Berkeley has recorded a profit before tax of £528.9m in the year to 30 April, a 5% year-on-year drop, although was in line with its full-year guidance.

The housebuilder's net cash fell by 36% to £337m in this period, as a result of "ongoing geopolitical and macroeconomic volatility".

Berkeley said the results represented an "excellent operational performance with highly disciplined execution and close control of costs".

It added that while there is good underlying demands for its homes, consumer confidence remains "finely balanced" and recovery requires improved sentiment and macroeconomic stability.

Chief executive at Berkeley, Rob Perrins, said: "Berkeley is fully committed to the Government's housing-led growth agenda, and we are submitting planning applications on all our sites to accelerate delivery. We continue to work with all levels of Government to ensure planning consents are appropriately viable following a number of years of extreme cost inflation and regulatory change and can move into production.

"We were therefore delighted to see the increase in affordable housing funding and the 10-year social housing rent settlement announced in last week's Spending Review, which represent positive progress towards achieving their housing ambitions."

Berkeley added that it has been able to allocate £5bn of capital to new investment over the 10-year period, including delivering 4,000 homes for rent. This forms part of its Berkeley 2035 strategy announced in December, which is aligned to the Government’s increased housing delivery ambitions.

Looking ahead, it expects a pre-tax profit of £450m in the 2026 financial year and stated that the 2027 financial year is "likely to be similar".

Its long-term target is to make a pre-tax return on equity of above 15% over the cycle, but this will fall below this figure in the medium term while the current operating environment volatility persists.

The update comes as the firm's chairman, Michael Dobson, revealed he was to step down from the role in September after three years.

Following the full-year financial announcement, shares in Berkeley dropped by over 7%.

Head of property research at Quilter Cheviot, Oli Creasey, said that Berkeley’s full-year results can be "read positively or negatively".

He said: "This outlook isn’t new; the company continues to execute its ten-year growth strategy, which calls for investor patience. A key pillar of this plan is Berkeley’s shift into build-to-rent – an initiative that’s still a few years from generating significant rental income.

"The net cash position follows a similar pattern – down year-on-year but modestly ahead of expectations. Given the return of capital to shareholders via a special dividend and share buyback, the decline is unsurprising. A £337m net cash position remains robust by industry standards.

"Berkeley differentiates itself from other UK housebuilders through its unique geographic focus, product mix, and long-term strategy. While investors may note peers like Persimmon delivering profit growth (up 10% last year), Berkeley is on a different trajectory – and direct comparisons may not be constructive."

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