The following is a round-up of earnings by London-listed companies, issued on Thursday and not separately reported by Alliance News:
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AVI Japan Opportunity Trust PLC - invests in portfolio of 20 to 30 Japanese stocks - Net asset value per share as at December 31 grows to 120.7 pence from 102.8p a year prior. NAV total return for 2022 is negative 4.3%, underperforming against its comparator benchmark, the MSCI Japan Small Cap Index, which returns negative 1.0%. In 2021, AVI Japan’s NAV total return was positive 12%, outperforming its comparator which returned negative 1.4%. Proposes final dividend of 0.8p per share, which brings the total payout to 1.55p, up 11% from 1.40p a year ago. Looking ahead, positively notes Japan reopening its borders to tourists in October 2022 after being closed for years due to the Covid pandemic. Chair Norman Crighton says: ‘As travel and tourism are set to resume across the continent, the added economic boost that this brings is likely to continue to drive inflation expectations upwards - a step-change from the long-entrenched deflationary mindset of Japan. The possible impact of these and other factors on Bank of Japan and Japanese government policy going forward has firmly returned this long neglected country to the forefront of global investors’ minds for the first time in a generation.’ However, notes that predicting the future macroeconomy is difficult.
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DFS Furniture PLC - Doncaster, England-based furniture seller - Reports that revenue in the six months to December 25 slips 2.2% to £544.5 million from £556.5 million a year earlier. Pretax profit drops 70% year-on-year to £6.8 million from £22.8 million. For the full-year, it expects pretax profit before brand amortisation in the range of £30 million and £35 million, which would be in line with consensus but at the lower end of previous guidance. Based on anticipation of full-year performance, lowers interim payout to 1.5 pence per share, down from 3.7p a year prior.
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European Metals Holdings Ltd - Mineral exploration and development company focused on Cinovec lithium-tin project in Czech Republic - Pretax loss in 2022 widens to A$3.8 million, around £2.1 million, from A$1.9 million a year ago. ‘The global focus on long term security of strategic metals has increased dramatically and the company expects this factor to play an increasingly important role in moving the project towards production,’ European Metals says.
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Gelion PLC - Anglo-Australian battery storage innovator - Pretax loss in the six months to December 31 narrows to £4.7 million from £7.0 million a year prior, as has no listing and other associated costs in most recent half-year, compared to a cost of £4.5 million a year ago. Company highlights that it ‘developed and implemented a more sophisticated battery management system for zinc-bromide batteries, designed to allow for high accuracy measurements’ and ‘initiated development of a robust BMS software to manage multi-string systems and provide reliable data for real-time data analysis.’ Looking ahead, says financial year 2023 guidance is in line with its expectations at the time of its initial public offering in November 2021.
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Global Petroleum Ltd - oil & gas exploration in Africa and the Mediterranean - Pretax loss in the half-year to December 31 narrows to $695,619 from $825,890 a year prior, as employee benefits expense decreases to $186,188 from $270,052. Expects to benefit from ‘very strong boost’ due to recent drilling successes. In Namibia, the company ‘is continuing with its farm-out process to fund the next stage of exploration on its licence.’ In October, firm touted success at Orange basin in Namibia. In Italy, Global Petroleum is seeking to progress permit applications.
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Kazera Global PLC - South Africa and Namibia-focused diamond and rare earths explorer - Pretax loss in the year ended June 30 widens to £2.0 million from £1.2 million a year prior. Administrative expenses increase 56% to £1.6 million from £1.1 million. Looking ahead, Kazera Global aims to ‘continue to drive growth in the business both through organic and inorganic means,’ citing its Deep Blue project in South Africa.
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National World PLC - Leeds-based multi-media company - Pretax profit in 2022 jumps to £5.1 million from £1.2 million in 2021. Revenue falls to £84.1 million from £86.0 million. Cost of non-recurring items decreases to £3.7 million from £6.9 million, while depreciation and amortisation expense narrows to £1.5 million from £2.7 million. Declares maiden dividend of 0.5 pence per share. Expects challenging trading in the first half of 2023, but says management addresses headwinds.
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Secured Income Fund PLC - specialist secured-lending income investment trust - Net asset value per share as at December 31 falls to 18.39 pence per share from 25.10p a year ago. NAV total return is positive 6.8%, swung from negative 7.4% a year prior. Net assets decrease to £9.7 million from £13.2 million. Total dividend for 2022 is 0.75p compared to nothing a year ago. Looking ahead, says: ‘The current economic uncertainty (and the frequent changes in outlook for different economic sectors) has created increased volatility and uncertainty’.
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