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Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 26 April 2021
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Shepherd Neame (SHEP) in common with other brewers and pub companies has been hard hit by the closure of pubs. Monthly cash burn during pub closures is £1.5m-£2m. Unsurprisingly, interim revenues slumped from £79m to £55.3m, while an underlying pre-tax profit of £4.88m was turned into an underlying loss of £4.81m. Bottled beer sales were one-quarter higher as people bought the bottles for home consumption. Net debt was £92.4m at the end of December 2020 and had reached £96.5m by the end of March. More than 200 pubs with gardens have reopened and all 316 will be open by 17 May.
Revenues fell by one-third to £50.7m at brewer Adnams (ADB) in 2020. Online sales were 245% higher. This led to a loss of £4.3m. Beer volumes fell by 23% and spirits volumes by 31%. There is no dividend and reduced investment meant that net debt was reduced.
Gunsynd (GUN) has invested £50,000 in the unquoted Media Tech SPAC at 4p a share. The SPAC raised £1.64m and it plans to float in the second half of 2021. Riverfort Global Capital and Sure Valley Ventures are involved in the SPAC, which is focused on media and technology investments, and the latter might want to reverse one of its investments into the company. The sale of shares in Empress Royalty and Eagle Mountain raised £218,000 for Gunsynd.
John Mahtani, who is chief executive of Media Tech SPAC, has increased his stake in Quetzal Capital (QTZ) to 6.08%, while Chris Akers has raised his stake to 15%.
NFT Investments (NFT) has made its first investment. A $1m investment has been made in AEON International, which develops technology for the luxury fashion industry. Hong Kong-based AEON has a customer base that includes Gucci and Louis Vuitton. The AUTHENTIQUE subsidiary offers NFT-based verification technology in order to combat counterfeit goods. A product is being developed that would use unique fashion NFTs and smart contracts to enable fashion brands to earn royalties when a product is resold. NFT is paying its board and management in cryptocurrency.
NQ Minerals (NQMI) says the Hellyer mine generated gross revenues of $17.9m and net profit of $4.8m in the first quarter of 2021.
Interim sales of Wheelsure Holdings (WHLP) more than halved from £116,000 to £56,000, although management expects the second half to be stronger. The interim loss increased from £75,000 to £117,000. Since the end of the interim period, a further £50,000 has been raised and a government loan of the same amount secured. Management is seeking new markets for its rail safety equipment.
Chapel Down Group (CDGP) has completed the disposal of Curious Drinks and each of the minority shareholders will receive 1.57 Chapel Down shares for each Curious share they owned. This has resulted in 1.26 million additional shares being issued.
Watchstone Group (WTG) is seeking to switch from AIM to the Apex segment of Aquis. This should happen on 30 April. Watchstone is classified as a cash shell and trading in the shares would be suspended on AIM on 4 May if no acquisition had been made. The board is pursuing litigation relating to past businesses. This could result in cash being returned to shareholders. Watchstone is also seeking new investments.
Valereum Blockchain (VLRM) has purchased bitcoin mining hardware and they should be up and running in the US within one month. The plan is to have mining operations in a range of geographies.
Indorse, in which Coinsilium (COIN) has a 10% stake, has released a digital analysis tool, which scans the data on NFTs and their underlying assets. Coinsilium also owns 14.12% of the IND tokens in circulation.
Wishbone Gold (WSBN) has filed its drilling plans for the Red Setter project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. There could be up to 30,000 metres of drilling over four years.
Tyndall Investment Management has taken a 6.85% stake Oncology treatments developer Incanthera (INC) and directors and employees have also added to their stakes at process between 13p a share and 13.5p a share.
Arbuthnot Banking (ARBB) has generated £3m from the sale of shares in Secure Trust Bank (STB) at £12 a share. The stake has been reduced to 4.4%.
Veni Vidi Vici (VVV) has raised £220,000 at 50p a share. Vulcan Industries (VULC) has raised an additional £30,000 at 3.9p a share. A subscription at 85p a share has provided Startup Giants (SUG) with £190,000.
SulNOx Group (SNOX) has moved to the Apex segment of the market.
AIM
Grease management services provider Filta (FLTA) has been hit by the closure of restaurants and venues, particularly in the US. Revenues fell by one-third last year and the company fell into loss. Trading levels are moving back to previous levels, but the progress depends on the reopening of some of the larger US venues and stadia. There should be a return to profit this year, but it will take until 2022 for a profit to exceed past levels.
The was another positive trading statement from telecoms billing and customer relationship management software provider Cerillion (CER) following a first half of record orders.
Nu-Oil and Gas (NUOG) will lose its AIM-quotation on 5 May because it has not completed a takeover. There is a proposed acquisition of Guardian Barriers IP and Guardian Maritime, but if this goes ahead the plan is to obtain a standard listing. Guardian has developed a product that can be retrofitted to ships in order to prevent pirates from boarding vessels.
Churchill China (CHH) was still profitable in 2020, but pre-tax profit slumped from £11.2m to £800,000. There was £1.8m of cash generated from operations and net cash was £14m at the end of 2020. There is no dividend. Sales of hospitality ceramics halved during the year.
Cora Gold Ltd (CORA) has announced results from its latest drilling campaign at the Sanankoro gold project in southern Mali. The initial results suggest that there could be a significant increase in the DCF valuation of the project, which was £37.8m. The drilling should be completed by the end of July and there will be continuing news flow over the coming months.
MobilityOne (MBO) is not going ahead with the proposed acquisition of Tanjung Pinang Resources.
Team (TEAM) has decided not to make an offer for Tavistock Investments (TAVI).
MAIN MARKET
MGC Pharmaceuticals (MXC) is acquiring Israeli clinical research company MediCaNL in shares for up to A$6m and it will be used to run the company’s clinical trials. That will reduce costs and lead times. Three clinical trials are planned for cannabis-based treatments in 2021.
Town Centre Securities (TOWN) has collected or deferred 92% of the due rent of £5.1m in the latest quarter. The deferred element is £600,000. The other £400,000 remains due and discussions with tenants are ongoing. Since last March, there is £1.8m of rents that remain due. The company has sold the Thornton’s Chambers property in Leeds.
Interim revenues of J Smart Contractors (SMJ) declined from £9.25m to £5.75m, but costs declined at a higher rate so pre-tax profit improved from £265,000 to £890,000. Net cash was £11.1m at the end of January 2021. The interim dividend is unchanged at 0.95p a share. Building materials costs are rising and a lull in contracting work will hit profit. Management believes that property assets should have retained their value even though a valuation will not take place until the end of the year. NAV is £99.6m, while the market capitalisation is £52m.
Standard list shell Marwyn Acquisition Company III (MAC3) has raised £12m from an issue of A shares and is considering a £200m fundraising.
Tirupati Graphite (TGR) has opened its second mine at the Vatomina project in Madagascar. The processing plant will be commissioned in the second quarter of 2021. Last week. £10m in and oversubscribed placing at 90p a share. That is double last year’s flotation price.
Wildcat Petroleum (WCAT) has signed two memoranda of understanding. The first is with Crown Energy for its participation in a future initial coin operation by Wildcat. A model to monetise hydrocarbon blocks based on blockchain technology. Crown has blocks in Madagascar, South Africa and Iraq. Nabirm Global has a Namibian exploration licence and the deal is the same as with Crown.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 21 September 2020
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Renewable energy supplier Good Energy (GOOD) improved interim revenues by 6% to £67.5m. Gross margins declined as Good Energy focused on business customers. There was a slump from profit to loss, partly down to expected credit losses. There is no interim dividend, but payments should resume next year.
