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Quoted Micro 23 January 2023
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Oberon Investments Group (OBE) is acquiring 63% of Logic Investments Ltd, which provides back office services to investment managers. Logic has funds under management and administration of more than £275m and Oberon Investments will merge its own back office operations with Logic. A placing raised £1.75m at 3.5p a share. Chairman Alex Hambro subscribed for 1.14 million of the shares, taking his stake to 1.64 million shares. The cash will be used to accelerate growth.
GP IT systems supplier DXS International (LON: DXSP) reported a 2% improvement in interim revenues to £1.65m, while the loss was £131,000 due to higher depreciation and operating costs. There was £399,000 in the bank at the end of October 2022. Management options can be exercised if annual turnover reaches £5m in the next three years. Hybridan forecasts revenues 2022-23 revenues of £3.61m with a pre-tax profit of £86,000.
Cooks Coffee Company (COOK) says UK sales were 41% higher in 2022, while sales in Ireland were 91% ahead. The focus is generating better returns from existing café sites, although there will be some new openings.
Healthy snacks supplier S-Ventures (SVEN) says full year revenues were £8.7m, but the inability to obtain ingredients hampered sales income. The operating loss is £2.6m. The revenues were one-fifth down on initial expectations for the year to September 2022. Supply problems have eased, and price rises have helped to offset higher costs.
Marula Mining (MARU) has appointed Geofields Tanzania to commence copper exploration at the Kinusi copper project, where Marula Mining owns a 49% interest, and £80,000 has been raised from a warrant exercise. Initial exploration results should be published in the second quarter of 2023.
Hydrogen Future Industries (HFI) is investing in hydrogen production facilities developer Tower Green. It has spent £100,000 in cash and shares on a 20% stake and has the right to invest a further £50,000 for another 10% stake. Tower has an agreement with Element 2 to supply hydrogen fuel to fleet operators. Hydrogen Future Industries has developed wind-based hydrogen production systems.
Tap Global (TAP) continues to rise following the previous week’s completion of its reversal into Quetzal Capital last week. There was £3.1m raised at 4.5p at the same time, even though the market price had not been that high since May last year. Chief executive David Carr acquired 190,000 shares at 4.1p each and finance director Anthony Quirke bought 135,135 shares at 4.4p each.
Newbury Racecourse (NYR) lost money on the Great Christmas Carnival and the company is likely to make a small profit in 2022. The other parts of the business traded in line with expectations.
Quantum Exponential (QBIT) had £2.48m in cash out of net assets of £4.85m at the end of October 2022. There was a cash outflow of £313,000 in the previous six months.
Guanajuato Silver Company Ltd (GSVR) has restarted processing at the Cata mill at the Valenciana mine. The initial processing rate is around 8,000 tonnes/month.
Invinity Energy Systems (IES) says that its VFB technology has passed phase 1 requirements for UK government’s LODES competition, and it is submitting the application for phase 2. The competition offers £11m of funding to the winner.
AQRU (AQRU) says that Accru Finance is raising the threshold for minimum account deposits on its app to $250,000. This will reduce assets on the app, but hardly affect revenues. There will also be further cost cutting.
Rogue Baron (SHNJ) sold 930 cases of Shinju whisky in the fourth quarter of 2022. Revenues were $120,000.
Gunsynd (GUN) has raised £194,000 from partial disposals of stakes in three companies. Gunsynd has invested £150,000 in Strategic Minerals Europe, the holding company of Aberdeen Minerals, which is exploring for nickel-copper-cobalt deposits in north east Scotland. Shares were acquired at 2.5p each and Gunsynd has a 2.7% stake.
Hydro Hotel Eastbourne (HYDP) is paying a dividend of 23p a share, up from 21p a share last year.
AIM
Pawnbroker Ramsdens Holdings (RFX) did much better than expected in the year to September 2022. Group revenues increased by 62% to £66.1m, while pre-tax profit jumped from £564,000 to £8.27m. Net cash is £8.84m. The total dividend is 9p a share. Earnings forecasts for 2022-23 were upgraded by 5% following a 6% upgrade in October.
Regional legal firm consolidator Knights Group Holdings (KGH) reported a 19% increase in interim revenues to £71.2m and underlying pre-tax profit was also 19% ahead at £9m. This was achieved in a flat market. Net debt was £35.6m at the end of October 2022. The interim dividend is 153p a share.
China-based Hainan Mining is funding the Bougouni lithium project that is wholly owned by Kodal Minerals (KOD). A $100m investment will be made into a joint venture providing Hainan Mining with a 51% stake. The work on the construction of the mine will be overseen by Kodal Minerals. Hainan Mining is also subscribing $17.75m for a 14.8% stake in Kodal Minerals and that money will be spent on other projects.
Mirriad Advertising (MIRI) is launching a strategic review and potentially putting itself up for sale. The board of the programmatic advertising business believes that Mirriad Advertising is undervalued even though it continues to make heavy losses. Revenues were £1.51m in 2022 and there was £11.3m in cash, which should last until the third quarter of 2023. The strategic review will consider how the business should be funded from then on. In-content advertising is set to grow significantly, but Mirriad Advertising has to have the funding to take advantage.
Legal services provider Gateley (GTLY) generated organic growth of 10% and improved profit by 12% in the first half. In the six months to October 2022, group revenues were 22% ahead at £76.1m, helped by contributions from the new patent activities, while pre-tax profit improved from £8.5m to £9.6m. The dividend has been raised by 10% to 3.3p a share.
Musical instruments retailer Gear4Music (G4M) grew revenues by 5% in the third quarter despite strikes and weak consumer spending. UK sales were flat, and the growth was in Europe. Gross margins declined. A full year pre-tax profit of £1.1m, down from £5m, is forecast.
