TRADING UPDATES: Cornerstone FS revenue doubles, loss widens

(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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Hercules Site Services PLC - Cirencester, England-based, technology-enabled labour supply company for the UK infrastructure sector - Reports trading is in line with market expectations for the full year to September 30, with revenue expected to be over GBP37 million for the first six months. Notes this is an increase of around 85% on the six months to March 31, 2022 of GBP19.9 million. All income streams grew, each with their own individual drivers, underpinned by the substantial demand in the infrastructure sector. Chief Executive Officer Brusk Korkmaz comments: "We look forward to the next six months with confidence."

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abrdn European Logistics Income PLC - investment fund focusing on European logistics real estate - Agrees five-year lease extension with Dutch retail and pharmacy operator Kruidvat at its 39,840 square metre single-tenant warehouse in Ede, the Netherlands. Adds the new deal extends the lease expiry from 2028 to July 2033 and will generate additional income reflecting a 4% increase on the previous passing rent.

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Kanabo Group PLC - London-based patient focused healthcare technology and cannabis company - Amends final repayment date relating to the acquisition of GP Service Ltd to December 31, 2024. Company bought GP Service Ltd, a UK-based private telemedicine provider, for a total consideration of GBP13.5 million in February 2022.

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Equals Group PLC - London-based payments firm for small and medium enterprises - Provides trading update at the annual general meeting. Reports significant revenue growth with total revenue in the 90 working days to May 15 was GBP32.7 million, up 47% year-on-year. "The investment in the group's platform and Solutions product has been extremely successful and revenues over the same period from Solutions have risen by 102% to GBP8.8 million," company states. Adds: "Gross profit margins have also increased to above 50%, which is three full percentage points higher than in the same period in 2022." Remains confident in achieving expectations for the full year.

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Dialight PLC - London-based electronics company specialising in LED lighting - Provides trading update for the period from January 1 to April 30. Reports Lighting division has seen continued strong maintenance repair and operations demand, but the lower level of larger capex orders seen during the final quarter of 2022 continued in the period. Signals & Components revenue is lower than 2022, driven by destocking in the channel, as previously highlighted. Margins remain under pressure due to component price inflation, but company says it is renegotiating pricing with key suppliers where possible and have identified a number of cost improvements that will take effect in the second half. Whilst mindful of the risk posed by the current economic uncertainty, expectations for the year remain unchanged, with performance now more significantly weighted to the second half.

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Cornerstone FS PLC - cloud-based payment provider - Reports revenue in the year to December 31 more than doubled to GBP4.8 million from GBP2.3 million the year prior although pretax loss widened to GBP5.8 million from GBP4.2 million. Basic and diluted earnings per share totalled 17.26 pence compared to 21.24p before. Notes number of active customers increased by 38% to 803 and gross margin improved to 60.9% from 51.6%. Chief Executive James Hickman says: "The strong trading momentum experienced in 2022 has been sustained into the current year, and we remain on track for a significant increase in revenue for full year 2023 and are optimistic in terms of adjusted EBITDA positivity."

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Metals Exploration PLC - London-based, Philippines-focused gold producer - Reports revenue for the year to December 31 of USD124.4 million down from USD129.8 million the year prior and a reduced pretax profit of USD8.7 million compared to USD11.3 million. Basic earnings per share were USD0.42 compared to USD0.55. Says ended 2022 exceeding its guidance for gold production and at an all-in-sustaining-cost of USD1,235 per ounce, below the guidance of between USD1,275 to USD1,325 per ounce. Notes the cash generated from operations was USD38.2 million, which enabled the group to make USD33.8 million in debt interest/principal repayments during the year. This helped reduce group debt to USD81.9 million from USD103.6 million.

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By Jeremy Cutler, Alliance News reporter

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