Home » Posts tagged 'ADA'
Tag Archives: ADA
Quoted Micro 28 October 2024
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Electrification technology developer Equipmake (EQIP) has raised £3m at 3p/share. Chief executive Ian Foley has subscribed for 6.67 million shares, although his stake will be diluted to 34.1%. The cash should last for six months and move the business towards cash breakeven. There was £2.48m in the bank at the end of May 2024. In the year to May 2024, the cash outflow from operations was £6.3m. The company estimates a requirement of £5.5m for working capital over the next 12 months. A potential licensing agreement could bring in £4.6m over a two-year period. Equipmake could reach cash breakeven in 2025-26. The focus is on higher margin work and bus repowering range will be rationalised. Costs are also being reduced, but it is investing in its commercial team.
Igraine (KING) has secured right of first refusal on current and future battery storage projects developed by GEM Energia. AIM-quoted Vela Technologies (VELA) is providing a loan facility with a minimum commitment of £200,000. Igraine will issue 35.5 million shares, which is 29.1% of the company, to GEM in return for the rights. David Levis, the chief executive of GEM, is joining the Igraine board as an executive director. He founded GEM to develop battery energy storage projects in the UK. It develops the projects up to the point where it either sells them or proceeds with the development itself. Igraine will have the right to receive 8% of the sales proceeds of a disposal or be involved in their further development. Initial sites will be sold to generate cash for Igraine and strengthen the balance sheet. Each site requires £150,000-£250,000 to secure grid connections and get to the ready to build stage. Every MW of capacity is valued at £120,000. After costs, a 100MW site could generate cash of more than £7m. There are four sites which are already in progress.
Oscillate (MUSH) has started hydrogen operations in Minnesota. A hydrogen soil-gas sensor has been bought and pre-field work started, which will provide data to enable further progress. Igraine has been diluted from 10.2% to 5.05% following the recent share issue.
Lift Global Ventures (LFT) says investee company Trans-Africa Energy has not received the £12m it was waiting for from an African investor. It is talking to alternative sources of finance for the energy infrastructure project in Ghana. The redemption date on the loan notes held by Lift Global Ventures has been extended to the end of 2024 and in return the value will be increased from £1m to £1.25m.
Ananda Developments (ANA) says two of its potential medicines, MRX2 and MRX2T, will be used in National Institute for Health and Care Research and NHS co-funded phase IIIa epilepsy clinical trials involving up to 500 patients. This could support marketing authorisation applications if the trials are successful.
EDX Medical Group (EDX) has raised £300,000 from a Saudi Arabian investor at 11p/share, which was a 22% premium to the market price.
Corporate businesses developer Macaulay Capital (MCAP) managing director David Horner has doubled his shareholding to 500,000 shares by buying 250,000 shares at 20p each. His family has a 24.9% stake. Marula Mining (MARU) director Jason Brewer has increased his shareholding by 340,000 shares at 5.38p each. That takes his stake, held through Gathoni Muchai Investments to 9.13%. Mike Cass has increased his stake in BWA Group (BWAP) to 15.1%. James and Alexandra Pace have a 5% stake in Shepherd Neame (SHEP).
AIM
Footwear retailer Shoe Zone (SHOE) says that poor weather hit second half sales, but it has traded in line with expectations. Full year revenues were 3% lower at £161.3m with a second half decline wiping out the interim growth. Trading did improve in August and September. Zeus forecasts a fall in pre-tax profit from £16.5m to £9.5m. The full year dividend will slip from 17.4p/share to 6.2p/share.
Disinfection products supplier Tristel (TSTL) beat expectations in the year to June 2024. There were initial revenues from the US, but they will take time to build up. Sales grew in nearly every market, with small dips in Australasia and China. A price increase in the UK, combined with higher volumes, helped hospital medical device decontamination jump 38%. The main growth in sales is in the UK and Europe. In the year to June 2024, revenues improved from £36m to £41.9m, while pre-tax profit rose from £6.2m to £8.2m. There was a reallocation of costs from overheads to cost of sales, so this affected comparatives. The total dividend was raised 29% to 13.52p/share.
Telecoms enterprise software provider Cerillion (CER) continues to grow faster than its underlying market. Revenues were 14% higher in the second half, enabling profit to be better than expected. There are record new orders and this underpins further growth in the next couple of years. The €12.4m order from the previously unnamed Virgin Media Ireland is contributing to the growth. It probably generated £6m last year. This is the first contract with a tier-1 telecoms company and could help to win other contracts with this level of business. In the year to September 2024, revenues were 12% ahead at £43.8m.
Online marketing services provider XL Media (XLM) is selling its North American business for up to $30m in cash, with $20m payable on completion and up to $10m in April – based on revenues and gross profit in 2024. Some cash should be redistributed to shareholders by the end of the year. The company will effectively become a cash shell.
