The following is a round-up of earnings for London-listed companies, issued on Monday and not separately reported by Alliance News:
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Zinc Media Group PLC - London-based television and content production company - Pretax loss for the six months to June 30 widens to £2.2 million from £1.2 million at the same time last year, as revenue drops 20% to £14.1 million from £17.7 million. However, the group expects its full-year earnings to be ‘heavily weighted’ towards its second half, in line with the wider UK production market. Zinc Media reports booked revenue for 2024 is currently in line with the previous year at £33 million, with a further potential £5 million in new business in discussion. It notes a high level of pre-booking for 2025. Chief Executive Officer Mark Browning says: ‘Our revenue mix in 2024 is delivering higher gross margins than prior year and we are achieving efficiency savings faster than anticipated. This currently underpins our confidence of delivering full-year adjusted [earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation] expectations of £2.1 million.’ This consensus expectation stands at double the £1.0 million adjusted Ebitda reported for 2023. Adjusted Ebitda for the first six months of 2024 is £922,000.
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Challenger Energy Group PLC - Caribbean and Atlantic focused oil and gas company - Pretax loss for the six months to June 30 narrows to $2.1 million from $4.2 million at the same time last year, despite net petroleum revenue falling 5.3% to $1.8 million from $1.9 million. Cost of sales for the first half of 2024 also drops 17% to $1.9 million from $2.3 million. CEO Eytan Uliel says outlook remains ‘as strong as it has ever been’, and that the company expects to see partner Chevron Uruguay Exploration Ltd ‘rapidly take the AREA OFF-1 project forwards’.
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World Chess PLC - London-based promoter of chess through chess-related activities - Pretax loss for the six months to June 30 narrows to €1.9 million from €2.3 million, as cost of sales drops 63% to €498,394 from €1.3 million at the same time last year. Revenue remains flat at €1.2 million. CEO Ilya Merenzon says: ‘The chess interface, as evident from our more established competitors, requires a facelift, and we are looking forward to challenging the status quo and bringing new features and design solutions into the sport. Our business goals are to rapidly increase our awareness and market share. Looking ahead, we remain committed to driving chess into new, dynamic spaces. We will continue to expand our digital footprint, enhance our chess products and deliver high-profile events that unite and excite the global chess community’.
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Venture Life Group PLC - Berkshire, England-based developer and manufacturer for the self-care market - Pretax loss for the six months to June 30 widens to £1.6 million from £1.3 million the year before, as adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation fall 18% to £3.6 million from £4.4 million at the same time last year. The decline in adjusted Ebitda is in line with management expectations, primarily due to ‘increased marketing expenditure which is anticipated to deliver returns from the second half of 2024’. Revenue remains flat at £23.5 million, and the company expects to meet expectations for the full year.
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Tasty PLC - London-based casual dining restaurant operator - Swings to a profit of £13.4 million for the six months to June 30 from a loss of £6.2 million at the same time last year. This is due to non-cash adjustments involving a £15.4 million gain on lease modifications after 14 site closures, and a £3.2 million reduction in impairment. Revenue falls 12% year-on-year to £19.1 million from £21.7 million, driven by the impact of site closures, despite cost of sales dropping 18% to £17.8 million from £21.8 million. Tasty says delivery sales are declining ‘as expected’, in line with the market due to the cost-of-living crisis, and says its outlook remains ‘cautious’ for the remainder of 2024, amid inflationary pressures on food and increases in the national minimum wage.
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Surgical Innovations Group PLC - Leeds, England-based surgical and medical instrument manufacturer - Pretax loss for the six months to June 30 widens to £487,000 from £374,000 at the same time last year, despite revenue growing 8.8% to £6.2 million from £5.7 million. This is partly due to cost of sales growing 7.9% during the six-month period to £4.1 million from £3.8 million, as well as challenges in NHS Supply Chain inventory management that have impacted purchasing patterns. Chair Jonathan Glenn says: ‘The operational plan implemented is expected to deliver cost benefits in the second half of the year and positions the business for increased profitability in 2025. The strength of Surgical Innovations-branded products remains robust, though challenges in the UK market are likely to persist over the near term. However, additional new product introductions and the realignment of the sales structure are anticipated to improve the UK business. In the first half, [original equipment manufacturer] sales were boosted by the clearing of backorders and will return to more normalised levels in the second half. Modest revenue and margin improvements are expected to materialise in the fourth quarter and continue into 2025.’
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Bango PLC - Cambridge, England-based digital payments solutions provider - Pretax loss for the six months to June 30 narrows to $3.4 million from $4.9 million, as revenue rises 19% to $24.1 million from $20.3 million the year prior. Cost of sales more than doubles to $4.6 million from $2.0 million. CEO Paul Larbey says: ‘The payments business continues to deliver growth, providing cash to fund expansion of the digital vending machine, or DVM, which continues to be adopted as the defacto standard platform for subscription bundling by the world’s largest companies. The addition of Disney+ to the Bango eDisti program is further evidence of this and will help accelerate time-to-revenue from DVM deals. With 4 new DVM wins in the first half and a further 3 in the third quarter, the pipeline built over the past years continued to deliver results and provides confidence in meeting market expectations for the full year. We are excited by the opportunity ahead and remain on track to continue our strong growth trajectory and return to a positive net cash position in financial 2025.
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