SDI Group, down 14.8%, in its trading update for the year ended 30 April 2023, announced that it expects revenues to be around £69m (FY22: £49.7m). Adjusted profit before tax is expected to be in the range of £11.8m (FY22: £11.8m), in line with current market expectations. On the outlook front, the company expects to deliver sustainable profits and cashflows in FY24 and beyond.
Oracle Power, down 6.7%, announced that it has entered into a Heads of Agreement (HOA) with ASX-listed, Riversgold Limited (Riversgold), which will farm-in to licence P25/2651, known as the Northern Zone Gold Project, Kalgoorlie, in Western Australia.
Bango, down 4.8%, along with TPAY and Etisalat Egypt announced the launch of Direct Carrier Billing with Google to allow in-app purchases and subscriptions for over 30m subscribers.
GRC International Group, down 3.6%, in its trading update for the 12 months ended 31 March 2023, announced that it has witnessed a strong trading performance in 4Q of FY23, resulting in revenue growth and continued margin improvements. In addition, it expects revenue to be between £14.5m and £15.0m (FY22: £13.9m), while its gross margin is expected to increase to 61% (FY22: 59%). Year-end cash stood at £0.1m (2022: £2.0m).
UK markets ended lower last week, after the Bank of England (BoE) raised its key interest rate by 25 basis points, the highest since 2008. On the macro front, UK’s Halifax house prices dropped for the first time in April, amid a drop in demand. Meanwhile, Britain’s economy grew in the first quarter of 2023. Additionally, UK’s BRC like-for-like retail sales advanced in April, while the nation’s RICS housing price balance rose to a five-month high in April. Moreover, both, UK’s industrial production and manufacturing output advanced in March. Separately, the BoE raised its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 4.5%, for the twelfth consecutive time and signalled further tightening. Moreover, the central bank no longer predicts recession this year after revising up its growth forecasts. The FTSE 100 index declined 0.3% to settle at 7,754.6, while the FTSE AIM 100 index fell 1.8% to close at 3,897.1. Meanwhile, the FTSE techMARK 100 index gained 0.1% to end at 6,883.9.
US markets ended mixed in the previous week. On the macro front, the US consumer price inflation slowed to a 2-year low in April, while the nation’s producer price index rose at its slowest pace since January 2021 in April, allowing the Federal Reserve to halt further interest rate increases next month. Moreover, the US weekly jobless claims advanced to its highest level since October 2021 in the week ended 05 May 2023, adding to signs that the labour market is gradually cooling, while the Michigan consumer sentiment index fell to 6-month low in May, amid concerns over economic outlook. The DJIA index fell 1.1% to end at 33,300.6, while the NASDAQ index gained 0.4% to close at 12,284.7.
