2.14pm: SysGroup rises after upbeat trading update
SysGroup PLC (AIM:SYS, AQSE:SYS) pleased the market with an upbeat trading statement today pushing shares up by 9.77%.
The managed IT services, cyber security and cloud hosting provider,said trading had been strong in the six months to 30 September despite the challenging macro-economic environment.
The integration of recently acquired businesses, Truststream and Orchard, is progressing well and the group said it pleased with the performance of both companies to date.
For the first half the company said it expects to report revenue for £11.32m up from £7.58m in the same period last year and adjusted EBITDA £1.67m vs. £1.34m), both of which are in line with current market expectations.
11.39am: Virgin Wines rises after strong growth in profits
Shareholders raised a glass to Virgin Wines UK PLC (AIM:VINO) today after it reported strong growth in full year pre-tax profits to £5.1mln from £1.7mln sending shares higher.
Chief executive officer Jay Wright said: "Despite widely documented macroeconomic challenges and consumer uncertainty, Virgin Wines has continued to show its resilience and strong positioning in the direct-to-consumer online wine retail sector.”
He said the group remained “market-leading both in terms of our customer proposition and our profitability.”
Wright also suggested the company might benefit from a move to socialise and drink wine at home as consumers deal with the cost of living crisis.
He said “our wines represent an affordable treat compared to the cost of alternative options such as going to pubs and restaurants, and therefore we may see more people opting to socialise and drink wine at home in the coming months."
Shares advanced 5.1% to 52p mid-morning.
11.24am: DeepMatter soars on Merck tie-up
DeepMatter Group PLC (AIM:DMTR), the digital chemistry data and software company, has signed a multiyear database license agreement with Merck sending shares in the company sharply higher.
Under the deal,DeepMatter will licence to the Life Science business sector of Merck certain proprietary data for machine learning-based applications although the terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
"We are delighted to announce an important licensing agreement with Merck, one of the leading companies using digitalisation in healthcare and life sciences to deliver our vision to provide the data that enables all medicines to be made in the best possible way," said Mark Warne, CEO of DeepMatter.
The company also announced it revenue for the current financial year to be no less than £1.5m, an increase of over 50% compared to last year.
Shares in the AIM-listed company soared 90% on the news.
10.24am: Reckitt shares fall as sales volumes slide
Shares in Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC (LSE:RKT, ETR:3RB) fell today, as it reported a fall in sales volumes in the third quarter and said it was facing “unprecedented” inflationary pressures.
On the bright side the consumer goods group said third quarter revenue grew by 7.4%, ahead of City, expectations but this was driven by price increases with sales volumes falling 4.6%.
The question for the company is how long consumers will be able to stick with the price increases.
In a call to journalists Reckitt's finance chief Jeff Carr said “Consumers across the globe are under pressure. Certainly, looking at the outlook, I'm concerned about European consumers over the winter."
He added the company is seeing "unprecendented" cost of goods inflation of almost 20% in the second half of the year, Carr said.
"The peak of pricing and commodities will be the second half of this year," he added, saying supply chain cost inflation is starting to come down. He pointed specifically to crude oil and ocean freight, which peaked this year.
"As I look to 2023, labour inflation is going to be a bigger issue" he cautioned.