Newbury Racecourse (NYR) reported a two-thirds slump in interim revenues to £2.43m. This meant that the loss jumped from £363,000 to £1.69m. There were six race days in the period. Catering, events and the hotel all fell into loss, although the Rocking Horse nursery made a reduced profit. Nine race days are planned for the second half. There will be a substantial loss for 2020.
S-Ventures (SVEN) raised £650,400 at 2.67p a share prior to flotation on 16 September. There have been no trades and the share price ended the week at 3p/5p.
Trading has resumed in Lombard Capital (LCAP) following the completion of disciplinary proceedings. A fine of £23,800 has been imposed on Lombard for the failure to provide timely information and a resulting sharp movement in the share price. Lombard also failed to notify changes in significant shareholdings.
Western Selection (WESP) says that its NAV has fallen by 29.7% to 45p a share over the 12 months to June 2020. The decline in the share prices of AIM-quoted investments is behind the decline. The lack of a dividend from Bilby (BILB) meant that income more than halved.
NQ Minerals (NQMI) has raised £275,000 at 7p a share. TruSpine Technologies (TSP) says that Evrensel Capital Partners is being given an extension for its subscription of £250,000 at 36p a share. Evrensel has until 11 November to complete the subscription and it has been taken on as an adviser by TruSpine.
Panmure Gordon has been approved as a corporate adviser for the Aquis Stock Exchange.
AIM
ThinkSmart (LON: TSL) has revalued its remaining 10% stake in buy now, pay later finance provider Clearpay. The Clearpay stake was valued at £53.7m at the end of June 2020. That is based on the Afterpay share price, which has risen since. Following the settlement of litigation with Dixons Carphone, which led to a payment of £1.45m after June, ThinkSmart has around £10m in the bank and generating cash.
Hanover Bidco has launched a 40p a share recommended bid for ClearStar (CLSU) and this values the employee checks company at £14.7m. ClearStar floated at 57p a share back in July 2014.
Parcel and freight delivery company DX (DX.) increased full year revenues by 2% to £329m and there was a move from loss to a pre-tax profit of £1.8m. The freight division loss was reduced. Net cash was £12.3m, although it is helped by delayed tax payments. The parcels market is growing, and DX continues to invest in new depots.
Keystone Law (KEYS) has resumed dividends following the interims. Revenues grew but the rate of growth slowed. Lawyer recruitment continues and Panmure Gordon has upgraded its 2020-21 earnings from 7.1p a share to 11.9p a share.
Billing and customer relationship management software provider Cerillion (CER) has gained its largest ever contract. This £11.2m contract underpins next year’s figures.
There was a small decline in interim revenues at freight management services provider Xpediator (XPD) and there are further cost saving benefits in the second half. Freight forwarding made a higher profit, although overall operating profit was flat. A 0.45p a share dividend was declared. NAV is 19.9p a share.
Filta Group Holdings (FLTA) has been hit by closures and weak trading in the catering sector. The commercial kitchen services franchise group says trading is recovering, but it is still down on previous levels. Revenues should be more than two-thirds of normal levels by the end of 2020.
Online security software provider Kape Technologies (KAPE) doubled revenues in the first half of 2020. Organic growth was 12% as more people working from home led to demand for Kape’s software products. There are still cost savings to come from the Private internet Access acquisition. Full year earnings per share are expected to increase from 6.5p to 13.3p.
Cloud-based payment services provider PCI Pal (PCIP) reported slightly higher than expected full year revenues of £4.4m, up from £2.8m the previous year. Total annual contract value is running at £6.7m and this underpins the current forecast for this year. PCI Pal will continue to lose money but the cash outflow will reduce.
Union Jack Oil (UJO) is raising £7m at 0.16p a share to cover the oil and gas company’s share of investment in the Wressle field and fund other work programmes and drilling.
Trading in Phimedix (PHM) shares has been suspended because the shell has not found a suitable acquisition. Prior to suspension, Steven Myers sold his 7.7% stake and Ali Mortazavi further reduced his stake from 8.15% to 7.7%.
MAIN MARKET
Tex Holdings (TXH) has decided to delist from the Main Market by 13 October. Trading has been suspended since 29 April 2019. Funding is required and the board believes it will be difficult to secure the cash as a listed company because of the requirement for a prospectus for a major share issue. Costs will also be reduced.
IMC Exploration (IMC) intends to accelerate its exploration programme at the North Wexford gold project. The drilling will be JORC compliant.
Papillon (PPHP) says due diligence on its potential mining acquisitions has been completed. Kilmapesa has recommenced gold production.
Castillo Copper Ltd (CCZ) says that it has verified high-grade copper and identified gold mineralisation at the Big One deposit, on the Mt Oxide project. There are plans to commence drilling.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 1 June 2020
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Newbury Racecourse (NYR) says that it plans to host racing during June and July, although there will be no crowd. There will be income from media rights and betting shops are set to reopen on 15 June. The Rocking Horse nursery reopens on 1 June, although the hotel at the racecourse will remain closed. The £2.75m loan from Compton Beauchamp Estates has been extended to April 2022. David Wilson Homes is expected to make the next land payment of £10.98m by then. The 2019 audited accounts should be published by the end of July.
First Sentinel (FSEN) is making an investment in proposed Aquis Stock Exchange company Vulcan Industries. It will pay £234,000 for shares at 3p each and is also providing a convertible loan facility of up to £500,000 with an interest rate of 12%. There is an arrangement fee of £50,000 in shares. The initial stake is 4.56% of Vulcan, which plans to be a consolidator in the engineering sector. First Sentinel has raised £117,000 at 21p a share.
SG Recruitment Ltd (SGRL) is supplying hand sanitiser to the NHS and that should generate £650,000 in gross profit in this financial year. The contract lasts for an initial 11 weeks. In the six months to September 2019, gross profit is £288,000.
Cannabis-focused shell Greencare Capital (GRE) says that it remains in discussions with its principle potential acquisition and other opportunities. As lockdown conditions ease the discussions should gain momentum.
Employee-owned businesses investor and adviser Capital for Colleagues (CFCP) doubled unrealised gains from £630,000 to £1.33m at the interim stage and this helped pre-tax profit improve from £585,000 to £1.28m. NAV was 50.17p a share at the end of February 2020, although this figure has subsequently declined. TG Engineering went into administration in April, but this investment had already been written-off.
European Lithium Ltd (EUR) has secured an agreement with Talaxis for help with completing the definitive feasibility study on the Wolfsberg lithium project. Talaxis has expertise in developing electric vehicle technology metals. An introduction fee of 5% is payable for a debt or equity raising, plus a total of up to 36 million shares depending on the achievement of milestones. There is a minimum one-year non-exclusive period. Creditors and short-term loans of $743,000 have been converted into shares.
KR1 (KR1) investee company Argent Labs has raised a further $12m and this puts a value of $260,000 on the stake in the mobile crypto wallet developer.
Formation Group (FRM) has swung from an operating loss of £137,000 to a profit of £175,000 at the interim stage. This was supplemented by a £766,000 gain on financial assets to generate a £941,000 pre-tax profit. There is £5.18m in the bank and net assets were £21.7m at the end of February 2020.
Investment company Forbes Ventures (FOR) says that it expects its litigation funding project to male progress over the next few months. This should generate cash for the business and other projects are being assessed.
Early Equity (EEQP) increased its interim loss from £68,000 to £344,000. Early Equity has suspended its application to the standard list.
AIM
Safestay (SSTY) ended 2019 with 20 hostels across 12 European countries. In 2019, revenues increased by one-quarter to £18.4m and 49% of this comes from outside of the UK. There was a small pre-tax loss, which will increase this year due to closures because of COVID-19. Liberum believes that net bank debt will be £26.3m by the end of 2020. The share price is less than one-third of the NAV of around 56p a share.
