TRADING UPDATES: Volution and Gem Diamonds resume dividend payouts

Thu, 11th Mar 2021 17:17

(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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Volution Group PLC - Crawley, England-based supplier of ventilation products - For the six months to the end of January, pretax profit rises 19% to GBP14.2 million from GBP11.9 million the year before, on revenue that grew 11% year-on-year at GBP131.7 million from GBP118.8 million, through organic growth from all regions, and the acquisition of ClimaRad BV in December. Declares dividend of 1.90 pence per share from none the prior year. Expects earnings for the financial year to be ahead of market expectations.

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Gem Diamonds Ltd - diamond miner - For 2020, pretax profit rises 59% to USD38.2 million from USD24.1 million, on revenue that grew 4.2% year-on-year to USD189.6 million from USD182.0 million, driven by a rise in the average value per diamond carat achieved to USD1,908 from USD1,637, more than offsetting a drop in carats recovered to 100,780 from 113,974. Declares dividend of 2.5 US cents from none in 2019.

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Jarvis Securities PLC - the investment management company - For 2020, pretax profit up 44% at GBP6.9 million from GBP4.8 million the year before, on revenue that grew 27% year-on-year to GBP13.3 million from GBP10.5 million, driven by higher commissions and fees. Declares dividend of 11.06 pence per share, up 7.3% from 10.31p the prior year. Looking ahead, sees no sign of organic growth slowing in 2021 with "healthy pipeline" of new potential outsourcing contracts.

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Aberdeen Smaller Companies Income Trust PLC - investment trust focused on smaller UK companies - Net asset value total return for 2020 at minus 4.4%, compared to the Numis Small Companies excluding Investment Trust index, which made a return of minus 4.3%. As at December 31, net asset value per share was 348.91 pence, down 6.7% from 373.86p the same period the year before.

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Witan Investment Trust PLC - listed company investor - For 2020, posts net asset value total return of 4.2%, compared to 9.5% return from benchmark, which is 15% weighted towards the FTSE UK All Share Index and 85% towards the FTSE All World Index. Net asset value per share as at December 31 is up 1.4% at 240.14 pence from 236.85p the year before. Declares dividend of 5.45 pence per share, up 1.9% from 5.35p the prior year.

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Attraqt Group PLC - online shopping technology provider based in London - For 2020, pretax loss narrows to GBP2.6 million from GBP4.4 million, as adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation nearly quadruples to GBP1.1 million from GBP300,000. Revenue grew 8% year-on-year to GBP21.0 million from GBP19.4 million, driven by a solid performance from the software-as-a-service business.

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Inland Homes PLC - Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire-based house builder and brownfield developer - Since October 1, group has achieved 97 net reservations, with the weekly rate remaining steady at 0.69. Welcomes UK government's extension to the Stamp Duty land tax holiday and 95% mortgage Government guarantee. Total forwards order book stands at GBP50.3 million for private homes.

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Oakley Capital Investments Ltd - provides investors with liquid access to private equity returns through investment in the Oakley Funds - As at December 31, net asset value stands at 403 pence per share, up 17% from 345p the same date the year before. During 2020, the company invested GBP152 million and received proceeds of GBP341 million. Within portfolio of 17 companies, 10 met or exceeded expectations, with 4 companies being mildly affected by Covid-19, and the remaining three suffering considerably. Declares full-year dividend of 2.25 pence per share. Looking ahead, activity levels in 2021 have remained high with two new completed investments.

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88 Energy Ltd - Alaska-focused oil producer - Drilling starts on Merlin-1 well in Peregrine project, Alaska, which will be initially drilled to 1,500 inches, then surface casing is to be installed and the blow out preventer system tested. Well will then de deepened through target horizons in the Nanushuk formation to maximum total depth of 6,000 inches. The Merlin-1 well was spudded on 10th March 2021 and is targeting 645 million barrels of gross mean prospective resource.

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Prairie Mining Ltd - Poland-focused coal development firm - For the six months ended December 31, pretax loss narrowed to USD242,096 from USD2.3 million the year before. Although exploration and evaluation costs dropped, there was a one-off arbitration-related cost of USD1.4 million. However, Prairie Mining notes other income of USD1.9 million, through arbitration finance facility income and the sale of land rights at Debiensko. Revenue declined to USD166,442 from USD234,563, due to lower gas and property lease revenue.

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Smartspace Software PLC - IT service management company - For the year ended January 31, revenue is expected to drop 9.8% to GBP4.6 million from GBP5.1 million, despite a 73% rise in revenue from the software-as-a-service business to GBP2.3 million. In current trading, markets in Australia and New Zealand remain strong, while the US was affected by bad weather in Austin, Texas and there are green shoots of recovery in the UK.

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Gresham House PLC - asset manager - As at December 31, assets under management rises 42% at GBP3.97 billion from GBP2.80 billion the same date the year before, while net core income for the year rises to GBP40.8 million from GBP31.7 million. Declares dividend of 6.0 pence per share, up 33% from 4.5p the prior year.

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PCF Group PLC - specialist bank - Restates results for year ended September 30, 2020, with adjustments expected to include a net reduction of no more than GBP750,000 from pretax profit before impairments of GBP3.9 million. Adjustments relate to reduction in interest receivable balance from Employee Benefit Trust and to accruals for interest due on stage three loans.

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By Dayo Laniyan; dayolaniyan@alliancenews.com