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(Alliance News) - The following is a round-up of updates by London-listed companies issued on Tuesday and not separately reported by Alliance News:
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GB Group PLC - identity data intelligence firm - Reports revenue growth of 9.3% for the year to the end of March to GBP217.7 million, with pretax profit jumping by 66% to GBP34.3 million. Declares 6.4p per share payout, which comprises 3.00p as an interim dividend paid posthumously in January in lieu of no dividend paid for financial 2020, in addition to 3.40p declared on Tuesday for financial 2021. "The pandemic has accelerated customer digitalisation initiatives and permanently shifted more consumer activity online," notes CEO Chris Clark. GB Group reports good start to the year with current trading in line with the expectations.
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International Personal Finance PLC - Leeds, England-based home credit business - Says its operational performance has continued to be positive since the end of April. Credit issued has been broadly in-line with the company's internal expectations despite tighter Covid-19 related restrictions in a number of its markets. The company says that, while it remains cautious given the dynamic Covid-19 environment, the faster-than-anticipated improvement in impairment in April and May is expected to result in a further improvement in the full-year impairment charge and a stronger rebound in profitability in 2021 than was previously expected.
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IG Design Group PLC - Eversholt, England-based greeting cards company - Reports revenue up 40% year-on-year to GBP873.2 million, driven by a full year's trading of since acquisition of CSS Industries Inc, with like-for-like revenue - excluding CSS - 5% down reflecting the impact of Covid-19. Other operating income is up to GBP4.1 million from GBP927,000 the year before. Swings to pretax profit of GBP14.7 million for the financial year that ended March 31 from the GBP873,000 loss posted the year before. IG Design proposes a final dividend of 5.75p which means a full-year dividend of 8.75p, in line with the prior year. "Whilst there remain challenges ahead, many of them the ongoing impact of Covid-19, the hard work and creativity of our teams gives us great confidence in the future," notes CEO Paul Fineman.
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Kin & Carta PLC - London-based business consultancy - Reports accelerating demand for digital transformation advice as the effects of the pandemic begin to abate. For the current financial year to the end of July, the company now expects net revenue growth of 10% to GBP150 million and growth in underlying pretax profit of between 35% and 40% to GBP14.5 million, comfortably ahead of market expectations for the current financial year.
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Iomart Group PLC - Glasgow, Scotland-based cloud computing company - Reports revenue at GBP111.9 million for the financial year that ended March 31, down from GBP112.6 million the year before, with revenue mix improving as growth in core cloud managed services was offset by reduction in non-recurring revenue. Pretax profit for the year falls to GBP12.5 million from GBP16.8 million. Iomart proposes dividend of 4.5p per share, up from 3.93p paid the year prior. Going forward, Iomart says it has traded in line with management expectations since the start of the new financial year.
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Evgen Pharma PLC - Manchester-based clinical stage drug development company - Generates revenue for the financial year that ended March 31 of GBP194,000 versus none the year prior. Pretax loss is broadly flat year-on-year at GBP3.2 million, as operating expenses rise to GBP3.5 million from GBP3.0 million. "Over the last 12 months Evgen has substantially strengthened its senior team, made considerable progress across all areas of its business, raised significant funding to accelerate the development of its therapeutic programmes and concluded its first commercial partnership," says Chair Barry Clare.
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MobilityOne Ltd - Malaysia-based e-commerce infrastructure payment solutions and platform provider - Says revenue increases 46% in 2020 to GBP246.7 million, mainly due to higher sales recorded in its mobile phone prepaid airtime reload and bill payment business in Malaysia. Pretax profit jumps to GBP2.3 million from GBP1.1 million year-on-year. Looking ahead, MobilityOne is positive on its prospects for the reminder of 2021 as the Covid-19 pandemic has not hurt its financial performance, and the existing businesses in Malaysia are expected to grow further.
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Triad Group PLC - Godalming, England-based software company - Reports revenue of GBP17.8 million for the financial year to the end of March, down from GBP19.4 million the year before. Revenue in the year has reduced mainly due to the reduction in private sector low-margin contractor-led assignments. Pretax profit comes in at GBP600,000 versus a loss of GBP600,000 the year earlier. The company proposes a final dividend of 2.0 pence per share. Going forward, Triad says it is looking to build on the momentum created during the previous year. Several of the recently won contracts are still ramping up and further recruitment is planned to service demand on these and the new work the company hopes to win.
