EARNINGS AND TRADING: Artemis NAV falls; Cavendish, Haydale struggle
The following is a round-up of earnings and trading updates by London-listed companies, issued on Tuesday and not separately reported by Alliance News:
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Cavendish PLC - London-based investment bank - Shares hit 12-month low on Tuesday as it reports "challenging conditions in the year to date". It expects to report revenue of £22.8 million for the half-year to September 30, down from £28.5 million a year prior. "We have a healthy pipeline of both public and private transactions, including IPOs. However, as we have seen in the first half of the year, completion timetables, and therefore revenue visibility, remain difficult to predict. Against this backdrop, we will continue to exercise strict cost controls," it says. Adds: "Our revenue mix remains balanced across all service lines including public and private [mergers & acquisitions], [equity capital markets] and trading activity. We have been active in the [London Stock Exchange]'s new private securities market, including Veremark, Moneybox, Wayve and Oxford Science Enterprises transactions. The group has maintained its market leading position, supporting the largest number of AIM quoted companies and has continued to increase the average market capitalisation of retained clients. Investment in our origination capability is delivering results, with a noticeable step up in the number of new private M&A and private growth capital mandates won in the period."
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Haydale PLC - Carmarthenshire, Wales-based developer of materials using graphene and other nanomaterials - Expects to report revenue for the year to September 30 of £5.0 million, compared to market expectations of £8.0 million. Expects 2026 adjusted Ebitda loss of £2.7 million, worse than expectations of £2.0 million. However, sees year-end cash position ahead of market expectations. Says the principal issue affecting outturn has been its "capacity to convert the commercial opportunities being generated rather than underlying customer demand or unit economics." Continues to believe the current trading business will achieve operating breakeven during the first half of financial 2027. In January, Haydale completed its acquisition SMCC, the trading name for Intelligent Resource Management Ltd. The total consideration for the energy efficiency-focused firm is up to £17.1 million in shares. Says to deliver the SMCC Delivery Network, is pursuing a joint venture with Quidos Protect Ltd to utilise its national supply chain for commercial installations across solar, battery storage, EV charging and related technologies. Says this "materially [extends] the platform's national delivery capacity." The joint venture is expected to go live this month.
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Orchard Funding Group PLC - Luton, England-based supplier of funding support to insurance brokers and professional firms - Pretax profit in the six months to July 31 jumps 32% to £2.5 million from £1.9 million, even as revenue eases 2.6% to £5.0 million from £5.2 million. Declares interim dividend of 2 pence. Net interest income edges higher to £3.7 million from £3.6 million. Lending volume is £57.6 million, down 5.1% from £60.7 million. CEO Ravi Takhar says: "Lower funding costs cut our interest payable by 40%, lifting net interest income, and we held operating costs slightly below last year's level. We are continuing to lend, compete and succeed in an extremely competitive market."
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Victorian Plumbing Group PLC - Lancashire, England-based bathroom retailer - Revenue in the year to September 30 increases 11% to a record £344 million from £310.0 million a year ago. Adjusted pretax profit rises to £22 million from £21.8 million a year prior, topping consensus of £21.7 million. The group will publish its preliminary results for 2026 on December 8. CEO Stephnie Judge says: "During the year we gained further market share, improved marketing efficiency and increased our brand awareness. We continue to outperform the wider market despite a challenging consumer backdrop, driven by the strength of our customer proposition, own brand offering and broad product range across both consumer and trade. We were particularly pleased by strong growth in tiles and flooring, demonstrating the strength of our category expansion strategy. As we diversify into new revenue streams, MFI has delivered a successful first full year of trading, giving us growing confidence in the scale of the opportunity ahead. An expanding product range and strong customer engagement continue to support momentum in the proposition."
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Artemis UK Future Leaders PLC - Investment trust focused on smaller companies - Net asset value at July 31 falls to 429.41 pence per share from 434.66 pence at January 31. First-half NAV total return is positive 1.6%, ahead of positive 0.9% for its benchmark. First interim dividend is 3.85 pence per share, unchanged from a year ago. Of its holdings, notes DFS Furniture PLC saw weaker footfall in February, potentially due to weather, which deteriorated further in March, possibly reflecting the impact of the Iran conflict on consumer confidence. Says MJ Gleeson PLC issued a profit warning following an anticipated land sale that failed to complete and continued weakness in the UK housing market. During the period, its top three detractors are LBG Media PLC, Telecom Plus PLC and Future PLC. Top three contributors are Moonpig Group PLC, Young & Co's Brewery PLC and Mears Group PLC. "We remain positive on the outlook. Recent macroeconomic data has been mostly supportive. Consumer confidence has risen to its highest level in two years. UK economic growth is the highest in the G7 so far this year. Employment remains near an all-time high despite some modest recent weakening. While risks remain from conflict in the Middle East, higher bond yields and a potential AI asset price bubble in the US, we think the low valuations and strong balance sheets of our holdings provide some protection."
