27th Feb 2025 14:32
(Alliance News) - 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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Drax Group PLC - Selby, England based electricity generator - Reports pretax profit of GBP753 million for 2024, down 5.4% from GBP796 million for the previous year. Revenue is down 20% to GBP6.16 billion from GBP7.73 billion. Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation & amortisation however increased to GBP1.06 billion from GBP1.01 billion. (Adjusted figures account for exceptional items and certain remeasurements.) Drax proposes a final dividend of 15.6 pence per share, up from 13.9p. Brings full-year dividend to 26.0p, up 13% from 23.1p. "Drax has delivered a strong operational and financial performance while supporting UK energy security," commented Chief Executive Officer Will Gardiner. Company says 2025 expectations for adjusted Ebitda are in line with analyst consensus estimates, and forecasts post-tax operating cash flow exceeding GBP1 billion for Drax Power Station in 2025 through 2027, "underpinned by forward power hedges and renewable certificates". Also targets post-2027 adjusted Ebitda of between GBP600 million and GBP700 million combined per year from FlexGen, Pellet Production and Biomass Generation.
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Derwent London PLC - London-based property investor and developer - Reports swing to GBP116.0 million pretax profit for 2024, from a GBP475.9 million loss in 2023. Gross rental income rose 0.9% to GBP214.8 million from GBP212.8 million. Earnings per share total 102.93p, swinging from a 424.25p LPS. Total return for the year is positive 3.2%, compared with 2023's negative 11.7%. Final dividend increased by 0.5p to 55.5p, bringing the full-year total to 80.5p per share, up 1.3% from 79.5p. "We have delivered another strong leasing performance, with GBP18.9m of new rent signed over 12% above ERV...our activity was well distributed across the portfolio," says CEO Paul Williams. "Growth in rental values doubled to 4.3%, the highest level since 2016, and valuations recovered in the second half as yields stabilised, delivering a positive total return of 3.2%." For 2025, Derwent guides for a positive rental outlook with portfolio ERV guidance of 3% to 6%. Says its total return outlook is the strongest for several years, assuming that yields remain stable.
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Bluefield Solar Income Fund Ltd - London-based investor in solar assets - Net asset value per share is 126.03p as at December 31, down from 129.75p at June 30. NAV total return was 0.52% for the period, up on-year from 0.47%. Pretax profit is GBP1.6 million for the six months ended December, down from GBP4.0 million the prior year. Underlying earnings decreased to GBP40.4 million or 6.83 per share, from GBP43.9 million or 7.19p. Targets a dividend of at least 8.90p for the year ending June 30, 2025, up from 8.80p. Chair John Scott says "business remains sound" amid "a robust pricing environment", but that "given our lacklustre share price the board is committed to exploring strategic initiatives to address the share price discount [to NAV]".
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Jupiter Fund Management PLC - London-based fund manager - Says pretax profit surged to GBP88.3 million for 2024, from GBP9.4 million in 2023. Net revenue decreased 1% to GBP364.1 million from GBP368.8 million. Underlying pretax profit however decreased 7% to GBP97.5 million from GBP105.2 million. Total dividend for the year is 5.4p, down 45% from 9.8p. Assets under management fell 13% to GBP45.3 billion from GBP52.2 billion. "We have delivered resilient financial performance this year, despite the ongoing challenges facing the industry," says CEO Matthew Beesley. "Gross flows increased to over GBP14bn and although we saw net outflows...Short-term outflows inevitably follow management changes, but we are confident this sets us up well for long-term growth."
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By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter
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