BUZZ-McCarthy & Stone: Falls as costs weigh on H1 profit

** Shares of Britain's biggest builder of homes for retirees McCarthy & Stone down 2 pct after co posts a fall in its H1 profit due to higher costs

** Co reports 66 percent drop in pretax profit for H1 as it racked up one-time costs of 14 mln pounds related to its new business plan to beef up margins

** Co also says orders as of April were down 17 percent at 485 million pounds compared with a year earlier

** Peel Hunt cuts price target to 155p from 160p, saying that the short-term second hand market conditions have softened, necessitating a step up in incentives

** Shares are down 9.3 pct so far this year (Reporting by Adil Bhat)