- Share price falls a third on profit warning
- Analysts cut profit forecasts by a third for 2023 financial year
- EPS expected to flatline in 2023
- Net cash of £75mn (30p a share)
Shares in Watkin Jones (WJG:99p), a developer specialising in purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) and build-to-rent (BTR) housing, lost a third of their value after the group missed 2022 operating profit estimates by 10 per cent and warned of both softness in margins as well as pricing pressure as purchasers face higher funding costs.
Two forward sales that were planned to close in September have been pushed back to the new financial year due to the spike in market volatility. So, although the trading performance in the second half was materially better than the first half, analysts at Progressive Equity Research have downgraded their pre-tax profit estimates by 10 per cent to £49mn on revenue of £421mn (down from £561mn previously forecast) for the 12 months to 30 September 2022.