Crest Nicholson forecasts steep fall in annual profit as pandemic hits

(Reuters) - British homebuilder Crest Nicholson on Wednesday posted a first-half pretax loss and said it expects annual adjusted pretax profit to fall around 60% to 70% due to coronavirus-led disruptions.The company, which builds houses and flats across the southern half of England and the Midlands, expects annual adjusted pretax profit to be between 35 million pounds to 45 million pounds, against 121.1 million pounds reported in 2019. "We cannot ignore the risks that COVID-19 presents to the..