Bellway (BWY), Ocado (OCDO), Flutter Entertainment (FLTR), Fevertree Drinks (FEVR), 888 (888), Cohort (CHRT), Forterra (FORT), WAG Payments' (WPS) and Zotefoams (ZTF)
Bellway (BWY) slashed dividend payments by nearly two-thirds as sales and earnings slumped due to an interest-rate-driven plummet in housing demand. In the six months to 31 January, revenue sank 30 per cent, leading to a 64 per cent dividend cut to 16p per share from 45p, covered by earnings per share of 70.6p from 187p.
However, the housebuilder pointed to improving sales rates as a sign the market was recovering as interest rates stabilised amid falling inflation. It said it was "well-positioned to build on its proven track record of organic volume growth from financial year 2025 onwards". ML
Read more: What investors can learn from dividend cuts
Ocado Retail enjoys strong first quarter
Ocado Retail’s revenue grew 10.6 per cent to £645mn on the back of an 8.1 per cent rise in volumes in the first quarter to 3 March, as joint venture partners Ocado (OCDO) and Marks and Spencer (MKS) butt heads over a £191mn performance-based payment.
The retail tie-up disclosed growth across key metrics, with active customers and average orders per week up 6.4 per cent and 8.4 per cent respectively. It boosted its online market share by 0.7 per cent on an annual basis to 13.5 per cent at the end of February. Full year guidance for mid-high single digits revenue growth and an underlying cash profit margin of 2.5 per cent was maintained. The shares rose 4 per cent in early trading. CA
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Fevertree expects big improvement
Fevertree Drinks (FEVR) delivered an annual performance in line with its guidance and kept its forecasts steady, helping the shares up by 4 per cent in early trading. For the year to 31 December, US growth drove total revenue up 6 per cent to £365mn as statutory pre-tax profits fell 28 per cent to £22.2mn on higher costs. Gross margin fell 240 basis points to 32.1 per cent.
Management reiterated that it expects around 10 per cent revenue growth this year, along with a 600 basis points gross margin improvement because of lower glass prices, energy costs, and freight costs. CA
Read more: It's time to revive the buy case for Fevertree
Cohort lands £135mn Royal Navy contract
Defence technology company Cohort (CHRT) has secured a £135mn order from the Royal Navy.
Cohort’s Systems Engineering and Assessment (SEA) arm will provide a decoy launcher system to the navy. Work will start immediately, and the contract is expected to run for more than 10 years, with options in place to increase both the value and the delivery period.
This is the third and the largest contract win announced by Cohort so far this year, with other deals for the Australian and Canadian navies bringing the awards to date so far this year above £165mn. Cohort’s shares rose by 4 per cent. MF
Read more: Cohort vs Chemring: who wins in a troubled world?
WAG Payments swings to pre-tax loss as debt rises
There are still no signs of dividends for WAG Payments' (WPS) shareholders after the lorry management software provider swung to a pre-tax loss and revealed rising debt.
The company, which trades as Eurowag, posted a €39.3mn loss before tax for the last calendar year after posting a €28mn pre-tax profit in 2022. Rising wage and technology costs combined with impairment losses contributed to the loss. Meanwhile, the company's net debt (including leases) as a proportion of its equity rose to 132 per cent due to a drop in its cash reserves combined with higher debt.
Eurowag has not paid a dividend since listing and gave no signs as to when it would do so. "At this stage, the group does not intend to pay dividends; instead, it intends to prioritise investment in growth," Eurowag said. ML
