The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers among London Main Market small-caps on Tuesday.
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SMALL-CAP - WINNERS
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Greencore Group PLC, up 16% at 79.45 pence, 12-month range 60.15-94.05p. The convenience food manufacturer expects its adjusted operating profit in the year ended September 29 to be ahead of current market expectations of £70.1 million. It predicts its full-year adjusted operating profit will be in the range of £74 million to £76 million, thanks to a ‘strong’ second half despite what it described as a ‘difficult seasonal comparative period.’ The company also notes its intention to restart its share buyback programme as part of a £50 million return of capital to shareholders announced in May 2022.
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Treatt PLC, up 15% at 490.00 pence, 12-month range 429.00-731.00p. The extracts and ingredients manufacturer and supplier expects its revenue for the year ended September 30 to be £147 million, up 5% from £140 million the year prior despite a ‘challenging’ environment and sector destocking. Profit before tax and exceptional items is predicted to be line with expectations of £17 million, up 11% from £15.3 million the year prior. ‘We delivered positive growth in sales and profit for the year, reflecting the significant price increase programme and ongoing resilience in our beverage end markets. Revenues in the second half of the year were impacted by certain customers reducing inventories in response to interest rate rises. However, we are seeing some early signs of a reversal of this temporary destocking effect, and have also been able to mitigate the effect of this impact with strong cost discipline and other self- help measures,’ says Chief Executive Daemmon Reeve. The company expects to announce its full-year results on November 28.
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Robert Walters PLC, up 6.8% at 379.00 pence, 12-month range 346.00-620.00p. The recruitment company reported a drop in net fee income in the third quarter of its financial year, against a ‘record’ prior year. Net fee income totalled £93.4 million in the third quarter ended September 30, down 17% from £112.0 million the year prior. The company said that macroeconomic conditions remained ‘uncertain’ during the quarter but noted that client and candidate confidence levels were unchanged from the second quarter. Robert Walters noted that contract and interim recruitment outperformed permanent recruitment, now representing a third of its net fee income. The firm will publish a trading update for its fourth quarter on January 11.
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SMALL-CAP - LOSERS
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Smiths News PLC, down 1.7% at 41.00 pence, 12-month range 31.50-59.80p. Last week, the newspaper and magazine distributor said it expects its adjusted operating profit for the financial year to August 26 to rise by at least 0.5% to £38.3 million from £38.1 million a year prior. It also expects to pay a final dividend of at least 2.7p per share for financial 2023, compared to 2.75p in financial 2022.
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