Abbey pretax profits rise above €5.5m

Housebuilder Abbey saw pre-tax profits rise in the six months to the end of October, with the company reporting steady progress in Ireland.

The company's profit rose to €5.55 million, from €3.6 million a year earlier. Operating profits were €4.38 million for the six-month period, compared to €2.49 million for the same period last year.

The company said it had completed 172 sales in its housebuilding division, with the majority if these - 131 - in the UK. Ireland accounted for 33 sales, while the Czech Republic accounted for eight. Turnover was €30.38 million, with operating profit of €3.98 million.

"As widely observed autumn sales have been muted and as a result our second half outlook is more than usually dependent on a strong performance in the last quarter. In general prices have fallen slightly in recent months. In Ireland steady progress continues to be made in the light of the difficult market conditions," Abbey said in a statement.

However, the company said conditions were "testing" in all its markets.

Its UK plant hire business M & J Engineers generated turnover of €6.14 million, with operating profits reaching €165,000.

"Our second half is always challenging with extended public holidays impacting turnover," Abbey said. "The general business environment continues to be difficult but we are hopeful of building on recent progress."

The board said it would pay dividends of 8 cent for the financial year.