TRADING UPDATES: Public Policy, Clontarf Energy profit down; REA up

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Please note that tax, investment, pension and ISA rules can change and the information and any views contained in this article may now be inaccurate.

The following is a round-up of updates by London-listed companies, issued on Thursday and not separately reported by Alliance News:

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Judges Scientific PLC - London-based scientific-instrument acquisition company - Pretax profit in the first half of 2022 falls 42% to £3.9 million from £6.7 million a year before, as operating expenses jump to £41.5 million from £35.8 million. Revenue grows 8.0% to £46.4 million from £43.0 million. Attributes this to a large order book available at the start year. Lifts its interim dividend to 22 pence from 19 pence. Remain confident in its ‘resilience and adaptability’ despite the challenging trading environment.

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Panther Securities PLC - property investor - Pretax profit for the six months to June 30 grows to £13.3 million from £11.6 million a year before, due to finance costs of £5.0 million in the prior period that were unrepeated. Revenue remains flat at £6.4 million. Declares an interim dividend of 6.0 pence per share, unchanged from a year before.

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Clontarf Energy PLC - Dublin-headquartered oil & gas exploration and production company focused on Ghana, Bolivia and Australia - Pretax loss widens to £4.5 million in the first half of 2022 from £137,000 a year before, due to a Sasanof project expenditure of £4.1 million. Records no revenue in the period, unchanged from a year before. Expects that the Bolivian Lithium Law will soon be updated to ensure the legal basis for joint ventures with the authorities.

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Pantheon Infrastructure PLC - Investment trust managed by Pantheon Ventures and focused on infrastructure assets - In the period to June 30 from September 9 the company records a pretax loss of £557,000. NAV per share as at June 30 stands at 97.9p. Declares an interim dividend of 1p and targets a full-year dividend of 2p. Says it has a ‘robust pipeline of opportunities’ within a ‘supportive’ infrastructure investment environment

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Forward Partners Group PLC - London-based investment firm - Swings to a pretax loss of £24.9 million in the first half of 2022 from a profit of £13.0 million a year before, ‘predominantly driven by the unrealised £28.0 million Venture Portfolio value decline and a £7.3 million reversal of the carried Interest charge.’ Operating expenses jump to £4.5 million from £1.9 million. Total income grows to £27.7 million from £19.0 million. Pay no dividend, unchanged from a year before.

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Public Policy Holding Co Inc - Washington, DC-based US government affairs business, admitted to AIM in December - Pretax loss in the first half of 2022 widens to $2.2 million from $114,507 a year ago, as general and administrative expenses jump to $5.1 million from $3.8 million. Revenue rises 9.6% to $51.7 million from $47.2 million. Attributes this to a strong financial performance, ‘driven by increased activity levels from new and existing clients.’ Declares an interim dividend of $0.045 per common share. Expects to maintain its strong organic growth.

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Jade Road Investments Ltd - Hong Kong-based investment vehicle - Swings to a profit of $1.0 million in the six months to June 30 from a loss of $271,000 a year before. Records a $300,000 gain on disposal. Net portfolio income jumps to $2.3 million from $1.3 million. Does not recommend the payment of an interim dividend.

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Blackstone Loan Financing Ltd - invests in floating rate senior secured loans and bonds - Net asset value per share as at June 30 stands at €0.7469, down from €0.9154 as at December 31. Records a negative NAV total return of 14%. Says outlook for the remainder of 2022 remains positive. Cautions that macroeconomic data continues to provide contradicting signals about the health of the economy.

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REA Holdings PLC - London-based crude palm oil producer - Records an increase of 24% in revenue to $108.6 million in the first half of 2022, from $87.7 million a year before. Pretax profit more than doubles to $19.2 million from $7.6 million. Attributes growth to higher average selling prices for crude palm oil and crude palm kernel oil. Expects that its 2022 crop will be weighted towards the second half, as usual.

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Ten Lifestyle Group PLC - London-based lifestyle and travel services - Expects to report net revenue of £46.8 million for the year which ended August 31, up 35% versus £34.7 million. Says this is ahead of market expectations of £45 million. Expects adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation to be in line with market expectations of £5 million and ahead of the £4.4 million last year. Explains that revenue and earnings improved ‘significantly’ in the second half of the year after the adverse impacts of Omicron were overcome.

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