Inland Homes (INL) chief executive Donagh O’Sullivan has resigned after little more than one month in the job.
Panther Securities (PNS) is paying a special interim dividend of 10p a share. The property investor says that it expects net assets to increase by £19m in 2022, mainly due to the removal of two derivatives liabilities relating to interest rates on debt. Loan-to-value is less than 40%. Debt refinancing discussions will begin later this year.
Online women’s fashion retailer In The Style (ITS) was hit in December by price cutting by rivals and difficulties in delivering orders. Revenues in the quarter to December 2022 fell by 22%. Full year revenues are expected to be £46m, which is not much more than the £44.7m generated in the year before flotation. The EBITDA outcome is likely to be a loss of between £4.25m and £4.75m. There was £3.2m in cash at the end of 2022. On 8 December, In The Style launched a strategic review and that continues.
Rockfire Resources (ROCK) has entered into a joint venture with Sunshine Gold for the Plateau gold deposit in Queensland. Sunshine Gold will fund all exploration for three years. Rockfire Resources will focus on the Molaoi zinc deposit in Greece.
Circle Property (CRC) intends to return at least £30m to shareholders by March 2023. Three-fifths of the portfolio has been sold in 14 months. At 220p, the shares are trading on a discount to NAV of around 18%.
Upgrades for Equals Group (EQLS) continue to push the share price higher. The forecasts had already been upgraded in December and earnings per share have been increased by a further 4% to 4.8p, up from 2.8p in 2021. There was £15m in the bank at the end of 2022.
Crimson Tide (TIDE) revenues were better than expected and that reduced the forecast loss. The mobile as a service technology developer is still on course to breakeven next year. Annualised recurring revenues are £5.8m, which is more than generated in 2022. The US provides additional potential.
Shanta Gold (SHG) produced 65,209 ounces of gold at an all-in sustaining cost of $1,270 at the New Luika gold mine in Tasmania, which is just below guidance. Capital investment means that it could produce 66,000-72,000 ounces of gold at an all-in costs of $1,200-$1,300/ounce.
MAIN MARKET
LED lighting and wiring accessories supplier Luceco (LUCE) as 2022 revenues and profit are at the upper end of guidance. Strong cash flow reduced borrowings with net debt one-third lower than expected at £24m. The finance director is leaving and being replaced with non-exec Will Hoy.
Medica Group (MGP) revenues and profit for 2022 should be in line with expectations. Improved radiologist capacity helped revenues improve from £61.9m to £77m, while pre-tax profit is set to improve from £7.4m to £13m. Acquisition opportunities are being evaluated.
Andrew Hore
Quoted Micro 10 October 2022
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Arbuthnot Banking Group (ARBB) says full results should be ahead of market expectations of a £13m pre-tax profit. The third quarter trading statement says Arbuthnot Latham deposits exceed £3bn, although costs of deposits are rising. Base rate rises have a positive effect on results as changes to deposit rates lag the rises in interest rates. Credit criteria are being tightened, particularly for property. Assets under management are £1.35bn. Non-exec Sir Nigel Boardman acquired 9.749 shares at 810p each.
Helium Ventures (HEV) has conditionally agreed to acquire Vestigo Technologies, which has developed tracking product Trackimo. Shares will be issued at 10p each and the existing share capital prior to the deal would be valued at £1.68m. Helium Ventures plans to move to the standard list after the reverse takeover. In 2021, Vestigo had revenues of $28.1m and has partnerships with Vodafone and Paramount. Trading in the shares has been suspended.
Quantum Exponential (QBIT) had net assets of £5.6m at the end of April 2022, following an increase in the value of its option in cyber security business Arqit Inc. Since then, two new quantum technology investments have been made. There is still cash for further investments and there are plans to set up a fund that will raise further funds to invest in quantum technology.
Hydrogen Future Industries (HFI) has acquired a suite of international patents through a joint venture. The patents are relevant for the company’s wind-based hydrogen production system, plus other systems. The patents were issued to the vendor when it employed the boss of HFI’s development subsidiary. The payment will be £33,000 in cash, 5.2 million shares and 2.5 warrants exercisable at 12p each, with the second tranche of the payment dependent on the achievement of development milestones.
National Milk Records (NMRP) generated a 6% increase in 2021-22 revenues to £23.2m, while pre-tax profit improved from £1.65m to £2.22m. The dividend was raised by one-third to 2p a share. The milk recording and testing services increased revenues. The biggest increase was in genomics which rose from £292,000 to £488,000 and there is a potential launch in the US during 2023.
EPE Special Opportunities Ltd (ESO) has invested £2m in Denzel’s Ltd, a premium dog snacks brand, which raised £3m in total. Denzil’s has listings in major supermarkets and has launched its own website. It is part of the Tesco Incubator Programme.
There has been a mineral resource upgrade at the Amapa iron project in Brazil, where Cadence Minerals (KDR) owns 27%. The updated resource at Amapa is 276Mt grading 38.33% Fe, up from 177Mt. The measured resource is 55Mt grading 39.26% Fe.
Capital for Colleagues (CFCP) had net assets of £13.8m at the end of May 2022, equivalent to 74.5p a share.
S-Ventures (SVEN) has gained new contracts for its natural food businesses with ASDA, Holland Barrett, Co-op, WH Smith and easyJet. Two retailers in Finland have started stocking company products.
Marula Mining (MARU) has taken a 49% interest in the Kinusi copper mining project in Tanzania. The licences last seven years. In return for the interest, Marula has reimbursed $50,000 of costs incurred by Takela Mining and issued it with 4.5 million shares at 2p each.
Quetzal Capital (QTZ) had £1.07m in the bank out of net assets of £2.86m at the end of June 2022.
