Berkeley Group Holdings PLC (LSE:BKG) said it was on track to meet guidance for 2024 and 2025 despite softening market conditions.
But the housebuilder said that trading conditions and the operating environment remain “volatile and unsupportive of investment”, and it will focus on its existing sites instead of new investment.
It said it was not currently investing in new developments due to the planning and regulatory environment.
In the half-year to October 31, Berkeley said revenue was little changed at £1.19 billion, pre-tax profit rose 4.6% to £298.0 million from £284.4 million while EPS dipped 1.0% to 198.3p from 200.4p.
The dividend was more than doubled to 59p from 21p and the firm said it was on target to deliver £283 million (267p) of shareholder returns by end-September 2024.
The company said if it had not recommenced capital investment opportunities by April 30 2027, it anticipates returning around 100% of the profit after tax earned over this period to shareholders while at the same time maintaining its 15% pre-tax return on equity ROE target.
Berkeley extended earnings guidance by a year to cover the three years ending 30 April 2026, when it is targeting to deliver an aggregate of at least £1.5 billion of pre-tax profit (previously £1.05 billion in two years to 30 April 2025).
It said the value of net reservations during the period is one-third lower than the comparative financial year, reflecting the sharp increase in interest rates and the ongoing elevated political and macro volatility.
Sales pricing is firm and above business plan levels, with build cost inflation across most trades at negligible levels, it added.