EnergyPathways (EPP) has been asked by the UK government to participate in the Hydrogen Storage Business Model. This will help to define the new investment support scheme. The first Hydrogen Storage Allocation Round should be in 2025.
Seascape Energy Asia (SEA) has been awarded a 28% participating interest in a production sharing contract over the DEWA complex cluster, offshore Sarawak, Malaysia. Enquest owns 42% and Petroleum Sarawak holds 30%. The area has 12 gas discoveries in shallow water near to the coast. Six will be focused on and these have 500bcf of gas in place. Seascape Energy Asia will commit $600,000 for a detailed resource assessment and field development plan.
Specialist recruitment firm Gattaca (GATC) reported an underlying 2023-24 pre-tax profit decline from £3.7m to £2.9m on 5% lower net fee income of £40.1m. There was a 3% increase in net fee income for contract work, but permanent income dropped by one-third. Despite the decline, Gattaca is gaining market share. Costs have been reduced and the US business has been sold. There could be a modest improvement in profit this year.
Prospex Energy (PXEN) recently acquired a 7.2365% working interest in the onshore Spain Viura gas field, which recommenced production last week. The Viura 1B development well has encountered significant gas shows in the Utrillas-A reservoir and a new gas bearing reservoir interval below that. The well, which cost Prospex Energy €375,000, could contribute to production in November Flow testing results for the deeper reservoir will be available next year. There should be a significant upgrade to recoverable reserves. The European gas price is rising.
Musical instruments retailer Gear4Music (G4M) continues to recover with growth in the second quarter nearly offsetting the decline in the first quarter and further improvement in October. In the six months to September 2024, UK sales grew 4%, but European sales declined. Total sales were 1% lower at £61.7m. Gross margin has fallen back, but the interim loss will be reduced. Full year revenues are expected to be higher and pre-tax profit could jump from £1.1m to £2.8m.
Information and data publisher Merit Group (MRIT) has been hit by the ending of project work and the lack of replacement work. Sales resource is being added, but that will take time to boost revenues. Canaccord Genuity has changed its 2024-25 forecast from a £900,000 profit to a loss of £800,000 after a 11% reduction in expected revenues to £18.5m, which is lower than the 2022-23 figure. A return to profit is forecast for next year. There are management changes that are flagged for next year.
Ariana Resources (AAU) has reviewed the data for the Dokwe gold project in Zimbabwe. There are several zones of potential extensions to mineralisation. There are also gold-in-soil anomalies to follow up and drilling is planned. The in-pit resource is 1.2moz in two open pits at Dokwe Central and Dokwe North. Measured and indicated resources are 30Mt at 1.3g/t gold. Ariana Resources believes there could be annual production of up to 100,000 ounces of gold for up to 15 years. A revision of the pre-feasibility study is underway.
At the end of the week, property developer and investor Caledonian Trust (CNN), which has been on AIM for more than 29 years, announced its proposed departure. The direct annual cost of the quotation is £100,000 and liquidity is poor. A general meeting to gain shareholder approval will be held on 18 November. There is already support from holders of 85.3% of the shares. The quotation could end on 26 November. NAV is 195.1p/share.
Adams (ADA) is proposing the cancellation of the AIM quotation and sell off the company’s investments, many of which are also quoted on AIM, to return the cash to shareholders. Prior to this Adams will be buying back shares at 4p each. The estimated NAV is 3.72p/share. Liquidity is limited because Richard Griffiths owns 94% of Adams. A general meeting will be held on 27 November and, if passed, the cancellation will be on 5 December.
MAIN MARKET
Advanced materials developer HeiQ (LON: HEIQ) has found growing its business difficult, particularly in textiles, flooring and antimicrobials and not recovery is expected until well into 2025. Another restructuring plan will cut costs and focus on certain facilities. Non-core operations will be scaled back. Some parts of the business may be sold, and outside finance is being sought for AeoniQ. Part of the cost cutting is giving up the listing. This should take effect on 19 November. Because the shares are on the transition category of the market since the restructuring of the Main Market, no shareholder vote is required. The shares will be traded by JP Jenkins. Daren Morecombe has increased his stake from 14.5% to 22%.
Bloomsbury Publishing (BMY) grew interim revenues by 32% to £179.8m, while pre-tax profit jumped from £17.7m to £26.6m. This is due to strong consumer division revenues due to strong sales of fantasy fiction and cookery books.