Goodbody Health (GDBY) secured a distribution agreement with blood collection services provider Tasso Inc, which supplies virtually painless medical devices to draw a blood sample with no needles. Goodbody’s clinics will be able to extract more blood than from a finger prick.
Hydro Hotel, Eastbourne (HYDP) reinstated the interim dividend at the rate of 14p a share.
Director buying at Kent-based brewer Shepherd Neame (SHEP) pushed the share price 0.4% higher at 672.5p. Richard Oldfield bought 6,000 shares at 675p a share and George Barnes acquired 3,200 shares at 672p each. The final dividend is 15p a share and the shares go ex-dividend on 13 October. Coinsilium (COIN) chairman Malcolm Palle acquired 500,000 shares at 1.9p each, while chief executive Eddy Travia bought 500,000 shares at 1.95p each. The share price rose 8.11% to 2p.
Global Smollan has increased its stake in Samarkand Group (SMK) from 14.8% to 17.6%.
Pioneer Media Holdings Inc (PNER) has raised $1m through a sale of units at 10 cents each. They include one share and one-half of a warrant exercisable at 25 cents. This cash will be spent on technology development and expanding the web3 gaming business.
Invinity Energy Systems (IES) has sold a 1.3MWh VS3 flow battery system for use in a datacentre in Arizona. Amati reduced its stake from 5.87% to 4.92%.
Trading in the shares of Vulcan Industries (VUL), Hot Rock Investments (HRIP) and VVV Resources Ltd (VVV) has been suspended due to failure to publish results.
AIM
Peter Gyllenhammar has taken a 11.2% stake in Pressure Technologies (PRES) following the share price slump after last week’s trading statement. Pressure Technologies had a disappointing second half. There will be a full year loss and the engineering company will also breach covenants on its bank facility. More cash is required. Net debt was £5.4m at the interim stage and it could be £3.9m at year-end. The finance could come from a share issue or a convertible issue or another form of funding. Management is talking to Lloyds about the bank facility. Forecast net assets are £15.4m, including the company’s main factory, which is nearly double the market capitalisation.
Former broker analyst Bill Currie has taken a 4.15% stake in online retailer In The Style (ITS). He is a non-executive director of retail loyalty technology developer Eagle Eye (EYE) and he owns 12.9% of the company. Lombard Odier has cut its stake from 20.1% to 19.8% and Ameriprise Financial has reduced its stake from 5% to 4.39%.
Gateley (GTLY) has acquired patent attorney Symbiosis IP for up to £2.5m. The business made a pre-tax profit of £300,000 in the year to March 2022. This business fits with Adamson Jones.
In video game advertising technology developer Bidstack (BIDS) raised £10.5m at 2.85p a share. Irdeto subscribed for £5m worth of shares. There are plans to develop a platform for sports bodies to control content that appears in their licenced IP. The rest will go on working capital and commercial development.
Public Policy Holding Company Inc (PPHC) is acquiring California-based KP Public Affairs in an earnings enhancing deal. Public Policy Holding Company provides public affairs, crisis management and lobbying services in the US. The acquisition enhances earnings by 2% in 2022 and 9% in 2023.
NWF (NWF) continues to perform strongly with the feed division recovering, helped by higher milk prices, and food distribution trading better than expected. Fuel distribution volumes are lower than in the previous year as people delay refilling their tanks, although margins have improved.
Seeing Machines (SEE) has an exclusive collaboration deal with Magna International for rear view mirror occupant monitoring applications in vehicles. Magan is paying $17.5m in cash ($10m immediately and $7.5m over two years) and investing $47.5m via a convertible note, which is convertible at 11p a share. This should be enough cash to get the driver monitoring technology business to profitability.
Oxford Biodynamics (OBD) is raising £9.1m via a placing at 20p a share and up to a further £2.95m could be raised through a one-for-6.81644 open offer. The share price rose 56.3% to 17.975p, which is still well below the placing price. This cash will help to fund the commercial development of the EpiSwitch CiRT test for cancer, which has been issued with a US reimbursement code earlier in the week.
Parcel and freight delivery company DX (DX.) has published interim figures and it intends to recommence dividend payments. A total dividend of 1.5p a share is expected for 2022-23 and that provides a base for further growth. Cash could still grow steadily. Trading in the shares remains suspended.
PCF Group (PCF) has suspended new lending by PCF Bank while it is trying to raise additional finance. Castle Trust Capital decided not to bid for PCF. Sales of assets and other options to raise money are being considered. There will be further cost cutting.
Battery cells developer AMTE Power (AMTE) has signed a framework deal with the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre to produce up to 60,000 Ultra High Power cells annually. The cells are fast charging and have high power delivery. Production commences in three months and the cells will be used for in-vehicle trials by potential customers – the initial focus is high performance electric vehicles – ahead of the opening of AMTE’s own factory in Dundee in a few years.
Horizonte Mining (HZM) announced a fundraising on Tuesday evening and the size of the placing was increased from £61.7m to £70.5m at 90.5p a share. This larger fundraising has also reduced the contribution from major shareholder La Mancha from £23.8m to £22m. The cash will help to complete the construction of the Araguaia nickel project in Brazil. Total capital cost has increased from $477m to $537m. First production is scheduled for the first quarter of 2023.
Gold miner Chaarat Group Holdings (CGH) has extended the convertible loan notes from 31 October 2022 to 31 July 2023. Interest will be capitalised until the end of October and then the principal of $28.7m plus accrued interest will incur an annual interest rate of 12%. There is also a fee of 1%. If converted there will be 77 million shares issued.
