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The Coronavirus epidemic has started to show its impact on the performance of companies in the past few months. Below we look at the results of three LSE listed companies Abcam Plc, Diversified Gas & Oil Plc and Phoenix Group Holdings Plc which are either reporting an impact of the epidemic on their performances or are expected to experience the same in 2020. Quantifying the impact that the virus will have on the future performances of the companies is difficult at this time as the situation is still evolving. Inability to control its spread around the world within a stipulated time frame can have serious consequences in matters concerning public health and safety.
Abcam Plc
Abcam Plc (LON:ABC) is a Cambridge, United Kingdom-headquartered global life sciences company which produces and markets high-quality protein research tools to assist life science researchers. The company helps in advancing the understanding of biology and causes of disease by offering highly validated antibodies and other binders and assays to its customers to support research, diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Aside from sourcing products from over 300 partners, the group manufactures its own products. The operations of the group are differentiated in 6 geographical segments, namely USA, China, Japan, UK, Germany and Other Countries.
The shares of the company were first admitted to the London Stock Exchange on 03 November 2005. There they are identified and traded with the ticker name ABCÂ on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) segment of the London Stock Exchange. The shares of the company are part of the FTSE AIM UK 50 Â index.
Results update
The company on 09 March 2020 came out with the half-year financial results of the company for the six-month period ending on 31 December 2019.
- The company reported a revenue of £138.2 million during the first half of 2020, compared to revenue of £124.7 million for the corresponding prior-year period, thus registering a growth of 10.8 per cent.
- Operating profit came in at £6 million compared to £33.4 million in 1HFY2019.
- The diluted earnings per share of the company for the first half of 2020 stood at 12.6 pence, whereas for the first half of 2019, it stood at 13.4 pence per share.
- The board of the company recommended an interim dividend of 3.55 pence per share while it had declared an interim dividend of 3.55 pence per share for the first half of 2019.
Abcam Plc Stock Trading Performance at The London Stock Exchange
Source- Thomson Reuters
On 09 March 2020, the shares of the Abcam Plc were trading on the London Stock Exchange at GBX 1,143.00, and the company had a market capitalisation of £2.59 billion at the time of writing of this report.
The shares of the company have touched a price of GBX 1,523.00 on the higher side and a price of GBX 1,058.00 on the lower side in the past 52 weeks of trading on the exchange.
The traded volume of the stock of Abcam Plc on 09 March 2020 at the time of writing this report stood at 379,473; the stock's average daily traded volume over the past five days stood at 597,593.80, over the past 30 days it stood at - 570,487.67 and over a period of past 90 days it stood at â 451,759.57. The stock has a beta of 0.92, which, compared against the benchmark index, represents lower volatility. In the last one month period, the shares have given a -3.89 per cent return, and on a year to date basis, they have given a return of -6.80 per cent.
Outlook
The company has given out a good revenue performance for the first half of the year, yet its gross profit margins have been lowered by 50 basis points, and its operating profits have been lower by 20.4 per cent. The company has suffered an impact of around £3 million on its revenues to date, and it is not certain how much more impact it will suffer given the evolving situation. The company shall update on the ever-progressing situation over the year.
Diversified Gas & Oil Plc
Diversified Gas & Oil Plc (LON:DGOC), an Alabama, USA-headquartered, AIM-listed owner and operator of producing natural gas & oil assets, is one of the largest independent conventional oil producers in the prolific Appalachian Basin. The operations of the group are focused on the Appalachian Basin since its inception in 2001, where the group produces natural gas & has oil wells, and it has evolved to become an established independent owner and operator. The operations of the group are spread throughout the neighbouring states of Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee. The group focuses on stabilising production from a significant midstream operation and a low-risk, long-life portfolio of wells and seeks to acquire and enhance its gas and oil-producing assets in the Appalachian Basin, which are located in politically and geologically low-risk gas and oil basin. The wells of the group require low ongoing capital expenditure and benefit from simple and low-cost maintenance operations as production is from shallow-depth and vertical wells, leading to a high-quality and reliable stream of free cash flows.
