The following is a round-up of updates by London-listed companies, issued on Tuesday and not separately reported by Alliance News:
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Cohort PLC - Reading, England-based technology company with five businesses serving defence and security sectors - Notes that subsidiary Systems Engineering & Assessment Ltd wins £26.2 million contract by an overseas Ministry of Defence for phase 2 of a communications systems upgrade on two naval surface vessels. Cohort expects work to start this month and to complete by the end of 2026, adding that the contract is for the second of four planned project phases.
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Directa Plus PLC - London-based graphene product maker - Signs agreement with technical clothing producer Grassi Spa to expand the use of Directa’s graphene plus thermal planar circuit, or PTC, technology in the workwear and military markets. Grassi will supply an Italian institution with PTC technology. Directa will supply Grassi ‘tens of thousands of linear meters of graphene treated lining’ for an order worth over €700,000.
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Mincon Group PLC - Shannon, Ireland-based rock drilling tool manufacturer - Says revenue in first quarter to March 31 is marginally behind that of a year ago, noting reduced activity in the exploration sector in the mining industry. Despite this, Mincon says it has seen good growth in construction revenue in the European market. It adds: ‘We have made progress on reducing our order backlog in the past quarter and are better positioned to deliver quicker to our customers. This has allowed us to reduce our dependence on air freight and improve our gross margin. Our price increases, introduced in 2022 to offset manufacturing and operating cost increases, have also contributed to better margins than in the first quarter of 2022.’
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Plant Health Care PLC - North Carolina, US-based provider of proprietary agricultural biological products and technology solutions focused on improving crop performance - Plant response elicitor technology product PHC68949 receives first stage of regulatory approval for commercial use in Brazil. The ‘vaccine for plants’ technology amplifies a plant’s natural defence against damaging parasitic worms known as nematodes, increases plant health and yield in several different crops. Chief Executive Officer Jeff Tweedy says: ‘As the issue of food security continues to grow, and the farming world looks for technological solutions to achieve a sustainable future with better crops delivering higher yields and reducing environmental effects, our PREtec products will help meet global sustainability targets.’
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Rotala PLC - Tividale, West Midlands-based bus operator - Pretax loss in financial 2022 that ended November 30 narrows to £1.1 million from £1.3 million a year prior. Revenue declines 12% to £84.9 million from £96.5 million. Cost of sales decrease to £74.6 million from £82.4 million. Rotala proposes a final dividend of 1.0 pence per share, compared to none a year ago. Looking ahead, company anticipates return to ‘normal commercial conditions’ following a subdued transport business due to the Covid pandemic.
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SDX Energy PLC - London-based oil and gas company which operates in the Middle East and North Africa - Appoints William McAvock as chief financial officer, effective immediately, following the previously announced departure of former CFO Daan Hanssen from the company at the end of May.
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Treatt PLC - Suffolk, England-based manufacturer and supplier of extracts and ingredients for the beverage, flavour and fragrance industries - Pretax profit in the first financial half ended March 31 falls 26% to £6.6 million from £9.0 million a year ago. Revenue grows 15% to £76.0 million from £66.3 million. However, cost of sales widen 14% to £54.5 million from £48.0 million, while administrative expenses increase 18% to £13.8 million from £11.7 million. The company declares a dividend of 2.55 pence per share, up 2.0% from £2.50p. Looking ahead, Treatt says it enters the second half ‘with a strong order book and sales pipeline’ with trading continuing in line with its expectations for the financial year ending on September 30.
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