EARNINGS AND TRADING: Xaar loss narrows; CT Automotive profit warning
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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Xaar PLC - Cambridge, England-based industrial inkjet manufacturer - Pretax loss narrows to £1.4 million for the six months ended June 30 from £2.8 million the year prior, as revenue grows to £29.7 million from £27.2 million, equating to 9.2% at constant currency. Printhead revenue increases by 5.5% to £21.0 million from £19.9 million. "Demand across our core and emerging applications remains encouraging. Strong pre-launch demand for the Flashforge CJ270, evidenced by the receipt of initial printhead orders and the continued build-up of volumes ahead of commercial launch, further validates our strategy to expand into high-value applications," says Chief Executive John Mills. "The full-year outlook remains unchanged, and the board looks forward with confidence," he adds.
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Sabre Insurance Group PLC - Dorking, Surrey-based motor insurance underwriter - Pretax profit falls to £23.9 million in the six months ended June 30 from £25.5 million the year prior. Gross written premium total £116.0 million, up from £100.3 million, net insurance margin dips to 15.7% from 19.0% YoY and the combined operating ratio worsens to 85.6% from 82.6%. Sabre raises its interim dividend to 4.1 pence per share from 3.4p a year ago and says it is on track for 2026 guidance of profit slightly higher than 2025. It guides undiscounted net insurance margins in target 18% to 22% range in 2026, and sees early evidence of some growth in marketing pricing in 2026.
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CT Automotive Group PLC - Portsmouth, England-based maker of interior components for the automotive industry - Says first-half underlying pretax profit will be materially below the prior year despite revenue rising 15% to USD62.1 million, as geopolitical instability lifted operating costs and disrupted supply chains. The company says higher freight costs, temporary inefficiencies at its expanding Mexico facility, and delayed cost recoveries weighed on earnings, though it expects materially stronger profitability in the second half alongside continued strong revenue growth. CT Automotive remains confident of meeting full-year market expectations as operational improvements and AI-driven factory systems boost efficiency.
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SIG PLC - Sheffield-based construction specialist - Pretax loss narrows to £21.6 million in the six months ended June 30 from £33.1 million the year prior. Basic losses per share are 1.9 pence versus 3.0p. Revenue is flat at £1.29 billion versus £1.30 billion on-year, like-for-like sales decline 1.5% versus same sized growth a year ago. "The challenging conditions across all the group's markets were exacerbated by poor weather in Q1. Despite this we saw share gains in several markets such as UK Roofing, Poland and Benelux through the successful delivery of strategic actions," it says. Looking ahead, SIG says markets are not anticipated to recover during the rest of 2026 and possibly throughout 2027. For 2026, SIG expects to deliver £25 million of operating profit whilst improving its net debt position in the second half. No dividend is declared.
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Synthomer PLC - London-based developer of polymer chemicals - Says first-half results are ahead of expectations, driven by higher margins and cost savings. As a result, now expects full-year 2026 performance to come in slightly ahead of market expectations. First-half revenue rises 6.7% to £954.3 million from £894.4 million a year earlier, while the pretax loss narrows to £25.5 million from £36.9 million and the basic loss per share improves to 3.1p from 25.5p. Chief Executive Michael Willome says: "Synthomer has delivered a strong performance so far in 2026, with the majority of the progress we have made coming from our sustained efforts to become a more speciality-focused company and our consistent work to 'control the controllables'. This includes our focus on growing our higher margin products and accessing new markets, customer-led innovation, optimising our regional manufacturing strategy and further cost and complexity reductions."
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CLS Holdings PLC - commercial property investment company - Cuts its 2026 EPRA earnings guidance to 4.6 pence to 5.5p per share, below analyst consensus of 6.8p after slower-than-expected leasing, a key tenant opting not to extend its Spring Gardens lease, and a 4.6% fall in portfolio valuations. CLS expects first-half EPRA EPS of 2.7p and EPRA net tangible assets of 177.7p per share, but says its £100 million disposal programme and refinancing plans remain on track, with £62 million of asset sales completed and more than half of 2026 debt refinanced. "While near-term earnings are under pressure, we continue to make progress against our strategic priorities. Supported by our experienced local teams, a well-located portfolio and improving financial flexibility, we believe the actions we are taking today position CLS to benefit as market conditions improve," the firm says.
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Symphony Environmental Technologies PLC - Hertfordshire, England-based biodegradable plastic technology developer - Issues trading update ahead of annual general meeting. Says it made a net profit of £50,000 in the first half of 2026 compared to a £503,000 loss the year prior. Revenue climbs 23% to £3.6 million from £2.9 million with gross profit up 40% to £2.1 million from £1.5 million. "This performance reflects the benefits of the strategic and operational actions implemented during 2025, including improved margin quality, tighter cost control and increased operating leverage," it adds.
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Focusrite PLC - High Wycombe, England-based software company - Issues trading update ahead of annual general meeting. Says it continues to trade in line with the board's expectations. Underlying demand has remained healthy across both the Content Creation and Audio Reproduction divisions with trading in the first months of the new financial year ahead of the prior year, consistent with the expected heavier weighting of sales to the first half of the current year. Whilst the board remains mindful of the broader macro-economic environment, its expectations for the full year to February 28 2027 remain unchanged. Puts market consensus for revenue at £170.1 million to £173.7 million and adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of £25.2 million to £27.4 million.
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Tribal Group PLC - Sheffield, England-based educational software and services provider - Expects to deliver a "solid" trading performance in FY26 with revenue and adjusted Ebitda "comfortably" in line with current market expectations for revenue of £93.6 million, adjusted Ebitda of £17.0 million and net cash, excluding leases, of £9.4 million. Trading in the first half of the year has been robust, in line with management expectations. Closing annual recurring revenue of the core business increases by 11% to £64.6 million from £58.3 million the year prior, at constant currency, reflecting growth in its strategic products and cloud offering, more than offsetting the anticipated ongoing decline in non-core business ARR.
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