LED lighting and wiring accessories supplier Luceco (LUCE) increased third quarter revenues by 3% with residential EV charging the main growth area. However, excluding acquisitions, like-for-like revenues were 3.6% lower, partly due to phasing of orders so that there is a strong fourth quarter order book. Margins are improving. Net debt was £67m at the end of September 2024.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 6 January 2020
NEX EXCHANGE
Cannabis-related investment company Greencare Capital (GRE) joined the NEX Growth Market last Monday. Greencare raised £514,000 at 25p a share. The rest of the shares were issued at 1p each, raising £100,000. The pro forma NAV is just over 4p a share. The largest shareholder is E Value One with 66.3%, which is owned by Dominic White, who is chairman of fellow NEX-quoted company Eight Capital Partners (ECP) which has a 21.2% stake. Eight Capital acquired 1.5 million of its shares at 1p each and 1.06 million at the subscription price – just over 50% of the subscription shares. Greencare has already identified its first investment, which is a consumer-focused distribution business that has a leading position in one of the larger European markets. The distribution activities cover 30,000 points of sale and that could increase to 45,000. The plan is to acquire an initial 10% stake. Due diligence is being carried out and the investment could be made early in 2020.
European Lithium (EUR) has agreed €7.5m of debt financing that lasts two years and has an annual interest charge of 5%. This is secured on the Wolfsberg lithium project in Austria. The cash will fund the completion of the definitive feasibility study and repay the existing convertible note facility. The Wolfsberg mining and exploration licences have been extended.
BWA Group (BWAP) says that its subsidiary has been awarded an exploration licence in central Cameroon. This will enable the assessment of commercial exploitation of rutile sands, kyanite, ilmenite, zircon and other minerals. The permit lasts for three years with a financial commitment of £650,000 over the period. This has taken four years to negotiate.
Walls and Futures REIT (WFR) has completed the redevelopment of its Didcot property and it has been let on a 25-year lease to a large care provider. NAV was £3.3m at the end of September 2019.
VI Mining (VIM) has secured a partnership with an established operator in Peru so that commercial operations can commence at the Cushuro mining concession in the second quarter and the Oro Pesa plant can be up and running in the third quarter. They will be owned by 50/50 joint ventures. The Minaspampa and Rosario de Belen concessions are being returned to the previous owners, although VI Mining will have a buy back option.
Healthcare professionals recruiter SG Recruitment Ltd (SGRL) grew interim revenues by 13% to £386,000, while operating costs were halved. There was still a £379,000 loss. SG has secured a contract with Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust covering seven hospitals. Further mandates are expected from the NHS and in the Middle East.
Adnams (ADB) director Guy Heald has increased his B shares stake from 15.1% to 17.15%.
Alexander David Securities has resigned as corporate adviser to EcoVista (EVTP) and trading in the shares has been suspended until a replacement is appointed.
AIM
Bango (BGO) grew 2019 revenues by more than 40% even though two contracts were not closed by the end of the year. That means that 2019 revenues of the digital payments technology provider will be £2m lower than anticipated. The 2020 forecast revenues have been reduced by £2.6m to £14.2m, although a £600,000 pre-tax profit is expected.
Communications services provider Mobile Tornado (MBT) expects second half revenues to be £1.8m, taking the total for the year to £3.3m. There have been delays in deployments. The company remains loss-making.
Redx Pharma (REDX) could be subject of a bid by a syndicate headed by Samuel D Waksal. The £2.5m loan from Moulton Goodies will be swapped for shares instead of repaying it at the end of 2019. This requires shareholder agreement.
Adams (ADA) has bought 2.4 million shares in Circassia Pharmaceuticals (CIR) at an average price of 19p each. That takes the stake in Circassia to 0.82%. Adams still has £1m in cash.
Tri-Star Resources (TSTR) says that its 40%-owned antinomy and gold production facility operator SPMP is currently in technical default of its banking facility. Tri-Star had guaranteed 40% of the bank facility, but it says that this no longer holds because commercial production has commenced. This still has to be independently certified. Any additional short-term finance provided to SPMP could lead to a dilution of the Tri-Star stake. SPMP’s production facility requires up to $160m of additional investment in order to reach 100% capacity, but there have been no suitable offers of this finance as yet. There is no certainty that the financing can be achieved.
Residential property development funder Urban Exposure (UEX) says that 2019 operating costs will be lower than expected due to lower remuneration and fewer people being hired. The 2020 operating costs will be reduced to around £9.5m and that will enable the company to be profitable. There is no additional news about the proposals for the future of the company. Urban Exposure has also agreed to pay £400,000 to Jones Laing LaSalle in relation to an agreement by former companies, which are being wound down, to pay introduction fees. This settles the claim.
Trading in Attis Oil and Gas (AOGL) shares has been suspended ahead of details of a deal to acquire a North America-focused oil and gas company and the disposal of non-core assets. The acquisition will bring assets and experienced management.
Trans-Siberian Gold (TSG) has signed a new tariff for its electricity. The previous tariff was RUR4.69/kWh and the new agreement is for RUR4.75/kWh, which is still much lower than the standard tariff.
Livermore Investments Group (LIV) is paying an interim dividend of $0.0343 a share on 21 February.
