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(Alliance News) - The following is a round-up of earnings by London-listed companies, issued on Thursday and not separately reported by Alliance News:
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Manolete Partners PLC - London-based insolvency litigation financing - In the six months to September 30, swings to pretax loss of GBP5.5 million from a profit of GBP2.5 million a year prior. Revenue falls 46% to GBP5.5 million from GBP10.2 million. Declares no interim dividend, compared to 0.39 pence per share a year ago. Looking ahead, the firm has increased the number of new in-house lawyers as it expects sustained higher operational activity. "We expect the market to grow over the coming months, as the economy realigns across many industry segments. The turnaround, restructuring and insolvency profession plays a critical role in resource reallocation following major economic turmoil events, such as Covid-19 and exceptional rises in inflation and interest rates. Working closely with key government and major financial institutions we continue to develop the Bounce Back Loan recovery opportunity. That is already materially adding to new case opportunities in the second half of the current financial year," Manolete says looking forward.
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Nightcap PLC - London-based owner of Cocktail Club, Adventure Bar and Barrio Familia chains - in the year that ended July 3, swings to profit of GBP238,000 from a loss of GBP5.3 million a year ago. Revenue skyrockets to GBP35.9 million from GBP6.0 million. Cost of sales widens to GBP7.3 million from GBP1.4 million. Administrative expenses widen to GBP27.4 million from GBP10.0 million. Depreciation costs increase to GBP3.9 million from GBP1.3 million. Chair Gareth Edwards says he expects "long-term growth to continue in establishing Nightcap as one of the leading bar businesses in the UK".
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Schroder Income Growth Fund PLC - London-based investment company - Says that weak sterling has made UK equity markets more attractive. In the year that ended August 31, Schroder's net asset value falls 6.7% to 295.26 pence per share from 316.59p a year prior. NAV return is negative 2.7%, underperforming against its benchmark, the FTSE All Share Total Return index, which returned positive 1.0%. Largest detractors were underweights to banks and energy companies, "which benefitted from rising interest rates and elevated energy prices, respectively", Schroder explains. Raises total dividend by 3.1% to 13.2p from 12.8p a year ago. Notes that headwinds such as rising inflation, interest rates and squeezed incomes have strengthened and says that higher interest rates by banks are not good for equity investment returns. "At the same time, currency weakness has made the UK equity market ever more attractive as a destination for overseas corporations looking to grow their UK operations through acquisition. This weakness has also helped UK companies with significant overseas profits increase cash flows and dividends when measured in sterling," Chair Bridget Guerin adds.
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Smoove PLC - Thame, Oxfordshire-based company provider of online services for conveyancing and financial intermediary markets, best known for its conveyancer comparison platform eConveyancer - In the six months to September 30, pretax loss widens by 94% to GBP3.0 million from GBP1.5 million a year ago. Revenue grows 4.2% to GBP10.6 million from GBP10.2 million. Administrative expenses widen by 26% to GBP7.2 million from GBP5.7 million. Looking ahead, Smoove notes signs of slowdown in the property market and banks being more cautious on lending, with home buyers delaying purchases due to increased borrowing costs on top of the cost of living crisis. "Property portals are already reporting a downward shift in activity and prices following two years of record high asking prices as a result of the stamp duty holiday and changing consumer behaviour during the pandemic," Chief Executive Officer Jesper With-Fogstrup says. In response, Smoove aims to further expand and diversify its base of introducers regarding its investments in eConveyancer.
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By Tom Budszus; tombudszus@alliancenews.com
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