Jan 29 (Reuters) - Shares of Henry Boot slumped 21% on Thursday after the British land and property development group warned its 2026 profit would come in significantly below market expectations, hurt
Henry Boot Shares Drop 21% Following Profit Warning Amid Housing Struggles
Impact of Profit Warning on Henry Boot's Share Price
Jan 29 (Reuters) - Shares of Henry Boot slumped 21% on Thursday after the British land and property development group warned its 2026 profit would come in significantly below market expectations, hurt by muted transaction volumes and slower deal completions.
Current Market Conditions
The company, which owns the Hallam Land, HBD, Stonebridge Homes, Banner Plant and Road Link businesses, continues to operate in a challenging housing industry, even though demand began to show some improvement in early 2026.
Analyst Insights
Henry Boot said a lower forward sales position across the group and the expiry of a profitable Road Link contract in March would also hit profits.
Future Profit Expectations
Analysts were expecting pretax profit of 33.6 million pounds ($46.48 million) for the current year, according to a company-compiled consensus.
Henry Boot shares pared some initial losses and were down 10.6% at 195 pence at 0851 GMT, making the stock the biggest percentage loser on the small-cap index.
The company said house prices and land values were broadly flat across the UK last year, and expects profit before tax for 2025 to be broadly in line with market consensus following the disposal of HBC.
For 2026, it expects profit before tax to be significantly below current market expectations.
Peel Hunt analyst Sam Cullen said Henry Boot's Stonebridge Homes business "has suffered" from softer sales rate and planning delays, reducing profitability, adding that the brokerage also expects reduced transactions at Hallam Land.
Cullen added that while "this is clearly a disappointing result," it "should not detract from the long-term value of the group's assets."
($1 = 0.7229 pounds)
(Reporting by Ankita Bora in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