MAIN MARKET
David Sefton has stepped down as chairman of social media company Iconic Labs (ICON) because of market speculation about his involvement with AIM-quoted Anglo African Oil and Gas (AAOG) where he was executive chairman until 13 September 2019. He has not been involved since then. Sefton will continue to be involved with Iconic Labs, where the share price has nearly halved in the past four months. The resolution to allow directors to allot shares without offering them to existing shareholders was not passed at the AGM. Anglo African Oil and Gas has not made the progress it wanted to with its oil and gas interests and it plans to sell its main asset in Congo to Zenith Energy (ZEN). Jub Capital is trying to put a stop to that and has present alternative proposals. This would involve stopping the sale and providing additional cash via a subscription of £100,000 and a $5m loan facility. Jub would also buy the shares owned by RiverFort and that would provide an additional £722,000 to the company.
Anglo African Agriculture (AAAP) has postponed the reverse takeover of Kenya-based port and marine logistics group Camarco. The long stop date for the deal is being extended. A version of the deal is likely to go ahead, but there could be private equity investment in one or more of the subsidiaries.
OTHER MARKETS
Former standard list company Cleantech Building Materials has entered into a three-year offtake agreement with a customer in Thailand. Nasdaq First North Copenhagen-quoted Cleantech Building Materials has the exclusive rights to manufacture Accoya wood (AIM-quoted Accsys Technologies (AXS) owns the technology) in China.
Andrew Hore
Quoted Micro 9 October 2017
NEX EXCHANGE
National Milk Records (NMRP) has changed its year end to June and its latest figures are for the 15 months to June 2017. This is a period when the dairy information and data services provider sorted out its pension deficit problem and this removed significant, and volatile, liabilities from the balance sheet. The market has been tough for at least two years because of the weak milk price but it is starting to recover. In the 15 month period, revenues were £25.3m and operating profit before pension and one-off charges was £1.1m. The total loss before tax is £11.9m, which is after a pension related charge of £12.5m. Trading is improving.
WH Ireland believes that Ashley House (ASH) could report a pre-tax profit of £1.8m for the year to April 2018, although it is likely to be second half weighted. This follows a decline in underlying pre-tax profit to £53,000 last year because of uncertainty about government policy. The community care properties provider has a strong pipeline of potential developments. The acquisition of an off-site manufacturing business will help the group to win modular buildings business.
Energy efficiency products supplier Sandal (SAND) reported a 14% rise in full year revenues to £3.75m. The Energie MiHome range grew by 154%, albeit from a low base. The loss was halved to £135,000 but refunded tax reduced the cash outflow from operations. Development expenditure will broaden the product range in the smart home sector.
Ace Liberty & Stone (ALSP) reported a jump in pre-tax profit from £612,000 to £1.12m in the year to April 2017 and this is prior to the disposal of all the residential properties. The property investor made a £1.02m gain on disposals but this was offset by a £391,000 unrealised reduction in property values, compared with a £283,000 unrealised gain in the corresponding period. NAV was £18.1m at the end of April 2017.
Capital for Colleagues (CFCP) had a net asset value of 42.58p a share at the end of August 2017. Recent investment include £400,000 in timber frame buildings company Employee Owners Group and £150,000 follow-on investment in Computer Application Services.
London Nusantara Plantations (PALM) has £129,000 in the bank following the disposal of its initial land investment. There was a small gain on disposal but it was not enough to wipe out the interim loss. Management is assessing acquisition opportunities of plantations and mill capacity in Sumatra and Kalimantan, Indonesia. This will require additional funding.
Black Sea Property (BSP) has completed the €5.4m fundraising, at €0.01 a share, which it requires to progress the acquisition of the office building in Ivan Vazov Street in Sofia from UniCredit Bulbank. Debt funding of €7m still has to be secured from UniCredit Bulbank. Black Sea Property has paid a deposit of €1.04m out of the purchase price of €10.5m.
AIM
Bushveld Minerals Ltd (BMN) has published the circular for the demerger of its tin interests. Shareholders will receive one share in Afritin Mining Ltd, which will own the company’s Greenhills business, for each Bushveld share. Afritin will own the Mokopane tin project and Zaaiplaat tin tailings project in South Africa plus an interest in the Uis tin project in Namibia. Bushveld will still have coal assets but the main focus will be the vanadium assets and the potential value adding battery-related products.
Toilet tissue supplier Accrol Group Holdings (ACRL) has asked for trading in its shares to be suspended because of uncertainty about its financial position. It has been difficult to pass on extra raw materials costs and operational problems have also increased costs. There is also going to be a large fine relating to a health and safety incident.
Earthport (EPO) has raised £25m at 20p a share. This cash will be used to expand the corss-border payment services company’s market and global presence, develop further products and invest in the operating platform.
The requisitioner of the general meeting at Conroy Gold and Natural Resources (CGNR) failed to get any of its resolutions passed so there are no more changes to the board. Conroy raised €240,000 at €0.30 a share. The exercising of warrants raised €167,000. The cash will be used to develop the Clontibret deposit and pay for additional exploration at the Slieve Glah gold prospect.