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K3 Capital Group PLC - Bolton, England-based advisory services provider - Expects to report revenue for the financial year to the end of May of GBP46.0 million and adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of not less than GBP14.3 million. This would compare to Ebitda of GBP6.8 million in financial 2020. K3 notes that its M&A division had a strong year with material organic growth delivering revenue and adjusted Ebitda ahead of expectations and delivering a high-profit-margin contribution. "We continue to identify further opportunities to expand the range and depth of our service lines. In summary, the board is delighted with the performance of the group and remains confident of continuing its strategy and making further progress in the upcoming financial year," says Chief Executive John Rigby.
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Wentworth Resources PLC - Tanzania-focused natural gas production company - Reports strong in-country natural gas demand in the first half of 2021, enabling an increase in annual average production guidance for 2021 to 70-80 million standard cubic feet per day from 65-75 million. Wentworth says average daily production in year to date of 80.3 million standard cubic feet, compared with 58.1 million during the first half of 2020. The company declares a final dividend in respect of 2020 of 1.0p per share, taking the total for the year to 1.5p, an increase of 27% year-on-year.
Separately, Wentworth says resolution 3, an advisory vote on the director's remuneration report, was passed with a majority of 71% shareholder support. The company notes the significant vote against the resolution. "We have engaged with shareholders to understand their reasons for voting in this way and understand their concerns. Whilst the board remains satisfied with the executive directors' remuneration, we will continue to engage with shareholders and will consider their responses further during the coming year," it says.
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Tatton Asset Management PLC - Cheshire, England-based investment management firm - Reports revenue increase of 9.3% in the financial year to the end of March to GBP23.4 million, but says pretax profit falls steep 29% to GBP7.3 million from GBP10.3 million. Profit suffers from an increase in administrative expenses to GBP15.9 million from GBP12.7 million year-on-year. Assets under management rise by 35% to GBP9.0 billion. Current assets under management at June 15 stand at GBP9.5 billion. Organic net inflows increase by 11% to GBP755 million year-on-year. Tatton ups final dividend by 17% to 7.5p, taking its full-year payout up to 11.0p from 9.6p.
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Montanaro UK Smaller Cos Investment Trust PLC - London-based investment firm - Reports net asset value per share as at March 31 of 148.6p, up 31% from 113.8p a year ago. Share price at the end of the financial year stands at 145.0p, representing a 2.4% discount to NAV. During the financial year, the company pays four quarterly dividends of 5.52p. No shares were bought back during the year.
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Pressure Technologies PLC - Sheffield, England-based engineering company - Reports revenue of GBP14.5 million for the 26 weeks ended April 3, an increase from GBP13.9 million recorded a year before, as a strong performance from Chesterfield Special Cylinders more than offset continued weakness in Precision Machined Components. The company swings to pretax profit of GBP200,000 from a loss of GBP1.5 million a year prior. Pressure Technologies says Precision Machined Components order book at May reached the highest level since October 2020, and original equipment manufacturer customers are reporting an improving outlook for the second half of 2021 and a steady recovery in 2022.
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CML Microsystems PLC - Langford, England-based microwave semiconductors manufacturer - Posts revenue of GBP12.5 million for the financial year that ended March 31, down from GBP15.0 million reported the year before, reflecting the effect of Covid-19 on voice-centric markets. Pretax profit falls to GBP100,000 from GBP1.2 million, after accounting for share-based payments and net finance income. CML proposes final dividend of 50p per share, taking total payout for the year to 52p, up from just 4p paid the year earlier. "Economic uncertainty aside, the fundamental growth factors are positive and subject to unforeseen circumstances, we expect a good year of progress for the continuing business, both from a revenue and a profitability perspective," says Managing Director Chris Gurry.
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Property Franchise Group PLC - UK-based residential property franchise business - Achieves "strong" trading results in the first five months of 2021, in-line with management's expectations. Revenue was 90% higher than for the same period in 2020, which was hurt by Covid-19, as well as up 85% on 2019. The results benefited from the acquisition of Hunters Property PLC, which completed this past March. Property Franchise Group says integration of Hunters is progressing well with particular focus on finance, training, compliance, IT and key suppliers in the first three months.
