Savills reported its final 2018 results for the year to December-end, sending shares downwards during Thursday morning trading.
The real estate company posted a 10% rise in group revenue to £1.76 billion.
However, statutory profit before tax across the period fell 3% to £109.4 million.
Meanwhile, underlying basic earnings per share was up 3% to 77.8p, compared to 75.8p in 2017.
Savills said it enjoyed strong growth in North America with revenue up 18% and underlying profit up 64%.
Meanwhile, Europe and the Middle East also generated growth across the period.
Commenting on the results, Mark Ridley, Group Chief Executive, said:
“Savills delivered both revenue and underlying profit growth in 2018, driven by a robust second half of the year. In addition to maintaining or growing our share of transactional markets, the performance of our less transactional business lines was key to this performance.
He also warned on the year ahead, emphasising political and economic uncertainty as a key concern for the company looking forward. He continued:
“We have made a solid start to 2019; however, the year ahead is overshadowed by macro-economic and political uncertainties across the world. It is difficult accurately to predict the impact of these issues on corporate expansionary activity and investor demand for real estate.”
In particular, real estate companies such as Savills have suffered from the downturn in the property market in the South-East and in particular the capital.
According to official figures, London house prices fell 1.2 % month-on-month in November, as economic uncertainty continued to deter buyers.
As a result, Ridley warned that sales could fall during the year. He added:
“At this stage, we expect to see declines in transaction volumes in a number of markets and growth in our less transactional business lines; accordingly we retain our expectations for the Group’s performance in 2019.”
Shares in Savills (LON:SVS) are currently -3.79% as of 11:31AM (GMT).