In-game advertising technology develop Bidstack (BIDS) has received its first advertising bookings in the US. The company expects significant second half revenues.
Mattress retailer eve Sleep (EVE) says demand improved in April and May putting it in a position to meet full year expectations. A loss of £3.6m is forecast. The online focus has helped because high street retailers have closed. There have also been opportunities to buy TV advertising at attractive rates. The Woodford stock overhang has been cleared.
First quarter trading at fryer management services provider Filta (FLTA) started well and margins were improving. The catering customer base has been hit by the COVID-19 lockdown and Filta is offering additional services. Last year, organic revenue growth was 16%. Net debt was £2.1m at the end of 2019.
MAIN MARKET
Motor dealer Caffyns (CFYN) says it still expects to make a profit in the year to March 2020. Aftersales have restarted and showrooms are set to reopen. There is an annual salary ceiling of £37,500 for all active employees in April. This is being unwound.
Moss Bros (MOSB) bidder Brigadier has decided to withdraw its appeal to the Takeover Panel and the bid needs to be approved by the courts to be finalised.
Path Investments (PATH) has found a new acquisition target to replace the purchase of FineGems. Path is buying a 75% stake in the DT Ultraviolet technology owned by AIM-quoted Zoetic International (ZOE). Path will also acquire the nitrogen reserves and assets owned by Zoetic. The DTU refracking well stimulation technology is cheaper than existing technologies. Path will issue 15 million shares, and 15 million warrants exercisable at 1.5p each, to pay for the assets. Path will also pay a royalty of 5% on DTU revenues.
Cash shell Fandango Holdings (FHP) says the prospectus for the acquisition of an oil well services company is currently being prepared. There will also be a placing.
Avation (AVAP) has ended its formal sales process. Disruption to the aviation sector means that a realistic bid is unlikely.
Cathay International Holdings (CTI) is planning to transfer from a premium to a standard listing even though shareholders did not pass the resolution when it was previously tabled.
Nanoco (NANO) has signed a quantum dot material supply agreement with STMicroelectronics. Initial purchases will generate cash during the rest of 2020.
Seafox international says that is has no longer intends to bid for Gulf Marine Services (GMS).
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 11 May 2020
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
British Honey Company (BHC) says its hand sanitiser has generated revenues of more than £500,000 since late March. This helps to offset the reduction in sales of alcohol products. There is sufficient alcohol available for the company’s requirements for the rest of the year. British Honey has appointed finnCap as corporate adviser and joint broker with Stanford Capital.
National Milk Records (NMRP) increased first quarter revenues by 1% to £5.61m. The growth comes from testing revenues with other revenues declining slightly. The company remains positive about the prospects for the dairy sector. The supply chain is rebalancing following a drop in demand for milk from coffee shops.
NQ Minerals (NQMI) says that the total gold resources at the Beaconsfield gold mine in Tasmania have increased to 1.454 million tonnes at 10.3g/t for 483,000 ounces of gold. This excludes any estimate for the upper section of the mine.
World High Life (LIFE) says the Love Hemp brand has increased online sales by 39% each month since January. The brand’s CBD products are being stocked by more retailers.
TechFinancials (TECH) has signed a separation agreement with the cofounders of Footies Ltd and it will own 100% of the business. The cofounders get the original source code from May 2019. TechFinancials is ending its B2B brokerage activities by 1 November.
Investment company Gunsynd (GUN) has consolidated 85 shares into one new share.
Adnams (ADB) has appointed Jenny Hanlon to replace Stephen Pugh as finance director, which is a role he has held for 16 years.
EPE Special Opportunities (ESO) reported a NAV of 266.48p a share at the end of April. That represents a decline from 317.18p a share in the latest quarter.
AIM
Best of the Best (BOTB) has sparked another profit upgrade following its trading statement. finnCap has raised its 2019-20 by 27% to £3.8m.
IP investment company Tekcapital (TEK) increased net assets by two-fifths to $22.3m, which is equivalent to 35 cents a share. The biggest gain in value was for Guident, where nearly $7m was added to the valuation. Alternative salt developer Salarius and medical devices company Bellascura also generated good increases. Hi-tech eyewear developer Lucyd’s value fell by nearly $2m. Tekcapital recently raised £925,000 at 10p a share. This will be invested in portfolio companies.
Lower costs meant that ClearStar (CLSU) made a lower loss than expected in 2019. The background checks provider had net debt of $300,000 at the end of the year and this has increased to $1m. The year commenced with a record order book but there have been delays and reductions in volumes.
Genedrive (GDR) has raised £7m at 80p a share to finance the development of two COVID-19 tests.
Filta Group Holdings (FLTA) has launched FiltaShield, a COVID-19 sanitising services. It has also combined with a technology company to provide temperature screening devices.
VR equipment supplier Immotion (IMMO) has raised money for the second time this year. It has raised £1.35m at 2.5p a share, which is much lower than the 7.25p placing price in February.
Beximco Pharmaceuticals (BXP) says that Bangladesh’s economic slowdown and disruption to supplies due to COVID-19 could hamper the fourth quarter of the year to June 2020. Even so, Beximco still expects to report annual sales growth.
ZOO Digital (ZOO) says that strong cash collections mean that it had cash of $700,000 at the end of March 2020. Demand for localisation services weakened at the end of March but demand is recovering.
Hargreaves Services (HSP) has conditionally exchanged contracts for a 79 acre plot on the Hatfield site in South Yorkshire, which will be used to develop a national distribution centre for a retailer. The company is trading in line with expectations other than in the property business, where planned land sales will not complete before the end of May as originally anticipated.
MAIN MARKET
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) has been told by the CMA that it has to sell Footasylum. The formerly AIM-quoted footwear retailer was acquired last year. An appeal is being considered.
BATM (BVC) has launched an antibody test for COVID-19 and sales have begun to European countries.
Argo Blockchain (ARB) mined 319.2 bitcoin during April, down from 333.8 the previous month. The revenues were £1.8m in each month.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 17 February 2020
NEX EXCHANGE
NEX and AIM-quoted Arbuthnot Banking Group (ARBB) says that there has been an increase in the level of confidence in its markets since the General Election. That was too late to have much effect on the 2019 results, but full year pre-tax profit will be at the upper end of expectations. Last year, customer loan balances rose by 31% and deposits by 22%.
Sativa Group (SATI) says that it welcomes the guidance from the Food Standards Agency on the safe use of CBD products and the timetable for novel food authorisation. Management points out that Sativa’s products do not include THC. Sativa expects to report 2019 gross profit slightly higher than expectations on lower than marginally lower than expected. Goodbody Wellness has piloted three retail stores, but they did not perform as well as expected. PhytoVista Laboratories has completed more than 3,000 tests on cannabis-based products. That includes Sativa’s own products and a new sports range is near launch. Medicinal cannabis-based development is focused on veterinary treatments.
EPE Special Opportunities (ESO) has increased its NAV by 55% to 317.2p a share following a strong performance by Whittard of Chelsea and a recovery in the share price of fully listed Luceco. Pharmacy2U continues to grow strongly. Last year, 2.3% of the shares in issue were bought back by the company. New investments are being sought for available funds.
Ethical housing investor Walls and Futures REIT (WAFR) increased its NAV by 15% to 106p a share in the year to January 2020. Chief executive Joseph McTaggart bought 1,991 shares at 61.75p each.
Hellyer gold mine operator NQ Minerals (NQMI) has raised a further £210,000 at 7p a share.
Investment company Primorus Investments (PRIM) has benefitted from the sharp share price rise in Greatland Gold (GGP) and the stake is worth two-fifths of the company’s market value. The current profit is £1.25m. Investee company TruSpine is on course to float in London this year. The spine stabilisation devices developer has gained a new cornerstone investor. Primorus is debt free.
