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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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BioPharma Credit PLC - Exeter-based life sciences debt investment trust - Says net asset value per shares rises 1.8% to USD1.0217 at December 31 from USD1.0037 a year prior. Pays dividends of 8.29 US cents per share in 2020, "comfortably ahead of the target to distribute at least 7 cents per share", and has recently declared a special dividend of 0.29 cents. Says it "remains clear" that the senior secured loans that form the majority of the company's portfolio continue to be "one of the most attractive financing options for the life sciences sector". 2020 was the company's third full year of operations, marking the third year of "consistent returns and targets met", according to Chair Harry Hyman.
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Castillo Copper Ltd - Australia and Zambia focused base metal explorer - Posts pretax loss for the half year ended December 31 of USD1.1 million, narrowing from USD1.3 million. Revenue decreases to USD497 from USD81,208. Says it is continuing to persevere with its "strategic transformation to morph into a mid-tier copper group", with a focus on developing its core assets and raising adequate capital to deliver on its business plan.
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Boku Inc - San Francisco, California-headquartered mobile payments platform - Posts pretax loss for 2020 of USD17.3 million, widening from USD1.3 million a year prior. Revenue increases 13% to USD56.4 million from USD50.1 million. Administrative expenses rise to USD68.2 million from USD45.5 million, while there were USD20.8 million worth of impairments of goodwill, having not featured in 2019. Says "Boku can look to 2021 and beyond with a great deal of confidence", with revenue set to start building "more materially" in 2022. Says sales are going well and the company is off to a "flying start" to 2021.
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Salt Lake Potash Ltd - Western Australia focused organic sulphate of potash miner - Posts pretax loss of for the half ended December 31 USD1.8 million, narrowing from USD32.2 million a year prior. Finance income halves to USD47,784 million from USD98,377 million the year before. Receives government grant income of USD80,000. Exploration and evaluation expenses fall to USD1.8 million from USD12.3 million the year before, while pre-development expenses did not feature compared to USD12.9 million the year prior. Does not declare an interim dividend, unchanged from the year before. Says focus will remain on the development of its Lake Way project near Wiluna, Western Australia.
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Team17 Group PLC - video game development company - Posts pretax profit for 2020 of GBP26.2 million, rising 63% from GBP19.2 million the year prior. Revenue rises 34% to GBP82.9 million from GBP61.8 million. Says the company reported record revenues with higher than expected back catalogue sales alongside the launch of 12 titles with 2 existing titles released on new platforms and a record 10 new titles launched during the year. Does not intend to propose a dividend at the time as the company focuses on its growth plans. Says it "has a solid and diverse pipeline of launches for 2021 and beyond and is well positioned to continue to deliver on our growth plans".
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US Solar Fund PLC - Americas-focused utility-scale solar power plant investor - Posts net asset value at December 31 of USD194.2 million, largely flat to a year prior at USD194.4 million, although improving from June 30's NAV of USD192.9 million. Declares a dividend of 0.50 US cents per share, bringing the total payout for the year to 2.0 cents per share. Says it is set to see strong growth in the future, which will largely be driven by the improving cost competitiveness of solar photovoltaics and, to a lesser extent, the continued support of state and federal incentive schemes.
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Litigation Capital Management Ltd - Sydney, Australia-based provider of finance for lawsuits - Swings to pretax loss for the half year ended December 31 of AUD1.4 million, about GBP780,558, from a profit of AUD6.7 million the year before. Litigation service revenue sunk to AUD7.5 million from AUD24.1 million the year before. Says it has secured a USD50 million credit facility to accelerate its growth going forward. Says it has seen increased demand into 2021 from corporate clients resulting from the instability and uncertainty caused by the pandemic.
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Harworth Group PLC - Rotherham, South Yorkshire-based land and property regeneration - Posts EPRA net asset value per share at December 31 of 160.0 pence, up from 155.6p a year prior. Net asset value increases to GBP488.7 million from GBP463.8 million. Declares total dividend per share for 2020 of 1.8p, up from 0.3p a year before. Says demand for our serviced land has remained strong and we continue to see this in the first few months of 2021 as we also make progress across the portfolio and explore potential acquisitions.
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Bango PLC - Cambridge-based data-driven commerce company - Swings to pretax profit from continuing operations for 2020 of GBP607,000 from a loss of GBP2.6 million a year prior. Revenue increases to GBP12.2 million from GBP7.2 million. Says revenue and profit ahead of expectations and demonstrating strong growth. Says the outlook for future growth in 2021 and beyond is clear and strong. "Our payment revenue continues to diversify as we enter new verticals and expand our addressable market. The new merchants and payment providers that joined the Bango circle in 2020 underpin our growth trajectory," says Chief Executive Paul Larbey.
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ScS Group PLC - Sunderland, England-based retailer of upholstered furniture and floorings - Swings to pretax profit for the 26 weeks ended January 23 of GBP17.7 million from a loss of GBP600,000 a year prior. Gross sales increases 14% to GBP182.3 million from GBP160.1 million. Does not declare an interim dividend, unchanged from the prior year, "due to the current uncertainty surrounding the store re-opening timetable and the unknown future order demand". Says the half's performance was driven by the delivery of the large opening order book from pent-up demand in June and July. "With consumer confidence and the economic environment remaining uncertain, it is difficult to provide clarity on the group's outlook for the weeks and months ahead. However, we remain cautiously optimistic as recent government announcements have provided further clarity on the anticipated reopening of our stores," says Chief Executive David Knight.
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Costain Group PLC - infrastructure company - Posts adjusted pretax profit for 2020 of GBP13.9 million, falling from GBP34.6 million a year prior. Adjusted revenue fell 9.3% to GBP1.07 billion from GBP1.18 billion. Says it is pleased with the results within the context of the Covid-19 pandemic which had a financial impact on the company. Forgoes a dividend for 2020, compared to 3.8 pence per share a year prior, but "will continue to review the timing of the reinstatement of future dividends". "Looking ahead, while mindful of the macro-economic uncertainties, we are confident in delivering growth in profits and margins this year. Costain is in a strong position with a high volume of secured long-term programmes and a positive market outlook, in particular the UK government's commitment to invest in infrastructure to support the levelling up of our economic activity and decarbonisation of our environment," says the company.
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Eagle Eye Solutions Group PLC - London-based marketing solutions provider - Swings to pretax profit from continuing operations in first half ended December 31 of GBP197,000 from a loss of GBP632,000 a year prior. Revenue increases 6.9% to GBP10.8 million from GBP10.1 million the year before. Says its new business pipeline continues to grow at "record levels internationally including multiple enterprise level opportunities", providing the board with confidence in the ongoing success of the business. "While Covid-19 has impacted an element of our customer base and hence our growth rate in the short-term, it has highlighted the need for retailers to digitally engage with their customers. We are confident in our offering, excited by our increased opportunity and believe there is considerable potential for expansion," says Chief Executive Tim Mason.
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KRM22 PLC - London-based technology and software investment company - Posts pretax loss for 2020 of GBP5.7 million, narrowing 22% from GBP7.3 million the year prior. Revenue increases 11% to GBP4.6 million from GBP4.1 million. Makes a GBP677,000 gain on the extinguishment of debt, having not featured a year before. Does not propose a dividend for the year, unchanged from the prior year. "After a challenging 2020, we have entered the new financial year stronger than last year. A higher quality of customers that can grow with us and an extensive sale opportunities and prospects list, together with vaccines helping to bring the pandemic under control, we are confident of continuing our growth and delivering market expectations," says Chief Executive Keith Todd.
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By Greg Roxburgh; gregroxburgh@alliancenews.com
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