Reabold Resources (RBD) is raising £1.76m at 0.5p a share. This follows a £3.96m subscription at the same share price. Reabold intends to change its focus to European oil and gas projects. Two former M&G analysts have joined the board.
City of London Group (CIN) has completed the reverse takeover of Milton Homes, which provides equity release products for residential property owners.
Stanley Gibbons (SGI) has found a new buyer for its interiors division. Gurr Johns is paying £1.25m with up to £400,000 deferred consideration. Stanley Gibbons is retaining £300,000 of inventory and the Mallett premises in New York. It has also retained the Mallett and Made by Meta brands. Millicent had agreed to pay £2.4m for the assets and brands and it has to pay a termination fee. Stanley Gibbons reported a £30.2m loss for the year to March 2017. Even taking out exceptionals the underlying loss was £11.1m. The NAV is £18m.
Kin Group (KIN) has raised £1m at 0.001p a share and every four shares come with a warrant to subscribe for a new share at 0.004p each. A CVA is proposed where unsecured creditors will swap their money owed of £2.27m for shares at 0.01p each. A capital reorganisation is required to reduce the nominal value of a share to below the placing price. John Taylor, who has been involved in the aerospace and military sectors, and Lindsay Mair, a corporate financier at SP Angel, are joining the board.
Redcentric (RCN) has appointed Chris Jagusz as chief executive. Net debt is falling but it is still £33.3m. Working capital management has improved. Profit should start to recover this year.
Orosur Mining Inc (OMI) has announced a drilling programme for the Anza gold project in Colombia. There will be 15,000 metres of diamond core drilling and the first results should be available by next February. The plan is to define a maiden resource and the potential for further mineralisation.
Avacta (AVCT) has announced a research collaboration with FIT Biotech in order to assess the effectiveness of is Affimer technology with FIT’s vector technology for delivering a gene.
The Environmental Protection Agency in the US has asked Tristel (TSTL) to resubmit its application for its Duo surface cleaner. This means that approval could be five months later than planned.
Northland has initiated coverage of Venture Life (VLG) and it expects the consumer healthcare firm to move into profit in 2018. Northland believes that Venture Life will benefit from growth in demand for self-care products because of the ageing global population. Venture Life already sells its products in more than 40 countries.
Angling Direct (ANG) is acquiring Fosters Fishing for £3m in cash. Fosters have a 17,000 square feet store in Birmingham and made an operating profit of £460,000 last year. When a new store in Slough opens Angling Direct will have 18 outlets.
SkinBioTherapeutics (SBTX) says that its technology has passed third party cytotoxicity tests. Phototoxicity and in vitro ocular toxicity tests are underway.
AdEPT Telecom (ADT) has declared a 13% increase in interim dividend to 4.25p a share. Recent acquisitions are performing well and are helping to focus the group on managed services.
Redhall Group (RHL) says delays on nuclear and infrastructure will hit its figures for the year to September 2017. The Hinckley Point C contract is expected to start in October 2017. The Chieftain facility is being closed. The 2016-17 profit forecast has been halved to £500,000. The 2017-18 profit forecast has been trimmed by £200,000 to £3.4m.
Adams (ADA) has taken its cash pile to £660,000 following the sale of £584,000 worth of shares in GVC.
Former AIM company Clinical Computing has sold its trading subsidiaries to TSX-listed Constellation Software.
MAIN MARKET
InnovaDerma (IDP) is raising £4.4m at 276p a share. The Skinny Tan brand owner needs the cash for working capital. Despite declaring a profit of more than £1m in the year to June 2017 there was a £607,000 cash outflow from operations as inventory levels soared.
Curzon Energy (CZN) raised £2.33m at 10p a share but the share price has declined to 9.25p. Curzon has acquired coalbed methane licences in Oregon. Curzon believes that gas could be produced before the end of the year.
Haynes Publishing (HYNS) has completed the acquisition of E3 Technical from Solera UK for £4.72m. This will expand the data-related operations of Haynes, as well as providing cross-selling opportunities. E3 provides repair and maintenance information and vehicle registration look-up services.
Andrew Hore
Quoted Micro 18 September 2017
NEX EXCHANGE
Good Energy (GOOD) is hoping that efficiency improvements will help it to grow its profit. So far annualised savings of £1m have been made with more to come in 2018. Customer churn meant that electricity and gas customers were 1% lower in the first half. In the six months to June 2017, revenues were 16% higher at £52m but pre-tax profit was 37% lower at £700,000 due to restructuring and investment costs. Net debt was £60.4m.
Blockchain-focused investment company Kryptonite1 (KR1) has sold tokens relating to Golem, Melonport and Omisego for significant multiples of their buying prices. The gain on the disposals was nearly £400,000 with the majority coming from the Omisego disposal. The holding in Bancor has been sold for the original acquisition price. Kryptonite1 has invested £100,000 in the FOAM project seed funding round and it will receive discounted tokens in the public token offer in the fourth quarter. A further £100,000 has been invested in 208,333 tokens in the pre-sale of the Enigma Catalyst project. There has been £202,000 invested in the private sale of tokens in the RChain project and £120,000 in Rocketpool tokens. Keld Hans van Schreven has been appointed an executive director of Kryptonite1.