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Oxford BioDynamics PLC - Oxford, England-based biotechnology company - Reports revenue for the six months to the end of March of GBP250,000 versus GBP190,000 a year before. The company says revenue for the half-year was driven by work on existing projects for pharmaceutical partners. Pretax loss widens to GBP3.5 million from GBP2.3 million year-on-year. Research and development activity was increased compared to the prior year, at GBP601,000 versus GBP279,000, with higher consumables usage and costs associated with the procurement of blood samples necessary to develop its EpiSwitch platform for laboratory tests.
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Ramsdens Holdings PLC - Middlesbrough, England-based financial services provider - Reports resilient performance against challenging trading conditions caused by Covid-19 restrictions, with pretax loss of GBP100,000 for the six months to the end of March versus GBP2.3 million profit the year before. Revenue falls 23% to GBP20.8 million form GBP27.0 million, but administration expenses are cut by 26% to GBP10.4 million, with overheads well controlled, the company notes. "Despite restrictions, during the period we continued to focus on delivering against our long-term growth strategy. We currently have six new Ramsdens stores in the pipeline including debut sites in London and the South East and will continue to appraise new site opportunities in line with our expansion plans," says CEO Peter Kenyon.
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Concurrent Technologies PLC - Colchester, England-based computer boards manufacturer - Says trading performance in 2021 has continued on from the positive results reported for 2020. The company expects its first-half results to be in line with expectations. The overall order book is strong, it says, and the company's cash position remains healthy. "The board continues to take a cautious approach to revenue expectations for the year as a whole. The well-publicised shortage of components and materials that is affecting companies worldwide has added to the uncertainty initially caused by the Covid-19 outbreak and its potential effect on some programmes," says CEO Jane Annear.
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Renalytix AI PLC - Cardiff, Wales-based diagnostics company - Recognises USD600,000 of services revenue related to work performed for Mount Sinai hospital in New York and USD100,000 of testing revenue during the three months ended March 31. Operating expense for the quarter totals USD8.1 million, compared with USD2.7 million a year prior. Research and development expenses increases by USD1.7 million to USD3.1 million year-on-year, primarily due to increased headcount, consulting, and professional fees to support the development of KidneyIntelX, as well as research studies focused on long-term effects of Covid-19 on kidney health. General and administrative expenses increase to USD5.5 million for the three months ended March 31 from USD1.3 million a year ago, due to increased expenses related to public listing compliance, headcount and consulting and professional fees. Net loss attributable to shareholders was USD8.8 million for the quarter compared to USD700,000 a year earlier.
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Northbridge Industrial Services PLC - Burton, England-based industrial services and rental company - Says its Power Reliability business, began the year with a record order book for manufactured equipment. Ongoing order levels have remained in line with expectations and encouragingly it is expected that the factory will remain at full capacity through the year. The company notes that visibility for the second half of 2021 is growing with trading set to continue in a positive vein well into the third quarter. Overall, Northbridge says its half-year revenue and pre-exceptional pretax profit will be ahead of 2020, and it remains firmly on course to meet full year management expectations.
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Eckoh PLC - London-based secure payment products provider - Says total contracted business for the financial year that ended March 31 totals GBP30.7 million, down from GBP35.9 million the year before. New contracted business falls to GBP15.7 million from GBP18.6 million. Revenue for the year comes in at GBP30.5 million, down 8%. Pretax profit, however, rises to GBP3.5 million from GBP3.3 million the year prior, as administrative costs fall to GBP20.7 million from GBP23.0 million. Going forward, the company says shift to remote working driving opportunities and demand for Eckoh's products and business model. The company expects revenue and profit for financial 2022 to be comparable to financial 2021, followed by material year-on-year revenue and profit growth in financial 2023.
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Idox PLC - Theale, England-based management software provider - Says revenue for the six months to the end of April increased by 4% to GBP31.1 million, but recurring revenue decreased by 1% to GBP17.6 million. Pretax profit jumps to GBP3.7 million from GBP176,000 year-on-year as administrative expenses fall to GBP17.0 million from GBP19.3 million. In addition, restructuring costs are reduced to GBP160,000 from GBP1.3 million. Looking ahead, the company says full-year financial performance is expected to be slightly ahead of management previous expectations.
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By Evelina Grecenko; evelinagrecenko@alliancenews.com
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