(Alliance News) - The following is a round-up of earnings updates by London-listed companies, issued on Wednesday and not separately reported by Alliance News:
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CPPGroup PLC - Leeds-based products and services for financial services and insurance sectors - Revenue for 2020 increases 2% to GBP141.1 million while pretax profit nearly doubles to GBP2.0 million from GBP1.1 million. "While we saw major disruption from Covid-19 in the second quarter, the response of our teams, resilience of our model, and improving conditions in key markets meant we were able to deliver a robust performance in the second half and solid numbers for the full year," says Chief Executive Jason Walsh. Recommences dividend payments for the first time since 2011, with payout of 25p.
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TClarke PLC - London-based building services company - Revenue for 2020 falls to GBP231.9 million from GBP334.6 million, while pretax profit shrinks to GBP1.2 million from GBP9.0 million. Total dividend for the year steady at 4.4p. Says pleasing that business remained profitable amid challenges in 2020. "Having secured such a strong order book at this early stage of the year gives the board strong confidence for the year ahead. Following a slightly slower start we expect revenues and profit to build rapidly throughout the course of the second half of the year as our recently secured projects gain momentum," TClarke says.
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St James House PLC - gaming, lotteries, and payment processing software provider - Share suspension lifted after firm publishes annual results for the year to January 31, 2020, on Tuesday and half-year results for period to July 31 on Wednesday. For half-year period, revenue rises to GBP641,000 from GBP422,000 and pretax loss narrows to GBP567,000 from GBP1.3 million. "The technology advancements and structural changes within the payments division of the past year are beginning to show positive results in terms of increase in transactions driving an increased contribution to revenue and gross profit," company says. Adds that in the period from February 25 to March 22, growth has continued in the payments dividend. Chief Executive Graeme Paton says: "We are delighted that trading in our ordinary shares is being restored today. This has been a difficult year for the Company, but we can now see positive signs on both the operational and financial fronts." Says it is in advanced discussions with an external investor to provide a working capital facility and expects to complete arrangements shortly, at which time a further announcement will be made.
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Secured Income Fund PLC - investor focused on SME loan assets and secured lending opportunities - Reports net asset value per share of 78.26p as at end of December, down from 92.36p a year ago and 86.37p at the end of June. Still expects wind-down plan will likely take two or three years to execute with the objective of delivering investors total proceeds as close to NAV as possible. "Market conditions have continued to be challenging but the immediate risks to the portfolio, as presented at the start of the pandemic in the first quarter of 2020, have largely dissipated which is a testament to the careful management of borrower relationships by the Investment Manager. However, the Investment Manager remains vigilant and is mindful of the challenges posed by any reduction in furlough and bounce back policies that have greatly assisted some of our counterparties," company says. Has returned 8.5p per share to shareholders since the wind down proposals were adopted in September.
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Pittards PLC - leather products producer - Reports revenue of GBP15.2 million for 2020, tumbling from GBP22.3 million in 2019, while swinging to pretax loss of GBP2.3 million from prior year's GBP579,000 profit. Says first half was challenging operationally given sudden change in demand related to Covid-19. Says it has entered 2021 stronger, with a more diverse and flexible business. "It remains too early to judge how strong the recovery will be, but on balance, we see more reason to be positive that we can make further progress to build on the momentum of the second half of last year, starting the year with stronger demand from customers," Pittards says.
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Rainbow Rare Earths Ltd - rare earth metals projects in Burundi and South Africa - Revenue for six months to end of December jumps to USD527,000 from USD156,000, and pretax loss narrows to USD890,000 from USD1.1 million. Says further funding is expected to be raised in the second half to allow full feasibility study to be completed at the Phalaborwa asset, and support ongoing corporate overheads. "The supply/demand fundamentals in the NdPr market present Rainbow with an exciting opportunity and we are confident in our capacity to become a globally significant producer of rare earth metals and to take advantage of the favourable market outlook," says Chief Executive George Bennett.
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PRS REIT PLC - real estate investment trust focusing on new-build family homes for the private rental market - Reports rental income of GBP10.7 million for half year to December 31, up 91% on a year ago, while pretax profit rises 85% to GBP20.3 million. EPRA NAV per share at December 31 96.2p, up 1% on a year ago. Says business performed well despite challenges, with 1,081 new homes added over the period. "There continues to be a deficit in supply and we are confident about prospects for the Company and the delivery of our dividend target for the current financial year," says Non-Executive Chair Steve Smith. Separately, PRS REIT appoints Geeta Nanda as a non-executive director. She is chief executive of Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing Association, having previously led its creation in 2017 with the merger of Metropolitan Housing Trust and Thames Valley Housing Association Ltd, where she was CEO.
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Telit Communications PLC - London-based company that focuses on software for the 'internet of things' - Revenue for 2020 falls 10% to USD343.6 million, and pretax profit tumbles to just USD7.9 million from USD59.9 million. In 2019, the firm booked a USD54.5 million profit on disposal of the automotive business, which did not repeat in 2020. Says board continues to consider returning cash to shareholders, but believes it would not be prudent to do so until the end of the pandemic is more clearly in sight. "We are clearly mindful of risks to our business, including those related to Covid-19 that might affect us in the short term, but our business will benefit both from the addition of 5G, OneEdge and our core network, from new offerings within the cloud & connectivity business. In view of this and seeing the benefits of the hard work of recent years, the board is confident in the group's prospects for the future," company says.
