EARNINGS: LSL starts 2024 "strongly"; Focusrite maintains payout

(Alliance News) - The following is a round-up of earnings and trading updates by London-listed companies, issued on Thursday and not separately reported by Alliance News:

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LSL Property Services PLC - Newcastle Upon Tyne, England-based provider of services to mortgage intermediaries and franchised estate agencies - Reports a decline in revenue in 2023 as "mortgage and housing markets were significantly disrupted", though it posts a swing to profit as exceptional costs decline. Revenue in 2023 weakens 34% to GBP144.4 million from GBP217.5 million in 2022. LSL swings to a pretax profit of GBP4.9 million, from a loss of GBP23.8 million. Exceptional costs amount to GBP9.0 million, down markedly from GBP38.9 million. Exceptional costs this time around were due to estate agency restructuring costs. Exceptional costs in 2022 largely stemmed from goodwill and intangible asset impairment. LSL maintained its final dividend at 7.4 pence per share. Its total dividend was unchanged at 11.4p. It adds: "2024 has started strongly with improving sentiment and lower mortgage rates driving more activity across our core markets. We have seen an increase in mortgage approvals as well as housing transactions and the start of a normalisation in product mix in our mortgage business. These conditions have particularly benefited our Surveying & Valuation business, where there has been a very substantial increase in activity and profits." LSL also adds its search for a new is "well-advanced" The hunt for a new senior independent director is also "well underway". Darrell Evans is the firm's interim chair. David Barral left the role of non-executive chair with immediate effect in late-February.

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Focusrite PLC - High Wycombe-based music and audio products firm - Earnings decline in the six months to February 29, amid weakness in the content creation market. Revenue is down 11% to GBP76.9 million from GBP86.2 million a year prior. Pretax profit drops 69% to GBP3.4 million from GBP10.9 million. It maintains its dividend at 2.1p per share. "Demand for our flagship Scarlett product range is 50% higher than FY19 levels with end user registrations in line with the previous half year, such that we believe we are continuing to take market share," Chief Executive Officer Tim Carroll says. "Though the industry outlook, particularly for content creation, remains tough, we remain encouraged by our product registration data which is comfortably outperforming the market."

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Dillistone Group PLC - Basingstoke, England-based supplier of software and services to recruiters - Revenue in 2023 falls 1.8% to GBP5.6 million from GBP5.7 million in 2022. Pretax loss narrows to GBP104,000 from GBP453,000. Looking ahead, it says: "Our group generates revenue primarily from the recruitment sector, and this is a market that remains soft. We assume that the environment will remain challenging, but we have made a solid start to the year, with all products performing broadly in line with expectations in the first quarter. With our recurring revenues covering our overheads and our ability to deliver our products far more efficiently than in recent years, the board is confident of making further progress in 2024."

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Checkit PLC - Cambridge, England-based workflow management software provider - Revenue in year ended January 31 amounts to GBP12.0 million, a rise of 17% from GBP10.3 million. Checkit's pretax loss narrowed to GBP4.6 million from GBP12.0 million. Checkit adds: "Trading since the start of the new financial year has seen continued momentum in line with the board's and market expectations. We continue to execute against our growth strategy and develop our technology, while progressing on our path to profitability." It expects to reach breakeven in the year ending January 2027.

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Donegal Investment Group PLC - Letterkenny, Ireland-based, agricultural firm - Revenue in six months to February 29 rises 7.4% to EUR23.0 million from EUR21.4 million a year prior. Pretax profit climbs 10% to EUR1.9 million from EUR1.7 million. "The board is pleased with the trading performance of our seed potato business in the first six months of the year. Volumes sold were significantly impacted by the very poor harvest across Europe in the fall of 2023. However, market shortages were offset by higher prices achieved, which resulted in a small decrease in profitability," Donegal Investment adds. "The board has noted the poor weather conditions which have delayed the planting of this years' potato crop around Europe. However, our available stock has in the main been sold at this stage and we expect the full year performance before exceptions to be in line with prior year." Revenue from continuing operations in financial 2023 amounted to EUR29.7 million. It reported a pretax profit of EUR1.4 million.

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Tanfield Group PLC - passive investing company with 49% interest in producer of self-propelled, towable and push-around aerial lifts Snorkel International - Reports pretax loss in 2023 of GBP331,000, from profit of GBP4.9 million in 2022. Bottom line hurt by "other operating income" slumping to a nominal GBP23,000 from GBP6.9 million. It values its Snorkel holding at GBP19.1 million. Snorkel sales surged 11% in the first nine months of 2023 to USD145 million, Tanfield noted.

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Aquila European Renewables PLC - invests in renewable energy infrastructure - Net asset value per share at end of 2023 declines 11% to 98.5 euro cents from 110.6 cents at end of 2022. Reports NAV total return of negative 6.0%, weakening markedly from positive 13% in 2022. Total dividend for 2023 amounts to 5.51 cents per share, an increase of 5.0% from 5.25 cents. It paid four quarterly payouts of 1.3775 cents, up from 1.3125 a year prior. It targets a 2024 dividend of 5.79 cents, a 5.0% rise on 2023's level.

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Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals PLC - biopharmaceutical company focused on treatments for blood diseases - Pretax loss in 2023 widens to GBP6.7 million from GBP4.0 million in 2022. Reports no revenue, unchanged on-year. Administrative expenses increase 70% to GBP5.8 million. Earlier this year, it said the US Food & Drug Administration lifted clinical hold on company's investigational new drug application for Hemo-Car-T to treat acute myeloid leukaemia. The FDA placed therapy on clinical hold in July due to a splicing deficiency during manufacture of the lentivirus used to produce Car-T cells. Hemogenyx in August produced a "detailed plan, supported by laboratory tests" to address FDA's concerns.

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Galantas Gold Corp - miner in Northern Ireland and Scotland - Reports no revenue for 2023, unchanged from year prior. Net loss narrows to CAD8.6 million, around GBP5.0 million, from CAD16.6 million. Impairment of property, plant and equipment and exploration and evaluation assets down markedly to CAD3.6 million from CAD10.1 million.

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By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor

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