LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Marine and waterfront regeneration company Sutton Harbour Group reported a first-half profit before tax of £0.06m on Friday, falling from £0.28m year-on-year.
The AIM-traded firm said its net assets stood at £46.14m at period-end on 30 September, up marginally from £46.08m at the end of March, while net assets per share rose to 39.8p from 39.7p.

Net debt stood at £24.47m at the end of the first half, widening from £23.59m at the start of the year, while its gearing rose to 53% from 51.1%.

On the operational front, Sutton Harbour said it was finalising pre-construction preparations for consented schemes at Harbour Arch Quay.

It also made a preliminary planning submission for a new 200-unit residential-led scheme to the east of Sutton Harbour.

The company reported "strong" trading performance by its marinas, despite disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

A further £2m borrowing facility through to May 2021 would provide working capital during the coronavirus pandemic, the company said.

"The first half year has been used productively to get development projects ready to start and to deliver new homes as the country emerges from the Covid-19 crisis," said executive chairman Philip Beinhaker.

"The group has remained operational throughout the crisis period with appropriate safety measures put in place to manage infection risk and in accordance with UK government advice."

Beinhaker said that inevitably, the restrictions had an impact on trading revenues, but to date its business activities had shown resilience to recover as more normal operations could resume.

"The group has intensified its efforts to promote the marinas and lifestyle attributes of Sutton Harbour to increase its profile as a 'staycation' destination and to position the location benefits of the new developments scheduled to go ahead in 2021."

At 1049 GMT, shares in Sutton Harbour Group were up 3.94% at 16.11p.

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