BLACKROCK INTERNATIONAL Land, the property spin-off of the fruit importer Fyffes, posted a pretax loss of €7.96 million for the first six months of the year as property prices in Ireland and the UK fell. This compares to a €12.16 million pretax profit for the same period last year.

Net assets decreased by €11.8 million during the first half of 2008, from €230.3 million to €218.5 million, a decline of 5.1 per cent, reflecting the changed market conditions and the strength of the euro during the period, the company said.

Excluding the impact of foreign exchange, net assets declined by 3.5 per cent in the period, slightly behind the flat outcome targeted in Blackrock's trading statement in early June.

"In the context of the changed property market environment, Blackrock has delivered a reasonable performance in the first half of 2008," said chairman Carl McCann. "Progress has been made in adding value to several of the group's significant development properties. However, this has been offset by lower valuations in other elements of the portfolio."

The decline in valuation mostly came from the values of a number of UK properties which fell from €137.7 million at the start of the year to €121.8 million by the end of June, reflecting the market downturn, particularly in the commercial sector. Valuations of several development properties in Ireland and Scotland increased modestly during the period, while those on the Continent were flat.

The company said it was unclear when property markets will begin to recover but a significant decline in interest rates would be an important catalyst.

"Looking to the second six months, it would seem optimistic to foresee any valuation uplift for the remainder of the year," it said.

With Blackrock trading at a 65 per cent discount to net asset value, coupled with a below-sector average loan to value of 44 per cent and extra banking facilities of €163 million, it may fall to predatory interest, Bloxham Stockbrokers said.