Shares decline more than 2 in morning trade
FY adj pretax profit 884.3 mln stg vs market view 882 mln stg
Co revises dividend cover ratio to 1.75 times from 2 times
Forward sales as at Aug. 27 down 36 from year earlier

Sept 6 Reuters Britain39;s largest housebuilder Barratt flagged difficult trading conditions and further margin erosion over the coming months after it posted an annual profit fall on Wednesday, as high mortgage rates continue to pummel demand.

Shares in the FTSE 100 builder fell 2.4 in morning trade, also pulling down the housing sector index about 2.

Affordability concerns stoked by high mortgage rates and a prolonged costofliving crisis have weighed on the UK housing market, with indicators on everything from mortgage demand to construction rates and prices sliding in recent months.

British house prices in August were 5.3 lower than a year earlier, their biggest annual decline since July 2009, mortgage lender Nationwide said on Friday.

With higher mortgage rates and the degree of uncertainty, it becomes a recipe for the firsttime buyer to decide not to purchase, therefore to continue to rent rather than moving on to the housing ladder, CEO David Thomas told Reuters.

Barratt said it expected average sales sites to reduce by around 6 in the current fiscal and also revised its dividend cover to 1.75 times, for fiscal 2024, from 2 times announced during halfyear results in February.

The uncertain outlook is reflected in the shareholder return…