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Empyrean Energy PLC - oil and gas development firm focused on the Duyung production sharing contract offshore Indonesia - Updates on its Duyung production sharing contract and the Mako Gas Field in Indonesia. Says Conrad Asia Energy Ltd and its majority-owned subsidiary West Natuna Exploration Ltd, operator of the Duyung PSC, advise that the Valaris 104 donor rig for the Mako production unit has arrived at the PaxOcean shipyard in Batam, Indonesia. It will now undergo conversion into the mobile offshore production unit to produce Mako gas. Additionally, the gas sales agreement with PT PLN Energi Primer Indonesia, under which PLN EPI will purchase 100% of Mako's gas, is now effective. Says the 'gas-in' commissioning of the WNTS-Pemping subsea pipeline, part of the delivery route for the Mako gas into Batam, has also been "executed safely and smoothly." Adds: " The Mako development remains on budget and on track for first gas in the fourth quarter of 2027, with fabrication and construction activities now progressing across multiple major project workstreams."
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Scottish Oriental Smaller Companies Trust PLC - Asia focused investment trust - Decides to undertake a strategic review of its future options. Has been engaging with shareholders "to consider whether additional actions are required to ensure that the company meets the needs of investors." Says these discussions "have highlighted the importance of scale and secondary market liquidity, alongside investment performance, in meeting shareholders' long-term needs." Has appointed Investec Bank PLC to assist with the review. Additionally, decides not to proceed with the tender offer announced in September following talks with shareholders. "In assessing proposals for the future of the company, the board will take account of shareholders' expectations for a 25% cash exit opportunity which was to be delivered promptly following the triggering of the conditional tender offer, alongside its objective of providing continuing shareholders with an investment vehicle of greater scale and liquidity," company says.
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Sanderson Design Group PLC - London-based interior design group - LBV Asset Management LLP responds to Sanderson's recommendation that shareholders vote against certain resolutions at its upcoming general meeting. In September, Sanderson said it received a requisition notice from 11.9% shareholder Ropemaker Nominees Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Liberum Wealth Ltd, as the registered shareholder on behalf of LBV Actio Ltd, to convene a general meeting. The notice proposes the removal of Chair Dianne Thompson and the appointment of Stephen Brooke as non-executive director. LBV says executive pay "has run ahead of results." Notes CEO total pay rose 27% from 2022 to 2026 while adjusted profit fell 58%. Responding to a circular published by Sanderson on Monday, LBV says its concern is the board's "oversight function," meaning: "how executives are paid, how capital is allocated, how the chair's succession is run, and whether the board provides genuine challenge. These are the matters on which shareholders are entitled to hold a board to account. An improving half-year does not resolve them." On Monday, reported a pretax profit of £2.5 million in the six months ended July 31 compared to £1.5 million the year prior. Adjusted underlying pretax profit improved 47% to £3.3 million from £2.2 million. Revenue rose 6.4% to £51.4 million from £48.3 million.
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Central Asia Metals PLC - copper, zinc and lead producer and explorer with operations in Kazakhstan and North Macedonia - Updates on the proposed acquisition of Cygnus Metals Ltd by means of an Australian scheme of arrangement. Announces receipt of approval from the relevant authorities in Kazakhstan for the issue of the new CAML shares under the scheme, a condition precedent to the scheme. Anticipates the remaining conditions precedent to the scheme to be satisfied or waived at or immediately prior to the second court hearing on October 14. Continues to expect an effective date of October 15 and an implementation date of October 27.
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Sentry 7 PLC - London-based technology development company - Officially changes name from Vault Ventures PLC. Its ticker symbol is accordingly changed to SVN from VULT on the Aquis Stock Exchange Growth Market. "The company's change of name to Sentry 7 reflects its focus on developing a platform intended to act as a digital sentry for regulated financial institutions, enabling them to verify the integrity and authenticity of digital communications and records over the long term. This focus is particularly relevant as the financial sector prepares for the transition to post-quantum cryptography. The change of name marks a further step in the company's journey as it progresses its secure communications platform. The company recently announced two of its co-design partners, who will support the development of the platform alongside its engineering partner. The company looks forward to providing further updates as the development of the platform progresses, as well as updates on its partnerships, as appropriate," comments.
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Zotefoams PLC - Croydon, London-headquartered foams, insulation, seals and interior trims provider - Announces acquisition of Verttec LLC, a manufacturer of technical roll foams based in Pennsylvania, for total consideration of up to USD7.3 million. "The acquisition adds specialist crosslinked roll foam capability to the group. This product format and manufacturing process, which have attractive applications in all three of the group's target market verticals, are distinct from both the group's non-crosslinked and block foams produced at OKC in Spain and the block foams manufactured in the UK, the US and Poland," company says. Acquisition is being implemented via a newly formed subsidiary, Zotefoams US Holdings Inc, which has acquired the entire issued equity of Verttec on a cash-free, debt-free basis for initial consideration of USD5.1 million. Says a further USD2.2 million is payable over 24 months, "subject to the revenue performance of the business and other performance criteria being delivered." The acquisition is funded from existing cash resources and debt facilities. Estimates organic investment to replicate Verttec would cost USD20 million and take five years to complete.
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