27th Feb 2025 18:32
(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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Serco Group PLC - Hampshire, England-based multinational defence, health, space, justice, migration, customer services and transport company - Pretax profit falls 61% in 2024 to GBP97.0 million from GBP247.0 million the year before, as revenue declines 1.6% to GBP4.79 billion from GBP4.87 billion. The firm sees an exceptional goodwill impairment of GBP114.5 million for the year, as a result of Serco's unsuccessful rebid for a contract with the Australian government for the provision of onshore immigration detention facilities and services. Declares a total dividend per share of 4.16 pence, up 22% on-year from 3.41p. "In a global environment of continuous change and increasing complexity, Serco's purpose to impact a better future by enabling more efficiency and greater agility in the delivery of critical services for governments has never been more relevant," says Chief Executive Officer Mark Irwin. "We enter 2025 with confidence that we will continue to deliver profitable growth and make further progress in executing our strategy to create value for customers and shareholders." Serco forecasts 2025 revenue of around GBP4.8 billion, in line with its 2024 results, as well as underlying operating profit of around GBP260 million, which would be a 5.1% fall from GBP274 million.
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PPHE Hotel Group Ltd - Amsterdam-based international hospitality real estate company - Pretax profit grows 6.2% during 2024 to GBP30.6 million from GBP28.8 million, while revenue rises 6.8% to GBP443.8 million from GBP414.6 million. Declares a total dividend of 38p per share, up 5.6% on-year from 36p. Revenue per available room declined 0.3% to GBP120.3 million from GBP120.7 million, and the average room rate fell 3.2% to GBP161.5 million from GBP166.8 million. Occupancy was 74.5%, compared to 72.4% in 2023. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation increased 6.5% to GBP136.5 million from GBP128.2 million. "Our performance was driven by growing occupancy across our portfolio, a continued focus on cost management and margin, and delivery on our development pipeline," says Co-CEO Greg Hegarty. "2024 was an exciting and busy year for the Group as we neared completion of our GBP300+ million development pipeline, which is now in its final phases. We opened several new hotels, including our flagship art'otel London Hoxton, our first art'otel in Croatia, and the Group's first two hotels under the Radisson RED brand. These hotels are receiving excellent feedback from guests, are performing well and are on track to add at least GBP25 million of incremental Ebitda upon stabilisation of trading. The 2024 openings will soon be joined by art'otel Rome Piazza Sallustio, which is due to open in March 2025."
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RHI Magnesita NV - Vienna-headquartered manufacturer of refractory products for the processing of steel, glass and non-ferrous metals - Pretax profit slumped 14% in 2024 to EUR200 million from EUR233 million, driven by a revenue decline of 2.2% to EUR3.49 billion from EUR3.57 billion. Total dividend remains unchanged on-year at 1.80p per share. CEO Stefan Borgas says: "RHY Magnesita has delivered another resilient financial performance despite very weak market demand in most markets around the world. At EUR407 million, adjusted Ebitda was within our guidance range of EUR400 - EUR410 million, reflecting the expected strong performance in the fourth quarter for which I offer my congratulations to the team. ... Our strategy to grow through acquisition in the fragmented refractory industry, building on our strengths as a technology and sustainability leader, is proving to be a solid approach to generating value for shareholders. We will continue to manage the business conservatively throughout the ongoing downturn in demand whilst delivering on our strategic objectives to generate long term value."
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Man Group PLC - London-based investment manager in public and private markets - Assets under management increased 1% to USD168.6 billion at December 31, from USD167.5 billion at the same time in 2023. Core pretax profit grew 39% to USD473 million from USD340 million, while core net revenue rose 22% to USD1.46 billion from USD1.20 billion. Diluted earnings per share were up 29% to 25.1 cents from 19.4 cents. Man Group proposes a final dividend of 11.6 cents, bringing the total dividend for 2024 to 17.2 cents, up 5.5% on-year from 16.3 cents. "We see significant opportunities on the horizon in 2025," comments CEO Robyn Grew. "Stretched equity valuations and the risk of persistent inflation in the US suggest that allocators will increasingly seek uncorrelated investment strategies, while higher-for-longer interest rates are likely to support continued growth in credit markets."
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Brooks Macdonald Group PLC - London-based wealth manager - Pretax profit grows 7.7% in the six months that ended December 31 to GBP12.6 million from GBP11.7 million, despite revenue falling 2.6% to GBP51.9 million from GBP53.3 million. This was due to its receipt of GBP2.7 million in other non-operating income, compared to none the year before, and finance income increasing 15% to GBP1.5 million from GBP1.3 million. Funds under management at December 31 were GBP15.7 million, against GBP15.1 million at the same time the year prior. The firm declares an interim dividend of 30.0p, up 3.4% from 29.0p. CEO Andrea Montague says: "I have set up a sector leading executive team and we now have a laser focus on our strategy to reignite growth, provide excellent service, a broad and diverse range of financial products and services with proven investment performance. This, combined with our disciplined cost management, strong profit margin and financial flexibility from a strong balance sheet means we are well placed to deliver on our ambitious growth plans and generate attractive returns for our clients, colleagues and shareholders." The trust anticipates full-year performance "in line with its expectations". It continues to target 5% annualised net inflows and underlying cost growth of less than 5% a year.
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Macfarlane Group PLC - Glasgow, Scotland-based packaging company - Pretax profit increased 3.0% in 2024, rising to GBP20.9 million from GBP20.3 million. Revenue, however, falls 3.7% to GBP270.4 million from GBP280.7 million. Cost of sales is reduced 5.7% to GBP165.1 million from GBP175.0 million, and administrative expenses were 3.4% lower at GBP70.6 million, from GBP73.1 million. Both its interim and proposed final dividend are 3.66p, up 1.9% from 3.59p. Diluted EPS rises 4.3% to 9.74p from 9.34p. Chair Aleen Gulvanessian says: We expect 2025 to be another challenging year within the markets in which we operate, particularly with increased employment costs resulting from the recent UK budget and the introduction by the UK Government of extended producer responsibility fees. Management is taking actions to mitigate these incremental costs and we are working with our customers to help them manage the impact of EPR. ... We are well positioned to continue our profitable growth in 2025."
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K3 Business Technology Group PLC - Manchester, England-based provider of business-critical software solutions for fashion and apparel brands - Says its pretax loss for the year that ended November 30 widens to GBP2.8 million from GBP2.3 million, as revenue declines 26% to GBP23.2 million from GBP31.3 million. Adjusted administrative expenses, however, are reduced 20% to GBP15.7 million from GBP19.6 million, and exceptional reorganisation costs for the year are down 33% to GBP1.4 million from GBP2.1 million in 2023. "It was a challenging year, especially at Global Accounts, where activity levels reduced significantly, as we previously reported," says CEO Eric Dodd. "Nonetheless, results are in line with our expectations, helped by the actions we took over costs and resources to maintain firm financial discipline. We were pleased to agree the sale of NexSys at an attractive valuation at the close of the financial year. It enables us to return significant cash to shareholders, and our focus remains on shareholder value. The ongoing operations are performing to budget and should trade at cash breakeven from the end of February, as planned."
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By Emily Parsons, Alliance News reporter
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