(Alliance News) - The following is a round-up of updates by London-listed companies, issued on Thursday and not separately reported by Alliance News:
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Baronsmead Venture Trust PLC - investment firm based in London - Posts net asset value per share at March 31 of 79.2 pence, up 17% from 67.9p a year prior. Declares interim dividend of 3.0p per share. notes a 460.1p NAV total return to shareholders for every 100.0p invested at launch in 1998.
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Baronsmead Second Venture Trust PLC - investment firm based in London - Posts NAV per share at March 31 of 83.1p, up 18% from 70.2p a year prior. Declares interim dividend of 3.0p. Notes a 371.9p NAV total return to shareholders for every 100.0p invested at launch in 2001.
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Octopus AIM VCT PLC - venture capital trusts - Posts NAV per share at February 28, for year-end, of 124.7p, up from 93.3p a year prior. Net assets increase to GBP182.2 million from GBP115.1 million. Proposes final dividend of 3.5p per share, up from 3.0p a year before, as well as a special dividend of 2.5p. "The portfolio now contains 86 holdings across a range of sectors with exposure to some exciting new technologies in the software, environmental and healthcare sectors. Many of these have been able to raise funds for growth in the past year leaving them well positioned to achieve their ambitions," says company, looking ahead.
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British & American Investment Trust PLC - investment trust - Posts NAV per share at May 21 of 21p, up from 19p a year prior. Does not propose a final dividend, unchanged from the year prior. Notes it paid an interim dividend of 2.7p, the same as the year before. Notes also that it intends to pay an interim dividend of 2.7p per share for the first half ending December 31. Says the medium term outlook for markets and investment looks very uncertain.
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Albion Technology & General VCT - venture capital trust with portfolio of predominantly unquoted growth and technology businesses - NAV per share rises in first quarter ended March 31 to 70.33p from 69.35p.
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ECR Minerals PLC - gold exploration & development company focused on Australia - Announces three new strategic licence applications with a view to adding new exploration opportunities in Queensland, Australia. "The strong cash position enjoyed by ECR Minerals has not only enabled us to launch aggressive drilling programmes across our existing properties, but has also facilitated full utilisation of in-house and advisory resources to identify, investigate and potentially acquire new opportunities to expand our Australian exploration portfolio. Today's announcement manifestly demonstrates that capability," says Chief Executive Craig Brown.
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Afentra PLC - upstream operator in Africa with carried interest in Odewayne block onshore southwestern Somaliland - Reports widened pretax loss in 2020 of USD1.9 million from USD1.6 million a year prior. Finance income sinks to USD326,000 from USD1.1 million a year before. "We see a clear market driver for our business model and believe we have assembled the right team, with a clear and focused strategy, capable of capitalising on this opportunity for the benefit of all stakeholders. Importantly, we remain pragmatic about the challenges that are facing the oil and gas industry and have factored these into the establishment of our business model, to ensure we mitigate risks and meet stakeholder expectations," says CEO Paul McDade.
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Residential Secure Income PLC - investor in affordable shared ownership, retirement and local authority housing - Posts IFRS NAV per share at March 31 of 105.1p, up marginally from 105.0p on September 30 last year. Declares 2.5p per share dividend, unchanged from a year ago, and in line with target of 5 pence for the year, which is reaffirmed. EPRA adjusted earnings per share rises to 1.8p from 1.4p.
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Picton Property Income Ltd - property investor - Posts earnings per share for year ended March 31 of 6.2p, up from 4.1p a year prior. NAV per share rises to 97p from 93p. Total dividends per share falls to 2.8p from 3.5p. "We have increased occupancy and continued to deliver upper quartile returns, whilst supporting our occupiers through an incredibly difficult period. We believe this year has demonstrated more than ever the importance of achieving sustainable investor returns by balancing the needs of our occupiers whilst creating long-term shareholder value. We intend to continue building on the strong base we have established by investing in the portfolio to further grow occupancy and income as we emerge from the pandemic," says CEO Michael Morris.
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Charles Stanley Group PLC - London-based investment manager - Pretax profit for year ended March 31, falls to GBP13.4 million from GBP17.3 million a year prior. Revenue decreases to GBP171.2 million from GBP173.0 million. "Revenues and profits were inevitably impacted by market conditions but the results highlight the resilience of the business. This is a strong performance given the prevailing economic circumstances," says CEO Paul Abberley. Proposes final dividend of 9.0p per share, increasing total dividend to 12.0p per share from 9.0p a year prior. Says trading conditions are expected to remain positive and company "remains well-positioned to continue delivering its growth and efficiency initiatives".
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Baron Oil PLC - oil & gas explorer in UK and Peru - Posts pretax loss for the year ended December 31 of GBP920,000, narrowing from GBP1.7 million a year prior. Does not post revenue. Says over the next 12 months the company's focus will be on driving the Chuditch PSC forward in Timor-Leste.
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AEX Gold Inc - Greenland-focused gold miner - Posts net loss of USD3.3 million in quarter ended March 31, widening from USD966,437 a year prior. "With strong liquidity and improved access to Greenland we are looking forward to the commencement of the exploration program this year while also setting ourselves up for the revised development plan for Nalunaq," says company.
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Hummingbird Resources PLC - UK-based gold ore mining company - Reports pretax profit of USD26.3 million in 2020, soaring from USD9.4 million a year prior. Revenue jumps to USD185.1 million from USD156.9 million. Does not mention dividend. Says 101,069 ounces of gold were poured, down from 115,649 oz. "During 2021 our primary focus will be to ensure that the operations at Yanfolila are stabilised and output is more predictable. Our guidance for the year is 100,000 to 110,000 oz of gold, with an all in sustaining cost of USD1,250 to 1,350 per oz of gold sold," says company. 2020 all sustaining cost was USD1,147, up from USD986 in 2019.
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Triple Point VCT 2011 PLC - small and medium sized enterprises investor - Pretax loss for financial year to February-end comes in at GBP2.8 million, swinging from a pretax profit of GBP312,000 a year prior. Declares 3.5p interim dividend for A shares, 3.0p for Venture shares. Says no dividend has been declared in respect of the B shares due to insufficient cash. "Whilst the economic outlook is undoubtedly uncertain, we remain excited about the opportunities ahead," says Triple Point VCT 2011.
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By Greg Roxburgh; gregroxburgh@alliancenews.com
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