The following is a round-up of earnings and trading updates by London-listed companies, issued on Thursday and not separately reported by Alliance News:
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Watkin Jones PLC - London-based student accommodation developer and manager - Pretax loss in year to September 30 narrows markedly to £307,000 from £42.5 million the year prior. This is despite revenue falling 12% to £362.4 million from £413.2 million. Exceptional items this year total £7.0 million, down sharply from £38.1 million. The costs this year stem from building safety provisions. In the prior year, it included £35.0 million in building safety costs and £3.1 million in restructuring expenses. ‘The group produced a resilient operational performance during FY24, in what remains a difficult investment market. The slow pace of interest rate cuts and timing of the general election meant that, whilst investor sentiment remained positive, transactional activity has not improved as quickly as expected,’ Chief Executive Officer Alex Pease comments. ‘While the investment market has continued to be challenging, the sectors in which we operate remain attractive.’ Watkin Jones has not declared any dividend for the financial year. In the prior year, it paid a 1.4 pence per share interim dividend but no final one.
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Luceco PLC - Telford, Shropshire-based lighting manufacturer and distributor - Expects to report 2024 results ahead of market expectations. Revenue of £240 million, a rise of around 15% from £209 million the year prior, is expected. Adjusted operating profit in the region of £28.5 million and £29.0 million is predicted, a rise from £24.0 million. Luceco puts revenue consensus at £234.2 million and adjusted operating profit consensus at £26.5 million. ‘Luceco performed well in 2024, finishing the year strongly against the backdrop of a lacklustre macroeconomic environment in the UK,’ CEO John Hornby said. ‘We look forward to further growth in 2025, hopeful of improved end-market demand, but confident that the group is well positioned to make solid progress against its strategic objectives.’
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LPA Group PLC - Essex-based engineering firm focused on electronic and electro-mechanical components and systems - Pretax loss in year to September 30 totals £593,000, swinging from profit of £759,000. Revenue climbs 8.4% to £23.5 million from £21.7 million. LPA’s bottom-line in the prior year got a £941,000 boost from ‘negative goodwill’. This stemmed from the fair value adjustment on the acquisition of a product line and associated trade. LPA did not propose a dividend this year. It made a 1 pence payout the prior year. ‘We anticipate an overall operating profit in FY 2025 and will look to re-establish our dividend distribution thereafter,’ Chair Robert Horvath says. ‘During the year we started restructuring and resizing the business including making management changes that will make us more agile moving forward.’
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Titon Holdings PLC - Colchester, England-based manufacturer and supplier of ventilation systems - Titon’s pretax loss from continuing operations in the year to September 30 widens to £2.4 million from £194,000 the year prior. Revenue falls 22% to £15.5 million from £19.8 million. ‘We are encouraged by the positive momentum the business saw in the latter half of FY24 and into the current financial year, supported by a strong uptick in the Mechanical Ventilation Systems order book and steadier revenues across both business units,’ CEO Tom Carpenter says. Titon says trading in the first quarter of the new year has been ‘slightly ahead’ of board expectations.
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Airea PLC - West Yorkshire-based flooring company - Sales in 2024 rise 0.6% to £21.2 million from £21.1 million in 2023. Airea says second-half sales alone rise 6.0%. ‘There was strong demand for the group’s carbon-neutral and low-carbon product ranges in the period. During the second half, several successful product launches were well received by the market. Innovation and investment in sustainability are being accelerated across the group to meet the growing needs of our customers,’ it says.
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Netcall PLC - Bedford, England-based automation and customer engagement software - Results for first half to December 31 to be in line with management expectations. Revenue is expected to have risen 22% to £23.0 million from £18.9 million a year prior. Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation are expected to have grown 18% to £5.7 million from £4.8 million. ‘I am pleased to report that trading for the first half of FY25 is expected to be in line with expectations, reflecting the increased strength of our cloud services offering. We continue to see robust demand from new customers, along with continued cross and up-sell to existing customers, as organisations increasingly seek to adopt modern digitalisation and AI technologies to drive operational improvements. Our ongoing strategy of targeted acquisitions to expand our product offering has delivered positive results, significantly enhancing our market proposition and opening up new opportunities,’ CEO James Ormondroyd says. ‘We remain well-positioned for growth as we enter the second half, with a strong pipeline, expanding product roadmap and a growing base of recurring revenue, all supported by a healthy cash position. The board remains confident in the group’s continued success.’ Netcall announces half-year results on March 5.
