International Personal Finance shares rise 16.04% to 89p on underlying pretax profit increase
International Personal Finance said its underlying pretax profit increased 45% YoY to £33.8m in H1. Revenue also increased to £297.4m from £262.9, but this was mostly offset by an increase in the company's impairment charge. Reported pretax profit slipped to £33.8m from £43.3m.
International Personal Finance said the revenue increase reflected a "strong recovery in lending post Covid-19 and an excellent operational performance." The company upped its dividend to 2.7p from 2.2p the year before.
"There is significant long-term demand for affordable credit within our existing footprint and we see substantial and sustainable long-term growth opportunities for the Group which we will achieve by meeting the needs of more customers with an increased choice of products and distribution channels." the company said.
musicMagpie shares fall 10% to 45p on revenue drop
musicMagpie said its pretax loss narrowed in H1 2022 to £1m from £17.7m the year before, with the prior period including one-off costs of around £22.9m. However, revenues fell slightly to £71.3m from £72.8m the year before.
"Disc Media and Book sales are expected to perform broadly in-line with the first half and we will start to see softer comparatives as the abnormal pandemic lockdown periods from 2021 fall away. Gross margins across Disc Media and Books are expected to remain resilient.
The Board continues to be confident that the business is well positioned for future growth and Adjusted EBITDA remains in line with its expectations for the full year." the company said.
Metal Tiger shares rise 14.29% to 16p on Cobre's significant copper intersection at Ngami, Botswana.
Metal Tiger said its investee, Australian mineral exploration company Cobre, found a first intersection of significant copper mineralisation via its drill programme at the Ngami copper project in Botswana. The drill hole intersected a wide zone of copper mineralisation, beginning from 214m and continuing for c. 59m.
Metal Tiger holds a 21% interest in Cobre and a 62% stake in its peer KML with Cobre holding the remaining interest in KML.
Parsley Box shares plunge 34.29 to 11.5p on 70% revenue drop in H1
Parsley Box said new customer revenue decreased by 70% to £0.9m and repeat customer revenue decreased 21% to £8.7m YoY in H1. Still, adjusted EBITDA loss narrowed by 42% to £2.1m from £3.6m in H1 2021, and average order value (AOV) increased 25% to £45 from £36 in H1 2021.
"...order fulfilment process efficiencies have been delivered that more than offset cost inflation in logistics and the supply chain. Both of these improvements have delivered an improved gross margin of 32% (H1 2021: 30%)." the company reported.
"As a result of the lower order numbers, the Group now expects full year revenue of £19m. The full year adjusted EBITDA is expected to remain broadly in line with expectations at a loss of £4.1m, due to careful management of marketing spend in the second half, together with the improved gross margin percentage." the company forecast. This is down from its 1 June revenue forecast of £22.5m, and down 25% from its £25.5m reported revenue at the end of 2021.
OTAQ shares plunge 32.2% to 10p on increased pretax loss
OTAQ said its FY22 pretax loss increased to £2.1m from £726K due to "increase in administrative expenses to £4.14m (2021: £3.09m) as well as the reduced gross margin of 47.2% (2021: 56.8%) resulting from the change in the sales mix". Still, revenues increased to £4.3m compared to £4.1m the year before.