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The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers among London Main Market small-caps on Wednesday. ---------- SMALL-CAP - WINNERS ---------- Saga PLC, up 4.2% at 226.00 pence, 12-month range 101.40p-239.50p. The Kent, England-based provider of products and services for people over 50 says pretax loss narrowed to £3.7 million in the six months to July from £104.0 million the year prior. Last year’s figure included a £138.3 million impairment to Insurance Broking goodwill, while this year’s total sees £42.4 million of exceptional charges compared to gains of £7.1 million a year prior. Underlying pretax profit increases 42% to £38.7 million from £27.2 million with underlying earnings per share of 27.7 pence, up 55% from 17.9p a year ago. This reflects an improved performance in Travel, where underlying profit rose 33%, and Insurance Underwriting, where profit ballooned to £15.6 million from just £1.9 million last year, helping to offset a 29% decline in Insurance Broking profitability. Saga says it was a ‘strong’ first half trading performance, ‘ahead of our expectations’. As a result, full year underlying pretax profit is now expected to be in line with the prior year, despite increased finance costs, Saga says. In the financial year to January 31, 2025, Saga reported underlying pretax profit of £47.8 million, or £37.2 million from continuing operations. Saga is targeting underlying profitability of at least £100.0 million by January 2030 and CEO Hazell said the performance in the first half was a ‘significant step forward’ towards meeting these aims. In Travel, Saga said it has strong forward bookings for the second half of the year. ‘In both Ocean and River Cruise, and in Holidays, we anticipate a further improvement in profitability, driven by higher passenger numbers,’ it adds. ‘Insurance has performed well in the first half and we expect this to continue into the second,’ Saga says. ---------- SMALL-CAP - LOSERS ---------- On the Beach Group PLC, down 15% at 218.34p, 12-month range 132.20p-304.50p. The Manchester, England-based online holidays retailer says it recorded a third consecutive year of growth in its financial year ending next week, despite a continued trend for holidaymakers to book at the last minute. Adjusted pretax profit on a continuing basis, excluding business-to-business operations, is expected to be between £34.5 million and £35.5 million for the financial year ending September 30. The company is winding down its B2B segment, trading as Classic Collection, ‘to focus on the higher growth potential of the B2C business trading as On the Beach’, it says. The B2B area made ‘a small loss’ during the recent year. On the Beach says market consensus of adjusted pretax profit is £38.4 million, including £2 million in profit from the B2B segment. Adjusted pretax profit was £31.0 million in financial 2024. Back in May, at its interim results announcement, the company had said it expected adjusted pretax profit to be in line with the £38.2 million market consensus at the time. ‘The board and management team remain focused on delivering the group’s medium-term ambition of TTV of £2.5 billion, [earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation] of £100 million and adjusted pretax profit of £85 million, and I look forward to updating further at our final results in December,’ says Chief Executive Officer Shaun Morton. The company also on Wednesday announces a further share buyback programme for up to £25 million, adding to the £30 million already returned to shareholders during financial 2025. On the Beach also enters a new four-year credit facility of £120 million with Lloyds, NatWest and HSBC, with a £30 million accordion. This replaces the previous facility which was due to expire in 2027. ---------- Vp PLC, down 4.5% at 582.80p, 12-month range 460.00p-670.00p. The Harrogate, England-based equipment rental company’s Chief Executive Officer Anna Bielby intends to step down with effect from March 31, 2026, ‘to pursue interests outside of the corporate world’. Bielby has been CEO since September 2023. The recruitment process to choose a successor has begun. The group is due to publish a trading update for the six months that ended September 30 on October 10. ---------- Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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