Property developer Stockland has affirmed its full-year guidance despite soft sales in the first two months of the financial year.

Managing director Matthew Quinn on Wednesday said soft residential sales conditions in July and August would mean residential profits would be skewed, more than usual, to the second half of the financial year.

He confirmed guidance provided in August of a steady earnings per share (EPS) performance in 2011/12, compared to underlying EPS of 31.6 cents in 2010/11.

“First-home buyers are the most active market segment for Stockland at present and the most likely to benefit from interest rate cuts,” Mr Quinn said in an investor update presentation on Wednesday.

“It’s too early to determine the benefits of this month’s 25-basis-points rate cut. However, it will have further narrowed the gap between renting and purchasing.”

He also said Stockland had so far purchased 60.6 million of its shares, representing 2.6 per cent of its issued capital, as part of its buy back program announced in August.

The company plans to buy back up to five per cent of its stock.