UK homebuilder MJ Gleeson sees strong forward sales after annual profit fall

(Reuters) - British homebuilder MJ Gleeson said on Tuesday it has entered its new fiscal year with a strong forward order book, despite a 17.3% drop in annual profit due to higher build costs and a slower recovery in the housing market.

MJ Gleeson, which builds affordable homes in the North of England and the Midlands, has been grappling with a subdued housing market, coupled with rising costs, flat selling prices, planning delays and a failed land deal.

The homebuilder logged 20.5 million pounds ($27.9 million) in pretax profit for the year ended June 2025, compared with 24.8 million pounds the year ago, but expects to report results for fiscal 2026 in line with its expectations.

"We believe the combination of a stronger performance from Gleeson Homes and continued progress at Gleeson Land position the Group well for a period of sustained growth," CEO Graham Prothero said.

MJ Gleeson's primary business, Gleeson Homes, had a forward order book of 845 plots as of June 2025, up from 597 plots reported at end of December 2024, it said.

The company's shares were up 1.8% at 347 pence in early trading.

"There are positives to take from these results and the tone of today's statement is very much that Gleeson is back on its front foot," RBC Capital Markets analysts said in a note.

($1 = 0.7338 pounds)

(Reporting by Prerna Bedi in Bengaluru; Editing by Eileen Soreng)