The shares of the company were first admitted to the London Stock Exchange on 03 February 2017. There they are identified and traded with the ticker name DGOCÂ on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) segment of the London Stock Exchange. The shares of the company are part of the FTSE AIM UK 50 index.
Results update
The company on 09 March 2020 came out with an update on the full-year financial results of the company for the year ending on 31 December 2019.
- The company reported a revenue of $462,256 during the year 2019, compared to revenue of $289,769 for the corresponding period in 2018, thus registering a growth of 59.5 per cent.
- The board of the company recommended a final dividend of 3.50 cents per share, taking the total dividend for the year to 13.92 cents per share, compared to 11.225 cents per share in 2018.
- Net debt at the end of the year came in at $637 million, equivalent to 2.3X Net debt/ Adjusted EBITDA
Diversified Gas & Oil Plc Stock Trading Performance at The London Stock Exchange
Source- Thomson Reuters
On 09 March 2020, the shares of the Diversified Gas & Oil Plc were trading on the London Stock Exchange at GBX 68.00, and the company had a market capitalisation of £466.68 million at the time of writing of this report.
The shares of the company have touched a price of GBX 135.00 on the higher side and a price of GBX 55.20 on the lower side in the past 52 weeks of trading on the exchange.
The traded volume of the stock of Diversified Gas & Oil Plc on 09 March 2020 at the time of writing this report stood at 3,117,576; the stock's average daily traded volume over the past five days stood at 3,005,115.00, over the past 30 days it stood at - 2,011,250.07 and over a period of past 90 days it stood at â 1,280,824.90. The stock has a beta of 0.35, which, compared against the benchmark index, represents lower volatility. In the last one month period, the shares have given a -19.69 per cent return, and on a year to date basis, they have given a return of -31.83 per cent.
Outlook
The company has given a good revenue performance for the year 2019 and this year the company has achieved record production levels of 96 MBoepd. However, in the year 2020, the company could very well be affected by the coronavirus scare and the consequent of free fall in crude oil prices.
Phoenix Group Holdings Plc
Phoenix Group Holdings Plc (LON:PHNX) is a London, United Kingdom-based large specialist life and pensions consolidator of heritage life assurance funds in Europe. The group has a strategic partnership with Standard Life Aberdeen Plc wherein the company operates an open business which underwrites and designs new products and policies.
The shares of the company were first admitted to the London Stock Exchange on 13 December 2018. There they are identified and traded with the ticker name PHNXÂ on the Premium main market segment of the London Stock Exchange. The shares of the company are part of the FTSE 100 index.
Results update
The company on 09 March 2020 came out with an update on the full-year financial results of the company for the year ending on 31 December 2019.
- The company generated cash of £707 million in 2019 during the year while for the year 2018 it generated cash of £664 million.
- Group operating profit for the year stood at £810 million whereas for the year 2018 it stood at £708 million.
- Shareholder Capital Coverage ratio stood at 161% as at 31 December 2019
- Solvency II surplus came in at £1 billion as on 31 December 2019
Phoenix Group Holdings Plc Stock Trading Performance at The London Stock Exchange
Source- Thomson Reuters
On 09 March 2020, the shares of the Phoenix Group Holdings Plc were trading on the London Stock Exchange at GBX 665.1, and the company had a market capitalisation of £4.93 billion at the time of writing of this report.
The shares of the company have touched a price of GBX 806.00 on the higher side and a price of GBX 626.40 on the lower side in the past 52 weeks of trading on the exchange.
The traded volume of the stock of Phoenix Group Holdings Plc on 09 March 2020 at the time of writing this report stood at 1,875,464; the stock's average daily traded volume over the past five days stood at 2,203,979.00, over the past 30 days it stood at - 1,360,379.10 and over a period of past 90 days it stood at â 1,268,606.48. The stock has a beta of 0.85, which, compared against the benchmark index, represents lower volatility. In the last one month period, the shares have given a -12.56 per cent return, and on a year to date basis, they have given a return of -8.69 per cent.
Outlook
The company delivered a strong performance in 2019, delivering a growth of 6.5 per cent in cash generation and an operating profit growth of 14.4 per cent. The company expects to build on the momentum generated during 2019 and deliver a good performance for 2020.
