House builder McInerney says the total value of its property in Ireland has more than halved since mid-2008.
In its first-half results statement, the company said it had written another €156m off the value of its land bank in Ireland and the UK, having written down €110m at the time of its 2008 results.
Since mid-2008, it has lowered the estimated value of its Irish land to average of €26,000 per plot, down 52%. Its UK land has fallen 41% in value, it estimates.
McInerney reported a pre-tax loss before exceptional items of €12.8m for the six months, compared with a loss of €22m in the same period last year. When the impairment charges were included, there was a total pre-tax loss of almost €171m.
It blamed the loss on a lower volume of housing output and lower selling prices. McInerney completed 342 homes in the six months, down from 423 a year earlier. Only 64 homes were completed in Ireland.
As a result of the impairment charges, the group is now in 'negative equity' - its liabilities are greater than its assets - and has been forced to call an EGM of shareholders for September 28.
The company said there had been some signs of price stability and a steady pattern of sales at a low level in the UK. But in Ireland, McInerney said prices continued to fall, with sales since May being 'particularly weak'.
The company said it was continuing talks with its lenders on new loan arrangements to ensure stable funding for the group in the current difficult conditions.
Shares in the company closed 8% lower at 23 cent this evening.
