Profits tumble at LSL as it invests more into estate agency

Property group LSL has posted increased revenue for the first six months of this year, but a drop in profits.

The group, which includes financial and surveying services as well as estate agent and lettings chains Your Move and Reeds Rains, achieved revenue of £103.4m in the six months to the end of June, up 2% on the same period last year.

The estate agency division reported increased revenue of 11%.

An operating loss for the first half of last year of £600,000 was turned into a £600,000 operating profit for the same period this year, but underlying profits fell from £13.4m to £11.8m, due to a £2.6m investment  in the company’s strategy to increase its share of the estate agency market with new staff and a call centre.

The company said it had a cautious view of the market for the rest of 2011 given the continued shortage of available mortgage finance and the general economic uncertainty. It stressed that the market remains difficult, with the number of house sales at less than half historic norms.

Chairman Roger Matthews said: “Against the backdrop of an ongoing challenging housing market, we have continued to strengthen our market positions and drive new revenue streams in both estate agency and surveying.

“As a result, the board remains confident of delivering further progress in 2011, a confidence that is reflected in our decision to announce a 12% increase in the interim dividend payment to 2.8p per share.”