AltX-listed housing development company Calgro M3 on Friday issued a revised earnings forecast for the year ended February 28, 2009, saying that its earnings a share (EPS) would be between 79% and 89% lower than the year before.

This was worse than the forecast it had issued in March, in which it said that its EPS would be between 55% and 65% lower for the 2009 financial year.

It noted that profits in respect of a land-swap agreement, which it had accounted for in this financial year would now only be accounted for in the 2010 financial year.

Further, its headline EPS would be between 41% and 51% lower than the year before.

Calgro M3 said that it had seen a substantial slowing in its turnover and a tightening of margins in the affordable housing sector, as a result of adverse market conditions resulting in a change of lending criteria by banks for consumers, which negatively impacted on the building industry.

A time delay on two of its projects had also contributed the slowdown in its turnover.

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