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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Motorpoint Group PLC- Derby, England-based second hand car retailer - Sees pretax profit plunge to £3.0 million in the six months ended September 30, from £13.5 million the year prior. This comes despite revenue rising 30% to a record £786.7 million from £605.2 million, thanks to growth in market share, vehicle mix and price inflation. The firm cites increased investment in relation to its strategic objectives totalling £3.5 million for the fall in profit, rising interest costs, as well as record margins experienced in the previous year for the fall in profit. Vehicles sold also falls 8.2% year-on-year. Notes that consumer uncertainty and vehicle supply challenges are significantly affecting the used car market and admits that this will ‘likely’ have an impact on its full-year performance. Unchanged from a year prior, firm declares no dividend.
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NewRiver REIT PLC - London-based real estate investment trust, primarily focused on retail and leisure properties - In the six months ended September 30, swings to a pretax profit of £4.1 million from a loss of £16.6 million the year prior. Revenue, however, dips to £35.5 million from £36.0 million. Retail portfolio value declines to £643 million at September 30, from £649 million at March 31. However, the portfolio total return in the half is positive 3.0%, outperforming the firm’s benchmark the MSCI All Retail which return positive 0.4%. Declares an interim dividend of 3.5 pence, up 6.1% against its last dividend. Chief Executive Allan Lockhart explains the performance was driven by strong leasing, consistently high occupancy and ‘excellent’ cash generation. Looking to the second half, Lockhart said cost inflation remains ‘significant’ but added that firm is confident of achieving its goals in the medium term.
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XPS Pensions Group PLC - Reading, England-based pensions consulting and administration firm - In the half-year ended September 30, reports a pretax profit of £6.8 million, down 4.2% from £7.1 million the previous year. Explains that last financial year was the ‘strongest since listing in 2017’. Also books exceptional and non-trading items totalling £7.0 million in the half, compared to £4.9 million the year prior. Revenue jumps to £77 million from £67.3 million thanks to high levels of client activity and inflationary fee increases. Declares an interim dividend of 2.7 pence, up 13% against 2.4p the year prior. Reports a ‘strong’ start to its second half and says it is confident of achieving full-year results ‘slightly ahead’ of its previous expectations for the year.
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Adams PLC - Douglas, Isle of Man-based investment firm primarily focused on special situation investment opportunities in the small to middle-market capitalisation sectors in the UK or Europe - In the six months ended September 30, narrows widens its pretax loss to £1.0 million from £648,000 the previous year. Explains that the widened loss reflects ‘continuing difficult financial market conditions’, an investment return loss and its overhead costs. Posts an investment return loss of £947,000, widened from £567,000 the year prior. Firm’s total investment carrying value at September 30 is £6.3 million, compared to £6.6 million at March 31.
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Grafenia PLC - Manchester-based printing and software company - Narrows its pretax loss to £503,000 in the six months ended September 30, from £783,000 the year prior. Revenue dips to £5.8 million from £6.3 million a year prior following the disposal of Works Manchester at the end of May. Revenue from continuing operations climbs to £5 million from £4.4 million. Notes that current trading is outperforming the same period last year, with November looking to continue that trend. Says it is ‘difficult’ to foresee how business confidence will be impacted by the current economic climate but adds that sales are still in-line with current internal forecasts.
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