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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International Personal Finance PLC - Leeds, England-based company which offers small, unsecured cash loans - Says first quarter revenue rises 10% annually, ‘driven by growth in the receivables portfolio’. Chief Executive Gerard Ryan says: ‘Although we remain cautious due to the uncertain macroeconomic environment together with the impacts of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, we expect to deliver good credit issued growth for the year as a whole through increasing customer choice while maintaining a clear focus on portfolio quality and costs.’
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In The Style Group PLC - Manchester-based online womenswear fashion retailer - Says achieved ‘strong year-on-year revenue growth’ in its first full year as a listed company. Revenue in the year ended March 31 rose 28% to £57.3 million. Compared to financial 2020, revenue climbed almost three-fold. Margins came under pressure, however. ‘Industry-wide challenges in the global supply chain are well documented and, as previously indicated by the group, resulted in pressure on gross margin through FY22,’ In The Style notes. ‘Whilst macroeconomic pressures are expected to persist over the coming months, the group’s strong brand proposition and resulting pricing power has partially mitigated the impact of cost inflation on gross margin. Management was also encouraged that for a period in January and February 2022, prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, freight costs somewhat normalised.’
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Donegal Investment Group PLC - Donegal, Ireland-based agricultural firm - Says is ‘reasonably’ satisfied with the performance of seed potato business in the first half. For six months to February 28, generates revenue of €18.7 million, down from €19.1 million last year and posts pretax profit €1.5 million, down from €1.9 million. Net asset value per share as at February 28, €9.66, up from €6.79 at the same time last year.
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Troy Income & Growth Trust PLC - invests predominantly in UK equities - Net asset value per share as at March 31, 77.53p compared to 77.72p at September 30. The trust delivers NAV per share total return of 1.8% and a share price total return of 1.8% over the six months to March 31. Over the same period, the FTSE All-Share Index produced a total return of 4.7%, it highlights.
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Corcel PLC - London-based mining and mineral resource development company - Signs agreement with Altana Social Impact Partnership to jointly fund and develop Corcel’s UK energy storage and generation project pipeline, which currently includes a mix of battery energy storage and transitional energy generation projects at various stages of development. ASIP is a UK-based investment fund which invests across a range of asset classes with a social and ethical agenda.
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Appreciate Group PLC - Liverpool-based prepaid gift card and voucher provider - Says it expects strong performance ahead of expectations for year ended March 31. Says underlying bills for the year rose to £222.0 million from £210.5 million a year earlier and £203.8 million for financial 2020. Fourth quarter saw the third consecutive quarter of double-digit growth in underlying billings versus 2020 driven by strong Corporate demand and increased digital billings. Also says Chief Financial Officer Tim Clancy to leave role at the end of July. Company seeking to appoint a replacement CFO ‘as soon as possible’.
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Redcentric PLC - Harrogate, England-based IT services provider - Says trading for year to Match 31 in line with the expectations. Generates revenue of £93.1 million, up from £91.4 million last year. Redcentric also says new divisional structure will drive organic growth. ‘We continue to make progress with our M&A strategy, with a good pipeline of potential targets, a strong balance sheet and access to £100 million of bank facilities,’ it says.
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Star Phoenix Group Ltd - oil and gas company focused in Trinidad and Indonesia - For six months to December 31, pretax loss narrows to $591,468 from loss of $2.7 million the year before.
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Malin Corp PLC - Dublin-based investor in life sciences companies - Notes Mycovia, the successor company to Malin’s investee company Viamet, has announced the approval from the US Food & Drug Administration of otesecanazole for the treatment of vulvovaginal candidiasis in females with a history of RVVC and who are not of reproductive potential.
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Pembridge Resources PLC - London-based copper-focused mining company - Notes results from investee Minto Metals Corp which operates the underground copper-gold-silver mine in Yukon, Canada. Minto got results from eight drill holes at Minto mine and found new copper drill intersections. ‘Minto Metals is entering a new and exciting phase of exploration. In line with the strategy of further developing the Minto asset, great potential to expand Minto’s resource exists as there has been no material exploration completed on the property since 2012. Minto continues drilling its 30,000-metre program in 2022, with the current phase of drilling focusing on numerous untested geophysical targets,’ says Chief Executive Officer Gati Al-Jebouri.
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Bidstack Group PLC - London-based in-game advertising platform - Signs new and exclusive partnership with Hollywood Story: Fashion Star, a fashion and lifestyle game developed by Nanobit.
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Science in Sport PLC - London-based sports nutrition firm - Company’s SiS Beta Fuel study shows athletes tolerate 120 grams of carbohydrate per hour. When measuring the amount of carbohydrate consumed that was being used for energy, the athletes in the study were using over 1.5 grams of carbohydrate per minute. Study shows even after three hours of sustained effort, 50% of energy used was from Science in Sport Beta Fuel, with no cross-over from carbohydrate to fat usage taking place. Importantly, all of the athletes tested reported no stomach upset, and individuals displayed some of the highest rates of carbohydrate oxidation ever reported in scientific literature, it adds.
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TruSpine Technologies PLC - Gatwick-based medical devices for spinal stabilisation - Enters partnership with Proffitt Brothers Investments LLC and Spartan Medical Inc. As part of agreement, pair will provide funding $400,000 and an exclusive US reseller agreement to market and distribute the Cervi-LOK device to US government healthcare facilities once it has completed FDA clearance.
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VPC Specialty Lending Investments PLC - invests in asset-backed loans to businesses originated by non-bank lenders - Posts net asset value return of 27.6% for 2021, the company’s best ever, surpassing the 2019 and 2020 total NAV returns of 11.3% and 11.1%, respectively.
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Ten Lifestyle Group PLC - London-based lifestyle and travel service platform - Wins contract with existing client to support its global digital strategy to enhance customer experience and drive greater efficiencies. The fee for this project is the equivalent of a medium contract and is incorporated within the group’s existing growth plan, it says.
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