Irish homebuilder Abbey PLC has reported a €5.93m loss in pre-tax profits in interim results published today.

The figures stretch from the six months ending in October.

This is a dramatic fall for the Dublin-based firm, in comparison to the €18.2m profit earned during the same period last year.

Ongoing turbulence in the UK and Irish property markets has been cited as the main reason for the loss.

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Abbey officials said market conditions in both countries "continues to be severely impacted by the prevailing negative sentiment."

Projections for the immediate future have been described as "very weak", with the firm saying it would not be paying dividends.

"The turmoil in the banking markets in both Britain and Ireland make for a difficult backdrop for a business reliant on strong mortgage markets," an Abbey statement said.

"The recent forecast in Britain of negative net new mortgage lending in 2009 is cause for concern," it added.

(PR/JM)