TRADING UPDATES: Safestyle in strong start to 2021; Tandem ups payout

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

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Safestyle UK PLC - Bradford-based retailer and manufacturer of PVCu replacement windows - Revenue for 2020 falls 10% to GBP113.2 million while pretax loss widens to GBP6.2 million from GBP3.8 million. Says 2020 saw "huge levels" of disruption and sustained uncertainty due to the pandemic, with results hit by the cessation of business operations between March and the end of May, though business was able to capture strong momentum in the second half. Adds that as a result of encouraging start to 2021, financial performance for the year ahead expected to be above market expectations. Board expects to revisit its dividend policy later in 2021, assuming that the group has returned to a consistent delivery of profitability. "Having taken decisive action to support the business during the period, we saw a strong recovery in the second half of the year with good order intake growth and a step up in operational capacity, as customer demand remained robust. By the end of 2020, our order book was 83% larger than 2019's closing position, which has given us a strong platform to maintain momentum at the beginning of the current financial year in spite of the external disruption," says Chief Executive Mike Gallacher.

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Tandem Group PLC - sports equipment distributor based in West Midlands, England - Revenue for 2020 falls 4.6% to GBP37.1 million but pretax profit jumps to GBP4.0 million from GBP2.5 million. Gross profit margin rose to 32.9% from 30.4%. "This reflected the strong domestic demand for products across the ranges and was achieved by controlling supplier cost prices, re-sourcing product where necessary, discontinuing low margin product lines and introducing new, more profitable products. There was also very little discounting necessary during the year," company notes. Says stock availability, although slower than hoped for, improved towards the end of the year to enable a strong finish to 2020 for all parts of the cycling businesses. Proposes final dividend of 5.50 pence per share, bringing total for year to 8.62p, up from 6.60p in 2019. "We remain mindful of macro-economic uncertainties and the challenges that we have highlighted but with an excellent start to 2021 and a very strong order book we expect to achieve turnover growth and we continue to be confident that we will deliver another year of profitability to our shareholders," company says.

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ProPhotonix Ltd - manufacturer of LED illumination systems - Revenue for 2020 falls to USD13.6 million from USD15.0 million in 2019, with pretax profit tumbling to USD671,000 from USD1.1 million. However, net income rises to USD1.1 million from USD996,000 after an income tax benefit of USD421,000. "Overall, we are pleased with the year 2020. Though our revenue declined by 9%, largely from Covid-19, we were able to mitigate the reduction with an outstanding result. Most importantly, cash ended the year at USD2.6 million, representing an increase of USD1.1 million," Chief Executive & President Tim Losik says.

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Schroder Asian Total Return Investment Co PLC - invests in equities and equity-related securities of companies trading in the Asia Pacific region, excluding Japan - Says produced "excellent" performance despite challenging year for global stock markets. During 2020, net asset value total return was 34%, outperforming reference index which returned 19%. "The company once again outperformed the peer group, which produced an average total return of 30.9% for the year. Stock selection has proved key to the Company's strong performance," company says. Net asset value per share at end of 2020 479.07p, up from 365.57p a year before.

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Genedrive PLC - molecular diagnostics firm - Revenue & other income for six months to end of December falls to GBP355,000 from GBP627,000 a year ago, though swings to pretax profit of GBP621,000 from GBP3.3 million loss. Registers finance income of GBP3.6 million on conversion of loan notes, compared with finance expense of GBP765,000 a year ago. "Of total revenues, the vast majority was related to our pathogen detection assay sold to the Department of Defence with small additional amounts on HCV, grant income and some early plate sales of our 96-SARS-COV 2 kit," company says. Adds that post-period end contract with Beckman and the on-going opportunity with a European Ministry of Health provide firm with optimism for the remainder of the financial year.

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Sabien Technology Group PLC - Maidenhead, England-based energy efficiency technology group - Revenue for half-year to December 31 jumps to GBP412,000 from GBP159,000 while pretax loss slims to GBP310,000 from GBP516,000. Says trading encouraging in six-month period. "Post year end, it was pleasing to win a further significant order, worth approximately GBP400,000, from one of Sabien's major public sector customers," company says, adding it remains confident in the business's future success.

