British Land Posts Rise In H1 Pretax Profit, Raises Dividend

British Land Co PLC BTLCY reported a strong rise in its first-half pretax profit and raised its dividend. British Land's pretax profit for the six months surged to 422 million pounds ($672.63 million), versus a year-ago profit of GBP109 million. Its diluted earnings per share climbed to 42.8 pence from 12.5 pence, while underlying pretax profit gained to GBP146 million from GBP137 million. British Land shares closed at $10 yesterday.