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(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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Anpario PLC - Nottingham, England-based manufacturer of animal feed additives - Delivers improved profit performance with sales at a similar level to last year, which was a very strong comparative period, as customers had increased stock levels at the onset of the pandemic. Most regions are performing to plan, Anpario says, with its business in China experiencing a "very strong" performance, benefiting from last year's ban on antibiotic growth promoters in animal feed. South East Asia's performance is weaker, however, as countries imposed new lockdowns in response to increasing infection rates.
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Sumo Group PLC - Sheffield, England-based video game company - Says global video games market remains strong, and the company is performing in line with expectations in the year to date. Sumo says the pipeline of new business development opportunities now comprises a total contract value in excess of GBP500 million, a significant increase on the GBP429 million figure at February 28. The company notes that its acquisition pipeline remains strong, and it is pursuing a number of targets. "The board views the prospects for the group in the year ahead and beyond with confidence," Sumo says.
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ASA International Group PLC - Netherlands-based microfinance firm - Says collection efficiency across the company increases or remains broadly stable in May compared to the previous month in all countries, with collection rates of 90% to more than 95%. The exceptions are India and Sri Lanka. Collections in India decrease to 67%, due to disruptions to operations following lockdowns in most states amid the second wave of Covid-19. Collection rate in Sri Lanka reduced to 57%, also due to lockdowns.
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Loungers PLC - operator of restaurants across England and Wales - Finishes the financial year that ended April 18 with 168 sites, having opened three new sites during the year. In the period from April 19 to June 13, a further five Lounge sites have been opened in Wolverhampton, St Ives, Stourbridge, Welwyn Garden City and Blackpool. Like-for-like sales over the four-week period from May 17 through to June 13 are up 27% on the period from May 20 to June 16 a year ago. "Customers have returned with confidence, and our team have performed amazingly," says Chief Executive Nick Collins.
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N Brown Group PLC - Manchester, England-based online retailer - Says product revenue growth of 4.6% to GBP106.9 million for the 13 weeks to May 29 is driven by its five strategic brands, which grew 16% in the period. By division, Clothing & Footwear sales have continued to recover and demand increases 21% compared to a year prior, with Womenswear up 27% and Menswear up 25%. Demand for Home & Gift is lower, as last year N Brown benefited from pandemic-related purchases of garden furniture and personal grooming products, it says. N Brown maintains its guidance for full-year, which ends in February 2022, with product revenue growth forecast in a range of 3% to 7%.
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Filtronic PLC - Yeadon, England-based manufacturer of products for the aerospace, defence telecoms infrastructure and critical communications markets - Says trading improved in the second half of its financial year to deliver revenue broadly in line with market expectations. More positively, Filtronic says a favourable sales mix at higher margins has delivered earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization slightly ahead of market expectations. Filtronic expects to report revenue for the financial year that ended May 31 of GBP15.6 million, down from GBP17.2 million the year earlier, and Ebitda of GBP1.8 million, up from GBP1.2 million. "Despite some concerns associated with delivery of key semiconductor components, we start the new financial year with a strong order book and cause for optimism," says CEO Richard Gibbs.
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River & Mercantile UK Micro Cap Investment Co Ltd - London-based investment firm - Reports net asset value per share as at March 31 of GBP2.8667 up from GBP2.0586 at the end of September 2020. The trust's share price at the end of March stands at GBP2.600, representing a 9.3% discount to NAV. Delivers a gain of 39% since the end of September. The benchmark, in comparison, gains 34% over the six-month period.
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Momentum Multi-Asset Value Trust PLC - London-based investment firm - Reports NAV total return per share for the financial year that ended April 30 of 48%, compared with the benchmark return of 7.5%. NAV per share stands at 188.53 pence on April 30 compared to 133.10p a year before. The company says it will pay a fourth interim dividend of 1.68p per share, which, when added to the three preceding interim dividends of the same amount, produces a total dividend of 6.72p per share, unchanged from the previous year.
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Mountview Estates PLC - London-based residential property firm - Reports 1.2% growth in revenue for the financial year that ended March 31 to GBP65.7 million, while pretax profit advances by 9.2% to GBP38.1 million. Mountview Estates ups its dividend by 6.3% year-on-year to 425p. NAV per share, meanwhile, rises to GBP101.3 from GBP97.4. Says it made good property purchases during the year and has continued to do so since.