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JPMorgan Smaller Companies Investment Trust PLC - a trust giving access to growing smaller companies in the UK - Reports net asset total return of 31% over six months to the end of January, outperforming the Numis Smaller Companies plus AIM (excluding Investment Trusts) Index which rose by 29%. "The greater return for shareholders reflects a significant narrowing of the share price discount to net asset value from 13.7% at the start of the financial year to 6.0% at the end of the half year. It is gratifying, and perhaps surprising, to note that your company's net asset value has comfortably surpassed the pre Covid levels and made a new all time high during the period," trust notes. NAV per share 345.6p at end of January, versus 321.5p a year ago.

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Regional REIT Ltd - UK-focused real estate investment trust - EPRA net tangible assets 98.6 per share at end of 2020, down from 112.6p a year ago. Total rent collection or within terms for 2020 was 98.2% of rent due, similar to the 99.4% collected for the equivalent period in 2019. Rent roll remained stable at GBP64.2 million versus GBP64.3 million. Declared dividends totalling 6.40p for 2020, down from 8.25p for 2019. "It should be highlighted that, looking ahead, there is a clear aspiration by the board to maintain its record of uninterrupted quarterly dividend payments, especially through this period of continuing uncertainty. This is predicated on the strength of the Company's balance sheet and the strong rent collections received throughout the year," company says.

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Journeo PLC - information systems and transport technical services company - Revenue for 2020 rises 19% to GBP13.6 million from GBP11.4 million in 2019, with firm turning to pretax profit of GBP193,000 from GBP948,000 loss. Passenger sales increased by 43% to GBP6.8 million. Says 2021 has started encouragingly, with purchase orders and contract awards valued at GBP4.2 million announced during the first quarter. "There is also a rising level of enquiries and sales opportunities in our pipelines, which are now predominantly based upon our own IP, technologies, and software," Journeo adds.

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Faron Pharmaceuticals Oy - Finland-based biopharmaceutical company - Pretax loss for 2020 widens to EUR16.9 million from EUR13.3 million year-on-year, with no revenue reported for either period. Research & development expenses increase to EUR13.8 million from EUR10.2 million. Says 2020 was year of "significant activity" with company's focus on pipeline delivery continuing "unabated". "The Company's successful fundraising in 2020 and, post period, in February this year, puts us in a strong position to continue the progress of our pipeline and brings us closer to our goal of developing ground-breaking new treatments from our unique scientific discoveries. I'd like to thank our shareholders for their continued support and the entire team at Faron for their exceptional efforts during a challenging year," says Chief Executive Markku Jalkanen.

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TMT Investments PLC - venture capital investor in high-growth technology companies - Net asset value per share USD6.10 at end of 2020, up 73% from USD3.52 at end of 2019. Notes that NAV benefited from increased valuations in three of its significant holdings: sales CRM company Pipedrive, ride-hailing and food delivery company Bolt and cloud storage company Backblaze. "2020 was the most successful year for the company to date, recording a large number of significant revaluations across the portfolio, led by TMT's second multi-million cash exit when TMT exited its stake in Pipedrive to Vista Equity Partners for USD41 million. The Pipedrive exit generated a total cash return of over 51 times on TMT's original investments in Pipedrive, a superb return for shareholders," says Executive Director Alexander Selegenev.

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Surgical Innovations Group PLC - Leeds-based technology for minimally invasive surgery - Revenue for 2020 falls to GBP6.3 million from GBP10.7 million in 2019, with pretax loss widening to GBP3.3 million from GBP2.6 million. Says revenue hit by the pandemic, which had an adverse impact on the level of elective surgery carried out in all major markets and across all product areas, though adds that trading recovered strongly in the third quarter until the resurgence of a second wave of infections at the end of the year. Chair Nigel Rogers says: "Trading in the first two months of the current year continues to be constrained by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite this, group revenue is 11% ahead of the corresponding period last year; a period in which our key markets were largely unaffected. This indicates the continuing resilience of the business, however, given the continued uncertainty of the global pandemic, we will look to reinstate guidance at a later date when there is greater clarity on the timing of the expected recovery in elective surgery from our partners and customers."

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Venture Life Group PLC - Bracknell, Berkshire-based consumer health products - Revenue for 2020 increases to GBP30.1 million from GBP20.2 million, while pretax profit more than doubles to GBP3.3 million from GBP1.4 million. Deems 2020 an "exceptional year", which began with good momentum from 2019 and was furthered by the launch of the Disinplus brand in March 2020, a newly developed hand sanitising gel. "2020 was an outstanding year of performance for the business, and despite the first quarter of 2021 seeing most markets in lockdown, we look forward to 2021 with confidence," says Chief Executive Jerry Randall.

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By Lucy Heming; lucyheming@alliancenews.com

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