MAIN MARKET
Shell company Milton Capital (MII) floated on the standard list on 4 October. There was £1m raised at 1p a share. The share price ended the week at 1.1p. The initial focus is acquisition targets in the technology sector. Total flotation costs were capped at £50,000 and Peterhouse paid additional costs of £5,955. The first year’s operating costs will also be £50,000.
Data integrity software supplier Gresham Technologies (GHT) has won a £1m plus contract for Clareti Control from a major European financial and banking group. There is also A$19m of work for ANZ in the year to September 2023, which is 15% higher than last year on a constant currency basis. Full year revenues and profit will be ahead of expectations.
Golden Nice International has subscribed £650,000 worth of shares in Anglo African Agriculture (AAAP) at 5p a share. That is a 28.2% stake. There are also 13 million warrants exercisable at 5p each. Golden Nice International has also acquired 65% of convertible loan notes in issue at a 15% discount to face value. They convert into 13.7 million shares at 5p each. The other loan notes will be converted into 7.37 million shares with associated warrants. Andrew Monk and Matt Bonner have resigned and replaced by Andy Sui and Simon Grant-Rennick. The company is changing its name to Everest Global.
Shell company Insight Business Support (IBSU) had net assets of £530,000 at the end of June 2022, including cash of £440,000.
Andrew Hore
Quoted Micro 17 January 2022
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Failed bidder Ecotricity has requisitioned a general meeting at Good Energy (GOOD) in order to remove Will Whitehorn as a director and to stop the company selling generating assets without shareholder approval. The meeting will be held on 11 February. Ecotricity owns 25% of Good Energy. The sale of the generating assets is an important part of the company’s strategy. The cash would be used to reduce borrowings and invest in newer businesses, such as Zap-Map and other digital businesses.
Samarkand Group (SMK) has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with AIM-quoted Venture Life (VLG). The e-commerce technology platform will be the exclusive distributor of mouthwash Dentyl Dual Action and halitosis mouthwash Ultradex in China for an initial term of five years.
Hydrogen Utopia International (HUI) has signed a letter of intent with RZZO, which is a regional municipal waste management company in Ostrow Wielkopolski in Poland. RZZO will provide a plot of land where a HUI waste plastic to hydrogen plant can be sited and also source the plastic waste. They will seek funding from the EU as well as Polish grants. The heat would be fed into a district heating system.
Eastinco Mining and Exploration (EM.P) has identified 11 new pegmatite zones at its HCK joint venture in Rwanda. These are potential tantalum-niobium bearing zones. The sampling should be completed in February.
Apollon Formularies (APOL) has signed agreements with more than a dozen cannabis cultivators. They all have the appropriate licences. It has also set up the Apollon Kannabiz Cooperative to work with local Jamaican farmers. Rod McIllree has been appointed as a non-exec director. He owns 29.1% of Apollon.
Western Selection (WESP) cut its stake in Northbridge Industrial Services (NBI) from 9.65% to 6.21%, while Harwood Capital has raised its stake to 16.9% to 20.4%. Western Selection raised £1.7m from the disposal.
EPE Special Opportunities Ltd (ESO) had net assets of 510.95p a share at the end of 2021.
Sativa Wellness Group Inc is changing its name to Goodbody Health Inc (GBDY).
Dispersion Holdings has changed its name to AQRU (AQRU), which is aligned with the brand of its retail online platform for lending cryptocurrencies.
Rutherford Health (RUTH) will leave Aquis on 25 January.
AIM
Frontier IP (FIPP) says the increase in the value of tis stake in the Nasdaq-listed Exscientia will be an important component of the rise in NAV at the end of 2021. NAV was 69.8p a share at the end of June 2021. A small portion of the shareholding has been sold and further sales are likely. This cash can be ploughed back into Frontier IP and help with new investments.
Legal services provider Gateley (GTLY) reported organic growth of 23% in the six months to October 2021. That partly reflects the weak comparative figures as well as underlying growth. All four divisions grew revenues with only the property division having a small contribution from an acquisition. Utilisation levels improved from 79% to 84%. Underlying pre-tax profit increased from £7.5m to £8.5m. The interim dividend was one-fifth higher at 3p a share. Management is seeking acquisitions to add to organic growth. There is normally a second half weighting to the figures.
Strong trading at Metro Rod and Metro Plumb is the major factor behind the growth at Franchise Brands (FRAN) and the B2C franchise brands are recruiting more franchisees. Full year pre-tax profit is expected to increase from £4.8m to £6.4m. Net cash was £8.6m at the end of 2021.
Corporation Financeiere Europeenne acquired shares in CIP Merchant Capital (CIP) taking its stake to 31.8%. This has sparked a mandatory bid at 55p a share. This is a substantial discount to net assets of 87.6p a share. The plan is to save the costs of being a quoted company.
Cornerstone FS (CSFS) has come to an agreement with Robert Lee concerning the £100,000 convertible loan facility he had promised. Instead of being convertible at a fixed price of 61p a share the convertible could be converted at the average mid-market price of the shares for the five dealing days prior to the drawdown of the loan if this is lower. This will mean that it is much more dilutive unless there is a sharp rise in the share price. The international payments company says 2021 revenues should be £2.3m with more generated by direct sales.
Specialist IFA Frenkel Topping (FEN) is paying up to £10m for Cardinal Management, which provides patient support at hospitals following traumatic events. This provides access to potential clients at an early stage.
Heart disease risk assessment technology developer GENinCode (GENI) has filed a pre-submission for its Cardio inCode-SCORE test with the FDA in the US. This will provide information ahead of a future marketing application. The test combines genetic risk with clinical risk to assess an overall risk of heart problems for a patient.
