TRADING UPDATES: Billington faces headwinds; Immotion plans spin-off

Tue, 26th Apr 2022 18:03

(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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Immotion Group PLC - Manchester, England-based virtual reality entertainment company - Revenue for 2021 rises to GBP9.4 million from GBP2.8 million in 2020, with pretax loss narrowing to GBP2.0 million from GBP4.8 million. Says second half of year was one of "recovery and progress", particularly for Location Based Entertainment business, at a "much faster rate" than anticipated. "This, particularly in the United States, boosted our confidence in the potential of this part of our business as illustrated by very strong revenue and contribution growth to match," it says. This made it reconsider strategy for other two businesses, HBE and Uvisan, and concludes it needs to focus resources on LBE which has a strong pipeline. "We therefore intend to spin out HBE and Uvisan in the short term to enable us to be fully focused on LBE as we are confident that this compelling business model is highly scalable and can drive superior shareholder returns," it says.

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Billington Holdings PLC - Barnsley, England-based construction company - Revenue for 2021 rises 25% to GBP82.7 million from GBP66.0 million in 2020, but pretax profit drops 88% to GBP179,000 from GBP1.7 million. Says activity levels improved following the peak of the pandemic shutdowns experienced in 2020 and firm remained profitable in "challenging" market conditions. "2021 was a year of partial recovery for our markets as the worst effects of the Covid-19 pandemic abated. However, the group continued to face challenges from the continuing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, raw material price increases, together with supply constraints for certain materials and labour," says Chief Executive Mark Smith. Dividend cut to 3.00 pence from 4.25p.

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PureTech Health PLC - Boston, Massachusetts-based clinical-stage biotherapeutics - Revenue in 2021 amounts to USD17.4 million, up from USD11.8 million in 2020. Swings to pretax loss of USD59.0 million from profit of USD19.0 million in 2020, largely due to USD73.7 million share of net loss of associates accounted for using the equity method. Consolidated cash and cash equivalents stand at USD465.7 million at the end of December, easing to USD413.2 million at end of March, 2022. Spend largely attributed to the successful progression of wholly owned programs into more advanced stages of development. "Based on the strong foundation we have built to support PureTech's future growth, our Board and senior leadership team have been considering various approaches to drive additional value for our shareholders, including reviewing a capital allocation strategy that balances investment in the continued growth of our business with potential returns of capital to shareholders," says Founder & Chief Executive Officer Daphne Zohar.

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Focusrite PLC - High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire-based music and audio products company - Revenue for half-year to February 28 falls to GBP92.9 million from GBP95.3 million a year before. While revenue declines year-on-year, it remains well above pre-pandemic levels of GBP49.9 million. Pretax profit declines to GBP16.5 million from GBP23.6 million. "Demand for the group's portfolio of products has remained strong, and the group's overall performance in the half year was in line with our expectations and remains on track for the full year. As anticipated, demand and sales volumes for home creation solutions has tapered off from the unprecedented high levels during the peak of lockdown but remain materially ahead of pre pandemic levels," it says. Notes short-term downward pressure on gross margin from shortage of electronic components and high freight costs. Says outlook for industry remains positive and firm is on track to meet expectations for the full year. Interim dividend for period rises to 1.85p from 1.5p.

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Gaming Realms PLC - London-based developer and licensor of mobile focused gaming content - Revenue rises 29% to GBP14.7 million in 2021 from GBP11.4 million in 2020. Swings to pretax profit of GBP957,716 from loss of GBP1.6 million the year before. Says results "reflect the continued delivery of the core strategy of scaling the licensing business." Adds that momentum has continued in 2022, with Gaming Realms focusing on regulated markets and North America in particular. "The company has made an excellent start to the current year, with licensing revenues increasing by 43% year-on-year for the first quarter of 2022, and unique players increasing by 39% to over 1.5 million in the same period. This strong performance in the first quarter, combined with new markets and partners coming on stream, leads your board to believe the company will continue to grow significantly following its proven successful strategy," it says.

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Dillistone Group PLC - Basingstoke, England-based software and services provider that enables recruitment firms to manage their selection process - Says performance in 2021 was ahead of expectations, even as revenue falls to GBP5.6 million from GBP6.3 million, though pretax loss slims to GBP298,000 from GBP914,000. Firm reduces administrative expenses to GBP5.1 million from GBP6.6 million. "In my interim statement I highlighted that in our business, where a large part of our revenue is contracted annually in advance, the impact of Covid would be felt throughout the remainder of 2021. This proved to be the case, however we saw an uplift in orders in Q4 2021 to pre-pandemic levels," firm says. Says the current year has started well following a "strong finish" in 2021. Incoming orders in the first quarter of 2022 are up by 41%, and company says it is trading in line with expectations and does not expect to raise additional funds.

Separately, Dillistone says Chief Financial Officer Joanne Curd, who was appointed in 2021 on a part time basis, is leaving and will be replaced by Financial Controller Ian Mackin as interim finance director on a full-time basis from June 16.