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Shepherd Neame Ltd - Faversham, Kent-based brewer and pub operator - Traded ‘strongly’ over the festive period. Like-for-like retail sales in the five weeks to January 6 were 7.4% higher on-year. ‘We enjoyed many record-breaking days in individual pubs, with particularly strong trading in the final few days up to Christmas day itself,’ the firm says. ‘The company will deliver revenue growth and first half profits in line with expectations. In common with other operators across the sector, we are not immune to the many cost headwinds in the second half following the government’s recent budget, notably the increase in national living wage and national insurance from April.’ It expects the full-year impact of these budget measures to be £2.6 million. In addition, it now expects the costs associated with a change in logistics arrangements to be £300,000 higher than the £1.2 million it expected for 2025. The firm’s financial year ends on June 28. In addition, it says it plans to kick off £500,000 share buyback programme. ‘The board has decided that dedicating a portion of its cash flow to the buyback and cancellation of shares is sensible in view of the present market position in terms of the company’s share price,’ it says. Peel Hunt LLP will conduct the buyback.
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Chapel Down Group PLC - Tenterden, Kent-based wine maker - Net sales revenue in 2024 declines 3.4% to £17.3 million from £17.9 million in 2023, despite on-year growth of 3% in the second half alone. Chapel Down says a strong showing in eCommerce and on-trade was offset by weaker showing in off-trade, due to ‘one-off reductions in stock held by retailers during H1’. Off-trade refers to locations such as supermarkets. On-trade venues include bars. ‘2024 was a year of continued strong consumer demand for Chapel Down’s award-winning wines, as well as significant strategic and operational progress for the Company. Chapel Down enjoyed strong growth in its direct-to-consumer channels, maintained its market leadership in the critical Off-trade, with strong sales momentum across our channels in H2, accelerating in the all-important final quarter,’ CEO Andrew Carter says. ‘As I reflect on my time at Chapel Down, our fantastic team can take great pride in what we have achieved. Chapel Down has a renewed focus on our market leadership of the growing English wine region.’ In December, Chapel Down named James Pennefather as its next CEO from February 1. In September, it said Carter would leave the position. Carter is to join West Yorkshire-based regional brewery Timothy Taylor & Co Ltd this year. Also in December, Chapel Down said it accepted the resignation of finance chief Rob Smith. ‘Rob will continue as a director and lead finance until the publication of the full year results around April 2025. The recruitment for his successor will commence shortly, led by the chair and new CEO James Pennefather,’ Chapel Down said in December.
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Sure Ventures PLC - venture capital fund backing early-stage artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, and internet of things companies - Says Sure Valley Ventures investee leads a £1.5 million funding round for artificial intelligence firm Vizgard. Vizgard uses AI for application in defence and public safety applications. Mindflair PLC notes the announcement. It also has an investment in Sure Valley Ventures.
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Zotefoams PLC - London-based cellular materials company - Expects annual revenue of £147.8 million in 2024, a 16% rise from £127.0 million and ‘slightly ahead of current market expectations’. Adjusted pretax profit growth of 19% to £15.6 million from £13.1 million is expected, a ‘record’ and also ahead of the market view. Zotefoams puts revenue consensus at £145.5 million and the profit consensus at £14.9 million. ‘We are delighted to close the year strongly, with sales growth and, for a second year running, record profits ahead of current market expectations. The group has, for the first time, achieved higher sales with its higher-margin HPP products than its polyolefin foams, supported by a very strong performance in Footwear,’ CEO Ronan Cox says. In December, it announced a decision to pause its investment in its ReZorce packaging solution. Zotefoams adds on Thursday: ‘While this was disappointing, and the board continues to believe in the potential for this technology, it will allow the group to focus resources on opportunities in the core foams business units, where the board sees significant opportunity. The MEL business unit assets will be impaired and closure costs of up to £1.5 million accrued, which will be accounted for as an exceptional item in our 2024 results.’
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