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Frontier IP Group - London-based intellectual property commercialisation firm - Says fair value of portfolio rose by 21% to GBP23.4 million at end of December versus GBP19.4 million at end of June. Unrealised profit on the revaluation of investments increased 33% to GBP4.0 million, and pretax profit rose 45% to GBP3.0 million from GBP2.1 million. Says the GBP2.2 million raised during the period provides the group with firepower to take advantage of a "increasing number of opportunities" across the portfolio.
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Circassia Group - medical device company focused on respiratory diagnostics and monitoring - Revenue for 2020 falls 31% to GBP23.9 million from GBP34.6 million, but pretax loss slims to GBP18.4 million from GBP27.6 million. Looking ahead, company says: "While it remains challenging to predict short-term business performance during the Covid-19 pandemic, we are cautiously optimistic following early signs of recovery in the first quarter of 2021 trading in our Clinical business. Our Research business has made a strong start to the year." Separately, Circassia enters into subscription agreements with three of its major institutional shareholders, Harwood Capital, Richard Griffiths and Lombard Odier Asset Management, to raise a total of GBP5 million.
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Sopheon PLC - enterprise software provider - Revenue dips to USD30.0 million in 2020 from USD30.3 million in 2019, adding that 2021 revenue visibility is at USD24.5 million. Pretax profit falls to USD1.7 million from USD2.5 million, but company maintains dividend at 3.25p per share. Says this was first full year of prioritising software as a service contracts for new customer engagements. "With a solid revenue base already in place for 2021, plus our strong balance sheet, a superb customer base and a team of great people - I am confident that Sopheon has a great future, and that the SaaS transition is exactly the right strategy to pursue," says Chair Barry Mence.
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Bonhill Group PLC - B2B media business - Reports revenue of GBP17.8 million for 2020, down 27% on the year before, while pretax loss widens to GBP10.9 million from GBP4.1 million. Says 2020 was most challenging year in group's history, with the business "severely impacted" by the pandemic. Business Information revenue fell by 21%, Events by 37% and Data & Insight by 17%. "We are confident of revenue growth of approximately 12% in 2021 and to report Ebitda of approximately GBP1.2 million, excluding any government support. We have had a promising start to 2021 and entered the year with an optimised operating model, strong customer relationships and some clear areas for growth," says Chief Executive Simon Stilwell.
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Applied Graphene Materials PLC - graphene materials maker with headquarters in Redcar, Cleveland - Revenue for six months to January 31 rises to GBP42,000 from GBP35,000, with pretax loss slimming to GBP1.8 million from GBP2.3 million. Notes that revenue increased despite disruption to trading caused by the pandemic. Notes that new funding secured at the start of 2020 gives the business a cash runway well into 2023, and gives the company opportunity to push forward developing a "solid platform" of sales.
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Oriole Resources PLC - AIM-quoted exploration company focused on West Africa - Reports pretax loss of GBP468,000 for 2020, narrowing from GBP1.7 million in 2019. Administration expenses fall to GBP1.0 million from GBP1.6 million. In year ahead, Oriole expects news across five drill programmes, as well as the generation of targets across its 3,592 kilometre square Central Cameroon licence package. "With cash in the bank, and further cash potentially coming in from warrant exercises and the legacy asset realisation programme, the near-term exploration programme is fully-funded. We continue to look for further opportunities that we believe would add shareholder value," company says.
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JPMorgan US Smaller Companies Investment Trust PLC - investor focused on smaller US stocks - Reports net asset value total return for 2020 of 16%, matching its benchmark index. NAV per share 394.9p at end of 2020, up from 343.0p at end of 2019. "Following the last tempestuous year there are reasons to be optimistic for the outlook for US smaller companies. The political backdrop in the US appears more stable. Alongside this, the flurry of positive news from a number of vaccine producers in late 2020 and early 2021 has been followed by the roll-out of wide scale vaccination programmes which should kick start much of the currently curtailed economic activity," company says.
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Alternative Liquidity Fund Ltd - invested in a portfolio of illiquid interests in funds, securities and other instruments - Net asset value per share 18.21 cents at December 31, up from 17.36 cents at end of June. "The notable drivers of the increase in NAV were liquidation proceeds received from the company's holding in Weavering and currency appreciation. The Weavering payment represented the final distribution from the liquidators. The company had been holding the Weavering position at zero given that the liquidation was in its twelfth year and the recovery potential was negligible. However continued dialogue with the liquidators and a previous decision not to forfeit any future claims proved very beneficial," company says.
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Henderson Eurotrust PLC - focused on high quality European, excluding the UK, investments. - Says net asset value per share total return 11% for half-year to January 31 versus benchmark index, the FTSE World Europe (ex UK) Index, returning 9.9%. NAV per share at period-end 1,528.0p, up from 1,309.2p a year ago.
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Kenmare Resources PLC - mineral sands products producer - Revenue for 2020 falls to USD243.7 million from USD270.9 million, while pretax profit more than halves to USD22.8 million from USD50.0 million. Revenue decline resulted from reduced volumes, partially offset by increased average prices. Recommends full-year dividend of 10 cents per share, up 22% on 2019. "Following the completion of the development projects, we are generating stronger free cash flow, providing an opportunity to deliver increased shareholder returns. For 2021 we are targeting a dividend pay-out of 25% of profit after tax, up from the previous 20% minimum policy," Kenmare says.
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By Lucy Heming; lucyheming@alliancenews.com
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