Aukett Swanke records higher full-year profit

(Sharecast News) - Building, architectural and design service provider Aukett Swanke said in an update on Friday that, based on unaudited management accounts, it recorded a small pre-tax profit for the year ended 30 September, excluding exceptional items related to acquisitions. The AIM-traded company achieved revenues of £14m, up from the previous financial year's £7.1m.

It said it anticipated that its performance for the 2024 financial year would continue to be weighted towards the second half of the year.

Aukett Swanke also announced a new 12-month funding facility for its subsidiary Torpedo Factory Group (TFG).

The facility was secured against the Old Torpedo Factory property located in West London, which had been listed for sale.

It said the new facility included a £1.4m loan, with £1.36m structured as interest-only payments and £0.04m to be repaid monthly.

That refinanced and replaced the existing mortgage on the property, which was set to expire on 7 February.

Although offers had been received for the Old Torpedo Factory, no sale agreement had been reached yet.

However, the new funding facility would enable Aukett Swanke to continue negotiations and pursue the sale of the property in an organised way.

The property was independently valued at £3.08m in July, but the company expected the sale price to be lower due to current market conditions.

TFG also had around £0.9m of CBILS-backed loan finance outstanding, with monthly repayments scheduled until July 2026.

The arrangement remained unaffected by the new funding facility.

Additionally, the company held another CBILS-backed loan of around £0.1m, which was set to be fully repaid by May, alongside an overdraft facility of £0.25m.

On 27 December, Aukett Swanke completed the disposal of its loss-making Turkish subsidiary Aukett Swanke Mimarlik to ASM's management for a nominal sum.

A name licence agreement had been established, stipulating licence fees based on revenue generated.

Given the company's size, the revenues, trading losses and assets subject to disposal were not considered to be material.

Aukett Swanke said it expected to record a loss on disposal, which would amount to less than £0.1m.

The company retained its two German architecture investments, which were continuing to generate profits and provide management fees and dividends to the group.

"We are pleased to have returned the group to full year operational profitability after several years of losses," said chief executive officer Nick Clark.

"Looking ahead to the current financial year, we expect the enlarged group to report record revenues, with the second half performance as usual stronger than the first half.

"The successful sale of our freehold property would eliminate our net debt, enabling us to accelerate our smart buildings strategy."

At 1540 GMT, shares in Aukett Swanke Group were up 20% at 1.11p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.