Reach plc shares drop 25.90% to 86.7p on bleak outlook for newspaper business in half-year report
Reach plc said in its H1 results to 26 June, that profit was impacted by high energy prices, fuelling all-time high newsprint costs, and "not forecasting any improvement during FY22".
While pretax profit in H1 rose 25% to £32m and costs fell 4% to £263.6m, revenue shrunk 1.6% to £297.4m. Reach said its digital branch was the only one that grew in revenue, up 5.4% YoY. Meanwhile, print revenue fell 3.9%, circulation revenue fell 5.1%, and advertising revenue fell 9.9%. The company increased its dividend to 2.88p, up 4.7% from last year.
Wickes Group shares fall 17.99% to 138.6p on "signs of softening in the DIY market"
Wickes Group reported LFL sales growth of 0.8% YoY in H1 2022 to 2 July. Core LFL sales were down 5.5%, though Do-It-For-Me (DIFM) sales were up 29.7%. Additionally, local trade sales performed "very strongly, with our TradePro customer base increasing by 60,000 to 690,000 during the first half."
However, Wickes lowered its full-year adjusted pretax profit forecast to £72-82m from its previous forecast of £83m, and down from last year's recorded £85m. The company explained:
"Whilst comparatives for Core sales ease in the second half, trading in recent weeks in DIY and a softer outlook for the DIFM market suggest customers are reacting to the uncertain macroeconomic backdrop as we enter the second half of our financial year. Given this backdrop we currently expect full year adjusted PBT to be in the range of £72-82m."
dotDigital Group shares rise 27.37% to 98.2p on strong expected revenue and EBITDA growth in FY22
dotDigital reported "strong commercial performance and growth across all key global regions in the year to 30 June 2022, having addressed the challenges of the first half." For the year to 30 June 2022 (FY22), the company said it expected to report adjusted EBITDA and operating profit ahead of expectations, and 8% revenue growth to £62.8m.
Milan Patel, CEO, commented: "We remain cognisant of broader macro-economic uncertainty but enter the new financial year in a position of strength across our markets. Supported by high levels of recurring revenue and strong profitability, we remain focused on executing against each pillar of our growth strategy: Product Innovation, Geographic Expansion, and Strategic Partnerships. We look forward to the future with confidence."
Tavistock Investments shares rise 14.29% to 9.75p as CEO purchases 200,000 ordinary shares
Tavistock announced that its CEO, Brian Raven, had purchased a total of 200,000 ordinary shares in the company today at an average price of 9.325p. Following these transactions, Mr. Raven is now interested in 69,957,932 ordinary shares of 1p each, representing 12.53% of Tavistock's issued share capital.
Toople shares plunge 35.59% to 0.02p on revenue fall and switch to AQSE
Toople said revenue for the 6 months ended 31 March fell to £1.3m from £1.5 million the previous year. Pretax loss narrowed slightly to £655K from £773K as a result of administrative expenses being cut to £919K from £1.1m YoY.
Toople also announced it would apply for listing on AQSE Growth Market Access Segment via a fast-track application, as it believes it may not be eligible for readmission to the Main Market in the event of a reverse take-over, due to recently increased market cap requirements for the Main Market. Shares will be delisted from the Main Market on or around 23 August 2022, the company said.