Trading in the shares of Altona Energy (ANR) has been suspended because it has not published its annual report for the year to June 2019. Cash needs to be raised to keep the company going and management says that shareholders will be invited to participate in a fundraising. The company says it expects to publish the report in the next two weeks and blames the delay on a change of auditor and a new accounting treatment for its exploration licences. Final terms for the acquisition of the previously announced new petroleum exploration licence application are being negotiated.
SG Recruitment Ltd (SGRL) majority shareholder and chief executive David Sumner has also taken on the role as chairman after the resignation of Alan Kitchin and Katie Hiess from the board.
AIM
Brickability (BRCK) has acquired McCann Roofing Products for £2.75m. Essex-based McCann imports roofing and building products from Europe and generated a 2019 pre-tax profit of £700,000 on revenues of £8.2m. This deal adds additional suppliers to the group and should be immediately earnings enhancing.
Nostra Terra Oil and Gas (NTOG) has convened the requisitioned general meeting on 3 March. Eridge Capital wants to remove Matt Lofgran and Ewen Ainsworth from the board and replace them with Andrew Morrison. Eridge was previously known as former AIM company New World Oil and Gas. Nostra Terra’s subsidiary has loans that have a key man clause which stipulate that Lofgran has to be president of the subsidiary unless it give consent or there will be a default.
Drug discovery platform developer e-Therapeutics (ETX) has overhauled its board and raised £1.6m at 3p a share. Former Silence Therapeutics boss Ali Mortazavi becomes executive chairman. Ian Ross is stepping down to concentrate his role at Silence Therapeutics. Chief executive Ray Barlow and finance director Steve Medlicott are also leaving. An additional independent non-executive director will be appointed.
Gemfields Group Ltd (GEM) joined AIM last Friday. The share price ended the day at 11.7p.
Bidstack (BIDS) expects to have generated £150,000 from programmatic advertising for video games. That is much lower than previously hoped because it is taking much longer to get advertising agencies to take in-game advertising seriously. There was cash of £3.14m at the end of 2019 following a loss of £5.3m. There was £6m in the bank at the end of June 2019. First half revenues will still be small.
Knights Group Holdings (KGH) has acquired Nottingham law firm Fraser Brown Solicitors for up to £8.28m in cash and shares. This follows the purchase of Croftons Solicitors, which is based in Manchester, for up to £2.8m. A new revolving credit facility of £40m has been agreed and it lasts until June 2023.
Octopus Investments has cut its stake in Staffware (STAF) from 13.2% to 0.53%. Gresham House Asset Management increased its stake from 6.7% to 10.6%.
Filta Holdings (FLTA) says it should make an EBITDA of £3.2m in 2019. Cost savings and investment software will help the fryer management services provider to produce a much better performance in 2020.
Keystone Law (KEYS) has traded in line with expectations. Pre-tax profit is forecast to increase from £5.1m to £5.7m.
Hormonal disease treatments developer Diurnal (DNL) says that the FDA has accepted the new drug application for Akindi Sprinkle as a treatment for infants and children. Approval could be gained by the autumn and it will be the only licenced treatment specifically for children. There was cash of £4.6m at the end of 2019.
MAIN MARKET
Automotive information publisher Haynes Publishing (HYNS) is recommending a 700p a share bid from Infopro Digital, valuing the company at £114.5m. The two companies fit well together and will have greater scale.
Finance provider S and U (SUS) says that its figures for the year to January 2020 will be in line with expectations and trading has been getting better in the past few weeks. The used car market has held up well even though the new car market is week. This is why second hand car finance provider Advance should produce another record performance in 2020-21. Property bridging finance provider Aspen has made the progress hoped because of delays in repayments and the loan book is lower than expected, but it is still a young business. A 2019-20 pre-tax profit of £35.5m is expected to increase to £39m this year. The latest total dividend will be raised by around 5% to 124p a share.
JLEN Environmental Assets (JLEN) is raising cash from the placing of up to 49.7 million shares. This will fund a pipeline of investments. The bookbuild will close on 26 February.
Ultimate Products (UPGS) says that sales growth is easing this year with first half revenues 3% ahead at £67.7m. There is also uncertainty about the supply of products from China. Even so, Shore is maintaining its full year pre-tax forecast of £8.77m, a small increase on last year. That could change.
Zenith Energy (ZEN) is widening the geographic scope of its activities by negotiating to acquire an oil production licence in West Africa. Zenith has raised £135,000 through a share issue at 1.5p a share. It has also entered into an equity sharing agreement with a consortium of institutional investors. The nominal amount raised is £810,000, but the ultimate amount will depend on the share price when each tranche is paid over the next 12 months. The benchmark price is NOK0.2231/share, equivalent to around 1.85p. The share price is 1.43p, so the first instalment is likely to be below the notional level if there is no share price recovery.
BATM Communications (BVC) has gained a $1.3m order from a Middle East-based poultry firm for its agri-waste treatment system.
Fasteners supplier Trifast (TRI) says market conditions are more challenging and there has been a slow start to the fourth quarter, which is normally the strongest. Margins have fallen and profit will be at the lower end of the range of forecasts. The Coronavirus has led to the extended closure of Chinese sites, but this is a small percentage of production.
Cathay International Holdings (CTI) says that production at its plants is on hold or preparing to gradual resume production because of the effects of the Coronavirus. The hotel business has been hit by a sharp reduction in occupancy rates.
Avation (AVAP) has made firm orders for two ATR 72-600 aircraft that will be leased to US-Bangla, the largest private airline in Bangladesh.
Predator Oil and Gas (PRD) is raising £3.56m at 4p a share. This will finance the drilling of the Moulouya well in Morocco and provide cash for further investment in Trinidad.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore Quoted Micro 17 June 2019
NEX EXCHANGE
Renewable energy supplier Good Energy (GOOD) says that holding back on operating expenditure has offset the downturn in demand due to warmer weather. Profit will be weighted to the first half. Good is investing in electric vehicle platform Zap-Map.
Brewer Daniel Thwaites (THW) reported a more than halved pre-tax profit from £9.8m to £4.5m. Turnover improved from £92.2m to £96.9m and the profit decline was mainly due to a non-cash swing from gain to loss on swaps and a pension adjustment. Operating profit was flat at £12.9m. The Inns business improved its profit and individual pubs are making a higher profit contribution, but hotels profit declined. The total dividend was maintained at 3.36p a share. Net debt was £69.7m at the end of March 2019, while NAV was £180.7m. The pension liability has fallen from £34.9m to £24.8m.
KR1 (KR1) has sold 70,079 tokens in the Cosmos Network for $361,000. The average cost of the tokens was $0.10 each and they were sold for $5.14 each. KR1 has also generate a further 7,008 tokens from staking activities and these were sold for $6.93 each.
There was a sharp rise in the share price of TechFinancials Inc (TECH) but much of this gain was lost by the end of the week. There does not appear to be a reason for the rise. Full year results should be published this week. There will be an operating loss. There was $1.1m in the bank at the end of May 2019. The company is still waiting for approval from the Seychelles authorities for the €100,000 disposal of MarketFinancials. There will be write-downs of the value of diamond trading blockchain developer CEDEX and MarketFinancials.
EPE Special Opportunities Ltd (ESO) had a NAV of 272.02p a share at the end of May 2019. The company intends to start buying back shares and these purchases could exceed 25% of the average daily volume of ordinary shares.
Shareholders have approved the plan of Oyster Oil and Gas to distribute the shares of its main subsidiary to settle indebtedness and certain creditors. These include Gunsynd (GUN) although the exact shareholding has yet to be announced. Production sharing contracts in Madagascar and Djibouti are owned by the subsidiary. Gunsynd has raised £500,000 at 0.037p a share.
