Vistry Group Plc has revised down its adjusted pre-tax profit guidance for fiscal 2026, setting a new mid-range target of £200-225 million, reduced from a previous forecast of more than £269 million. The company says the adjustment represents a 10-20% reduction versus its earlier outlook.
The firm attributes the downgrade to heavier discounting on open-market inventory and elevated incentives. Management singled out low-margin sites and developments that are close to completion in the South East, as well as higher-priced homes, as areas where larger discounts and incentives have been applied.
Despite the profit cut, Vistry now expects to finish fiscal 2026 with net cash in excess of £100 million, versus a prior target of approximately £100 million. The group has also put its ongoing share buyback on hold. That program, which was launched in September 2024 with authority to repurchase £130 million of stock, still has £25 million of authorization remaining. Since March, Vistry has bought back £4 million of its shares.
The company said the reduction in expected profits is concentrated in the first half of fiscal 2026. Management now projects an approximately 20:80 split between first-half and second-half adjusted pre-tax profit, compared with a previous assumption of a 30:70 split. Guidance for the second half remains unchanged, with the business expecting discounting on open-market sales to ease and partner demand to rise from the third quarter after notification of grants and clarification of partner status for Social Affordable Housing Programmes.
Vistry reported some recent moderation in open-market selling rates. The year-to-date sales rate has increased 32% to 1.20, down from the 40% increase to 1.42 the company reported in March.
On costs, Vistry raised its build cost inflation guidance to 3-4% from an earlier range of 1-2%. The company also indicated that average daily net debt for the first half of fiscal 2026 is expected to be higher than the fiscal 2025 level of £733 million.
Finally, Vistry said the findings from the new chief executive’s operational review will be published no later than the interim results on September 24.
Contextual summary
In short, the homebuilder has reduced its profit expectations for fiscal 2026 because of heavier discounting and higher inflationary pressure on build costs. It has strengthened its expected year-end net cash position, suspended share repurchases, and pushed more of the year’s profit into the second half.