Oil palm plantations operator Dekel Agri-Vision (DKL) generated record figures in 2021. December crude palm oil production more than doubled and the total production for the year was 39,953 tonnes, up 17.5% on the previous year. Extraction rates are starting to improve. The average crude palm oil price was $868/tonne, which is 44% higher than in 2021. The crude palm oil price is currently more than $1,000/ tonne
Minds + Machines (MMX) decided to return the remaining cash to shareholders and cancel the AIM quotation. There will be 10.4p a share tender offer.
Vector Capital (VCAP) has increased its debt facilities by £5m to £35m. In 2021, the total loan book rose by 27% to £46.3m. This is ahead of expectations.
Capital equipment supplier Mpac Group (MPAC) says it traded in line with expectations in 2021. A pre-tax profit of £8.2m is forecast. The closing order book was £77m. The 2021 results will be published on 14 March.
Holders Technology (HDT) is paying a special dividend of 2p a share on 28 January in addition to a final dividend which will be announced with the 2021 figures. The interim dividend was 0.5p a share. This follows the disposal of some of the company’s PCB assets for around £1.7m.
Mosman Oil and Gas (MSMN) has dropped its plans for a 100-for-one share consolidation after negative feedback from shareholders.
MJ Hudson (MJH) has gained a multimillion contract to advise the ACCESS local government pension scheme over a seven-year period. This covers eleven local authority pension schemes. They have £35bn in pooled assets.
MAIN MARKET
Cash shell Electric Guitar (ELEG) joined the standard list on 11 January. It raised £1.2m at 3p a share and the share price has risen to 3.7p. The current NAV is 1.78p a share, which is effectively all cash. Electric Guitar is a shell seeking acquisitions in the digital advertising sector. There could be opportunities to consolidate smaller agencies. A suitable target will be run by management with a good record, be involved in growth areas, have good quality clients, an existing IT platform and be scalable. It should be near to cash generation. The company acquired would have an enterprise value of at least £5m.
East Star Resources (EST) has gained readmission to the standard list following the acquisition of Discovery Ventures Kazakhstan. A placing raised £3.1m at 5p a share.
Canadian Overseas Petroleum (COPL) has made a significant oil discovery in Wyoming. The discovery has between 1.5 billion and 1.9 billion barrels of oil in place.
PYX Resources Ltd (PYX) has begun sales of rutile from its Mandiri deposit in Indonesia with production of ilmenite and leucoxene starting later in the year.
One Heritage Group (OHG) is acquiring Seaton House in Stockport for £675,000. This is an office building, and the plan would be to convert it into up to 30 apartments. The gross development value is £5.6m.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 26 July 2021
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Ecotricity has launched a 340p a share cash bid for Good Energy (GOOD). Ecotricity believes the combined group would be better placed to compete in the energy supply business. The Good Energy board rejects the bid.
Arbuthnot Banking (ARBB) reported a bounce back in interim pre-tax profit from £200,000 to £3m. the main profit improvement was at Arbuthnot Latham. NAV was 1292p a share at the end of June 2021. Assets under management reached £1.22bn. A second interim dividend of 16p a share was announced, and it will be paid on 24 September.
NQ Minerals (NQMI) says its Hellyer gold mine generated revenues of A$19.8m in the second quarter, while net income was A$5.7m. The major capital investment in the mine cost A$16.4m and was finished during the quarter. NQ Minerals is still seeking to move to a full listing on the London Stock Market.
Sativa Wellness Inc (SWEL) generated record revenues in the first half of 2021, and it is generating cash from operations. CBD products supplier Goodbody Botanicals is profitable. There have been 47 clinics opened to offer Covid-19 testing.
Apollon Formularies (APOL) says that medicinal cannabis formulations developed by its subsidiary have been able to kill prostrate cancer cells.
Watchstone Group (WTG) management recommends that shareholders reject the mandatory 34p a share bid.
Ervin Kovac has resigned as director of Freyherr International (FRYR) and the shares remain suspended as the company’s financial position remains uncertain. Trading was suspended more than nine months ago.
Harry Hyman has taken a 3.08% stake in Oberon Investments (OBE).
Newbury Racecourse (NYR) is moving from the Access segment to the Apex segment.
AIM
Digital payments business Boku (BOKU) increased interim revenues by 37% to $34m – organic growth was 21%. Investment is increasing in order to take advantage of growth prospects, but cash is also increasing.
Trading is improving at employee benefits services and insurance products provider Personal Group (PGH) and interim revenues were 12% ahead at £34m even though weak insurance sales last year mean that premium income fell. SaaS-based revenues increasing by 50% – helped by the partnership with Sage. Sales of consumer electronics products through PG Let’s Connect has improved by one-fifth.
Insolvency levels remain relatively low, but Begbies Traynor (BEG) still grew strongly last year. In the year to April 2021, underlying pre-tax profit improved from £9.2m to £11.5m – a combination of organic and acquisitive growth. There is more to come this year from recent acquisitions.
Lawyer Gateley (GTLY) managed to increase its pre-tax profit from £18.1m to £19.3m despite the tough trading conditions in the year to April 2021. The property and corporate finance divisions did particularly well last year. This kept utilisation levels high. A final dividend of 5p a share was announced. Gateley is paying £815,000 for Tozer Gallagher, which is a quantity surveyor and construction consultant.
Online womenswear retailer Sosandar (SOS) increased its full year revenues by 35% to £12.2m. It remains loss-making and that is likely to continue this year even though revenues continue to grow rapidly. First quarter revenues jumped by 256% to £5.7m, although the comparatives were weak. Active customers increased by 23% compared with the previous quarter. Singer forecasts double full year revenues to £24.4m.
Parcel and freight delivery company DX (DX.) is still growing its freight business faster than expected and analysts have upgraded their forecasts for 2020-21 and the current year. The additional business is also more profitable than in the past. DX Express revenues are flat due to lower office mail delivery revenues.
