The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers among London Main Market small-caps on Wednesday.
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SMALL-CAP - WINNERS
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Saga PLC, up 11% at 125.47 pence, 12-month range 93.40p-161.44p. The Kent, England-based provider of services to people aged 50 and over says it is holding talks with Belgium’s Ageas SA, regarding a potential partnership arrangement for its Insurance business. Late Tuesday, Saga said it was delaying publication of half-year results as it continues to ‘explore partnership opportunities’. It stressed that first half performance is in line with expectations and the group remains on track for the full year. Under the deal, Ageas would make an up-front payment to Saga, with a series of subsequent commission payments, in return for taking over the running of parts of the British company’s insurance operations, Sky News reported. For Saga, the transaction with Ageas would enable it to pay down debt and shift to a new operating model aimed at relieving some of the pressure on its balance sheet, Sky added.
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SMALL-CAP - LOSERS
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Pinewood Technologies Group PLC, down 9.9% at 324.71p, 12-month range 256.08p-399.00p. The Birmingham, England-based software firm specialising in automotive retail solutions reports total pretax profit for the six months to July 31 of £4.0 million, down substantially from £36.7 million a year prior. Pretax profit from continuing operations is £7.0 million, up from £4.6 million the year before. Similarly, total revenue falls to £16.1 million from £2.09 billion a year prior, while revenue from continuing operations rises to GPB16.1 million from £11.0 million the previous year. In the first half of last year, Pinewood was part of Pendragon PLC. Looking ahead, Pinewood’s financial 2024 outlook remains in line with expectations, and the firm expects continued progress in the second half following a ‘positive start’ to the year. Chief Executive Officer Bill Berman says: ‘Pinewood had a great first half of the year, with impressive double-digit growth in both revenue and gross profit, and we have also made good progress in expanding our customer base. During the period we have prioritised rolling out our system to the UK dealerships of our strategic partner Lithia Motors which has been very successful.’
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