House builder Abbey said today it expects the Irish property market to moderate but voiced concern that the British market is heading for a hard landing.
Abbey's comments accompany its annual results that show the company made a pre-tax profit of €60.21 million. Group operating profits during the year were €58 million, a 28 per cent increase on last year.
Abbey said its Irish operations enjoyed a very good year. Irish margins declined very slightly but significantly higher volumes more than compensated.
The company said the continuing strong growth in the numbers of homes being built seems "certain to damp the market in due course".
However the British property market which has seen even higher inflation than Ireland's is becoming increasingly volatile. "Recent rises in interest rates are now impacting on the market and the risks of a market reversal are higher than usual," Abbey said.
Abbey's house building division completed 792 sales (Britain 385, Ireland 407) with a turnover of €180.00 million generating an operating profit of €55.93 million with the rest coming from a number of joint property ventures
Abbey will pay a final dividend of 20 cents per share bringing the total for the year to 30 cents per share.