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Cohort’s MCL receives £12m in orders from UK MoD
Cohort (CHRT) announced last week that its subsidiary, Marlborough Communications Limited (MCL) has received two orders from the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD).
The orders, worth £12m in total are for hearing protection and communication ancillaries, for use on armoured fighting vehicles and in dismounted close combat, one of the most demanding and challenging noise environments within the UK military.
Deliveries commence in the second half of 2022 through to mid-2023.
Andy Thomis, Cohort Chief Executive said:
“These orders are a clear demonstration of the strength of the 10-year partnership and collaboration between MCL and INVISIO, and further cement MCL’s position as the MOD’s leading supplier of innovative hearing protection systems, to protect UK military personnel. Together with other recent contract wins across the Group, these orders further strengthen our order book and enhance the visibility of future revenues.”
CHRT Daily Candle Chart
Bioventix hike dividend despite drop in revenue
Bioventix (BVXP) released a somewhat underwhelming set of Interim Results last week…
The antibody supplier said revenue fell 8% to £4.73m in the second half of 2021 due to the pandemic forcing hospitals to focus on critical care rather than clinical diagnostics.
Pre-tax profit held up slightly better, dropping to £3.56m from £3.72m the year before.
However, Bioventix chose to hike its dividend by 20% – indicating that management are confident demand will return.
Cash levels remain healthy at £5.12m and Bioventix continues to run a solid debt-free balance sheet.
In a joint Chairman and CEO statement, Bioventix said sales relating to heart attack idenitifier antibody, troponin “grew significantly once again during the period”. And “the continued roll-out of high sensitivity troponin tests provides further encouragement for our future sales in this area”.
Having initially sold off on the Interim Results, the shares have subsequently clawed back these losses and there are signs that short-term price momentum is starting to turn bullish.
BVXP Daily Candle Chart
Eckoh bounce from long-term support on ‘in-line’ trading update
Secure payments firm, Eckoh (ECK) said it expects results for the year ended 31 March 2022 to be in line with “consensus market expectations”.
Market expectations for the year ending 31 March 2022 are currently revenue of £32.1m and Adjusted Operating profit of £4.9m.
Eckoh CEO, Nik Philpot believes the integration of “transformational” Secure Payments provider, Syntec is “making good progress”. And that “Eckoh’s portfolio remains best in class.”
The Trading Update also included a detailed product update which included the launch of a new Azure Cloud platform with a Fortune 100 client along with a refresh of Eckoh’s ChartGaurd interface and new extensions to its CallGaurd product.
On the price chart, the shares have bounced from long-term support at 39p and we expect this level to hold given the upbeat nature of Eckoh’s statement.
ECK Daily Candle Chart
CAML’s earnings jump 48% as metal prices surge
Central Asian Metals (CAML) released a strong set of Full Year 2021 results last week…
The Kazak copper miner delivered Full-Year revenue of $235.2m (2020: $170.3m) while adjusted earnings (EBITDA) increased 48% to $141.5m (2020: $95.7m).
Group profit before tax came in at $109.3m (2020: $59.8m) while the balance moved to a net cash position of $22.7m versus a net debt position of $36.2m the year prior.
CEO Nigel Robinson commented:
“I am pleased to report a strong set of financial results for 2021, which represents our most profitable year to date…
Following this strong performance, we are delighted to propose a 12 pence per share final dividend, resulting in a full year dividend of 20 pence per share.”
CAMl’s production guidance for its Kounrad, copper mine is between 12,500 and 13,500 tonnes of copper.
And guidance for its Sasa mine is 790,000 to 810,000 tonnes of ore, which should lead to between 20,000 and 22,000 tonnes of zinc in concentrate and between 27,000 and 29,000 tonnes of lead in concentrate.
CAML Daily Candle Chart
Keywords Studios Full Year numbers ‘in-line’ with upgraded targets
Keywords Studios (KWS) Full Year revenue rose 37% to €512.2m thanks to “a buoyant video games market refocused on new content creation”.
The games developer said revenue and profits are “in-line” with upgraded guidance given in January with 2022 expected to be a “particularly strong year for new game launches”, as developers and publishers look to capitalise on higher player numbers and create ever more sophisticated content to engage players in their games for longer.
Keywords CEO, Bertrand Bodson commented:
“I am delighted to have joined Keywords at a time when the business is performing so well. The Group has delivered strong organic growth, driven by high levels of demand for our services, and further extended our capabilities, reach and scale through selective acquisitions…
We continue to see strong demand across all of our service lines, underpinning our confidence in delivering a performance for the full year towards the top end of current market expectations”.
The shares have rallied more than 35% from their March lows, and with short-term momentum now realigned with Keywords bigger picture trend, we expect the shares to retest their recent highs.
KWS Daily Candle Chart
Xpediator starts 2022 ‘positively’ despite Ukraine situation
In their Final Results, released this week, Xpediator (XPD) said trading has “began positively” despite the problems in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The logistics group said its operations in Lithuania have been worst effected and that the group were also having to deal with rising energy prices.
Trading at the start of the year was strong, while March was ‘in-line’ with expectations.
The cautious trading update overshadowed a record set of Final Results for 2021 which saw revenues rise by 34% to £297m and underlying profits jump by 25% to £9.1m.
Rob Riddleston, interim chairman commented:
“The group has a solid financial platform and with its asset light base is more shielded than some from energy and other cost inflation. We anticipate that in spite of these challenges, demand from the group’s 10,000+ customers will continue to be solid across all three divisions,”
The final dividend is 0.6p, making a total for the year of 1.1p (1.5p), which Xpediator said would have been higher but for the situation in Ukraine and eastern Europe, but if this only has a minor impact, it will consider a special dividend later.
XPD Daily Candle Chart
Mulberry profits to be moderately ahead of expectations
Mulberry (MUL) has announced that Full-Year revenue and profits will be “moderately ahead of expectations” as it recovers faster from the pandemic than first thought.
The luxury fashion house said that robust sales trend delivered in the six months to September has continued into the second half of its financial year.
Mulberry intent to use this extra cash to ramp up marketing spend, and advertising spend to further build brand awareness. And even with the extra spending, profits will still be ahead of market expectations.
Encouragingly, gross margins on products have been maintained, having hit 69% last year, compared with 59% in 2020.
The Group’s balance sheet remains strong with net cash balances at FY22 expected to be more than £20 million.
MUL Daily Candle Chart
Inland Homes completes two land sales and Managing Director departs
Inland Homes (INL) announced that it had completed two land sales yesterday: the former Telephone Exchange in Staines and Phase 3 Gardiners Park Village, Basildon.
The proceeds generated from the disposal of these assets will be used to “drive a further reduction in the Group’s net debt, a strategic priority for the business” – read the statement.
News of the sales were followed by the sudden departure of the Group’s Managing Director, Gary Skinner.
Skinner joined Inland Homes in 2016 from Willmott Dixon where he was operations director of the contractor’s housing division.
At Inland Skinner was directly in charge of the firm’s construction activities and project delivery.
The shares closed -6% lower yesterday and there has been no comment regarding Skinner’s departure from CEO Stephen Wicks
INL Daily Candle Chart
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