15th Apr 2025 21:53
(Alliance News) - 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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Vp PLC - Harrogate, England-based equipment rental - Issues trading update for the financial year ended March 31. Records "resilient" performance and expects to report a performance in line with market expectations despite previously reported challenges in certain end markets. Says company compiled analyst consensus for revenue is GBP371 million, and profit before tax, amortisation and impairment of goodwill, trade names and customer relationships and exceptional items is GBP37 million with pre-IFRS 16 net debt of GBP141 million. Says activity levels in Water have been strong and are expected to continue with the start of Ofwat's new Asset Management Period 8. In addition, sees significant opportunities in Transmission in the UK and Germany, particularly in relation to the renewal and upgrade of grid infrastructure. But says activity levels in Network Rail's Control Period 7 have been slower than anticipated.
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Tatton Asset Management PLC - Cheshire, England-based firm offering fund management, regulatory, compliance and business consulting services - Issues trading update for the year ended March 31. Reports record net inflows of GBP3.7 billion in the year, and total assets under management of GBP21.8 billion at March 31 compared with GBP17.6 billion a year prior. AUM at April 11 are GBP21.1 billion. Confident that FY results will be in line with the market expectations.
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S & U PLC - Solihull-based lender focused on motor finance and property bridging - Pretax profit falls to GBP24.0 million in the year to January 31 from GBP33.6 million a year prior. Revenue is stable at GBP115.6 million compared with GBP115.4 million a year ago. Takes impairment charge of GBP35.6 million reflecting increased motor arrears, up from GBP24.2 million a year prior. Final dividend is reduced to 40 pence per share from 50p. Chair Anthony Coombs says: "Advantage, our resilient and established motor financier has undoubtedly had a difficult year owing to legal and regulatory challenges. However, these are now almost all resolved." Anticipates that S&U will be "restored to its habitual path of steady and sustainable growth."
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PRS REIT PLC - Manchester, England-based real estate investment trust - Says the portfolio continues to perform very strongly. Rent collection in the third quarter to January 31 was 101% and physical occupancy at March 31 2025 was 96%, with 5,204 of the 5,443 completed homes occupied. Estimates rental value at March 31 at GBP69.6 million, up from GBP62.3 million a year ago. "Discussions with a number of parties regarding the acquisition of the company are ongoing, alongside which the board continues to explore all the options available to the company with a view to maximising value for the company's shareholders," PRS REIT says.
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Nanoco Group PLC - Runcorn, England-based developer and manufacturer of cadmium-free quantum dots and other nanomaterials - Swings to pretax loss of GBP960,000 in six months to January 31 from profit of GBP2.1 million a year prior. Last year's profit benefits from GBP2.5 million fair value gain on derivative financial instrument. Revenue declines to GBP3.5 million from GBP4.0 million, while administrative expenses rise to GBP3.7 million from GBP3.0 million. Expects full-year revenue to be ahead of current market expectations for GBP6.6 million. This reflects the completion of the settlement agreement with a European electronics customer in addition to some other small commercial wins.
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Renold PLC - Manchester, England-based company which supplies industrial chains and related power-transmission products - Issues trading update for the year to March 31. Says maintained positive momentum through the final quarter and consequently expects to report full-year adjusted operating profit and EPS for FY25 ahead of current market expectations, a third consecutive year of record performance. Company compiled analyst consensus for the financial year was for revenue of GBP251.9 million, and for underlying operating profit of GBP31.2 million. Expects adjusted operating profit to be 6% higher than GBP29.7 million last year and sees revenue up 3.8% at GBP245.1 million. On tariffs, says the impact to Renold is currently difficult to predict.
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Robert Walters PLC - London-based international recruitment company - says net fee income for the first quarter of 2025 is down 17% on-year, to GBP67.3 million from GBP81.3 million the previous year. Asia Pacific income has fallen 16% to GBP27.4 million, while Europe income has fallen 24% to GBP21.9 million. UK net fee income, meanwhile, is down 4% at GBP12.6 million. "Global hiring markets remained challenging during the first quarter," comments CEO Toby Fowlston. "We saw some pockets of growth in the UK and broadly stable activity levels in Asia-Pacific, however the weaker sentiment seen in Europe in late 2024 has continued. More recently, increased uncertainty regarding the flow of global trade due to tariffs is likely to be a further headwind to client and candidate confidence in the near term - limiting visibility on the outlook for the balance of the year at the present time." He continues: "We remain highly focused on our strategic initiatives to strengthen the business. We are rigorously engaged in improving fee earner productivity across our markets, driving efficiencies in our front and back-office teams, optimising our office network and leveraging more co-ordinated procurement."
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Billington Holdings PLC - The structural steel and construction safety solutions company - reports pretax profit of GBP10.8 million for 2024, down 19% from GBP13.4 million in 2023 but "in line with upgraded market expectations". Revenue has fallen 15% to GBP113.1 million from GBP132.5 million. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation fell 20% to GBP12.4 million from GBP15.5 million, and basic earnings per share fell 22% to 66.2p from 84.4p. Dividend payout for the year totals 25.0p, down from 33.0p. Billington notes that the prior year's total included a 13.0p "additional exceptional amount". Company nonetheless says it "delivered a robust performance in 2024 with strong trading across the group, despite a challenging market backdrop". "The group has a strong level of contracts secured for delivery during 2025 and into 2026, combined with a significant pipeline of opportunities," Chief Executive Officer Mark Smith comments. "However, the overall reduction in industry demand is leading to pricing pressure, particularly as competitors look to secure work to contribute to fixed overhead recovery, and the precise timing of certain projects remains uncertain." He adds: "We are optimistic that the market will see some recovery later in 2025, although the timing and nature of any upturn in economic confidence is uncertain. Billington is very well positioned to take advantage of improved market conditions when they arise and our financial stability and strong order book provide cautious optimism for the future."
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By Jeremy Cutler, Alliance News reporter
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VpTatton Asset ManagementS & UPrs ReitNanocoRenoldRobert WaltersBillington