McInerney declines despite 38% increase in pre-tax profits

The ISEQ index of Irish shares was 5046.91 up 3.11 points today.

McInerney Holdings was down 3c to €5.27.

Earlier the company reported a 38% increase in pre-tax profits to €28.46m for 2003 as low interest rates boosted demand for new homes.

The group operates under three main divisions: housebuilding in Ireland, leisure (Spanish property rentals), and commercial development.

It will pay a total dividend for the year of 11c per share, a rise of over 75% on 2002.

The total number of houses built by McInerney in Ireland was 969.

Irish Continental Group's shareprice slid 25c to €12.25.

Earlier, media reports indicated that Irish Ferries was preparing to temporarily suspend three of its four Irish operations.

Up to 600 sea-going staff have been warned that they face being temporarily laid off without pay.

Tullow Oil plc announced that it had decided to plug and abandon the Rasulpur-1 well in Bangladesh.

The drilling rig will move to Lalmai where drilling is expected to start later this month while the third well on Block 9, on the Bangora prospect, will follow Lalmai.

It shareprice remained at €1.40.