(Alliance News) - Several London-listed companies on Tuesday agreed to delay their annual results following a moratorium issued by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
The FCA, which regulates the financial services industry in the UK, at the weekend had made the request to companies due to produce preliminary financial statements in the next few days to delay publication. The watchdog had urged all listed companies to observe a moratorium on the publication of preliminary financial statements for at least two weeks.
The UK's Financial Reporting Council on Monday supported the FCA's request and had said the basis on which companies are reporting and planning was changing rapidly due to the virus spread.
A number of companies on Monday said they will delay their results following the regulatory requests. Among these were home improvement products retailer Kingfisher PLC, greeting card retailer Card Factory PLC, and soft-drinks maker AG Barr PLC.
On Tuesday, a raft of firms alerted the market that they too will be delaying results. These included: Countrywide PLC, NB Global Floating Rate Income Fund Ltd, Anglo Pacific Group PLC and Digitalbox PLC.
Others include:
- Content management software developer Pebble Beach Systems Group PLC said all of its audit work has been completed, but will still be delaying its results. Pebble Beach started 2020 well, in line with internal expectations, and believes the virus spread will not necessitate any change to its strategy for growth. Pebble noted, in February, it signed a 12-month extension to its current GBP9.5 million loan agreement. Shares were down 0.9%.
- Real estate company Regional REIT Ltd, as well as delaying its results, said it is no longer considering the equity fundraise announced in mid-February. Shares were up 9.6%.
- Communications firm Cloudcall Group PLC said its trading in the first two months of 2020 were in line with internal expectations. The company added that a significant proportion of the its revenue stream is repeatable and recurring in nature, which combined with net renewal rates in excess of 100%, does provide its with good forward visibility of 2020 revenues at this early stage of the year. Cloudcall had GBP11.1 million in cash at the end of 2019. Shares were down 4.5%.
- Stock exchange operator Aquis Exchange, which was due to release its results on Wednesday, expects 2019 revenue to jump 70% on prior year and Ebitda approaching breakeven. The company had cash and cash equivalents at December 31 of GBP11.0 million. Aquis said it is dealing with the higher than usual market volumes caused by enhanced volatility in trading. Shares were up 4.2%.
- Ebiquity, which had results scheduled for Thursday, also pulled its guidance for 2020 due to the ongoing uncertainty caused by Covid-19. For 2019, Ebiquity said its trading was in line with internal expectations, with the second half performance trends similar to the first half of the year. The company expects to report revenue of GBP68.7 million and adjusted operating profit of GBP6.2 million for 2019. Trading in the current year started in line with the board's expectations. However, the rapidly developing Covid-19 global outbreak is clearly creating uncertainty over the coming months for our clients' businesses, Ebiquity added. Shares were down 4.1%.
- Secure Trust Bank PLC, which was slated to release its results on Thursday, said its 2019 results are expected to be in line with internal expectations. STB noted its performance in the first two months of 2020 was ahead of management expectations, but stopped short of providingb any forward guidance for the rest of 2020. The lender also decided against recommending a final dividend for 2019. Shares were down 7.7%.
- Language translation software firm SDL PLC had originally scheduled its results for Wednesday. As previously announced, SDL expects 2019 revenue and adjusted operating profit to be significantly ahead of 2018 and in line with market expectations. Net cash at December 31 was GBP26.3 million and the group has continued to generate cash since the start of the year. In addition to its net cash position, SDL has bank facilities of GBP120 million, of which GBP70 million is committed. It does expect a reduction in constant currency revenues across SDL's Language Services and technology businesses. Shares were up 3.5%.
- Churchill China PLC, a ceramic products manufacturer, was originally slated to release its results on Thursday. It expected to report revenue of GBP67.5 million, up from GBP57.5 million in 2018. Pretax profit is expected to grow to GBP11.3 million from GBP8.9 million in 2018. Net cash at the end of 2019 stood at GBP15.6 million. The company has withdrawn its 2020 guidance. Shares were down 7.3%.
- PRS REIT PLC delayed its interim results but said it ended the period with an encouraging trading performance, which had continued into March. While the coronavirus pandemic is creating macro uncertainties, the PRS believes that its business model is resilient and that it has the financial and operational capacity and capability to navigate resultant challenges while also responding to opportunities. Shares were up 2.4%.
- Mortgage Advice Bureau Holdings PLC was scheduled to release its results on Tuesday. MAB said its 2019 revenue was up 17% year-on-year at GBP143.7 million from GBP123 million. Pretax profit rose 13% to GBP17.7 million, with gross profit was 28% higher at GBP36.4 million. Gross margin increased to 25.3% from 23.1%. MAB said it was planning on paying a final dividend of 12.8 pence but has decided to lower this to 6.4p and will then pay a further 6.4p when it decides it is prudent to do so. MAB has a regulatory capital requirement amounting to 2.5% of regulated revenue. At December 31 this regulatory capital requirement was GBP3.1 million, and it held a surplus of GBP11.7 million. Shares were up 12%.
- JTC PLC was scheduled to release its results next Wednesday and remains confident its 2019 performance will be in line with market consensus. The company said it has "highly visible" recurring revenue that is not linked to the assets its administers. Around 90% of revenue is recurring with an average client lifespan of 10 years and negligible mid-life attrition. To date, JTS has not seen any material impact on revenue from Covid-19. JTC said it has a robust balance sheet relative to its facility of GBP150 million, with no debt falling due until 2023. Headroom on leverage at year end was about 50% of its banking covenant. Shares were down 3.9%.
- K3 Business Technology Group PLC's interim results - originally scheduled for Thursday - are expected to be in line with internal guidance, with net debt at November 30 at GBP5.5 million. "Whilst the board was encouraged by the company's trading prospects at the start of the current financial year, the unprecedented events now being experienced due to the coronavirus outbreak, which has resulted in contract delays and deferrals, make it difficult to forecast revenues for the year to November 30, 2020," K3 said. Separately, K3 is actively reviewing options to wind-down one of the its underperforming third-party solutions units in the UK and is in discussions with two major shareholders to improve its balance sheet. Shares were un-traded.
By Paul McGowan; paulmcgowan@alliancenews.com
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