EARNINGS: Manolete margin climbs; Mind Gym to cut costs as sales fall
The following is a round-up of earnings for London-listed companies, issued on Thursday and not separately reported by Alliance News:
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Associated British Engineering PLC - Cambridge-headquartered engineering services firm - Pretax loss widens to £31,000 in the six months ended March 31 from £19,000 the year prior. No revenue was reported in either period. Diluted losses per share stretch to 1.5 pence from 0.9p. The firm has been reclassified as a shell company and says it is now in a ‘good position to talk to potential acquisitions without having to consider the impact of the pension fund and related historical deficits.’ The firm is committed to using ‘all its efforts to identifying and acquiring a new business with growth potential and hopefully showing profits for our group,’ it adds.
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Orchard Funding Group PLC - Luton, England-based specialist in insurance premium finance and the professions funding market - Reports results for the 18 months ended January 31 with comparatives for the 12 months ended July 31, 2024, after a change in financial year-end. Pretax profit totals £6.6 million compared to £2.1 million, total income is £15.7 million versus £9.6 million. Basic earnings per share reach 23.11 pence versus 7.39p. ‘I am pleased to report a strong set of results for an 18-month period that has reshaped our business. We have continued to grow our lending in our core market of insurance premium finance while carefully managing our costs and margins,’ says Chief Executive Ravi Takhar. Declares final dividend of 1p per share, compared to nil before.
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Zambeef Products PLC - cold chain foods and retail business with operations in Zambia, Nigeria and Ghana - Pretax profit doubles to $3.8 million in the half-year ended March 31 from $1.9 million the year prior. Revenue rises 29% to $180.5 million from $139.7 million. Calls it a ‘resilient’ performance, ‘navigating an operating landscape characterised by a markedly stronger kwacha, easing inflation, and dramatically improved energy availability.’ Looking ahead to the second half of the financial year, ‘the completion of the summer crop harvest in June is expected to materially improve the Cropping division’s contribution and provide a favourable internal raw material base for Stockfeed and Milling. Our vertically integrated business model offers a significant competitive advantage, ensuring a reliable supply chain and a consistent market for our products across each link of the value chain.’
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Manolete Partners PLC - Buckinghamshire, England-based insolvency litigation financing firm - Pretax profit is flat at £1.6 million in the financial year ended March 31. Realised revenue drops 6.4% to £27.9 million from £29.8 million, in line with expectations, and ‘due to some large case completions moving into FY27’. Higher gross margins of 37%, up on-year from 32%, were driven by the settlement in the first half and an increase in the number of higher value, higher margin case completions in the second. The forward book increases ‘significantly’ in value to £67 million from £49 million a year ago, with a ‘significant increase in higher value, higher margin cases.’ Manolete says it makes a ‘positive’ start to FY27 with case signings of £6 million and completions of almost £4 million in the first two months of the year ahead of the prior year.
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Mind Gym PLC - London-based personal and business coaching service - Pretax loss narrows to £5.2 million in the financial year ended March 31 from £6.2 million the year prior, despite 23% drop in revenue to £29.9 million from £38.6 million. Mind Gym says it returned to profitability in the second half of the financial year, growing its recurring revenue base and improving margin. Second half revenue was 20% higher than the first. Licensing and membership revenue grew from 9% to 17% of total revenue year on year, including 26% in the fourth quarter, and adjusted administrative expenses fell 19% reflecting the benefit of cost reductions. Mind Gym says the market is expected to ‘remain challenging in FY27, driven by ongoing pressure on HR spend as organisations manage geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty.’ In response, further action is being taken to reduce the cost base by another £2 million on an annualised basis. ‘Overall, in FY27 we anticipate a return to modest revenue growth alongside positive Ebitda and a strengthened cash position,’ Mind Gym says. In addition, the firm says its review of strategic options, announced in January, remains ongoing.
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Unicorn AIM VCT PLC - venture capital trust - Net asset value per share is 74.2 pence at March 31, down on-year from 88.0p the year prior. After adding back the dividends paid in the period, NAV return per share increases 11.5% compared to the FTSE AIM All-Share Index which fell by 7.8%. An interim dividend of 2.0 pence per share was declared for the six months ended March 31, while a special dividend of 23.0 pence per share was also paid during the period. An additional special dividend of 3.9 pence per share is to be paid in September. ‘The period under review has been a positive one for the company, marked by the realisation of a substantial capital gain and the return of a significant proportion of proceeds to shareholders,’ the trust adds. The company says its positive absolute return and substantial outperformance of both small-cap indices is ‘particularly pleasing’ and reflects the ‘quality and resilience’ of the portfolio.
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