Housebuilder Abbey reports €54m loss

ISEQ-listed housebuilder Abbey today reported a pre-tex loss of €54.4m, compared to a profit of €16.8m last year.

After a tax credit of €3.8m the company made a loss of €50.6m, with a loss per share of €2.06.

The company said it was not recommending a dividend.

"The result has been materially impacted by an impairment charge of €58.1m against land and work in progress arising from the continuing difficult market environment," the company said in a statement.

The collapse in Irish property adversely affected the results, with just 129 homes sold in the Irish market.

"In Ireland we have struggled to maintain any reasonable sale volumes with areas outside Dublin particularly hard hit," the company said, adding that improvement in credit conditions in both Ireland and the UK was central to any recovery.

The firm said the outlook for the future was "unclear", with turnover for the year ahead likely to fall again.