Ireland’s only quoted estate agency, Sherry FitzGerald, has issued a profit warning which indicates it made a loss in the second half of the year.
Sherry Fitz’s second profit warning in less than six months sent shares tumbling by 9.5% to Stg60p. However, speculation about a possible takeover bid from home loan bank First Active or a possible management buyout saw shares recover to Stg63p.
Financial analysts had been forecasting that Sherry Fitz would achieve after-tax profits of Stg£1.4m this year, but the company said that the final outcome would be Stg£372,000. As the company made an after-tax profit of £1.05m in the first half of the year, the figure indicates a loss of Stg£676,000 in the second half of 2001.
The company’s commercial property division is 20% owned by the international estate agency DTZ. Sherry Fitz has the largest Irish network of outlets with 70 branches.
Since its first profit warning, Sherry Fitz has reduced its workforce by about 90 to around 200 and it has also disposed of a property to achieve a capital gain of Stg£465,000. The outlook for its residential arm is looking brighter following the Irish government’s tax treatment of residential investors.
EGi News 20/12/01
