The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers on AIM on Wednesday.
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AIM - WINNERS
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LBG Media PLC, up 13% at 124.00 pence, 12-month range 63.00p-125.00p. Shares hit this one-year high as the Lad Bible entertainment website operator expects revenue growth of 55% to £42.3 million in the first half of 2024. Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation is expected to jump to £10.2 million from £3.0 million. ‘The UEFA Euro 2024 [football] tournament has given the group a number of opportunities to work with brands seeking to access our young adult audience, with notable campaigns including Euros-themed editions of the hugely popular original series of ’Snack Wars’ sponsored by Uber Eats,’ it adds.
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Nichols PLC, up 8.4% at 1,083.60p, 12-month range 882.00p-1,520.00p. The Vimto drinks brand owner reports a profit improvement, raises guidance, and announces a special dividend. In the half-year that ended June 30, revenue slips 1.8% to £84.0 million from £85.5 million 12 months earlier. Pretax profit, however, rises 5.8% to £11.8 million from £11.2 million. Nichols raises its ordinary interim dividend by 18% to 14.9p per share from 12.6p. It announces a 54.8p special dividend, which will return £20 million in total to shareholders. Looking ahead, Nichols adds: ‘The company has begun trading in Q3 positively and in line with management expectations. Reflecting the progress made in H1 and underpinned by the group’s ongoing focus on driving margin improvement, the board now expects to report full year adjusted profit before tax slightly ahead of current market expectations.’ It puts market expectations for adjusted pretax profit at £28.8 million.
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AIM - LOSERS
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Tortilla Mexican Grill PLC, down 19% at 50.50p, 12-month range 38.00p-85.00p. The stock falls as the Mexican restaurant chain expects the benefits from ‘strategic initiatives’ to bear fruit ‘slower than originally anticipated’. Revenue in the first half of 2024 falls 5.9% on a like-for-like basis. Revenue amounts to £31.5 million. It puts the revenue fall down to its decision to ‘condense to a dual delivery platform’. The firm in April opted against keeping Deliveroo PLC as a delivery channel. It still delivers on Uber Eats and Just Eat. For the whole of 2024, Tortilla now expects adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of £5.0 million, excluding the recent Fresh Burritos acquisition. Including Fresh Burritos, which is expected to contribute a £500,000 loss this year, an adjusted Ebitda of £4.5 million is expected, down from £4.6 million in 2023.
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