m winkworth shares fell wednesday after it said it expects firsthalf pretax profit to slip and given that the outlook for sales remains uncertain it expects to miss fullyear market expectations for profit shares at 0713 gmt were down 250 pence or 17 at 1200 pence the realestate agent said that while the first quarter met management expectations the sales market proved more challenging in the second quarter as interest rates rose higher and faster than predicted property prices held up reasonably well but transactions slowed leading to a higher number of agreed sales being delayed to the second half of the year preliminary gross network income figures for the first half indicate an overall fall of 6 with lettings revenue around 11 higher and sales revenue down 20 on year the company said it expects firsthalf pretax profit to be below last years 11 million pounds 14 million though it didnt provide a specific figure while the directors believe that confidence will return once buyers can access a broader choice of mortgage finance the outlook for sales in the second half of the year remains uncertain and the shortfall in the first half means that full year pretax profits are likely to fall below market expectations the company said the board also declared a secondquarter dividend of 29 pence a share