Archived article
Please note that tax, investment, pension and ISA rules can change and the information and any views contained in this article may now be inaccurate.
Homebuilder Barratt Developments scrapped its special dividend as first-half profit more than halved following 'unprecedented disruption' to sales and building activity in the fourth quarter, owing to COVID-19 and the lockdown period.
For the year ended 30 June 2020, pre-tax profit fell to £491.8m from £909.8m o-year, and revenue fell 28.2% to £3.4bn.
The company flagged £74.3m of COVID-19-related costs as the pandemic had significantly reduced completion volumes, increased costs and impacted profit.
Completions were down 29.4% to 12,604.
The company said it would longer propose the fiscal 2021 special dividend of £175m which would have been payable in November 2021, citing pandemic-led uncertainty.
Looking ahead, the company touted cautious optimism amid easing lockdown restrictions.
'Although uncertainties remain, all of our sites are operational, we are seeing very strong consumer demand and our robust financial position means we enter the new financial year with cautious optimism,' the company said.