DS Smith, up 6.5%, in its interim results for the six-months ended 31 October 2022, announced that revenues rose to £4,299.0m from £3,362.0m recorded in the same period a year ago. Profit before tax widened to £315.0m from £175.0m. The Board has proposed a dividend of 6.0p per share.
Darktrace, down 15.1%, announced that Vanessa Colomar has decided to resign as a Non-Executive Director, with effect from 7 December 2022.
Aferian, up 4.9%, announced in its trading update for the year ended 30 November 2022, that trading has been in line with the Board's expectations, and it anticipates full year results to be consistent with the guidance ranges announced previously.
Gaming Realms, up 3.1%, today, announced that it has paid, in cash, £3.4m to JPJ Group Holdings Limited in respect of the 3,500,000 secured convertible loan notes dated 14 December 2017, which has now been repaid in full. Netcall, up 1.2%, announced that its robust trading momentum has continued in the first half of FY23, in line with management expectations.
SDI Group, down 8.8%, in its interim results for the six months ended 31 October 2022, announced that revenues rose 28.3% to £31.72m from £24.66m recorded in the same period a year ago. Profit before tax widened to £5.3m from £5.1m.
Xaar, down 7.4%, today, announced that it has opened a new inkjet lab in Shenzhen, China with printhead testing equipment and printing process test platforms. Tristel, unchanged at 360.0p, today, announced that it will hold its Annual General Meeting at 11am on 12 December 2022 at Lynx Business Park, Fordham Road, Newmarket, Cambridgeshire CB8 7NY.
CyanConnode Holdings unchanged at 12.8p, announced that John Cronin, Executive Chairman and Heather Peacock, Group Chief Financial Officer will be holding a live question and answer session relating to its interim results via the Investor Meet Company platform on 14th Dec 2022 at 2:00pm GMT.
GRC International Group, unchanged at 24.0p, in its unaudited interim results for the six months ended 30 September 2022, announced that revenues climbed to £7.3m from £6.6m recorded in the same period a year ago. Loss before tax narrowed to £0.5m from £1.0m.
UK markets closed lower last week, amid mounting fears of recession. On the macro front, UK’s Halifax house prices declined at its fastest pace in 14 years in November, due to rising interest rates, while the nation’s RICS housing price balance index dropped to its lowest level since May 2020 in November, amid slowdown in demand due to higher borrowing costs. Additionally, the S&P Global construction PMI dropped more than expected in November, as higher interest rates curtailed new residential building projects. On the contrary, UK’s BRC like-for-like retail sales climbed in November, while the nation’s services PMI remained unchanged in November. The FTSE 100 index declined 1.1% to settle at 7,476.6, while the FTSE AIM 100 index fell 3.2% to close at 3,995.5. Meanwhile, the FTSE techMARK 100 index lost 1.5% to end at 6,272.1.
US markets ended lower in the previous week, amid concerns about monetary policy tightening by the US Federal Reserve and worries about a possible US recession. On the data front, the US initial jobless claims rose to a 11-month high in the week ended 2 December 2022. Additionally, the US consumer credit rose less than forecasted in October, while the nation’s goods trade deficit widened in October, amid slowing global demand. On the flipside, factory orders climbed more than estimated in October, while the nation’s ISM services PMI unexpectedly advanced in November. Moreover, the US producer price index (PPI) rose more than expected in November, driven by jump in the costs of services, while the Michigan consumer sentiment index unexpectedly advanced in December. The DJIA index fell 2.8% to end at 33,476.5, while the NASDAQ index lost 4.0% to close at 11,004.6.