Trading in Via Developments (VIA1) debentures has recommenced following the publication of figures for 18 months to September 2018. The company has net liabilities of £329,000 with long-term debt of £5.68m offset by cash of £91,000. A subsidiary is securing debt and equity for a project that will generate management fees fir Via, but that won’t happen until September.
Clean Invest Africa (CIA) is holding a general meeting on 3 July in order to gain shareholder approval for the acquisition of the 97.5% of Coal Tech and its related business that it does not own for £27.2m in shares at 2.75p each. CoalTech transforms discarded coal into coal pellets.
Lombard Odier sold 1.65 million shares in Chapel Down Group (CDGP) at 75p a share, reducing its stake to 11.5%. Chief executive Frazer Thompson exercised 2.39 million options at 12.5p a share and finance director Richard Woodhouse exercised 200,000 options at 10p a share and all these shares were sold at 75p each.
AIM
Frontier Smart Technologies (FST) has received another bid approach. Previous potential bidder Science Group (SAG) has built up a 28.3% stake in Frontier so it is in a strong position. It says that it does not intend to sell the shares to another bidder and could block any move to cancel the AIM quotation.
Park Group (PARK) increased investment in the business last year and this knocked underlying pre-tax profit progress which was flat at £12.5m, before asset write-downs. The dividend was increased by 5% to 3.2p a share. There was a smaller contribution from Christmas savings, but growth from corporate promotions and incentives offset that. Increasingly, business is card-based. There was £36.9m of the company’s own cash at the end of March 2019. There will be a dip in profit this year due to higher overheads and profit growth should resume in 2020-21. Chief executive Ian O’Doherty has bought 30,000 shares at 69.5p each.
Stanley Gibbons (SGB) has resolved claims against former management at antique dealer Mallett and this will result in a cash inflow of £850,000 over 12 months.
Safestyle (SSTY) has acquired the freehold of a 161 bed hostel in Pisa for €3.25m. This takes the company’s portfolio to 14 hostels, including the Paris site that is under construction.
Last year was about OnTheMarket (OTMP) building up the number of agencies on its property portal and increasing the number of homebuyers looking at the properties advertised. The rival to Rightmove and Zoopla needs to convert these agencies into fee payers and that process has just started. OnTheMarket will continue to be loss-making this year with higher marketing spending likely to offset higher revenues. Cash is expected to fall from £15.7m to £6.6m at the end of January 2019.
NWF (NWF) did better than expected in the year to May 2019. The feeds business was slightly behind the previous year, but new business helped the food warehouse business to significantly improve its performance and fuels did better than expected despite the milder winter, although behind the previous year. The results will be published on 30 July.
Industrial equipment distributor HC Slingsby (SLNG) says that pressure on margin means that operating profit in the four months to April 2019 is lower, even though revenues are slightly higher. Uncertainty over Brexit is affecting levels of demand in the first half of 2019. Net debt was £1.3m at the end of May 2019.
The actuarial deficit on the Molins UK Pension Fund has been cut from £69.9m to £35.2m over a three-year period. Mpac (MPAC) believes the deficit should be eliminated by July 2024. That is based on maintained payments into the scheme.
Filta (FLTA) says that its figures will be more skewed towards the second half. This is partly down to the integration of the Watbio grease management business. There has been growth in the FiltaSeal business and the North American FiltaFry fryer management franchise business.
Avingtrans (AVG) has acquired the Booth Industries specialist door manufacturing business from the administrator of Redhall (RHL) for £1.8m in cash. Booth made a pre-tax profit of £300,000 last year.
MAIN MARKET
Full year results from fasteners supplier Trifast (TRI) were slightly better than expected. Revenues were 6% ahead at £209m, while re-tax profit was a similar percentage higher at £23.5m. The dividend was increased by 10% to 4.25p a share. Trading remains tough.
Aquila Services (AQSG) has acquired education and sports consultancy Oaks Consultancy for up to £1.7m in cash and shares. In the year to March 2019, Oaks made a pre-tax profit of £254,000 on revenues of £909,000.
Bluebird Merchant Ventures Ltd (BMV) is converting $2.89m of loans into 121.5 million shares. Management made most of the loans and chief executive Colin Patterson will end up with 19.1% of Bluebird. Bluebird is debt-free.
Standard list shell Safe Harbour Holdings (SHH) lost £2.3m in 2018 due to overheads and due diligence costs. There is still £26.9m in the bank.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore Quoted Micro 22 April 2019
NEX EXCHANGE
IMC Exploration Group (IMCP) has published the prospectus for its move to a standard listing. No fundraising is planned to accompany the flotation. Management believes that IMC has enough working capital for 12 months. There was €152,878 in cash available at the end of January 2019. This takes account of the statutory spending on its licences.
Block Commodities (BLCC) is calling a general meeting to enable shareholders to decide whether the company should become involved in the medicinal cannabis sector.
Ananda Developments (ANA) owns 15% of LHT, the owner of hapac medicinal cannabis inhaling technology. The hapac products are being sold in Italy and the product range is being widened. Other investments are being assessed.
Ace Liberty and Stone (ALSP) has declared a second interim dividend of 0.83p a share.
Anne Yerburgh has been replaced as chairman of Daniel Thwaites (THW) by chief executive Richard Bailey, although she remains as a non-executive director in order to represent family shareholders. A replacement is being sought for former non-executive director Nick Mackenzie.
Queros Capital Partners (BFD) has raised £305,000 from the issue of 8% unsecured bonds 2025. This will be used to provide bridging finance to UK businesses.
Chris Akers has a 3.97% stake in High Growth Capital (HASH) following the purchase of the intellectual property of Malta-based BDD, a company he founded. RRNB Capital Ltd has increased its shareholding from 1.92% to 9.95%, while Fujairah has raised its stake from 2.31% to 8.59%. High Growth Capital has completed the acquisition of additional shares in AI company Sentiance to take its stake to 15%. Whitman Howard has been appointed as corporate adviser and broker.
AIM
Modern Water (MWG) reported its 2018 results at 6.19pm o the Thursday before Good Friday. Revenues increased by 18% to £4.2m and the reported loss was more than halved from £5.23m, although this included a £1.53m goodwill write off, to £2.47m. This appears to be the first time that Modern Water has slipped out results after the market has closed for the week. Let us hope that this does not become a habit. Serial offender Immunodiagnostic Systems Holdings (IDH) managed to put out its statement a bit earlier but after the close of the market. More can be found at https://ukinvestormagazine.co.uk/why-you-should-avoid-immunodiagnostic-systems-holdings/.
Enterprise software provider Sanderson (SND) says interim trading was ahead of expectations and further progress is expected in the second half. Interim revenues improved from £14.6m to £17m and underlying operating profit is one-third higher at £2.8m, which is partly due to accounting changes. Like-for-like operating profit would be one-fifth higher. Net cash was £3.29m at the end of March 2019. The order book is worth £8m. The interims will be published on 15 May.
Sheikh Ahmed Bin Dalmook Al Maktoum is investing £534,000 in MX Oil (MXO) for a 29.86% stake. He will appoint a non-executive chairman. This is part of a placing raising £680,000 at 0.04p a share. There are also 800 million warrants being issued that are exercisable at 0.04p over a five year period. Options over 10% of the enlarged share capital will be issued to management. The Aje field, where MX has a 5% investment is producing at around 3,150 barrels of oil per day and cash generated is being used to reduce project debt. The Aje field should start generating free cash in 2020 and that could move MX into profit in the first half of 2020. MX plans to consolidate 100 existing shares into one new share and change its name to ADM Energy.
