UK housebuilder Barratt forecasts annual profit slightly above expectations

(Reuters) - Britain's largest homebuilder Barratt Developments Plc forecast annual profit slightly ahead of market expectations, underscoring robust demand despite the housing sector grappling with supply chain constraints and labour shortages.

The FTSE 100 firm said it expected annual adjusted profit before tax for the year ended June 30 to be in the range of 1.05 billion pounds to 1.06 billion pounds ($1.24 billion-$1.26 billion), marginally ahead of company-compiled analysts' estimates of 1.048 billion pounds.

($1 = 0.8442 pounds)

(Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)