Savills first-half profit, revenue rise after strong Q1

Savills reported a rise in first-half profit and revenue on Thursday, pointing to a strong first-quarter performance but a more subdued transactional market in the second quarter.

In the half year to 30 June, reported pre-tax profit jumped 78% to £15.8m, while underlying pre-tax profit was 10% higher at £23.3m.

Revenue rose 6% on the same period a year earlier to £1.1bn and the interim dividend was lifted 4% to 7.4p a share.

Revenue grew 9% in EMEA and 5% in APAC, but was down 6% in North America.

The real estate advisor said transaction advisory revenue ticked up 2%, reflecting a strong recovery in Q1 which slowed in the second quarter.

Savills said global capital markets improved in the first quarter but were impacted in Q2, particularly outside the US, "by heightened volatility driven by geopolitical events, tariff implications and shifting monetary/fiscal policy expectations".

In EMEA, economic conditions remained mixed, with weak manufacturing and falling business sentiment, particularly in France. Germany saw an improvement, partly due to positive sentiment surrounding the government's investment intentions in infrastructure and defence.

Spain was one of the strongest property markets, while in the UK, the impact of actual and potential fiscal change dampened corporate and private investor activity through the second quarter, resulting in a 13% drop in real estate market investment volumes.

Chief executive Mark Ridley said: "The year started well with Q1 performance comfortably ahead of the prior year, reflecting progressive recovery in most markets. Q2 saw a slowing of transactional activity as occupiers and investors digested the implications of tariffs and geopolitical events.

"Our performance reflects the geographic weighting of our capital markets business towards EMEA and Asia Pacific with our exposure to the recovery seen in capital market transactions in North America relatively low. On the basis of ever stronger transactional pipelines, we believe the slow-down in our core markets will prove to be temporary and I am delighted with the performance of our teams worldwide in helping clients navigate these changing dynamics."