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Kingswood Holdings Ltd - London-based wealth and investment management firm - Reports revenue for 2020 of GBP25.5 million, more than doubled from the prior year's GBP10.1 million, reflecting the impact of recent acquisitions. Pretax loss widens, however, to GBP10.7 million from GBP9.0 million, as operating staff costs grow to GBP11.1 million from GBP7.2 million and other costs increase to GBP5.1 million from GBP1.8 million. "2020 was a challenging year and our resilience was tested on many fronts. It was a challenging year for business, especially one like ours which is built on personal relationships - those one on one, face to face connections with our clients. However, I have been delighted with how the business adapted and emerged from this difficult period," says Chair Buzz West.
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OptiBiotix Health PLC - York, England-based life sciences business - Reports revenue for 2020 of GBP1.5 million, more than doubled from a 13 month reporting period in 2019, when revenue totalled GBP744,883. The company swings to pretax profit of GBP5.7 million from GBP2.5 million loss as it records GBP4.2 million gain on disposal of an associate and a GBP3.0 million gain on investments. No such gains are reported the year before. "With interest in the microbiome increasing, growing sales, increasing margins, reducing costs, and an exciting pipeline of industry disruptive second-generation products, the company is in a strong position for future growth in this exciting area of healthcare," says CEO Stephen O'Hara.
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Toople PLC - Letchworth Garden City, England-based telecom services provider - Revenue is flat year-on-year at GBP1.5 million for the six months to March 31, but pretax loss narrows to GBP773,432 from GBP1.1 million. Administrative expenses are reduced to GBP1.1 million from GBP1.4 million year-on-year. "We continued to strengthen our balance sheet and have seen an increase in both gross profit and gross margin, whilst delivering much improved performance at the Ebitda level," notes Non-Executive Chair Richard Horsman. Gross margin improves by 9 percentage points to 31%, while Ebitda loss narrows to GBP595,000 from GBP1.0 million.
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Record PLC - Windsor, England-based currency management services provider - Reports revenue slip to GBP25.4 million for the financial year that ended March 31 from GBP25.6 million posted the year before. Pretax profit declines to GBP6.2 million from GBP7.7 million. Record proposes a final dividend of 1.15p per share, taking total dividend for the year to 2.30p per share, unchanged. Special dividend for the year is declared at 0.45p per share, up from 0.41p paid for financial 2020.
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LPA Group PLC - Saffron Walden, England-based LED lighting and electrical components supplier - Revenue for the financial year that ended March 31 falls to GBP9.3 million from GBP10.8 million the year prior, with pretax profit down to GBP100,000 from GBP190,000. Order book, however, increases 6% to GBP26.2 million, featuring a mix of orders from both traditional customers and product lines, as well as a GBP5 million contribution from new product developments and new customers, LPA says. "The group continues to focus on costs and cash retention, and development of our people and product ranges, ensuring it is strongly positioned for the future," says CEO Paul Curtis.
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CareTech Holdings PLC - Potters Bar, England-based social care services provider - Reports continued resilience during Covid-19 pandemic with all sites remaining fully operational. Annual revenue growth for the six months ended March 31 totals 17% to GBP243.0 million, driven by organic growth, the acquisition of Smartbox, the transfer of adult specialist services sites from Huntercombe Group, and "constructive" fee negotiations. Pretax profit jumps to GBP42.3 million from GBP17.7 million year-on-year. Increases interim dividend to 4.6p from 4.0p paid the year before. "We remain confident of our outlook, delivering further earnings and dividend growth and in the long-term prospects of the business," says Executive Chair Farouq Sheikh.
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Volex PLC - Basingstoke, England-based provider of manufacturing services - Reports revenue growth of 13% for the 52 weeks that ended April 4 to USD443.3 million, while pretax profit jumps by 85% to USD29.4 million. Underlying operating margin improves to 9.7% from 8.1%, thanks to further cost optimisation, efficiency savings and increased sales of more complex products. Volex proposes final dividend of 2.2p per share. Looking ahead, the company says the longer-term prospects for its business remain strong, and it intends to continue to invest in capacity and strengthening of its capabilities with a particular focus on growth areas.
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By Evelina Grecenko; evelinagrecenko@alliancenews.com
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