Swan Hill suffered in the first half

Swan Hill wilted in the first half as the demand for premium end homes slowed. Pre-tax profit was nearly halved from £3.7m in the first half of 2002 to £1.9m this year.

The housing division, which contributes the vast majority of Swan Hill's turnover and profit, sold 80 units during the half compared with 148 units in the first six months of 2002. However, the average selling price increased from £246,000 to £286,000. Turnover was down from £39.7m to £28.1m.

Certain key sites, critical to the division, suffered with rates of sales well below those previously achieved.

Chairman Ian Maclellan said despite signs that the market's decline has been arrested, profit for the full year is expected to be significantly below 2002's total of £5.9m.