Tracsis Plc, Instem PLC and Quixant PLC scheduled to report

The week ahead

In the UK, we anticipate interim results from PLC (LON: TRCS) on Thursday, with (LON: QXT) and (LON: INS) reporting final results next Monday.

Tracsis, which provides technology and data to the transport industries, reports interim results on Thursday. In its trading update in February, it said that first-half trading was in line with the board’s expectations as lower sales in the Events and Traffic Data business units, due to ongoing COVID-19 related restrictions, outweighed underlying growth in the Rail Technology & Services Division.

Group revenue slipped by around 17{f08ff3a0ad7db12f5b424ba38f473ff67b97b420df338baa81683bbacd458fca} to about £22mln with the impact of COVID-19 expected to be around £6.0mln. Nevertheless, underlying earnings (EBITDA) are expected to be only slightly lower than the £5.6mln generated in the first half (H1) of last year due to a larger share of revenue coming from the higher-margin Rail Technology & Services Division, in combination with the positive impact of cost reduction actions taken in response to the pandemic. At the end of the period, cash balances were around £21mln (H1 2020: £26.0mln, 31 July 2020: £17.9mln).

Early last month, the company announced the acquisition of FFC, a London-based transport consultancy business that operates predominantly across the rail and bus sectors, for around £2.5mln. Additionally, Tracsis is creating a new business unit called Tracsis Transport Consultancy, comprising of its existing rail consulting and passenger analytics businesses along with the newly acquired FFC.

Quixant, which provides technology products for the global gaming and broadcast industries, announces final results on Monday. In its trading update in late January, it said it expects to report revenue for the year of US$63.8mln and confirmed that adjusted profit before tax would exceed US$1mln. Net cash at the end of 2020 was US$17.4mln.

Instem, which provides information technology (IT) solutions to the global life sciences market, reports final results on Monday. In its trading update in January, the company said it had traded in line with the board’s expectations, with revenue growth exceeding 11{f08ff3a0ad7db12f5b424ba38f473ff67b97b420df338baa81683bbacd458fca}. The group ended the period with net cash of £26.7mln, boosted by the £15mln (net of expenses) share placement conducted in July.

Last month Instem announced two acquisitions – The Edge, which provides technology and services that improve the efficiency of drug discovery research and development, for up to £8.5mln and d-wise, a US-based clinical trial technology & consulting business, for up to US$31mln.

Across the pond, it is very quiet on the earnings front over the next two weeks. The only notable tech-related company reporting we are aware of is , the human capital management solutions provider, which reports today. The new quarterly results season kicks off on April 19 when IBM and on the tech side are reporting their first-quarter (Q1) numbers. Meanwhile, Applied Materials and Crowdstrike are holding investor days today and Thursday respectively.

Source: Data from regulatory news and company websites