The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers among London Main Market small-caps on Wednesday.
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SMALL-CAP - WINNERS
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S&U PLC, up 5.8% at 2,200.50 pence, 12-month range 1,970.00p-2,950.00p. Says both its motor and property bridging unit continue to outperform its internal expectations. Notes both transactions and quality of book have improved. Says current receivables stand at £370 million, up from £340 million in May and says profit will be up on year before. ‘Although growth currently exceeds budget and expectations, we judge it sensible in light of current uncertainty about economic prospects, to temper optimism with caution, particularly in our underwriting policy,’ it adds.
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Civitas Social Housing PLC, up 1.0% at 82.64 pence, 12-month range 69.00p-120.00p. Reports strong performance in the first quarter of its financial year, with net asset value rising over the quarter on contractual inflationary increases to the rent roll. As at June 30, net asset value per share increased 1.4% to 111.89 pence from 110.30p at the end of March, as the social housing investor’s portfolio benefits from inflation-adjusted long-term leases, and occupancy agreements wit approved providers. For the quarter, Civitas declared a dividend of 1.425 pence per share, in line with its annual target of at least 5.70p, a 2.7% increase from 5.55p the prior year. Looking ahead, Civitas said demand for care-based community housing remains high and is expected to increase further still.
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SMALL-CAP - LOSERS
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Hostelworld Group PLC, down 3.0% at 91.73 pence, 12-month range 57.00p-108.40p. Encouraged by ‘strong’ recovery in first half as travel demand increased. For the six months ending June 30, the Dublin-based online travel agent reported revenue multiplied to €28.0 million from €2.9 million a year before, which is due to a surge in demand as travel restrictions eased. Narrows pretax loss to €14.3 million from €20.3 million a year prior, due to ‘strong’ growth in new customers and net bookings, which increased 59% from 2019 levels. Net average booking value increased 35% to €15.82 from €11.72. ‘The trends in H1 2022 are encouraging and indicate that where markets open up for travel, demand will recover to 2019 levels and that we can gain our share of that growth,’ it adds.
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