Housebuilders Persimmon (PSN) and Crest Nicholson (CRST) traded lower on their latest updates on Wednesday.
FTSE 100 constituent Persimmon fell 1.5% to £23.27 as it announced the appointment of Dean Finch as its new chief executive. Finch had been CEO of National Express (NEX) since 2010.
He would take up the top job at Persimmon at the end of the year, replacing David Jenkinson, whose departure was announced in February.
'Dean is a seasoned, well-respected and proven chief executive with an exceptional record,' chairman Roger Devlin said.
According to data from Sharepad, Finch delivered a total return of 176% in the first decade of his tenure at the bus and rail group (from February 2010 to February 2020) compared with a 124% return for the FTSE All-Share over the same period, although a significant portion of these gains have been wiped out by the coronavirus crisis.
MISERABLE TRADING PERFORMANCE
Crest Nicholson slumped 10.4% to 225p as it provided pretty miserable forward guidance alongside its first half results.
Though the company said it expected profit to be 'significantly higher' in the second half of the year, it swung to a loss for the six months to 30 April following a reduction in sales and prices.
The company said it expected 2020 adjusted pre-tax profit to be in the range of £35-£45 million - which would mark a fall of 70% year-on-year.
The company reported a pre-tax loss of £51.2 million, down from a £64.4 million for the same period a year ago, as revenue fell 52% to £240 million.
Forward sales slipped to £575 million from £637 million and completed homes fell 34.7% at an average selling price of £344,000, down 16.7%.
Since it began a phased reopening, the company said a 'modest' number of reservations and completions had been made for the six weeks to 18 May 2020.
Canaccord Genuity analyst Aynsley Lammin said: ‘Recent trading activity has been encouraging but it remains early days; customer interest is good with improving trends and reservation rates are returning pre-lockdown levels.’
