AVEVA Group, up 0.7%, announced that its full year forecast continues to remain as previously estimated by the Board, as it witnessed a high single-digit revenue growth in the first quarter on a constant currency basis and a low double-digit growth on a reported basis. AVEVA stated that rental and subscription delivered strong revenue growth, buoyed by the launch of AVEVA Flex subscription offering.
Abcam, down 6.3%, in its trading update for the year ended 30 June 2019, announced that it anticipates total revenue to climb 11.4% to £259.9m, with Catalogue revenues witnessing a growth of 11.9%. The Group expects gross margin to be ahead of last year and adjusted EBITDA margin to be in line with the Board's expectations. Separately, Abcam announced that its Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Gavin Wood, will step down from his position in 2020.
Peel Hunt restated its “Buy” rating on Gaming Realms, up 45.4%.
Netcall, up 23.6%, in its trading update for the year ended 30 June 2019, announced that it expects annual revenue to rise 4.6% to £22.9m and anticipates an adjusted EBITDA of £3.4m. Moreover, its cloud business delivered strong performance, as Cloud services bookings advanced 197% to £7.6m.
Peel Hunt reissued its “Hold” rating on Dialight, up 22.7%.
Horizon Discovery Group, up 6.4%, in its half-yearly trading update, announced that it expects revenue to surge 13.7% to £28.6m, with gross margin to be in excess of 65%, driven by strong performance from its Bioproduction and Screening business units. Also, the company anticipates meeting its full year revenue and EBITDA targets. Peel Hunt reconfirmed its “Hold” rating on the stock.
Quixant, up 5.4%, in its half-yearly trading update, announced that it expects revenue and earnings for the period to be in line with management expectations. Further, Quixant anticipates improved second half performance supported by strong first half order book growth.
Science Group, up 0.5%, announced that its half-yearly revenues declined to £23.6m from £25.1m reported in the same period last year. However, its profit before tax marginally rose to £2.8m from £2.5m, while basic earnings per share rose to 6.1p from 6p.
Tristel, down 0.5%, in its annual trading update, announced that it anticipates full year performance to be in line with its previous forecast. Further, Tristel expects revenues to surge 17% to £26m from £22.2m, supported by strong growth of 26% in its overseas market earnings. Separately, the company announced that it has acquired 80% stake in Tristel Italia for €0.7m, with an additional possible cash consideration of €0.15m payable in the next two years.
Xaar, down 4%, announced the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as its new auditor for the financial year ending 31 December 2019, subject to shareholders’ approval.
UK markets ended in the green last week, lifted by gains in energy and material sector stocks. The UK’s mortgage approvals rose less than expected in June. Meanwhile, Britain’s total trends order unexpectedly dropped in July. Boris Johnson won the Conservative Party leadership race to become the UK’s next Prime Minister. The FTSE 100 index advanced 0.5% to settle at 7549.1, while the FTSE AIM 100 index rose 1.9% to close at 4782.7. Meanwhile, the FTSE techMARK 100 index gained 3.2% to end at 5358.5.
US markets closed higher in the previous week, led by gains in technology and financial sector stocks. The US annualised GDP advanced more than anticipated in Q2 2019, while the weekly jobless claims eased to a 3-month low in the last week. The US manufacturing PMI surprisingly dropped to a decade low level in July, whereas the existing home sales fell more than estimated in June. The DJIA index rose 0.1% to end at 27192.5, while the NASDAQ index gained 2.3% to close at 8330.2.