Crest Nicholson (LON:CRST ) shares jump 17.37% to 255.7p as it reinstates dividend
Shares rose 19% after the property builder revealed that trading for the year ending 31 October 2020 had been better than expected, prompting it to raise its earnings guidance.
Due to a ‘positive trading environment’ since the spring lockdown, the company informed investors that it expects Adjusted Profit Before Tax for FY20 to be significantly ahead of consensus of £37.9m and at the upper end of the previously guided range of £35m - £45m.
The average number of sales outlets open during the year increased to 63 while forward sales at the end of October were 2,289 units with a gross development value of £480.5m compared to2,013 units and £378m in FY19.
During the summer the company continued to eegood trading across all of its divisions, with reservation rates now slightly ahead of the pre-spring lockdown level. The group also said it has benefitted from changing customer preferences as a result of the ongoing pandemic.
‘Expectations that COVID-19 has driven a structural change to the balance of office and home working has featured strongly in customers' reasons for considering a Crest Nicholson home.’
As a result of ‘excellent progress’ and a strong balance sheet, the Board expects to reinstate a dividend effective from the interim 2021 results, on a two and a half times cover basis.
“We will maintain our strong focus on delivering operational efficiencies and if our trading becomes significantly disrupted we will act decisively again to protect our enhanced balance sheet, said CEO, Peter Truscott.
The group added that it expects the housing market to ‘remain resilient to the impacts of COVID-19’ and said that the group is well positioned to capitalise on this demand.
Inspirit Energy (AIM:INSP ) shares skyrocketed 140% to 0.12p with Volvo Penta backing
The company said this morning that it has agreed a letter of support for the development of a Waste Heat Recovery ("WHR") system which utilises its proprietary engine technology.
Inspirit Energy, which is positioned in the new microgeneration energy sector, said the support follows a successful model design and application demonstration with Volvo Penta, a world-leading supplier of power solutions for marine and industrial applications.
The WHR system utilises Inspirit's proprietary ‘Sterling’ engine technology. The company has highlighted that its compact nature enables it to be positioned in the exhaust system after the catalytic converters with the energy being directly transferred as an electrical output.
During the demonstration to Volvo Penta, the three-stage heat recycling process increased engine efficiency by around 20%, driven by waste heat from a Volvo Penta D13 series engine.
In addition to the efficiency improvement and heat reduction, the company said the WHR system is also expected to have the ‘additional significant benefit’ of reducing noise.
The letter of support not only validates Inspirit's technology but underlines the company's ability ‘to capitalise on the ever-changing market and greater demand from consumers for environmentally friendly, energy efficient and cost saving products,’ the group noted.
Inspirit’s technology will be tested over the next 12 months and, if successful, could potentially lead to a test of the system in a Volvo engine in order to confirm the efficiency and output.
Hornby (AIM:HRN ) shares jumped 19% to 9.5p following swing to profitability
The model train maker said last week that sales rose by 33% in the first half of 2020 officially moving the company back into profitability. It said this growth was built on the back of the introduction of ‘some fantastic new products, new technology and the changing environment.’
In the six month period to 20 September 2020, revenue increased 33% to £21 million (FY19: £15.9 million), while last year’s £2.5 million loss before tax turned into a £0.017m profit.
The company reported net cash of £4.0 million compared to net debt £8.4 million in FY19.
Hornby has been selling in over 50 markets worldwide, with over 37% of sales in the first six months of 2020 being outside of the UK with all external teams having been restructured in the past two or three years to better supply the right products to the markets concerned.
The group said it is seeing recovery within its international brands, ‘thanks to the hard work that has been done in developing new products.’
The company told investors that its sales continue to be higher than where they were last year, and that there is “a real energy” within the group as it approaches Christmas season.
Altitude Group (AIM:ALT ) shares increased 17.39% to 13.5p as it narrows losses
Last week the personalised products marketplace group released results for the 15 month period to 31 March 2020 where it reported narrowed losses as revenue offset a rise in costs.
Group revenue from continuing operations increased by £5.4m or 188% to £8.3m in the period (FY18: £2.9m) following the acquisition and development with AIM Smarter LLC.
As a result of this increased revenue, the group reported pre-tax losses for the 15 month period to 31 March 2020 at £2.67m, slightly narrowed from £2.74m a loss in 2018.
In addition, gross margin increased to 89.7% (2018: 73.1%) which the group said reflects the added value services developed with the successful integration AIM Smarter LLC in 2019.
“We remain confident in the future prospects of AIM Smarter. We have adapted quickly and pragmatically in navigating the initial challenges imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent government lockdown,” said Nichole Stella, Chief Executive of Altitude Group.
As of 31 March 2020, Altitude was debt free and had net cash of £2.4m (2018 £0.4m and at 31 August 2020: £1.6m) with its current net cash balance at £1.9m as at 28 October 2020.
Commenting on the outlook, Stella said Altitude continues to be prudent in its cash consideration and that it has sufficient financial resources and liquidity to trade the business through to a more normalised market conditions while accepting material uncertainty.
Rank Group (LON:RNK ) shares fell 4.05% to 85.8p as it feels impact of pandemic
Shares in the gambling company have shed more than 35% in value since the beginning of August 2020 after the business suffered as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The Group said it entered lockdown with ‘significant momentum to revenues and profits driven by its transformation strategy, a tightly controlled cost base and a strong balance sheet.’
The group reported underlying operating profit for 2019/20 of £51.1m which it said reflects the closure of nearly all of its venues businesses from mid-March through to the year end.
At the end of August, cash and available facilities were £125m which reduced to £30m at the
end of September due to a previously undrawn revolving loan facility which then expired.
“Despite continued good growth in our digital brands, with our venues closed from mid-March, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Group has been significant,” said John O'Reilly, CEO.
He added, “However, with the huge commitment and dedication of our colleagues, very tight cost control across the business and the support we have received from the Government, we have carefully navigated the past few months and are now beginning to successfully emerge.”
Rank expects to rebuild revenues through the year with an increase in footfall expected once social distancing and other supply constraints are reduced and customer confidence returns.
Last week, the group reached an agreement to sell its Belgian casino business, Blankenberge casino, and associated digital licence to Kindred Group for £25 million
Rank said net proceeds from the disposal will be used to reduce its net debt position and for general corporate purposes while the sale will also support management's focus on Rank's transformation 2.0 programme to drive improvement across its core businesses.