The following is a round-up of updates by London-listed companies, issued on Thursday and not separately reported by Alliance News:
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MJ Gleeson PLC - Sheffield, England-based housebuilder - Says Gleeson Homes completed the sale of 1,772 new homes during year ended June 30, up 2.8% on the prior year. Notwithstanding the continuing challenges in the planning system, Gleeson Land sold four sites during the year. ‘We have delivered a solid overall performance with Gleeson Homes exceeding expectations in what has been a challenging year,’ says Chief Executive Officer Graham Prothero. ‘We are making progress against our key strategic priority of significantly scaling up our operations over the medium-term. Looking ahead, we are anticipating an increase in demand for new homes as interest rates begin to come down and consumer confidence returns. We also expect Gleeson Land to complete on a number of significant land disposals in the months ahead.’ Says confident of strong performance in new year, amid ‘more stable operating environment’.
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Hornby PLC - Margate, England-based scale model maker - Revenue in year ended March 31 rises 2.0% to £56.2 million from £55.1 million. Pretax loss stretches to £8.7 million from £5.9 million. Overheads rise 13% to £31.7 million from £28.0 million. ‘Sales were slightly depressed in March compared to expectations by Red Sea delivery delays and the resultant movement of some high value containers into April,’ it adds.
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Norman Broadbent PLC - London-based recruitment firm - Net fee income in first half of year down 14% on-year to £4.5 million. Underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation expected to be in range of £100,000 to £150,000, down from £270,000 on-year. ‘Growth is rarely linear quarter to quarter, but there is no doubt that, as is the case across the entire executive search and staffing industries, we are navigating extremely challenging market conditions. However, this doesn’t impact the confidence we have in our prospects. Therefore, while having been cost conscious in H1 2024, we have continued to invest, growing and upgrading headcount to ensure that the company is well positioned to capitalise on the recovery when it comes,’ CEO Kevin Davidson says.
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DP Poland PLC - operator of Domino’s pizza stores and restaurants in Poland and Croatia - Says ‘growth accelerated’ in second-quarter of 2024. Total system sales in Poland during second-quarter improve 24%, growth picking up from 17% in first-quarter. For whole of half-year, system sales rose 21% to 130.2zł million, around £25.7 million. In Croatia, system sales jump 65% in second-quarter, after 72% rise in first. System sales in whole of first half in Croatia up 69% to €1.8 million. Chief Executive Officer Nils Gornall says: ‘We are on track to open 16 new stores in 2024, of which four are relocations, expanding our current 111 store count. Overall, we are extremely pleased with sales growth, and look forward to the remainder of the year with confidence. The Group continues to demonstrate what can be achieved in its owned stores, and the planned transition to a sub-franchisee model will accelerate growth and increase return on capital.’
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Cambridge Cognition Holdings PLC - Cambridgeshire, England-based company developing and marketing digital brain health assessment solutions - Receives grant funding from Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation arm. Firm has been selected to provide voice and touchscreen cognitive assessments for the Global Alzheimer’s Platform Foundation’s Bio-Hermes 2 project.
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Schroder British Opportunities Trust PLC - London-based public and private investment trust focused on small to mid-cap UK companies - Net asset value per share at March 31 year end up 2.5% on-year to 110.05 pence from 107.32p. ‘Over the past 12 months, positive NAV growth has been driven by fair value gains in the private equity (unquoted) portfolio which has continued to perform well. The company has benefited from its focus on the growth capital and buyout areas of the market, rather than early stage or pre-IPO,’ it adds. ‘The company’s public equity holdings detracted from performance despite being helped by a take-over bid for City Pub Group by Young & Co’s Brewery.’
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Onward Opportunities Ltd - investment firm focused on small UK companies - Says net asset value at end of June totals 116.32 pence per share, which would equate to total return of 9.2% over six-month period, ‘another encouraging period of NAV outperformance’. NAV grows from 106.5p at end of December.
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Bluejay Mining PLC - metals mining company with operations in Greenland and Finland - Reports discovery of ‘significant hard rock titanium’ mineralisation at Dundas ilmenite project in Greenland. ‘This is the first systematic assessment of the rock potential within the project licence area and reinforces the project’s potential as a world-class source of high-grade titanium dioxide feedstock,’ Bluejay adds.
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Central Asia Metals PLC - copper, zinc and lead explorer, which operates in both Kazakhstan and North Macedonia - Reports Kounrad copper production of 6,608 tonnes in first-half of 2024, Sasa zinc-in-concentrate production of 9,014 tonnes and Sasa lead-in-concentrate production of 12,872 tonnes. Copper output down 1.6% on-year, zinc down 7.7%, and lead 6.3% lower. CEO Nigel Robinson says: ‘Kounrad performed well during Q2 2024, bringing H1 production into line with prior years, after facing some difficult winter weather conditions in Q1 of this year. Production at Sasa in both Q2 and H1 2024 has been impacted by a modest reduction in mined tonnage, owing principally to the short-term challenges inherent in the transition to a new mining method. This transition, which continued during the quarter, will be of material benefit in the longer-term, by sustaining the life of both the underground mine and its associated tailings storage facilities.’ Says Kounrad on track to achieve 2024 full-year guidance for copper production of 13,000 to 14,000 tonnes. Sasa expected to achieve production towards the lower end of guidance, which stands at 19,000 to 21,000 tonnes for zinc and 27,000 to 29,000 tonnes for lead.
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PetroTal Corp - focused on oil and gas development in Peru - Second-quarter average production of 18,290 barrels of oil per day achieved, compared to 18,518 in first-quarter. Says second-quarter included brief river blockade. ‘Well 18H is currently performing within expectations with initial 7-day and 30-day production rates of 4,621 bopd and 3,929 bopd, respectively. The well cost approximately $17.3 million and its investment payback is expected to be around six months at current oil prices,’ it adds.
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Ilika PLC - Romsey, England-based solid-state battery technology company - Records ’turnover’ of £2.1 million in year to April 30, rising from £702,000. Revenue weakens to £20,100 from £33,800, but UK grants rise to £2.1 million from £668,200, explaining turnover growth. Pretax loss narrows to £5.8 million from £8.9 million. CEO Graeme Purdy says: ‘We are proud of the further success we have made whilst developing our solid state battery technology. Both of our product lines, Stereax and Goliath, have seen significant operational progress as we continue to work towards commercialisation. Meanwhile, the global prospects for EVs, and Goliath, remain promising. Following the team’s achievements we expect to be in the position to manufacture and deliver fully characterised P1 test pouch cells to customers in H2 2024.’
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