Judges Scientific (JDG) had a much better order book at the end of June 2021. It was 49% higher than June last year. Organic sales growth was 5% compared with full year forecasts of 1.5%.
Open Orphan (ORPH) spin out Poolbeg Pharma (POLB) has started trading on AIM. The shares are trading at 10.875p, which is equivalent to 3.63p a share to Open Orphan shareholders. The Open Orphan shareholders cannot sell yet.
Vela Technologies (VELA) has invested £750,000 in Northcoders Group, which joins AIM on 27 July. Manchester -based Northcoders provides software coding training.
International payments business Cornerstone FS (CSFS) is pursuing potential acquisitions, but it has not secured any since it floated earlier this year. The mix of business remains consistent, although more of it is direct which improves margins, and trading has almost returned to pre-pandemic levels.
MAIN MARKET
New shell Acceler8 Ventures (AC8) has soared from its placing price of 100p to 215p on limited volumes. After expenses, the cash in the company is equivalent to 60p a share. The sector of the potential target has been kept vague.
Sivota (SIV) is a shell that wants to acquire Israel-based technology businesses. The company has just under 78p a share of cash. The share price has risen from the placing price of 100p to 112.5p.
NMCN (NMCN) is making progress with the refinancing and related documentation. The 2020 accounts are expected to show a pre-tax loss of much more than the £24m previously indicated.
Aquaculture technology developer OTAQ (OTAQ) increased full year revenues by 18% to £4.05m, while the underlying loss was reduced from £1.05m to £726,000. Restrictions have held back the progress of the business.
Town Centre Securities (TOWN) has collected 88% of the billed rent of £4.9m for the quarter to June 2021 with a further 8% that was agreed to be deferred.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 18 January 2021
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
British Honey (BHC) generated revenues of £1.5m in the nine months to December 2020 with more sales online. There was £2.4m in the bank.
Rutherford Health (RUTH) has agreed to provide cancer treatment to NHS Trusts and clinical commissioning groups in England. The initial agreement is for two years.
A subsidiary of Noble Group has sent a letter of intent to Eastinco Mining and Exploration (EM.P) saying it wasn’t to purchase a significant portion of tantalum and tine production from Musasa in Rwanda. There will be immediate payment on agreement of the grade. There has been a further cash injection of £150,000.
Tectonic Gold (TTAU) has discovered further gold mineralisation at Specimen Hill in Queensland. There is a 100% success rate with holes drilled. A drilling programme has started at Mt Cassidy and once completed drilling will recommence at Specimen Hill at the sites that are prospective for copper.
NQ Minerals (NQMI) says that the Hellyer mine in Australia produced 38,319 tonnes of lead concentrate, up 53%, and 19,019 tonnes of zinc concentrate, up 22%, in 2020. There was 5,452 ounces of gold and 1.1 million ounces of silver produced. Gross revenues were A$63.3m and net income was A$22.7m.
Preliminary sampling at one of the Cameroon licences owned by BWA Group (BWAP) has identified mineralisation. The Dehane project has elevated titanium, zircon and aluminium multi-element associations. More cash is required to fund further exploration.
Gunsynd (GUN) says that Peterhouse has been appointed as corporate adviser to Rogue Baron ahead of a proposed flotation on Aquis in the first quarter. Rogue Baron is a spirits company and Gunsynd has a £500,000 convertible repayable at the end of March. The Gunsynd NAV increased from £2.36m to £2.47m at the end of July 2020. There was £838,000 in the bank.
Vulcan Industries (VULC) has raised £100,000 at 4.5p a share. SulNOx Group (SNOX) has raised £50,100 at 41.75p a share. Further cash will be required. Altona Energy (ANR) has raised a further £42,000 at 6.5p a share. MiLOC Group (ML.P) has raised £237,000 at 28.5p a share and started litigation against a distributor.
Walls and Futures REIT (WAFR) boos Joe McTaggart has bought 30,409 shares at 49p each.
AIM
Toilet tissue manufacturer Accrol (ACRL) reported strong interims even before a contribution from the recently acquired LTC. In the six months to October 2020, revenues slipped from £64.5m to £62.3m but that reflects panic buying in the last two months of the previous year that reduced this year’s figure. A contribution from LTC should increase full year revenues from £135m to £154m and pre-tax profit could nearly double to £9.2m. Accrol intends to pay a final dividend of 0.5p a share.
Online fashion retailer Sosandar (SOS) reported a 6% increase in revenues to December 2020, following a £1.6m reduction in marketing spend – mainly in December. This includes growing sales via John Lewis and Next. The loss was more than halved. Net cash was £3.9m at the end of 2020.
Kromek (KMK) reported a 14% decline in interim revenues to £4.58m, which was a resilient performance considering the disruption in the period. Kromek has moved into a net debt position but management is confident that it has enough funds for its requirements. The second half should be stronger. The long-term outlook for MRI, imaging and radiation detection products remains positive.
Battery technology developer Ilika (IKA) is on course for Stereax battery production to be scaled up by the beginning of 2022 and more significant revenues will flow through from then on. The total investment is £4m. The pilot line is running at full capacity so there is unlikely to be growth in short-term revenues. There is also the longer-term potential for Goliath batteries for electric vehicles. There should be £9m in the bank at the end of April 2021.
Voucher products supplier Appreciate (APP) had a strong third quarter and free cash reached £33.5m. The focus on digital products is paying off.
Law firm Gateley (GTLY) grew earnings by 7% in the first half, but full year earnings are expected to decline from 12.5p a share to 9.1p a share. There could be scope for an upgrade if utilisation levels remain high.