Chief executive Sean Smith has bought 126,624 shares in biopesticide products developer Eden Research (EDEN) for 10.25p each. Finance director Alex Abrey has acquired 50,000 shares at 10.1p each. House broker Shore forecasts an increase in revenues from £2.8m to £3.7m in 2019, although the loss is expected to rise to £900,000. Shore expects Eden to move into profit in 2021.
PowerHouse Energy (PHE) has gained its first revenue generating contract for its DMG technology in conjunction with partner Waste2Tricity. Revenues will come from IP, design rights and licensing, followed by operational engineering.
Parity (PTY) is increasing its focus on the data analytics market and has appointed a new boss of consultancy services. Pre-tax profit halved to £850,000 in 2018 and a further decline is expected in 2019. Net debt is expected to remain at around £1m. Revenues are expected to continue to decline but there should be a greater proportion of the business coming from higher margin activities and profit is expected to bounce back to £1.5m in 2020.
Fryer and grease management services provider Filta (FLTA) increased revenues by 23% to £14.2m in 2018, while underlying pre-tax profit improved from £1.81m to £2.2m. This is before any significant contribution from the Watbio acquisition, which cost savings appear to be on course. A 2019 pre-tax profit of £3.8m is forecast.
Nektan (NKTN) is selling a 57.5% stake in Respin for £300,000 to a new purchaser because the previous deal could not be completed at a higher price due to the fact that buyer could not raise the finance. The online gaming firm says that it owes £3.6m in tax to the HMRC and it is likely to need additional cash to pay the bill.
TruFin (TRU) plans to sell its stake in unsecured consumer finance provider Zopa for £44.5m, an increase of 22% on the 2017 valuation, and investing £25m in manufacturing finance provider Distribution Finance Capital, which will be floated on AIM in early May. There should also be £10m returned to investors later this year. That will leave early payment services provider Oxygen Finance and Satago Financial Solutions, which provides working capital to small businesses.
Delayed results from consumer care products supplier Venture Life Group (VLG) show revenues 17% ahead at £18.8m and nearly all the growth came from the company’s brands. Pre-tax profit improved from £63,000 to £710,000. Net cash was £5.8m so the company has funds to make additional acquisitions.
Yourgene Health (YGEN) has raised £11.8m at 10.25p a share and that will be used to fund the £6.3m cash payment for molecular diagnostics developer Elucigene, which will cost £9.2m in cash and shares.
Managed services provider Redcentric (RCN) says net debt was £17.6m at the end of March 2019, compared with estimates of £20.2m. Pre-tax profit is expected to rise from £8m to £8.7m.
D4T4 Solutions (D4T4) has announced that its 2018-19 results will be ahead of expectations. This led to a pre-tax profit upgrade from £5.7m to £5.8m, but earnings per share were upgraded from 12.1p to 13.3p due to a low tax rate.
Evgen Pharma (EVG) has raised £5m through a placing at 13p a share. The cash will boost the balance sheet while management undertakes partnership discussions and additional work on SFX-01. The phase IIb data for SFX-01 in subarachnoid haemorrhage is expected in the third quarter of 2019.
Directa Plus (DCTA) doubled its total income to €2.5m in 2018. The graphene-based products developer has net cash of €5.2m, following a €3m outflow from operations.
Ariana Resources (AAU) says that the Kiziltepe gold mine produced 7,296 ounces of gold in the first quarter of 2019. That was lower than the fourth quarter of 2018, but it is ahead of the average annualised quarterly guidance.
IG Design (IGR) is set for 10% organic sales growth in the year to March 2019 and total revenues rising from £327.5m to £447m. Pre-tax profit is expected to grow from £21.4m to £29.5m. There could be further merger benefits to come from the Impact Innovations acquisition.
Europa Oil and Gas (EOG) is selling its 20% stake in PEDL143 in the Weald Basin to UK Oil and Gas (UKOG) for £300,000.
MAIN MARKET
Plastics and panels supplier Tex Holdings (TXH) made a small loss in 2018 following accounting changes to the recognition of revenues and there is no final dividend. Trading levels were lower in the second half. Tex is in breach of some of its bank loan covenants. The major shareholder continues to support the group. The share price fell by more than one-quarter.
Electronic products distributor DiscoverIE (DSCV) is on course to improve its full year pre-tax profit from £21.8m to £27.7m. The group has raised £29m at 400p a share in order to finance the acquisitions of US-based transformers and magnetic components manufacturer Hobart Electronics and UK-based rugged and submersible sensors manufacturer Positek. The total initial consideration is £15.9m.
Fasteners supplier Trifast (TRI) says full year profit is slightly better than expected even though demand from China has been reduced due to tariff wars with the US. Net debt was £15m at the end of March 2019 and it has agreed a new four-year bank facility of £80m. This could be used for acquisitions.
Argo Blockchain (ARB) has set the date for its requisitioned general meeting, which will be held on 16 May. The requisition came from an entity owning 13.8% that is controlled by Frank Timis, who does not believe that the company will provide a satisfactory return to shareholders with its current cryptomining strategy. The plan is to remove Jonathan Bixby and Mike Edwards as directors and appoint another director. Argo has more cash than its market capitalisation. Cash operating costs have been reduced to £280,000, compared with £500,000 of potential revenues expected in May.
Kazakhstan-focused vanadium miner Ferro-Alloy Resources (FAR) is already spending the money it raised when it gained a standard listing last month. Equipment, a mobile crane and vehicles have been acquired. The design of the extension to the existing facilities and for the connection to the high voltage power line has been completed. The share price has almost halved from the placing price of 70p to 37.37p. More background information can be found at https://ukinvestormagazine.co.uk/ferro-alloy-resources-goes-to-discount-on-first-day/.
BATM (BVC) has won an initial $2m armed forces contract for cyber security and this lasts 18 months.
Emmerson (EML) has signed heads of agreement for an offtake agreement for 100% of the production from the Khemisset potash project.
Andrew Hore
Ian Pollard: Sanderson Sees Double Digit Growth
Sanderson Group plc SND Half year trading results to the end of March, are ahead of management’s expectations with revenue growing to approximately £17.0 million from last years £14.6 million and operating profit increasing by over 30% to £2.8 million from last years £2.1 million. Digital Retail has continued to perform strongly during the six months and achieved further double-digit revenue and operating profit growth.in The Manufacturing business sales orders grew by over 10%. The Board is confident that it will be able to maintain its progressive dividend policy.
System 1 Group plc Sys1 updates that its Consultancy business stabilised after a difficult 2017/18. Gross profit was down 1% for the year as a whole at £22m but Being 4% ahead in the second half, allowed it to generate underlying pre-tax profits for the year as a whole.
Serabi Gold plc SRB Reports another excellent quarter with a strong start made to 2019 and over 10,000 ounces of gold produced in the first quarter, keeping up the momentum from the end of 2018 and the second successive quarter with production above 10,000 ounces for the first time. Guidance for 2019 is maintained at production in the range of 40,000-44,000 ounces representing a significant improvement on 2018’s production of 37,108 ounces.
IG Design Group plc IGR The strong trading performance continued in the final quarter both delivering revenue and profit growth across all regions in the year to the 31st March.. The Board now anticipates that the financial performance of the Group will be be up significantly up year on year. The progressive dividend policy is expected to be continued earnings pay-out ratio is also expected to be increasesd at the full year.
Beachfront villas & houses for sale in Greece; http://www.hiddengreece.net
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 24 December 2018
NEX EXCHANGE
China-based Gamfook Jewellery had planned to join the standard list, but it has decided to float on NEX. The online retailer of customised jewellery had intended to raise cash at 15p a share, but the flotation on NEX on Christmas Eve will be an introduction at 15p a share. Management hopes the flotation will help to increase its profile and customer base. A dividend based on 28% of profit attributable to shareholders is promised.