Block Energy (BLOK) is raising $600,000 from the sale of its Ghanaian mining assets. An initial $50,000 has been received and $550,000 will be paid by the end of 2017. The cash will be reinvested in the company’s oil and gas assets in Georgia.
Karoo Energy (KEP) is making progress towards an AIM quotation. Andrew Smith, who has worked in the finance functions of a number of AIM companies, has been appointed as a non-executive director.
WMC Retail Partners (WELL) has asked for trading in its shares to be suspended while it clarifies its financial position.
AfriAg Global (AFRI) has raised £200,000 at 0.25p a share. Via Developments (VIA1) has issued a further £300,000 of 7% debenture stock 2020. That takes the debenture stock in issue to £4.9m.
EPE Special Opportunities (ESO) had a NAV of 412.26p a share at the end of July 2017. The flotation of Luceco has helped to boost NAV.
AIM
Pennant International (PEN), which provides training and simulation equipment and services for aircraft and defence equipment. The interim profit was £1.1m, compared with around breakeven in the first half of 2016. An electro-mechanical trainer and courseware contract with a MoD contractor has been changed so second half revenues will be lower than expected but Pennant still has the contract and the changes mean it will probably earn more over the medium-term. This year’s profit will be flat at around £2.1m because of the lack of contribution from the contract. The order book of £42m includes £15m to be delivered in 2018, compared with forecast revenues of £18.5m.
Audio visual products distributor Midwich Group (MIDW) reported a one-third increase in interim revenues to £212m. Organic growth was 15%. Margins have fallen but they remain relatively strong. The van Domburg acquisition takes the group into the Benelux countries. Midwich is on course to increase full year pre-tax profit from £17.9m to £22.1m. Midwich will join the FTSE AIM 50 index later in September.
Group Eleven, which is on course for a flotation in Toronto, has acquired Teck’s 76.56% stake in the Stonepark zinc licences in Limerick, Ireland, where Connemara Mining (CON) owns the remaining 23.44%. Connemara took the decision to hang on to its stake even though it could have received C$2.8m and a 1% net smelter royalty. Stonepark is west of the Pallas Green zinc deposit.
Wynnstay Group (WYN) says it is placing its pet retail business Just for Pets into administration. In the six months to April 2017, the business lost £250,000 on revenues of £7m. Wynnstay made an operating profit of £4.24m in the same period. The Just for Pets business has net assets of £2.2m and there is likely to be a significant write-off.
MX Oil (MXO) is seeking to broaden its investing policy so that it is not purely focused on natural resources and also covers oil services and energy activities, where opportunities are lower risk. MX has warned that the carrying value of its investment in Nigerian oil assets may have to be revised.
Central Rand Gold Ltd (CRND) is seeking additional finance and this is likely to be highly dilutive for existing shareholders. The disposal of some or all of the company’s interests is also a possibility.
CSF Group (CSFG) has accepted a conditional indicative offer for one of its subsidiaries for a nominal amount. That would significantly improve the financial position of the group due to a reduction in liabilities. Net liabilities were RM27.5m at the end of September 2016. Last October, shareholders voted against cancelling the AIM quotation.
Kin Group (KIN) hopes to resurface after a company voluntary arrangement and a share placing. The administrator has sold the main assets of the core business have been sold to Australia-based SMG Investment Holdings for £50,000. The shares remain suspended.
Investment company Adams (ADA) has bought shares in fully listed-Petrofac (PFC), which is the subject of a Serious Fraud Office investigation. Adams has invested £941,000 at an average share price of 447.66p a share in the oil services provider. Adams has £100,000 left in the bank.
MAIN MARKET
Standard list shell Silver Falcon (SILF) is buying a US biotech focused on blood diseases such as bone marrow failure and leukaemia. The main product of Hemogenyx is still at preclinical stage but preparing to move into clinical trials over the next 18 months. This product redirects existing immune cells to eliminate unwanted cells in a patient waiting for a bone marrow transplant. This could replace chemotherapy. There is also a second product in preclinical development. Silver Falcon is issuing 228.6m shares at 3.5p each to acquire the company. It is also raising £2m at the same price. Readmission to standard list under the new name of Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals (HEMO) will be on 5 October.
Papillon Holdings (PPHP) has agreed heads of terms to acquire Phestor and Greenway Activated Carbon, which are involved in ultra-supercapacitor development for energy storage and supply of active carbon produced from biomass. Greenway plans to set up bio-refineries to extract cellulose and other materials from sugar beet pulp, straw and brewery biomass. The active carbon produced can be used in the ultra-supercapacitors. Phestor was set up in October 2016, while Greenway was set up in March 2016, although its name was changed last month. James Etherington Thorpe, who is resident in Denmark, is the sole director of each of the companies. Papillon had previously ended talks with MyClubbetting.com (see below).