Ariana Resources (AAU) says that the 50%-owned Kiziltepe mine produced 18,645 ounces of gold in 2020. The processing plant capacity is being quadrupled.
Filtronic (FTC) has won a contract with more than £1m with a UK defence customer. Filtronic will design and supply battlefield communications hardware.
In 2020, Dekel Agri-Vision (DKL) increased palm oil production by 24% to 4,824MT and the average price obtained was ahead by a similar percentage. The price has started 2021 at a much higher level and even if the price does not stay as high Dekel should be able to at least move nearer to profit in 2021.
Franchise Brands (FRAN) will report 2020 figures ahead of consensus. The business has been strongly cash generative and the consumer-facing franchises did better in the second half. Metro Rod was classed as an essential service and trading recovered after an initial slump. Allenby forecasts 2020 earnings of 4.3p a share and this could improve to 4.8p a share in 2021.
Environmental and life sciences company Deepverge (DVRG) generated revenues of £4.4m in 2020 before any contribution from the recently acquired Modern Water. This year’s revenues should more than double, although the business should still lose money. There are large projects that are being bid for that could contribute to this year.
SourceBio International (SBI) has signed a deal with a high street retailer to provide lab testing services. This will start with a limited number of stores and could then be broadened. Demand for Covid testing is likely to continue to be high for many months.
MAIN MARKET
BATM Advanced Communication (BVC) has secured an option deal to sell its NGSoft communications technology services business to Aztek Technologies for $33m in cash. This is around ten times operating profit. The cash can be reinvested into the other activities.
Telecoms business Toople (TOOP) increased revenues from £2.45m to £3.44m and gross profit from £479,000 to £1.1m in the year to September 2020. The purchase of DMSL helped to grow revenues. Admin expenses were slightly higher at £2.44m. The underlying pre-tax loss edged up from £1.24m to £1.31m. That excludes a £1.1m provision for bad debts and restructuring costs. Directors pay increased from £278,000 to £312,239 last year. Net debt was nearly £1m at the end of September 2020. Debt in the form of a loan note is repayable at the end of 2022. The cash outflow from operating activities reduced from £2m to £1.6m.
InnovaDerma (IDP) reported a one-fifth decline in interim revenues. The personal care products supplier was hit by the closure of high street shops in the UK. International sales improved. The new chief executive is still assessing the business and will report plans and impairment charges in the coming weeks. A non-executive director is loaning the company £500,000 until 13 July.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 20 January 2020
NEX EXCHANGE
NQ Minerals (NQMI) generated gross revenues of A$15.5m and gross profit of A$7.4m from Hellyer gold mine in the fourth quarter. Full year revenues were A$53.9m and operating profit was A$12.2m. The profit grew steadily quarter by quarter. NQ has raised £311,000 at 7p a share. In December, £300,000 was raised at 6.5p a share.
Clean Invest Africa (CIA) says that is subsidiary Coaltech has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Uzbekistan ministry of innovation and development and Uzbekistan Railway. The coal fines project could have an initial value of $16m. A plant would be built to process coal fines into coal pellets. Coal mining is an important industry in Uzbekistan. There will be feasibility studies and the development of a business plan. This deal comes via the joint venture with Creon Investments, which is focused on Russia and former Soviet Union countries.
Ganapati (GANP) says that its Malta-based subsidiary has signed a two-year endorsement agreement with Welljam, which owns the rights to Usain Bolt’s services and image rights. Ganapati has is launching the first official Usain Bolt online slot game when the Tokyo Olympics are held during the summer. Usain Bolt will be attending the ICE London iGaming event in February. There are initial licence payments for image rights during the development of the slot game and a share of future revenues.
Ananda Developments (ANA) says that its investee company iCAN Israel-Cannabis has raised money via a convertible that places a pre-money valuation of $20m on the company. Ananda invested $200,000 in a convertible loan in August 2018 and $100,000 of the loan has been converted into 120 shares worth $200,000 at the latest valuation. DJT Plants, which is 50%-owned by Ananda, has received planning permission for the construction of a facility for cannabis plant breeding and propagation.
Property investor Ace Liberty and Stone (ALSP) reported a dip in pre-tax profit from £334,000 to £306,000 in the six months to October 2019. The NAV improved from £21.2m to £21.9m over the six month period, even though £349,000 was paid in dividends.
Imperial X (IMPP) has switched its investing strategy back from medicinal cannabis to energy-related businesses. The focus is building a royalty stream from oil and gas interests.
Mark Leigh is taking over from Claire Spencer as finance director of Newbury Racecourse (NYR).
Broadband-focused shell SAPO (SAPO) has raised £27,500 at 2.75p a share.
Diverse Income Trust has reduced its stake in TechFinancials (TECH) to below 3%.
Lawyer Gateley (GTLY) generated organic growth of 10.5% in the first half and it is on course to meet analyst expectations for the full year. The main first half growth was in the corporate and pensions businesses. The most recent acquisition will take annualised non-legal revenues to 12% of the group total. A full year pre-tax profit of £21.3m is forecast.
Regional legal business Knights Group (KGH) increased interim revenues by one-third to £32m through a combination of acquired and organic growth. Underlying earnings were 9% ahead at 5.95p a share. Net debt was £17.1m at the end of October 2019. The interim dividend was raised by 83% to 1.1p a share, although Knights was not quoted for all the comparative period. Two Birmingham-based firms have been acquired since the period end.
Legal firm Ince Group (INCE) raised £12m at 45p a share. The share price has more than halved since the beginning of the year. The January 2019 placing was at 140p a share. There are plans to raise £2m by a one-for-8.398 open offer and £2m via an offer to staff. The cash will enable the working capital facility to be reduced and finance investment in building up staff numbers. Net debt was £10.4m at the end of September 2019.
