The following is a round-up of earnings and trading updates by London-listed companies, issued on Wednesday and not separately reported by Alliance News:
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Schroder Japan Trust PLC - invests in Japanese stocks - Net asset value per share is 272.36 pence as at January 31, up from 237.77 per share one year prior. Reports net asset value total return of positive 10.3% for the six months to January 31, outperforming the benchmark, the Tokyo Stock Price Index, which delivered a positive 9.1% return. Declares no interim dividend, unchanged from the prior year. Chair Philip Kay says performance was ‘helped by strong stock selection across machinery, glass and ceramics, and information and communication. From a style perspective, holdings of value stocks outperformed the growth portion of the portfolio’. Says Japanese equities have ‘enjoyed a strong start to 2024’ and that his company ‘ remains very positive on the long-term equity market outlook because corporate Japan is in the middle of a major transformation which is already resulting in improved shareholder returns’.
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Mobeus Income & Growth 4 VCT PLC - venture capital trust - Net asset value is 73.09p per share at December 31, down from 80.05p at the same time one year prior. Delivers positive 5.0% total return for 2023, compared with negative 15.5% for 2022. Says portfolio was valued at £53.2 million at December 31, up from £46.0 million. Reports valuation movement gain of £4.3 million, compared with a £15.5 million loss the previous year. Chair Graham Paterson says the firm ‘has seen continuing challenging UK economic conditions during this financial year’, and attributes the positive NAV performance to ‘strong performance by a number of key assets and a degree of resilience within the remainder of the portfolio’. Dividends for the year total 11.00p per share, up from 10.00p. Paterson says: ‘The geopolitical and economic context for the next year is liable to be challenging although this can also provide an opportunity for the company to make high quality investments and build strategic stakes in businesses with great potential for the future.’ Also notes the upcoming UK general election which should come with ‘a period of uncertainty’.
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NB Global Monthly Income Fund - invests in traditional credit, such as bonds and loans, and in alternative credit, such as distressed credit and mezzanine - Issues annual report for 2023 as its managed wind-down progresses. NAV at December 31 is 77p per share, down from 79p one year prior. NAV total return is positive 5.86%, compared with negative 10% for 2022. NAV on a liquidation basis is $41.2 million, down from $211.4 million. Says it distributed approximately £6.4 million in dividends between January 27 and December 31, equivalent to 7.86p per share. Says its ‘remaining investments have very limited liquidity and the Board cannot accurately determine when or how much they can be realised for’. It is therefore considering options including potentially delisting from the London Stock Exchange and placing itself ‘in the hands of a liquidator’.
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VietNam Holding Ltd - investment trust managed by Dynam Capital Ltd that backs high-growth companies in Vietnam - Says its NAV rose 4.4% in March ‘due to the outperformance of our holdings in retail, telecoms, and construction’. Notes Vietnamese economy posting a GDP rise of 5.7% for the first quarter of 2024, the country’s highest first-quarter expansion since 2020 but ‘softer’ than the 6.7% expansion recorded for the fourth quarter of 2023. Adds that ‘the country’s ongoing recovery remains well on track as trade prospects and foreign direct investment (FDI) continue to advance extensively’. Company also notes ‘more positive momentum in March’ for the tourism industry and ‘a decade-high surge in new business establishments during Q1 2024, with a total of 36,224 new firms registered nationwide’.
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Synthomer PLC - Essex, England-based chemicals manufacturer - Reports results of cash tender offer, which expired on Tuesday evening, for outstanding senior notes due 2025. Says €412.4 million in aggregate principle amount of the notes were validly tendered, and €370.0 million of the notes will be accepted for repurchased. €150.0 million will remain outstanding. Company expects settlement on Friday.
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Alpha Group International PLC - London-based financial services firm - Still expects its shares to be admitted to the premium listing segment of the Official List and for trading on the main market of the London Stock Exchange, and for its listing on AIM to be cancelled, on May 2. Company announced its intention to switch on April 3, saying the new listing ‘will serve to further enhance our reputation and support our market penetration as we move into additional countries and engage larger clients’.
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Seed Innovations Ltd - investor focused on early-stage health, wellness and medical cannabis firms - Notes quarterly report by investee Little Green Pharma Ltd. Says LGP in the three months to March 31 delivered ‘record’ revenue of A$7.3 million, up 36% from that of the same quarter in 2023. Says revenue for financial 2024 also rose ‘nearly’ 30% to a ‘record’ A$25.6 million, with positive operating cashflow of about A$500,000. Seed Innovations has a 2.44% shareholding in LGP comprising 7.3 million shares.
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Capricorn Energy PLC - Egypt-focused oil and gas exploration company - Reaffirms intention to pay a special dividend of approximately $50 million, or around £39.4 million, and to complete a consolidation of its share capital. Expects to pay the dividend on June 7. Company also announces that Non-Executive Chair Craig Van Der Laan has decided not to stand for re-election and will step down at the conclusion of the annual general meeting on May 23. He will be succeeded by Non-Executive Director Maria Gordon.
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Chill Brands Group PLC - CBD products company - Receives letter on behalf of shareholder Jonathan Swann seeking to requisition a general meeting. The letter proposes the appointments of Graham Duncan and Aditya Chathli as directors and the removals of Chief Commercial Officer Antonio Russo and Chief Operating Officer Trevor Taylor, and ‘ that any person appointed as a director of the company since the date of the requisition...be removed’, all with immediate effect. Chill Brands says it is ‘deeply concerned by this situation and stands behind its directors’. Company is ‘taking legal advice’ regarding the letter’s validity, and will make a further announcement ‘in due course’.
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Metals One PLC - Finland and Norway-focused developer of brownfield metals projects - Says it now expects to receive and announce the assay results, from the formerly un-assayed intersections at its P5 target at the Black Schist Ni-Zn-Cu-Co Project in Finland, in May. It previously said in late February that it expected to receive the results in March before sharing findings in the second quarter. Says it ‘still expects to share its findings having updated the block model and resource estimate in Q2 2024 as previously advised’.
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Jarvis Securities PLC - stockbroking and administration services provider - Says Founder & Chief Executive Officer Andrew Grant is currently working to strengthen the senior management team of operating subsidiary Jarvis Investment Management Ltd, ‘to help facilitate his retirement’. Company stresses that Grant does not intend to retire as CEO of Jarvis Securities ‘at this stage’. However, he does intend to retire as Managing Director of JIML by March 31, 2025. The handover of responsibilities will however commence from May 1, when Will Kett will become Deputy Managing Director of JIML to assist with this transition. Company says there are no planned changes to the senior management of Jarvis itself, but changes will be made at JIML to ‘enable a smooth transition, and for Andrew to take a step back from that business over a gradual period’. Confirms however that Finance Director Kieran Price and Non-Executive Director Steve Middleton will remain in their roles.
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