The following is a round-up of updates by London-listed companies, issued on Wednesday and not separately reported by Alliance News:
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Heavitree Brewery PLC - tenanted and leased pub company based in Exeter, Devon - Reports revenue of £3.3 million for half-year to April 30, up from £846,000 a year before. Swings to pretax profit of £1.1 million from loss of £76,000 year-on-year. ‘I am satisfied to report that the company has begun to move on from the intensely difficult and much reported upon trading environments of the previous two years. Although there remains much to be cautious about in the months ahead, at this half-year under review, we have returned to a performance level on a par with 2019 before the various measures implemented to combat the Covid 19 pandemic impacted the whole of our sector,’ firm says. Wants to resume dividend payouts when it is confident of generating cash through sustainable operating profit.
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Brave Bison Group PLC - London-based social and digital media marketing company - Says trading in first five months of 2022 ‘strong’ and ahead of internal expectations. Says focus has now shifted to maintaining positive momentum through second half of the year and into 2023. ‘Whilst we are paying close attention to macroeconomic headwinds, we remain confident in our strategy of combining digital media and marketing services businesses with an owned and operated digital media network. We believe that a recessionary environment will accelerate the shift away from traditional advertising methods such as TV and Outdoor and into digital channels where it is much easier to demonstrate how campaigns are driving outcomes and sales,’ says Executive Chair Oliver Green.
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Firering Strategic Minerals PLC - operator of Atex dual lithium-tantalum project in Ivory Coast - Pretax loss for 2021 is €2.3 million, widened from €498,000 the year before. This is due to financial expenses of €1.4 million, up sharply from just €7,000 in 2020. ‘Looking ahead, the company is now commencing the first of two planned diamond drilling campaigns targeting these pegmatites. Demand for our metals, particularly lithium, continues to grow, led by the EV market. We remain well positioned to capitalise on this demand and very much look forward to a busy and successful 2022,’ says Chief Executive Yuval Cohen.
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Atome Energy PLC - Leeds, England-based producer and marketer of green hydrogen and ammonia - Says it continues to make good progress on all its projects. Is targeting milestones for Villeta project such as appointing front-end engineering and design stage contractor by the third quarter of 2022 and FEED completion by the fourth quarter, with final investment decision by the end of 2022. ‘The year 2021 was the start of our journey. In that short time, we have become one of the most advanced new hydrogen and ammonia focused companies in terms of planned timescale for delivery, with our production of green molecules targeted to arrive in a fast-expanding market with limited supply. The rest of the current year promises dynamic progression, news flow and a continued expansion of our business,’ says Chair Peter Levine.
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Lords Group Trading PLC - London-based building material distributor - Says demand for repairs, maintenance and improvement sector focused product offering has remained resilient and company continues to trade in line with market expectations for 2022. ‘Boiler supply constraints persist in APP Wholesale, however underlying customer demand remains strong and indications support that the boiler supply issues will ease later in FY22. Management actions continue to ensure Plumbing and Heating profitability remains in line with management expectations,’ says Non-Executive Chair Gary O’Brien.
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Geiger Counter Ltd - Jersey-based investor in uranium exploration and production stocks - Net asset value per share 57.94 pence at March-end, up 26% from 46.44p at the end of September. ‘The rise in net assets and share price was driven in the Autumn of 2021 by climate related government policies following on from the UN COP-26 climate conference that recognised the significant benefits of nuclear power in order to meet carbon emission goals. Uranium purchasing from new funds increased and we saw utilities beginning to sign longer-term contracts,’ company says, adding that it remains confident over long-term outlook for uranium. Notes NAV per share stood at 42.80p at June 24.
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BSF Enterprise PLC - investor in tissue engineering market - Reports loss of £291,533 for six months to March 31, widened from £31,858 a year before. This relates entirely to rise in administrative expenses. During period, agreed to buy 3D Bio-Tissues Ltd, a biotechnology start-up and spin-out from the University of Newcastle. Deal completed post period-end.
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Safestay PLC - London-based operator of city centre hostels across Europe - Expects revenue of £6.4 million for 2021 and gross profit of £5.1 million. This compares with revenue of £4.8 million and gross profit of £3.9 million in 2020. For first quarter of 2022, says revenue was slightly ahead of ‘prudent’ internal expectations. ‘The board confirms that overall trading across the group since the year end remains in line with its expectations,’ it says. Chair Larry Lipman adds that the first quarter saw room rate return to pre-pandemic levels.
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Rosslyn Data Technologies PLC - Portsmouth, England-based data management and analytics service provider - Says revenue for financial year to April 30 expected to be £5.9 million, down from £7.4 million the year before but in line with market forecasts. To report loss before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation in region of £3.2 million to £3.4 million under existing accounting policy, widened from £1.3 million the year before. ‘The company has made a positive start to the current financial year to 30 April 2023 with two significant deals closed with financial institutions since 1 May 2022 and, based on the increasing pipeline, the board is confident that the group’s continuing operations will generate meaningful revenue growth over financial year 2022,’ it says.
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Schroder UK Mid Cap Fund PLC - London-based mid-cap-focused investment trust - Net asset value per share of 691.39p at March 31, down 13% from 791.56p at end of September. NAV total return was minus 11%, worse than its benchmark, the FTSE 250 ex investment trusts index, which fell 9.0%. ‘Interestingly, trading updates for the companies within the portfolio were generally quite robust and therefore the fall in the trust‘s share price in large part reflected a deterioration in general sentiment about the domestic UK economy,’ the firm notes. Says approach going forward to be ‘cautiously opportunistic’.
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Mobeus Income & Growth 2 VCT PLC - invests in UK unquoted companies - Net asset value per share of 96.37p at end of March, down from 100.91p a year before. NAV total return for the year was 13%. Pays dividends in respect of the year amounting to 12.00p. ‘We are starting to see the impact of inflationary pressures on consumer confidence although, for the most part, trading for your company’s largely service and software- based portfolio remains robust,’ it says.
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Gresham House Renewable Energy VCT 1 PLC - invests in renewable energy generating assets - Net asset value per share 90.8p at March 31, up slightly from 90.1p at September 30. Says total revenue from renewable assets was just 0.3% behind budget at £3.5 million. ‘We very much hope that a sale of the solar assets will be satisfactorily concluded in the near term. However, if despite all the efforts made by the board and the investment adviser, with the sale process led by EY, this proves not to be possible then, so as to comply with shareholders wishes to wind up the company, the VCT will have to continue until the time is right to re-market the assets,’ firm says. Gresham House Renewable Energy VCT 2 PLC reports net asset value per share 90.0p at March 31, up from 89.2p at end of September.
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