(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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Character Group PLC - Surrey-based toymaker - For the year to the end of August, pretax profit more than halved to GBP5.0 million from GBP11.1 million the year before, on revenue that declined by 13% to GBP105.3 million from GBP120.4 million. Declares final dividend of 3.0 pence per share, bringing total payout to 5.0p, down 81% from 26.0p the year before.
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Artemis Alpha Trust PLC - listed companies investor aiming to outperform FTSE All-Share Index - Net asset value per share as at October 31 was down at 352.66 pence from 360.86p the same date the year before. Net asset value total return for the six-year period at 15%, compared to FTSE All-Share Index which fell by 2.0%.
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Evgen Pharma PLC - clinical stage drug development company based in Liverpool - For the six months to the end of September, pretax loss widens to GBP1.8 million from GBP1.6 million on higher operating costs, despite generating GBP194,000 in revenue from the upfront fee on the signing of the Juvenesence licensing deal.
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Securities Trust of Scotland PLC - Edinburgh-based investor - For the six months to the end of September, net asset value total return at 21%, compared to 12% the year before. Notes peer group returned 16% for the same period. As at September 30, net asset value per share at 195.58 pence, down from 203.88p the same date the prior year. Dividend per share down at 2.75p from 2.90p.
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Yellow Cake PLC - Jersey-based uranium investor - For the six months to the end of September, swings to pretax profit of USD21.7 million from loss of USD3.1 million the year before. Total uranium-related profit at USD23.5 million from loss of USD1.0 million. As at September 30, net asset value was USD279.9 million, comprising 9.32 million pounds of physical uranium at a spot price of USD29.75 per pound.
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Trafalgar Property Group PLC - residential homes developer based in Kent - For the six months to the end of September, swings to pretax profit of GBP17,000 from loss of GBP528,000 the year before, on revenue remaining flat at GBP1.3 million. Proposes consolidation shares on basis of one new share for every ten existing shares, increasing market price of new shares to 0.9p from 0.09p.
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C4X Discovery PLC - drug discovery firm - For the year to the end of July, pretax loss narrows to GBP9.6 million from GBP13.6 million the year before, due to fall in development and administrative expenses, in spite of no revenue being made. Looking ahead, plans to drive key drug discovery programmes to next milestone.
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DWF Group PLC - Manchester-based law firm - For the six months to the end of October, swings to pretax loss of GBP11.0 million from profit of GBP8.0 million the year before, due to non-cash acquisition-related costs, in spite of revenue growing by 15% to GBP167.6 million from GBP145.2 million. Declares dividend per share of 1.50 pence, up from 1.25p the prior year.
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Iconic Labs PLC - media company - For the year to the end of June, pretax loss widens to GBP2.8 million from GBP2.1 million the 18-month period before, on substantially higher administrative expenses, despite generating GBP107,303 in revenue through management services contracts.
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The Income & Growth Trust PLC - investment firm - As at September 30, net asset value per share down at 59.50 pence from 75.50p the same date the year before. For the annual period, declares dividend of 14.00 pence per share, more than doubled from 6.00p
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Oryx International Growth Fund Ltd - small and medium-sized business investor - Net asset value per share as at September 30 was 172.17 pence, up from 124.87p at the end of March. As at September 30 total value of investments was at GBP160.6 million from GBP117.3 million at the end of March.
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Cohort PLC - defence and security markets-focussed technology company - Says pretax loss for the six months to October 31 widens to GBP370,000 from GBP3,000 a year before. Revenue dips to GBP54.4 million from GBP60.2 million. Says it expects a "a much stronger performance in the second half", though it still needs to win and deliver some important orders to achieve its targets for the year.
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Majedie Investments PLC - London-based investment trust - Net asset value per share at September 30 was 247.7 pence, down 15% from 292.3p. Pretax loss for the year ended September 30 widens to GBP17.6 million from GBP16.5 million a year before. Declares final dividend of 11.40p, following suit to the prior year, having used its revenue reserves to maintain the payout despite its poor performance. Says that the improved performance in the second half is encouraging.
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Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust PLC - the Edinburgh-based investing company which typically invests in companies with a market capitalisation of less than USD5 billion at the time of first investment - Net asset value per share at October 31 at 279.90 pence, up 58% from 177.37p a year prior. Net return before tax for the year ended October 31 at GBP322.0 million, up from GBP33.4 million a year before. Says net revenue return per share is at negative 0.46p, up from negative 0.23p a year prior, so no final dividend is being paid. Says that going forward there is a lot of uncertainty with regards to the pandemic and Brexit.
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FastForward Innovations Ltd - Guernsey-based closed-ended investment company - Says investment gains in the six months to September 30 are down 12% to GBP1.5 million from GBP1.7 million a year prior. Net asset value per share at September 30 is up 6.9% to 9.43 pence from 8.82 pence a year before. Says it has seen varying performances across its portfolio of investee companies. "However, reflective of our new investing policy implemented in July, the liquidity of our portfolio is becoming more balanced and a number of our investments have performed very well during this period of uncertainty," the company says. Does not propose an interim dividend, following suit to the prior year.
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Induction Healthcare Group PLC - London-based healthcare technology company - Posts pretax loss for the half year ended September 30 of GBP3.2 million, widening 45% from GBP2.2 million a year prior. Revenue debuts at GBP582,000 from nothing the year before. Says in the last six months "we have continued to execute our 'buy and build' strategy successfully, evidenced by the Zesty acquisition in June". Joint Chief Executives Hugo Stephenson and James Balmain say: "Not only have we generated our first full year of revenues, we are seeing revenue growth across all of our platforms". Says, going forward, that sales momentum, recurring revenue, our pipeline of orders with multi-year contracts, and a healthy acquisition pipeline provide a foundation for future growth.
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By Greg Roxburgh; gregroxburgh@alliancenews.com and Dayo Laniyan; dayolaniyan@alliancenews.com
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