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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: ---------- Smiths News PLC - Swindon, England-based newspaper and magazine distributor - Adjusted operating profit for the year ended August 30 ‘is now expected to be slightly ahead of current market expectations’ due to strong trading in the second half. ‘This positive performance has been driven by the news and magazines business, which has been bolstered by strong demand for collectables, and continued focus on operational efficiencies, delivering cost-savings in line with expectations,’ Smiths News says. The current market expectation for adjusted operating profit is £37.2 million. ‘The company is also pleased to announce it has received a final £2.0 million dividend from the administrators of McColl’s Retail Group. No further dividends are expected to be received in relation to this matter.’ Smiths News expects to provide an update on its capital allocation in its November annual results. ‘In line with the group’s capital allocation policy, the Board continues to consider investment in its core capabilities, potential adjacent market opportunities and further shareholder returns,’ it says. ---------- Fonix PLC - London-based mobile payments and messaging services provider - Pretax profit in the year to June 30 improves 3.3% to £14.4 million from £13.9 million the prior year, though revenue declines 4.3% to £72.8 million from £76.1 million. ‘Fonix enters FY26 with strong momentum. Full commercial services are now live with a major broadcaster in Portugal, and two further European markets are progressing at pace,’ Fonix says. Fonix lifts its final dividend by 3.5% to 5.90 pence per share from 5.70p. ---------- Digitalbox PLC - Bath, England-based digital media company and owner of brands such as Daily Mash, Tab and TV Guide - Digitalbox swings to a pretax loss of £198,000 in the first half of 2025, from profit of £20,000, despite revenue improving 12% to £1.8 million from £1.6 million. New product development costs of £160,000 hit profit. It also reports restructuring costs of £95,000. ‘H1 performance keeps the group on course to meet full-year expectations. Looking ahead, the Board is encouraged by the opportunities emerging in the global media market amidst the structural changes driven by AI. With positive first-half results, enhanced on-platform revenues, and a more diverse portfolio of brands, the group has demonstrated resilience and scalability. The board is confident that, with its combination of quality audiences and premium advertising inventory, Digitalbox will outperform the wider market and build further momentum into 2026,’ Digitalbox says. ---------- Keystone Law Group PLC - London-based provider of legal services - Keystone expects annual profit ahead of market expectations. For the first half ended July 31, pretax profit improves 25% to £6.9 million from £5.5 million a year prior. Revenue rises 17% to £54.2 million from £46.5 million. Adjusted pretax profit is up 11% to £6.2 million from £5.6 million. ‘I am delighted that the business continues to deliver such strong operational and financial performance, further reinforcing our ongoing investment in both people and our platform. As we maintain our reputation and leading position as the premier platform law firm, we remain confident that Keystone will continue to attract the high-quality talent needed to drive the business forward, delivering sustainable, long-term profits,’ Chief Executive Officer James Knight says. Keystone reports a ‘positive start’ to the second half and it expects revenue ‘to be ahead of current market expectations’ and and adjusted pretax profit ‘comfortably’ ahead. It puts revenue consensus at £103.6 million and the market view of adjusted pretax profit at £12.9 million. Adjusted pretax profit in financial 2025 amounted to £12.7 million, on revenue of £97.7 million. ---------- Mpac Group PLC - Tadcaster, North Yorkshire-based high-speed packaging and automation solutions firm - Mpac swings to a pretax loss of £9.4 million for the half-year to June 30, from profit of £3.3 million year prior. Revenue increases 41% to £84.7 million from £60.0 million. One-off charges stemming from the closure of a US site hurt profit. ‘In the period, the Group took the opportunity to consolidate its US footprint by closing the Cleveland site and moving its operations to the Boston site acquired in 2024. The net book value of the acquired intangible assets and goodwill were considered to be impaired after an assessment was done in line with IAS36, this resulted in an £8.5 million charge to non-underlying administrative expenses,’ Mpac says. ‘Management also considered the property value, which was impaired to zero net book value as the group has neither an ongoing use or a replacement tenant for the building. Leasehold improvements, being integral to the building, were similarly impaired. The result of this was a £1.9 million charge to non-underlying administrative expenses.’ Back in July, Mpac predicted 2025 revenue to fall significantly below previous expectations due to weaker than seen order intake. ‘Order intake since the half year end has been in-line with revised expectations, with continued and anticipated slower original equipment order intake from customers in the US,’ Mpac says. ‘The board can confirm that performance for FY 2025 is in line with revised guidance although the timing of a broader market recovery remains uncertain,’ it adds. Mpac on Tuesday names Simon Kesterton, David Squires and Clive Whiley are appointed as independent non-executive directors, with effect the start of October. Kesterton is finance chief at infrastructure firm Kier Group PLC, while Squires is the chief executive of engineer Senior PLC. Whiley previously chair banknote and security document printer De La Rue. Sara Fowler is leaving the Mpac board after five years as a non-executive director. Doug Robertson left his independent non-executive director at the end of last month. ---------- World Chess PLC - London-based chess promoter and tournament organiser - Pretax loss in the first six months of 2025 widens to €2.1 million from €1.9 million. Revenue declines 12% to €1.1 million from €1.2 million. Revenue from FIDE Online Arena ‘was broadly flat compared to 2024’. The firm says it has decided to close World Chess Club Berlin and ‘put greater emphasis on developing the digital platform’. ‘The Berlin club became a popular chess hub, but commercially it didn’t deliver the results the company expected, and a new, scalable venue model is under review,’ World Chess adds. ---------- Diaceutics PLC - Belfast, Northern Ireland-based diagnostic testing company - Pretax loss in half year ended June 30 narrows to £3.0 million from £3.3 million a year prior. Revenue rises 18% to £14.6 million from £12.3 million. ‘I am extremely pleased to report another period of strong operational and commercial execution, marked by double-digit organic revenue growth, expanding customer adoption and increased recurring revenue visibility. Despite macro-economic uncertainties globally, our customers remain active as they seek our help to improve patient access to therapy, capture lost revenue and increase profitability,’ Chief Executive Officer Ryan Keeling says. It reports ‘continued momentum’ post-half year end and is trading in line with expectations. ---------- Life Science REIT PLC - real estate investment trust focused on UK life sciences properties - Net asset value per share at the June 30 half-year end declines 11% to 66.3 pence from 75.1p. Gross property income rises to £8.9 million from £8.1 million but its pretax loss widens to £29.7 million from £13.0 million. Fair value losses on investment properties double to £31.6 million from £15.4 million. Last week, it reported a managed wind-down would be in the best interests of shareholders. ‘Subject to shareholder approval, the company will be managed with the intention of realising all the assets in its portfolio in an orderly manner with a view to repaying borrowings and making timely capital returns to shareholders,’ Chair Claire Boyle says. ‘The macro environment has remained challenging and as a result, leasing progress in the period has remained slow, albeit we have continued to sign deals at attractive prices and to shift the occupier line up further in favour of life sciences businesses.’ ---------- Vulcan Two Group PLC - investment company focused on acquiring e-pharmacy businesses - Vulcan Two reports a pretax loss of £79,892 for the six months to June 30, widening from £15,437 a year prior. The loss is solely down to administrative expenses. It does not report any revenue. ‘We are pleased to present these interim results. During this period our activities were focused exclusively on exploring potential acquisitions and funding options. The modest level of expenses incurred in the period are exclusively the costs of so doing,’ CEO Michael Kraftman says. It is its first reporting period since an AIM debut earlier in September. ---------- Optima Health PLC - occupational health services provider - Launches Optima Health Ireland and unveils a ‘new state-of-the art clinic in Dublin’. It follows the acquisition of Cognate Health agreed in April for up to €9 million. ‘The Dublin clinic will serve as a central hub for Optima Health Ireland’s operations, complementing existing capabilities in Cork and enhancing nationwide client support,’ Optima says. ‘With operations in both the UK and Ireland and an increasing demand for integrated occupational health and wellbeing services across borders, Optima Health is well positioned to support organisations and their employees to deliver innovative solutions in occupational health.’ ---------- Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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