For the six months ended 28th February 2017, the retirement housing specialist saw its revenue dip by 5% to £238.2m (2016: £250.2m). Pre-tax profit for the half-year was down 25% at £21.8m (2016: £30.1m).
The company said that trading was constrained by the lower forward order book brought into the year as a result of the market uncertainty following the EU Referendum, the anticipated weighting of legal completions from higher margin sites into the second half of the year and the lower number of sales releases during the period.
However, the referendum created only a pause and trading soon returned to normal.
“The group made solid progress during this half year despite the headwinds created by the lower forward order book brought into the year as a result of the outcome of the EU referendum and delays to our workflow as the business paused in the summer and early autumn to calibrate the impact of the decision to leave Europe,” said chief executive Clive Fenton.
He added: "Trading conditions have remained stable during the period and underlying reservation rates continue to keep pace with the prior year despite the lower number of sales releases during the period. Our forward order book remains strong and our build activity and planning successes leave us well-placed to deliver targeted FY17 and FY18 sales. We have sufficient land under control, much of which already has detailed planning consent, to deliver our strategic growth plan of building and selling more than 3,000 units per annum."
McCarthy & Stone also announced that it is rebranding some of its operations. Its Assisted Living product will be rebranded Retirement Living Plus and Ortus Homes will be rebranded as McCarthy & Stone Lifestyle Living.
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