The following is a round-up of earnings and trading updates by London-listed companies, issued on Thursday and not separately reported by Alliance News:
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Chapel Down Group PLC - Tenterden, Kent-based sparkling wine maker - Reports harvest of ‘exceptional grape quality and yield’. ‘Across its 750 fully productive acres under vine, the company has delivered a record 3,811 tonnes of grapes. This tonnage is 86% higher than 2022, and 75% higher than Chapel Down’s previous record posted in 2018,’ Chapel Down says. It adds: ‘This year’s harvest is expected to enable the production of approximately 3.4 million bottles of high-quality sparkling and still wines, underpinning Chapel Down’s ambition to double the size of the business in the five years to 2026.’ In addition, Chapel Down proposed a move to London’s junior AIM market. It is currently an Aquis listing. AIM ‘is a more appropriate market for the company and will enable it to attract a wider pool of investors and improve liquidity over time’. Cancellation of its AQSE Growth Market listing and a move to AIM is expected on or around December 7.
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MaxCyte Inc - cell engineering-focused provider of platform technologies - Third-quarter revenue decreases 25% to $8.0 million from $10.6 million a year earlier. ‘Third quarter revenue was at the higher end of our preliminary revenue range we announced in October. We continue to evaluate and address the industry challenges we have seen throughout 2023, with performance in-line with the revised guidance that we provided last month. Customers, particularly early-stage customers, continue to reprioritize their spend and operate with more caution,’ Chief Executive Doug Doerfler says. Operating loss in quarter stretches on-year to $14.0 million from $7.7 million.
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Galliford Try Holdings PLC - Uxbridge, England-based construction firm - Acquires AVRS Systems Ltd, a mechanical, electrical, instrumentation, control and automation design and build contractor for up to £7.0 million. AVRS serves the water and energy sectors. Galliford will fork out an initial £4.5 million.
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Schroders Capital Global Innovation Trust PLC - London-based investment trust focused on a diversified portfolio of global private and public equity companies - Makes $8.0 million investment in India-based vendor digitisation company, Bizongo. ‘The company’s investment in Bizongo is in line with the portfolio’s sub-strategy of backing innovative growth businesses while utilising the company’s broadened global investment remit. Schroders Capital has been an investor in Bizongo since 2019, over which time we have seen the company grow exponentially, achieve scale, and expand into more sectors. The company is playing a transformational role in enabling vendors in India to digitalise their supply chain, which has accelerated since the Covid pandemic. We are excited that the company is now participating in Bizongo’s future growth,’ say Lead Portfolio Manager Tim Creed and Co-Portfolio Manager Harry Raikes.
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CyanConnode Holdings PLC - Cambridge, England-based narrowband radio frequency mesh networks provider - Raises £2.7 million from oversubscribed placing and a subscription. ‘The net proceeds of the fundraising will be used to further strengthen the company’s balance sheet, to fund long lead time critical components and to fund resourcing required to manage the scale-up of the company,’ CyanConnode said on Wednesday.
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Gelion PLC - London-based Anglo-Australian battery storage company - Announces deal to acquire lithium-sulfur battery technology developer OXLiD for around £4.2 million. ‘OXLiD is a UK based lithium-sulfur battery technology developer, dedicated to the development and commercialisation of LiS batteries for electrified transportation and sustainable energy storage in the electric aviation and electric vehicle markets,’ Gelion says. Gelion raises £4.0 million from a placing of 7.9 million shares and a subscription of 9.0 million, at 24 pence each. There is also a retail offer to raise a further £450,000. Gelion adds: ‘The net proceeds of the fundraising will be used alongside the company’s existing cash resources, to part fund the acquisition, general capex and opex, expansion of the LiS technology team, the feasibility assessment of a new zinc cathode and additional working capital.’
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Capricorn Energy PLC - Egypt-focused upstream energy company - Postpones planned ‘detailed operational update’ scheduled for November 30. Capricorn adds: ‘This is due to a number of factors including completing the required technical and commercial work to provide a comprehensive and detailed portfolio update. The company will announce a rescheduled date in early 2024. Capricorn continues to hold constructive discussions with the Egyptian General Petroleum Company and our Joint Venture partner on activities in 2024.’
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DSW Capital PLC - Warrington, England-based owner of the Dow Schofield Watts financial advisory brand - Says licensees have seen more normalised M&A activity after slowdown, suggesting to DSW that ‘we may have passed the low point in the cycle’. Says for first half to September 30, network revenue falls around 26% to £7.3 million from £9.8 million a year prior. DSW adds: ‘Our results, which are typically weighted towards the second half of the financial year due to the recognition of profit share income, will benefit from the contribution from Bridgewood, which joined the Network in July 2023, and expected increased levels of M&A activity.’ DSW now predicts full-year adjusted pretax profit between £1.1 million and £1.4 million. Says the higher end of the range is ‘achievable but is subject to certain M&A deals currently scheduled to complete before the year end’.
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Zegona Communications PLC - London-based company focused on communications and entertainment - In connection to €5.0 billion Vodafone Spain acquisition, it plans a fundraise of €300 million at 150 pence per share. Zegona adds: ‘The net proceeds of the placing, the conditional subscription and the PrimaryBid offer will be used to partially fund the acquisition, pay fees and expenses incurred in connection with the acquisition and offer and for general corporate purposes.’ The price per share is a hefty premium to its 31.20p closing price on September 22, before its shares were suspended. The stock was suspended as the deal with Vodafone Group PLC’s Spanish arm would represent a reverse takeover. ‘Members of the public are not eligible to take part in the placing,’ Zegona says. Newbury, Berkshire-based telecommunications provider Vodafone said the Vodafone Spain transaction gives the unit an enterprise value of €5.0 billion. Zegona will pay ‘at least’ €4.1 billion in cash, and a further €900 million in redeemable preference shares.
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