TRADING UPDATES: Mincon 2020 earnings rise; Caledonia in profit fall

Mon, 22nd Mar 2021 13:19

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

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Mincon Group PLC - Shannon, Ireland-based engineering firm - Total revenue in 2020 rises 7.7% to EUR129.9 million from EUR120.7 million. Pretax profit climbs 20% to EUR17.1 million from EUR14.2 million. Pays 2.10 euro cents per share dividend, unchanged annually. "During 2020 our revenue grew by 8% compared with our 2019 continuing operations. This was due, in part, to the expansion of the group's core operations, with organic growth of 3%, or 6% on a constant currency basis. Our acquisitions of Lehti and RocDrill contributed to 5% of the group's revenue growth for year," Mincon says.

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Caledonia Mining Corp PLC - Zimbabwe-focused gold producer - Revenue in 2020 rises 32% to USD100.0 million from USD75.8 million. In fourth quarter alone, revenue jumps 20% year-on-year to USD28.1 million. Annual pretax profit falls by a third to USD40.4 million from USD60.7 million. In fourth quarter, pretax profit down 27% to USD7.6 million. Annual profit hurt by USD5.3 million in "other expenses", compared to USD666,000 in 2019. Total dividend raises 22% to 33.5 cents per share.

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Helium One Group Ltd - Tanzania-focused helium miner - Appoints Mitchell Drilling Ltd as drilling contractor at Rukwa project, Tanzania. "Mitchell Drilling will mobilise a drill rig from Tanzania which is anticipated to commence work in mid-May," Helium One says. Scirocco Energy PLC, an AIM-listed investment firm, notes Helium One's announcement.

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Alien Metals Ltd - iron ore and silver projects in Australia and Mexico - Continuing to advance projects "on a range of fronts". Says drilling continues at Donavon 2 copper and gold project. "On top of all this we are excited by the prospects of the Elizabeth Hill tailings opportunity and have been fortunate to have the services of a highly experienced consultant for the review work," Chief Executive Officer Bill Good adds.

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Adriatic Metals PLC - developing Vares silver project in Bosnia & Herzegovina - Updates on drilling of Raska project in Serbia. Notes "near-surface" mineralisation at asset continues to grow. "Kizevak continues to deliver significant drill results, expanding and confirming the previously known mineralised zones, and demonstrating good continuity of the mineralisation," Adriatic says. Adds: "Drilling at Sastavci continues to define thick mineralised zones at the base of the historic open pit, as well as the presence of several sub-parallel vein zones outside of the pit limits." Company explains that a third drill rig has been mobilised and it has "number of drill ready targets" at its disposal.

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GCM Resources PLC - mining and energy company focussed on the Phulbari coal and power project in north west Bangladesh - Pretax loss in six months to December 31 widens to GBP1.1 million from GBP616,000 in year prior. Generates no revenue, unchanged annually. Operating expenses more than double to GBP923,000 from GBP477,000. "It has been a relatively productive period for the company and, despite the global effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, I am pleased with the progress made under these difficult circumstances," Chair Mohd Najib Bin Abdul Aziz says.

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Gresham Technologies PLC - London-based software and services company - Says Clareti platform wins deal with one of "world's largest professional services firms". Clareti will provide technological help to company's US audit arm. "Clareti Control will be used to digitise key field audit activities and provide enhanced assurance as to the integrity of the audit process," Gresham Technologies says. Pact will generate USD2.8 million in total software subscription fees over five-year term.

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Instem PLC - Staffordshire-based IT solutions provider - Agrees deal to acquire US-based clinical trial technology & consulting firm d-Wise Technologies Inc for USD31 million. "We are delighted to have completed this acquisition. Access to a broad array of data is key to aiding and speeding up drug research and development. We believe that the enlarged group is now even closer to becoming a one-stop-shop for life science companies looking for a long-term relationship as we assist them across the drug discovery and development landscape," Chief Executive Officer Phil Reason says. Consideration consists of USD20 million upfront, USD8 million deferred and USD3 million based on financial performance targets.

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Tekcapital PLC - UK intellectual property investment company - Portfolio firm Lucyd Ltd, a wearable technology provider, signs bluetooth e-glasses distribution deal with D Landstrom Associates in North America. "D Landstrom Associates will seek to establish the distribution of Lucyd products with general merchandise and specialty big box stores such as Walmart Inc, Target Corp and Best Buy Co Inc," Tekcapital says.

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New Star Investment Trust PLC - Chelmsford-based investment company - Says net asset value per share at December 31, end of first half, up 7.8% to 172.92 pence from 160.35p at end of June. Dividend unchanged at 1.40p. "Good news on vaccines benefited your company's allocation in cyclical stocks as investors looked beyond the American and European pandemic lockdowns and anticipated the reopening of economies," New Star says.

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Tufton Oceanic Assets Ltd - invests in portfolio of second-hand commercial sea-going vessels - Says net asset value per share at December 31, end of first half, up 5.5% to USD0.982 from USD0.931 at June year end. "During the financial period, the company agreed to acquire five vessels of which two were delivered during the financial period and three were delivered after the period," Tufton says. Interim dividend unchanged at USD0.035 per share.

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Induction Healthcare Group PLC - AIM-listed healthcare technology company - Says over 200,000 patients registered under Zesty patient portal in UK. "In March 2020, registered users of Induction Zesty had more than doubled from 32,000 to 76,000 in one year. In the subsequent 12 months, Induction Zesty saw exponential growth to reach 202,000 users today. With more than 700 new patient registrations daily, this number will continue its climb unabated, especially as hospital activity returns to pre-pandemic levels," Induction Healthcare says.

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CentralNic Group PLC - London-based domain name registry and registrar services firm - Teams with UK not-for-profit higher and further education research firm Jisc. "The project, which will run for a minimum of three years, will see the installation of CentralNic's registry software and the global management of some of the UK's most critical domain extensions," CentalNic says.

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Quarto Group Inc - London-based book publisher - Revenue in 2020 falls 6.6% to USD126.9 million from USD135.8 million in 2019, but pretax profit grows 71% to USD6.6 million from USD3.8 million. Administrative expenses down 7.0% to USD18.3 million and finance costs fall 45% to USD2.7 million. "The effects of Covid-19 on the book industry have been significant. As expected, we saw a move to online book sales, and the company's sales and marketing teams adapted well to this move," the company says. Looking ahead, Quarto says it is in a good position to grow in 2021 and is continuing shift towards profitable trade publishing.

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Aeorema Communications PLC - London-based live events agency - Revenue in six months to December 31 falls 42% to GBP1.7 million from GBP2.9 million a year earlier. Pretax loss widens to GBP287,676 from GBP89,650. "I am proud of our achievements during the period under review, having quickly re-invented ourselves at pace into an expert in virtual and hybrid conferencing following the collapse of the live events business as a result of Covid-19 last year. Equally, I am optimistic for the future as I believe we are well positioned to grow rapidly when live events return," Chair Mike Hale says.

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By Eric Cunha; ericcunha@alliancenews.com