Walls and Futures REIT (WAFR) has maintained its NAV at 92p a share at the end of September 2018. In the six months to September 2018, rents increased from £33,000 to £67,000. Additional supported housing opportunities have been assessed.
KR1 (KR1) has raised £785,000 at 5p a share and paid £40,000 in fees to advisers in shares at the same price. KR1 director Keld van Schreven subscribed for 50,000 shares. The cash will fund further blockchain token investments.
Panther Metals (PALM) has signed heads of terms for the acquisition of Parthian Resources, which owns exploration assets in Australian. Parthian shareholders will own 15% of Panther if the deal goes ahead. One of these shareholders is Kerim Sener, who is non-executive chairman, who will end up with 4% of Panther. The deal should be completed in January 2019.
Blockchain investment company Coinsilium Group Ltd (COIN) says that Gibraltar-based StartupToken has attracted a £193,000 investment from South Korea-based Blockwater Capital in return for a 7.4%. Coinsilium had invested £360,000 in StartupToken during November and the value of the investment has doubled to £722,000. Executive chairman Malcolm Palle has bought 200,000 shares in Coinsilium at 3.6p a share, taking his stake to 6.35%.
Clean Invest Africa (CIA) is acquiring the remaining 97.5% of CoalTech LLC for £24.6m. This will be funded by a share issue. A circular will be published in the first quarter of 2019. A new incentive plan for management, in the form of options exercisable at 2.5p a share, is planned.
IMC Exploration (IMCP) has issued five million shares at 1p ia share and every five shares has a warrant exercisable at 1p a share. The £50,000 will be used to continue exploration in Avoca, County Wicklow. Wishbone Gold (WSBN) has raised £300,000 at 0.1p a share. The cash raised will be used to accelerate production at the Honduras gold facility. NQ Minerals (NQMI) has raised £38,000 at 12p a share.
Milamber Ventures (MLVP) has issued shares valued at nearly £302,000 to creditors at a range of share prices. Management has acquired the majority stake in Milamber USA and Milamber retains a 20% stake. Milamber has also reduced its stake in Vocademia to 5% with the rest of the share capital acquired through the return of 900,000 Milamber shares. A further 166,667 shares were returned for Milamber’s stake in White Cobalt. Milamber has created a new training compliance company called Checkbox and taken a 51% stake in an education joint venture with Black Arrow Space Technologies, which is developing commercial orbital launch services.
Imperial Mining (IMPP) is changing its name to Imperial X to reflect the change in investment focus from resources to the cannabis sector.
Medicinal cannabis investment company Sativa Investments (SATI) says that investee company Rapid Dose Therapeutics Inc has listed on the Canadian Stock Exchange. This has provided a 70% uplift in the initial investment value for a gain of C$140,000.
Lombard Capital (LCAP) had £4,130 in cash and £112,000 in assets available for sale. at the end of September 2018. Lombard still plans to issue an asset-backed investment bond.
Tectonic Gold (TAU) says that initial analysis of drilling at the Specimen Hill project in Queensland has confirmed mineralisation with grades up to 6.06g/t. Full results should be available in January.
Trafalgar Property Group (TRAF) is raising up to £1m through an issue of 8.5% convertible bonds 2025. The issue could eventually be increased to £5m. The bonds will be traded on NEX. The cash will be used to fund residential development and planning applications. Trafalgar has limited cash and it lost money last year.
Filta Group (FLTA) has multipled the size of its grease management operations in the UK through the acquisition of Watbio for £6.9m in cash and shares, plus working capital adjustment. Cenkos has provisionally upgraded its 2019 earnings forecast by 26% to 11.8p, assuming completion of the deal in early January. Filta is raising £3m at 200p a share, which is a premium to the market price, and has obtained a £4m, five-year loan facility. Filta started building a grease management division through acquisition just over one year ago. Watbio generates annual revenues of £10.3m and pre-tax profit of £800,000 so it is much larger than the existing operations. It also offers other drain management services.
A strong performance from property servies more than made up for a weak first half performance of the business recovery division of Begbies Traynor (BEG) and pre-tax profit was 9% higher at £3.2m on revenues 8% ahead at £28m. The number of insolvencies increased in the first half but there was no repeat of the large one-off fee in the first half of the previous year. The interim dividend was raised by 14% to 0.8p a share. Net debt fell 10% to £6.3m. The performances of the divisions will reverse in the second half and 2018-19 pre-tax profit should improve from £5.6m to £6.4m.
President Energy (PPC) has drilled the third Puesto Flores well on budget and there have been good oil shows, but they are lower than the previous two wells. All three wells could be in production by the end of the year.
AssetCo (ASTO) has transferred the loal employees in Abu Dhabi to the new supplier of fire services. There is a possibility of winning work in the region. The litigation against former auditor Grant Thornton continues and a judgement could happen in the first couple of months of 2019.
URA Holdings (URA) was not able to complete the acquisition of Entertainment AI early enough to prevent the cancelation of the AIM quotation on 24 December. The acquisition could still happen.
Real Good Food (RGD) has sold jams maker R and W Scott for £1.5m, of which £500,000 is deferred until September 2019, and the assumption of £2.45m of debt. That takes disposal proceeds to £17.8m and completes the main corporate activity. The cake decoration and food ingredients businesses make up the majority of the remaining group.
Small business financial services provider City of London Group (CIN) continues to lose money as it builds up its activities. Recognise continues to try to obtain a UK banking licence.
HaloSource Corporation (HALO) has not been able to secure additional finance and trading in the shares has been suspended. There is limited cash left.
Thalassa Holdings (THAL) intends to move to a standard listing. No new shares will be issued and the move should take place on 25 January.
Revenue and EBITDA growth in the range of 15% to 20% is expected by Craneware (CRW) in the six months to December 2018. The healthcare accounting software provider has a 100% renewal rate in dollar terms in the first half.
Replacement windows and doors manufacturer Safestyle (SFE) has improved its order intake in the past six months after its agreement with a former employee who was competing with the company. However, costs have increased and the 2018 loss will be between £8.2m and £8.6m. The 2019 performance could be ahead of expectations. Otus Capital Mananagement has taken a 5.42% stake.
Audio equipment supplier Focusrite (TUNE) had a strong November but it is still cautious about the full year. The trade dispute between the US and China remains a concern.
N4 Pharma (N4P) has extended the licence agreement with UniQuest for Nuvec. It has become an exclusive global licence with certain fields licensed back to UniQuest.
finnCap has resigned as nominated adviser and broker to The People’s Operator (TPOP) and that could scupper the placing with the owner of LycaMobile. An investment of £1.3m in shares (29.9%) and convertible loan notes was planned.
Yu Group (YU.) says that the Financial Conduct Authority is investigating the accuracy of its announcements between March and October. Poor internal controls caused a shortfall in profitability. The energy supplier has revealed that its 2018 loss could be as high as £7.85m, which is higher than previously estimated. This is due to a decline in gross margins and balance sheet corrections. There was £11m in the bank at the end of November 2018.
LiDCO Group (LID) will report float full year revenues and this has led to a £800,000 increase in forecast pre-tax loss to £1.9m. The take-up of the high usage programme has been slower than expected and an Asian order was delayed. The patient monitoring equipment supplier is expected to have cash of £1.5m by the end of January 2019.
TLA Worldwide (TLA) has agreed in principle to sell its Australian business to QMS Media and this would make TLA a cash shell.
Rasmala (RMA) left AIM on 19 December. A new holding company is based in the British Virgin Islands.
It gets worse at Paragon Entertainment (PEL) with another loss in the second half on lower than expected revenues. A 2018 loss of £2.4m is forecast. Overheads have been reduced so the loss could be smaller next year.
