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The following is a round-up of earnings for London-listed companies, issued on Tuesday and not separately reported by Alliance News: ---------- Card Factory PLC - Wakefield, England-based greeting cards, gifts and celebration merchandise retailer - Pretax profit nearly halves to £7.5 million in the six months to July 31 from £14.0 million the year prior. Revenue rises 5.9% to £247.6 million from £233.8 million but cost of sales increases 11% to £174.3 million from £157.6 million and operating expenses by 7.5% to £58.8 million from £54.7 million. Declares dividend of 1.3 pence per share, up 4.9% from 1.2p a year ago. Like-for-like store revenue grows 1.5%, with ‘positive performance in core stores business’. But LFL sales at cardfactory.co.uk are down 11.3% as ‘we continue to evolve our offer to focus on higher margin sales.’ Second half expectations remain unchanged despite the ‘challenging consumer environment’. Expects pretax profit to follow a similar second-half weighting profile to financial 2025, reflecting seasonality of sales, timing of investments and realisation of inflation mitigation actions. Expects mid-to-high single-digit percentage growth in adjusted pretax profit in financial 2026 from £66.0 million in financial 2025. ‘We have strong plans in place for H2 to deliver on our quality and value proposition including new Christmas ranges and a significantly expanded Halloween range. These plans, combined with our ongoing productivity and efficiency programme, mean our expectations for the full year remain unchanged,’ says Chief Executive Darcy Willson-Rymer. ---------- Ocean Wilsons Holdings Ltd - Bermuda-registered investment firm - Total profit balloons to $311.6 million in the six months to June 30 from $38.4 million the year prior. This includes $224.4 million gain on the sale of discontinued operations. Ocean Wilsons completed the sale of its 56% interest in Wilson Sons SA in June, realising cash proceeds of $594 million. In July, the company announced a proposed all-share merger with Hansa Investment Company Ltd. Profit from continuing operations rises to $10.4 million from $8.4 million. Declares dividend of 181 US cents, more than double last year’s 85c. ---------- North Atlantic Smaller Companies Investment Trust PLC - investment trust - Net asset value per share rises 4.8% to 565.4 pence at July 31 compared to 539.7p at January 31, and by 1.9% from 555.1p the year prior. Return before tax declines 30% to £44.3 million in the six months to July from £63.3 million the year prior. Basic and diluted earnings per share are 33.57p, down 29% from 47.25p. ‘Looking to the balance of the year, we are hopeful that a number of corporate events, both in the quoted and unquoted portfolios, will enable us to maintain the momentum of the first half,’ company says. ---------- Northcoders Group PLC - Manchester-based software coding training provider - Pretax profit falls to £63,449 in the six months to June 30 from £118,137 the year prior, as revenue drops 16% to £3.7 million from £4.4 million. Describes performance as ‘resilient despite a softer revenue environment.’ Explains the immediate environment remains ‘challenging, with regional funding delays expected to affect H2 2025 revenues with non-recurring costs expected in the second half of 2025.’ Expects the second half of the year to be weaker than the first, but says the group’s ‘strong’ cash position provides a solid foundation for future growth. In addition, Northcoders says Chief Financial Officer Charlotte Prior is to step down in April 2026 for personal reasons. ---------- Big Technologies PLC - Rickmansworth, England-based electronic monitoring solutions provider - Swings to pretax loss of £25.7 million in the six months to June 30 from £4.0 million profit a year ago. Revenue dips 6.4% to £24.8 million from £26.5 million but annual recurring revenue rises 12% to £48.9 million from £43.7 million. Bottom line is hurt by jump in administrative expenses to £43.9 million from £16.1 million, while provisions for ongoing litigation proceedings multiply to £42.7 million from £1.9 million. These relate to the legal action against former CEO Sara Murray. ‘The group remains well-positioned with the financial flexibility to continue to invest in product and market development. We are expanding our operations in the USA and looking at additional markets in Asia,’ Chief Executive Ian Johnson says. Further growth in ARR is anticipated in the second half as new contracts commence operation. But cautions that foreign exchange headwinds are expected to impact revenues and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation in the current and future periods. To mitigate against this the group intends to commence a hedging programme. ---------- Strix Group PLC - Isle of Man-based supplier of kettle safety controls and other devices for water heating and temperature control, steam management, and water filtration - Swings to pretax profit of £3.1 million in the six months to June 30 from £3.1 million loss the year prior. Revenue dips 8.5% to £60.5 million from £66.1 million, but administrative expenses fall 34% to £11.1 million from £16.7 million. Says refinancing process is currently on hold, given macro trading volatility, but has ‘proactive and supportive’ dialogue with existing lending group to amend current facilities. Net debt leverage ratio at 2.2 times, although higher than 1.8x a year ago, remains ‘comfortably’ within covenants of 2.75x, Strix points out. Reducing the debt position within 1.0x to 2.0x as soon as possible will be of ‘critical focus’ over the next 12 to 18 months, Strix says. ---------- Distil PLC - London-based owner of premium alcoholic drinks brands such as RedLeg Spiced Rum, Blackwoods Gin and Gem Diva - Pretax loss widens to £1.1 million in the financial year to March 31 from £942,000 the year prior as revenue slumps 32% to £1.0 million from £1.5 million. Volumes decrease 28% and gross margin declines to 38% from 48%, with one-off stock adjustments accounting for 8% of the reduction. Cuts advertising and promotion spend by 14% but still incurs cash outflow of £188,000 compared to £191,000 a year prior. Cash reserves at year-end are £338,000 down from £526,000 a year ago. ‘The past twelve months have been a period of both challenge and distinct progress, as we navigate a changing spirits market while advancing our strategic growth initiatives,’ says Don Goulding, executive chair. ‘Looking ahead to FY25/26, we see reason for cautious optimism. Despite the challenges facing the industry, we believe that consumer confidence will start to return, and our brands are well positioned to benefit when the market returns,’ Goulding adds. ---------- Selkirk Group PLC - London-based acquisition vehicle focused on consumer, technology and digital media sectors in the UK - Pretax loss narrows to £144,649 in the six months to June 30 from £217,799 the year prior. Revenue is zero, unchanged year-on-year, but bottom line benefits from other income of £100,924 compared to £8,977 a year ago. Selkirk says since admission to AIM in November 2024, it has ‘actively evaluated a diverse pipeline of opportunities but has not yet secured a transaction that meets its investment criteria.’ Looking ahead, sees ‘no shortage of opportunities’. Selkirk says it hopes to be part of the revival of the UK market and notes some encouraging signs. ---------- Kelso Group Holdings PLC - acquisition vehicle - Pretax loss narrows to £54,578 in the six months to June 30 from £883,669 the year prior. Gains on investments reach £369,424 compared to losses of £675,873 a year ago. This helps offset rising staff costs and a drop in other income. ‘Although it has taken longer than anticipated, we believe the first signs of a sustained recovery in the UK small and mid-cap market can now be seen and we remain confident in the intrinsic value of our investments,’ Kelso says. The firm currently has five investments in TheWorks.co.uk PLC, Angling Direct PLC, THG PLC, NCC Group PLC and Selkirk Group PLC. In addition, says it is at an ‘advanced stage’ with its next investments, and in the second half of 2025 will explore limited gearing of up to a maximum of 20% of net assets on drawdown in order to enhance returns in anticipation of a recovery in the UK small and mid-cap market. In addition, says Chief Financial Officer Mark Kirkland is to step down immediately. Ian Selby has been appointed as a non-board finance director as of Tuesday. ---------- Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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