Ocelot Partners Ltd (OLOT) still had $413.9m in the bank at the end of June 2017 and it is still on the look out for companies involved with the European technology, media or telecoms sectors. Shares in Ocelot commenced trading on the standard list on 13 March, when the cash shell raised $418m at $10 a share (currently trading at $9.91 each). A further $7.35m was raised from founder preferred shares with one warrant attached to each share. There was a $34.1m non-cash charge relating to founder preferred share dividend rights in the figures to June 2017.
Standard list shell Rockpool Acquisitions (ROC) says that it has been approached by additional reverse takeover targets in a range of sectors. Rockpool wants to buy a Northern Ireland-based business.
Andrew Hore
Quoted Micro 5 June 2017
NEX EXCHANGE
National Milk Records (NMRP) is raising £7.33m at 65p a share in order to help finance the withdrawal from the Milk Pension Fund. Like Genus, National Milk Records was part of the Milk Marketing Board and that is why it has part responsibility for the Milk Pension Fund. There will be a one-off contribution of £10.1m to the fund and £4.68m will be paid in cash and shares to Genus. National Milk Records is also selling its loss-making generic products reseller Inimex to Genus for a nominal amount and entering a collaboration agreement with the animal genetics company. There would be a requirement to finance the fund up until 2076 if the deal does not go ahead. A New Zealand-based farmer cooperative and Singapore-based fund manager Working Capital Management are among the investors subscribing for the shares.
Contemporary art collector and workspace provider V22 (V22O) moved into profit in 2016. The £1m profit was helped by a £225,000 gain on the sale of half of the option to acquire part of the freehold of its Peckham building and a £225,000 notional gain on the remaining option. There was also other operating income of £621,000. Stripping these items out, there would have been a slightly higher loss. Revenues grew from £822,000 to £1.24m. There was £64,000 in the bank at the end of 2016. NAV, including a valuation of the art portfolio, is 7.31p a share. Demand for studio space is strong at a time when it is become less affordable. This puts V22 in a strong position. V22 has agreed a ten year lease on premises in Shoreditch and is the preferred bidder for a 125 year lease on The Priory in Orpington.
Blockchain-focused investment company Coinsilium Group Ltd (COIN) has raised £250,000 at 2.2p a share to finance further investments. In 2016, Coinsilium increased revenues from £12,000 to £209,000. There was a total loss of £738,000, including a £317,000 loss on disposals and investment impairments of £160,000 – admittedly down from £1.31m the previous year. The NAV was £1.43m at the end of 2016.
Kryptonite 1 (KR1) is also seeking blockchain investments. This includes subscribing for shares in Satoshipay. It has also invested in five initial token offerings and three of them are already being traded and have performed well.
London Nusantara Plantations (PALM) is selling its stake in Next Oasis for £124,000. This was in the 2016 balance sheet at a valuation of £112,000 and the proceeds will boost the 2016 cash pile from £83,000. London Nusantara has been quoted for three years and it is still seeking to acquire plantation assets and it has widened its geographic search to Indonesia, as well as considering the palm oil mill sector and generating income from oil palm waste.
Early Equity (EEQP) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Malaysian multi-level marketing business Early Infinity, which has a distribution agreement with healthcare products supplier Yicom, where Early Equity owns 32.1%. The plan is for Early Equity to buy up to 30% of Early Infinity. Trading in Early Equity shares has been suspended.
Ganapati (GANP) has obtained a class 4 gaming licence in Malta and this should widen the potential market for its games. A tech office has been set up in Romania.
Halal services provider DagangHalal (DGHL) has raised £3.1m at 26.5p a share and this will leave managing director Francis Chong with a 29.9% stake. Revenues fell last year and there were significant asset write downs.
Middle East-focused investment company Indigo Holdings (INGO) had £906,000 in the bank at the end of 2016 and it raised £818,000 in February. Around £650,000 of that cash has been invested in three companies.
Restructuring and slow LED product sales meant that Gowin New Energy Group Ltd (GWIN) reported a slump in revenues from RMB652,000 to RMB28,000, while the loss was RMB6.94m. There is RMB2.08m of cash in the bank but there is more than that figure in shareholder loans because of the significant cash outflow during the year.
MiLOC Group Ltd (ML.P) increased its revenues from HK$8.31m to HK$10.9m in 2016 and the loss fell from HK$17.1m to HK$11.5m. The company’s clinics and traditional Chinese medicines generate the revenues and the TCM PLUS skincare products are expected to make a substantial contribution in the future. Last year, there was a large one-off cost relating to TCM PLUS. A hair care range is planned.