Scientific Digital Imaging (SDI) increased interim revenues by 23% to £8.05m through a combination of acquisitions and organic growth, while pre-tax profit was one-third higher at £1.5m. finnCap is cautious about the full year for the scientific instruments supplier and has maintained its full year pre-tax profit forecast at £2.6m, which suggests a lower second half profit.
Management has launched a 12p a share bid for former AIM-quoted PR firm Freshwater as a way of enabling existing shareholders to exit the business.
MAIN MARKET
Trading in standard list shell Fandango Holdings (FHP) shares has been suspended ahead of the proposed reverse acquisition of Konnect Mobile Communications Inc, which owns PaySocial Inc, a mobile banking and payments eWallet.
Standard list shell Papilon Holdings (PPHP) has acquired 50% of Pace Cloud Ltd, which owns CarCloud, a fintech company involved in the used car sector. This represents a fundamental change in the business. Papilon is raising up to £500,000 via a convertible loan note issue. The conversion price is 1.25p a share.
Telecoms services provider Toople (TOOP) lost £1.4m in the year to September 2018, which was slightly more than the previous year. The gross profit of £203,624 was enough to cover the directors pay of £196,713. There was a cash outflow of nearly £1m in the period. There was £2.14m in the bank at the end of September 2018, but there is a loan from former shareholder David Breith with a cash value of nearly £607,000, which could become repayable from 3 May 2019.
Zegona Communications (ZEG) has decided not to tender €7.75 a share for up to 14.9% of Euskaltel, where it is trying to improve performance, because it has not been abe to secure funding. Zegona has secured a relationship with Talomon Capital, which will own up to 2.4% of Euskaltel on top of Zegona’s existing 15% stake, which will be increased via market purchases. That requires a share issue by Zegona.
Investment company Athelney Trust (ATY) is consulting with existing and potential shareholders, concerning a tender offer to existing shareholders at the same time as an issue of new shares.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 13 August 2018
NEX EXCHANGE
Brewer Adnams (ADB) grew its turnover by 7% to £35.5m in the first half of 2018 but there was an underlying operating loss and lower gains from asset disposals. The reported pre-tax loss increased from £284,000 to £840,000. The second half is always more profitable. Depreciation is higher due to investment in the brewery and the refurbishment of the Swan Hotel. Adnams own beer volumes increased by 4.8%, compared with the market growth of 1.3%. Carbon dioxide shortages have affected the second half. The interim dividend is unchanged at 78p/B share and 19.5p/A share.
KSE is offering £29,419.64 a share in cash for Arsenal Holdings (AFC) and that values the football club at £1.8bn. KSE already owns or has acceptances totalling more than 97% of the shares in the company.
Healthperm Resourcing Ltd (HPR) increased revenues by 184% to £293,000 in the first half of 2018 and 144 healthcare staff candidates were deployed in the period, which was nearly three times as many as in the first half of 2017. More students are being trained in the English language. Healthcare recruitment contracts have been signed in the UK and they cover nine hospitals. Contracts have also been signed outside the UK.
Angelfish Investments (ANGP) is subscribing for 0% secured convertible loan notes in Wallet Ads Ltd. The first drawdown is £50,000 and this will be followed by five monthly instalments of £20,000. On payment of the final instalment, or under certain other circumstances, the loan notes can be converted into 20% of the enlarged share capital of Wallet Ads, which has developed a mobile engagement platform combining mobile wallet passes, web and social media and this enables digital vouchers to be sent to smartphones. Angelfish non-exec Richard Walker will join the Wallet Ads board.
Pelican House Mining (PHM) is investing in battery minerals explorer Kalahari Key Mineral Exploration (KKME), which is exploring for nickel and platinum group metals in Botswana, near the South Africa border. AIM-quoted Two Shields Investments (TSI) is a co-investor in KKME and it increased its stake to 22.2%. Two Shields Investments also increased its stake in cobalt explorer Cobalt Blue Holdings to 49% before swapping it for a 11.26% stake in African Battery Materials (ABM), thereby gaining a wider exposure to technology metals licences.
Clean Invest Africa (CIA) raised an additional £50,000 at 1p a share when it floated last year. Geremy Thomas holds a 3.1% stake.
Shareholders in Welney (WENP) have voted against the appointment of Mark Jackson and Mark Chapman as directors.
AIM-quoted TechFinancials Inc (TECH) joined NEX on 8 August. Monreal has changed its name to Eight Capital Partners (ECP).
AIM
Fryer management and commercial kitchen services provider Filta (FLTA) says that interim figures are in line with expectations. There will be a full contribution from GMG, which was acquired last year, while the sale of the refrigeration division has helped to improve margins. Revenues are growing from newer franchisees and the UK-based seals business also grew its revenues. The interims will be published on 4 September.
Former boss Philip Swinstead has sold his 9.82% stake in Parity Group (PTY) and Helium Rising Stars has taken a 10.9% shareholding. Parity is on track to achieve double digit profit growth this year. The IT recruitment and consultancy services provider is modestly rated on a prospective multiple of less than nine, even though the share price has risen following the share dealing.
Pebble Beach Systems (PEB) expects revenues to fall from £4.6m to £3.9m but the broadcast software supplier believes that the second half should be better. A backlog of £4.7m should help full year revenues to be nearer to last year’s level.
Frontier IP (FIPP) has announced its first Portugal-based spin-out. It is taking a 31.8% stake in NTPE, which is developing Paper-E technology that can be used to print electronic circuits, sensors and semiconductors. This opportunity came through the relationship with Universidade Nova de Lisboa Faculty of Science and Technology. Another investee company, 27.5%-owned Fieldwork Robotics, has secured a deal with soft fruit grower Hall Hunter to prototype and test a raspberry harvesting robot system.
Phoenix Global Mining (PGM) has reported that the first drilling results from the Empire mine in Idaho have been encouraging. There was 68 metres at 0.57% copper from the surface. The current JORC resource is 0.52% copper so it would be good news if the current drilling provides higher levels of copper.
Mereo BioPharma (MPH) had net cash of £36.9m at the end of June 2018, but a R and D tax credit of £8.2m was received in August. An adult Phase 2b study for Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) is due to complete enrolment by the end of September. There will be initial six month data from the open-label high dose part of the study by the middle of next year. A flotation on Nasdaq is still a possibility.
MAIN MARKET
Engineering and construction company North Midland Construction (NMD) increased its interim revenues from £135.1m to £160.9m and more than doubled pre-tax profit from £1.23m to £2.51m. The interim dividend has been doubled to 6p a share. Cash in the bank was 138% higher than 12 months before are £18.9m, although there are also finance leases of £4.5m. The order book is worth £320m. The telecoms-related part of the business is still losing money. There were much better profit contributions from the water and construction divisions.
Argo Blockchain (ARB) is developing a global datacentre management business facilitating cryptocurrency Mining-as-a-Service and has signed a deal that will provide 9.5MW of clean energy for two datacentres in Quebec (Argo already has one datacentre in Quebec). That provides the capacity for more than 150,000 subscribers and the centres will be operational in September and October. Argo joined the standard list on 3 August after raising £25m at 16p a share, which valued the company at £47m. However, the share price has fallen back to 11.13p.
Beauty and personal care products supplier InnovaDerma (IDP) has appointed Kieran Callan, who was a non-executive director, as chief executive with Haris Chaudhry moving to executive chairman. Callan used to work at PZ Cussons. This appointment follows poor trading and disappointing pre-tax profit in the year to Last October, InnovaDerma raised £4.4m at 276p a share and, having fallen by two-thirds at one point since then, the share price has recovered to 148.5p. Haircare brand Roots will be sold in Tesco.
Telecoms services provider Toople (TOOP) is holding a general meeting on 30 August in order to get shareholder approval to enable it to issue more shares to raise cash to keep the business going.
Andrew Hore