted EPRA earnings slumped to £4.7m, down from £16.2m.

“Although the wider economic outlook will remain uncertain for some time to come, structural growth trends in these key markets for us remain positive and, to an extent, have even accelerated further,” the company said on Wednesday.