Equatorial Mining & Exploration (EM.P) intends to apply for a small scale mining lease for a coal mining prospect in Nigeria. Equatorial lost £1.55m in 2016 but £1.24m of this was a non-cash share-based payment charge. The cash outflow from operations was £383,000. Brett Clark has stepped down from the board following the failure to secure the acquisition of a Mexican gold project.
Healthcare staff provider Healthperm Resourcing Ltd (HPR) reported a £3.1m loss on revenues of £2,000 for 2016 but the business should generate more significant revenues this year. Steve Howson has become chief executive, while the former incumbent David Sumner became non-executive co-chairman. Two groups of overseas recruits have started work in the UK.
Ecovista (EVTP) has raised £470,000 via an issue of convertible loan notes. The conversion price is 0.05p a share. Any loan notes not converted will be repayable on 30 May 2018. Ace Liberty and Stone (ALSP) has raised £64,500 from a placing at 75p a share with most of the shares bought by Bijan Daneshmand, thereby taking his stake to 5.16%.
NQ Minerals (NQMI) lost £2.39m in 2016 but this was before the acquisition of the Hellyer gold mine in Tasmania. The main asset of All Star Minerals (ASMO) is its stake in NQ Minerals. This stake was valued at £414,000 at the end of 2016. The 2016 loss was £187,000, including a £28,000 write down in the NQ Minerals stake.
AIM
Touchstone Innovations (IVO), the former Imperial Innovations, has rejected the bid from rival University-focused technology businesses developer IP Group. The initial approach was made in April and some major shareholders were keen to pursue the merger. The main problems concerned valuation and corporate governance.
It does not appear that Tanfield Group (TAN) is going to be able to sell its 49% stake in access platforms manufacturer Snorkel in the near future because it continues to lose money. The value of the stake in the books is £36.3m – equivalent to 23.2p a share. This value can be achieved if Snorkel makes an annualised trailing EBITDA of $25m in any 12 month period up until September 2018. However, Snorkel is losing money and after September 2018 there is no fixed amount that Tanfield would receive if it sold its stake. Jon Pither has stepped down from the Tanfield board.
Acoustic insulation manufacturer Autins Group (AUTG) has appointed Michael Jennings as chief executive. He has been interim chief executive since February. Interim figures will be published on 13 June.
Draganfly Investments (DRG) has appointed mining engineer Luke Bryan as executive chairman. Edward Bayman will step down as chairman but continue on the board.
Hostels operator Safestay (SSTY) is planning to buy three hostels from Equity Point. The hostels are in Barcelona, Prague and Lisbon and they generate revenues of €1.6m. Safestay is loaning €3.6m to Equity Point and the plan is to swap the hostels for this debt.
Stanley Gibbons Ltd (SGI) has sold its 25% stake in Masterpiece London for £1.4m. The stake was valued in the books at £6,000. This is part of the strategy to focus on stamps and coins.
A general meeting has been requisitioned at Magnolia Petroleum (MAGP) in order to make changes to the board. At the end of May, Nostra Terra Oil & Gas (NTOG) acquired a 10.9% stake in Magnolia from former chief executive Steven Snead but the requisitioner has not been named.
Adams (ADA) has launched an underwritten one-for-one open offer to raise £1.03m at 2.5p a share. The investment focus is the technology and life sciences sectors. Richard Griffiths, who owns 29.9% of Adams, is underwriting the open offer. The announcement says that Adams has four AIM-quoted investments but only one of the companies mentioned, Oxford Pharmascience, is on AIM the others are fully listed.
TLA Worldwide (TLA), which published a profit warning at 6.26pm on 23 December 2016, thinks that it will be able to report its 2016 figures on 30 June. It will need to do this or trading in the shares will be suspended. TLA has warned that it will have to write-off some of the money owed to it.
Pembridge Resources (PERE) plans to move from AIM to the more lightly regulated standard listing. This will enable it to be more flexible in what it invests in and the level of stakes that it acquires. The main hurdle for a standard listing is getting the prospectus approved by the UKLA. Once that is done companies do not have the level of regulation they would if they were on AIM.
MAIN MARKET
Second half trading has been strong for car manuals publisher Haynes Publishing (HYNS). Pre-tax profit is expected to be two-fifths higher than last year. Haynes has benefited from lowering its costs and positive exchange rate movements. The new Haynes OnDemand video service will be launched this year but there will be a write down of the costs of the previous platform in the 2016-17 figures. The full year figures will be published on 13 September.
Telecoms services provider Toople (TOOP) is trying to raise up to £2m because it is running short of cash. Members of the PrimaryBid crowdfunding platform have been offered the chance to subscribe for shares at 2p each. A minimum of £1m needs to be raised. Even if the maximum is raised then the cash is unlikely to last long unless the cash outflow is stemmed in the near future.
Acorn Growth has changed its name to Vordere (VOR). This follows the proposed acquisition of German properties, which will be paid for by a share issue at 17p each. The shell company was originally known as Acorn Minerals when it joined the standard list at a placing price of 20p a share in October 2012.
Andrew Hore