Ennstone sees uncertain outlook, slashes div

Wed Aug 27, 2008 4:40am EDT

Aug 27 (Reuters) - British concrete supplier Ennstone Plc ENN.L halved its interim dividend Wednesday and warned its outlook is uncertain as the volatile trading conditions in the UK and US housing markets persist.

The company declared an interim dividend of 0.23 pence, down 51 percent over last year's 0.47 pence.

Shares in Ennstone were down 6.4 percent at 14.8 pence at 0823 GMT.

The company posted a 8.8 percent rise in pretax profit for the six months to end-June, at 5.7 million pounds on revenue of 134.2 million pounds, boosted by a solid UK performance.

However, the company said the continuing difficult trading conditions in the United States and the sharp reduction in house building in the UK as the period ended made for "challenging operating conditions" ahead.

(Reporting by Tresa Sherin Morera in Bangalore)

Comments (0)
This discussion is now closed. We welcome comments on our articles for a limited period after their publication.