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Warpaint London PLC - Buckinghamshire-based cosmetics maker - Revenue for 2021 rises to GBP50.0 million from GBP40.3 million in 2020, with firm swinging to pretax profit of GBP3.7 million from loss of GBP1.1 million the year before. "In 2021 we enjoyed a return to growth, with sales and profits exceeding those achieved in 2019, the last full period before the pandemic struck. During the year we focused on increasing our presence in larger retailers globally, through expanding existing relationships and developing new ones," firm says. Total dividend for year lifted to 6.0p from 5.8p in 2020. On start to 2022, firm says: "In the first quarter of 2022 we have enjoyed further profitable growth as we focus on supplying additional retailers and growing sales through our existing customers, taking more warehouse space and adding further stores."

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Futura Medical PLC - Guildford, England-based pharmaceutical firm - Pretax loss in 2021 widens to GBP5.9 million from GBP2.9 million in 2020, with no revenue generated in either year. "2021 has been a year of transformational progress and momentum for Futura as the Company achieved major milestones in terms of first regulatory approval for our lead product, MED3000, as an approved erectile dysfunction treatment and completion of a number of commercial MED3000 licensing deals as we continue to build a global distribution platform," it says. Adds that current cash runway extends beyond initial MED3000 launches expected over the next year and expected US regulatory approval in 2023, assuming no contributions from milestone payments or other revenue.

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Afentra PLC - upstream operator in Africa with carried interest in Odewayne block onshore southwestern Somaliland - Pretax loss for 2021 widens to USD5.0 million from USD1.9 million in 2020. No revenue recorded in either year. Widened loss follows increase in total administrative expenses. "It has been an active period for your company and we expect momentum to accelerate through 2022 as we strive to deliver our first value accretive transaction for our shareholders," firm says. Adds it remains debt free and fully carried for Odewayne operations.

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Light Science Technologies Holdings PLC - environment agriculture and technology and contract electronics manufacturing company - Reports revenue of GBP7.4 million for financial year to November 30, up from GBP6.9 million the year before, but firm swings to pretax loss of GBP2.3 million from profit of GBP147,995. Firm notes loss reflects cost of the AIM admission process and investment in CEA division. "With the large part of this financial year being pre-IPO, the main focus for Light Science Technologies was to develop its new market CEA products, IP collateral, and build its brand and a robust sales pipeline," it says. Notes headwinds such as Ukraine, Brexit, high energy costs and global electronic component shortages.

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ASA International Group PLC - Weybridge, Surrey-based microfinance lender - Total operating income for 2021 USD120.3 million, up from USD84.9 million in 2020. Pretax profit multiples to USD25.7 million from USD2.6 million. "I am particularly pleased that all but two of our major operating subsidiaries recovered to or exceeded pre-Covid operating and financial performance in 2021. Despite the ongoing challenges we face in India and Myanmar, the performance of most of our other operating countries, including, particularly, Ghana, Pakistan and Tanzania, was excellent in terms of portfolio quality, growth and profitability," says Chief Executive Dirk Brouwer. Company expects operating and financial performance should "substantially" improve in 2022.

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United Oil & Gas PLC - London-based oil and gas company with projects in Egypt, Italy and the UK - Revenue for 2021 jumps to USD19.2 million from USD9.1 million in 2020, with pretax profit surging to USD5.9 million from USD796,181. Group working interest 2021 production averaged 2,327 barrels of oil equivalent per day, up from 2,195 boepd in 2020. Realised oil price jumps to USD68.9 per barrel from USD37.8. Group working interest production in Egypt for 2022 is forecast to average between 1,500 and 1,650 boepd net.

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Corero Network Security PLC - Buckinghamshire, England-based distributed denial of service cyber defense - Revenue in 2021 rises to USD20.9 million from USD16.8 million in 2020, and firm swings to maiden pretax profit of USD1.4 million from loss of USD4.0 million. Gross margins improve to 85% from 77%. "The strong performance reflects the successful implementation of our growth strategy, with the group delivering continued sales momentum across our operational footprint," company says.

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Midatech Pharma PLC - Cardiff-based drug delivery technology company - Pretax loss for 2021 totals GBP6.1 million, narrowed from GBP23.5 million in 2020. This is on revenue that rises to GBP578,000 from GBP180,000. Takes no impairment in the year, versus charge of GBP12.4 million in 2020. "The directors are evaluating a number of near-term funding options potentially available to the group, including fundraising and the partnering of assets and technologies of the company," it says.

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Arrow Exploration Corp - Calgary, Canada-based oil and gas company - Total natural gas and crude oil revenue for 2021 rises to USD6.5 million from USD5.3 million the year before, with firm turning to net income of USD5.7 million from a loss of USD32.2 million. The company's fourth quarter average corporate production was 712 barrels of oil equivalent per day, an increase of 137 barrels a day compared to the third quarter. "The increase in production quarter-over-quarter was largely attributable to the Canadian operation following the tie-in of the West Pepper well in Alberta, Canada which was brought into production in December 2021," it says.

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By Lucy Heming; lucyheming@alliancenews.com