Pharmaceutical services provider Ergomed (ERGO) has acquired Ashfield Pharmacovigilance Inc for $10m and this will be earnings enhancing in 2020. The deal boosts Ergomed’s position in pharmacovigilance services and gives it a stronger position in the US. Ashfield has annual revenues of $11.6m and contracted future revenues of $9.8m.
Dekel Agri-Vision (DKL) has established a 50/50 renewable energy joint venture with Green Enesys that will operate a 36MW hybrid power (solar and biomass) project in Ivory Coast. This should reduce costs at the palm oil project in Ayenouan. There could be other potential power projects in the region. Dekel is benefiting from the recovery in the crude palm oil price. It produced 37,649 tonnes of crude palm oil in 2019, even though poor weather led to disappointing fourth quarter production. Later this year processing of cashew nuts should commence.
Biopesticides developer Eden Research (EDEN) generated revenues of £2m in 2019, down from £2.8m, and an operating loss of £1.4m. Product revenues grew even though the summer weather restricted usage of Botrytis.
Lettings agency The Property Franchise Group (TPFG) is setting up a financial services division. Acquisitions are planned and the first is a 72.25% stake in Auxilium Partnership, which is the business of newly appointed financial services director Mark Graves. This has been a source of growth for rival Belvoir (BLV).
D4T4 Solutions (D4T4) has confirmed that its second half trading is much stronger than the first half thanks to the contracts won by the Celebrus data analysis software business. The financials sector has been a productive customer base for Celebrus. D4T4 is increasingly winning SaaS business and this could hold back short-term growth, which could lead to the trimming of 2019-20 forecasts.
Instem (INS) continues to increase its recurring revenues. The pharma software company generated organic revenues growth of 12% in 2019. Pre-tax profit is expected to be £3.3m. Net cash was £5.9m. A jump in profit to £4.7m is forecast for 2020.
Estate agency Winkworth (WINK) says 2019 profit was modestly ahead of expectations and a total dividend of 7.8p a share is proposed, which is higher than forecast.
Telit Communications (TCM) did better than expected in 2019 and excluding the former automotive activities revenues grew by 8%. The internet of things technology developer is forecast to make a 2020 pre-tax profit of £20.1m.
Pharma data analytics firm Diaceutics (DXRX) generated more cash tan expected last year and made a small profit. Thee was cash of £11.7m at the end of 2019. The 2020 pre-tax profit could be £800,000.
Barkby Group (BARK) has exchanged contracts on a development site in Huntingdon, which has a gross development value of £10.7m.
Risk management software developer KRM22 (KRM) says 2019 revenues were slightly lower than expected at £4m. Delayed contracts are expected to be signed soon.
Telematics firm Quartix (QTX) managed to maintain revenues at £25.6m in 2019 and a small increase is expected in 2020. The mix of revenues has changed with fleet generating 80%, up from 73%, thanks to growth in the US and France. Insurance revenues fell as expected as low margin business was shed. Pre-tax profit is still expected to decline from £8.2m to £6.6m in 2019, with a further fall to £6.3m forecast for 2020. The dividend is expected to be reduced from 12.4p a share to 12.1p a share, although it will not be fully covered by earnings.
Base Resources (BSE) has increased production guidance for the Kwale mine with midpoints of 78,000t for rutile, 345,000t for ilmenite and 30,500t for zircon. There is a lack of supply of rutile and ilmenite, so this is good news. This should provide a strong boost to profit.
Pressure Technologies (PRES) has been fined £700,000 and will have to pay prosecution costs of £169,000 following the guilty verdict relating to a fatal accident at one of its sites in 2015. The first instalment of £215,000 is due in April with a further six equal instalments payable every six months between July 2020 and January 2023.
Oil and gas explorer and producer Empyrean Energy (EME) is raising £420,000 at 9p a share and chief executive Tom Kelly has contributed £200,000 of that cash. The placing was at a 9% premium to the market price. The cash will be spent on drilling offshore of Indonesia. There is a potential resource upgrade for the Mako gas discovery in Indonesia.
Mereo BioPharma (MPH) says that there have been positive results from the phase 2b study of Setrusumab in adults with osteogenesis imperfecta. They show that it is helping to build bone. A study with children is planned. A meeting with the FDA is due in the coming weeks. Earlier this year, Mereo signed a licence agreement for the use of Navicixizumab in ovarian cancer with Oncologie Inc. An upfront payment of $4m is due.
Nutrition provider Science in Sport (SIS) expects to report 2019 sales of £50.5m with underlying growth of nearly one-quarter. The fastest growth is outside of the UK. River and Mercantile has taken a 5.5% stake.
MAIN MARKET
Shareholders in AIM-quoted Anglo African Oil and Gas (AAOG) have agreed to the sale of 80% of its Congo subsidiary to Zenith Energy (ZEN) and it is waiting for government approval. There is a put and call option over the other 20%. If the call option is exercised Zenith will pay £1m in shares. If the production at the Tilapia oilfield averages at least 4,000 barrels of oil per day for 30 consecutive days, the put option can be exercised and Zenith would pay £2.5m in shares.
Endeavour Mining Corporation has ended its merger discussions with gold miner Centamin (CEY) blaming a lack of information. Endeavour still believes that a combination would be positive. Centamin is raising its final dividend to 6 cents a share, taking the 2019 total to 10 cents a share, up from 5.5 cents a share. Net cash was $348m at the end of 2019. The higher gold price will further boost cash generation. A new chief executive still has to be appointed.
Standard list cash shell Trident Resources (TRR) has £3.29m in cash at the end of October 2019, which is similar to NAV. Management is assessing a few mining project acquisition opportunities.
Stevia sweeteners producer PureCircle Ltd (PURE) says that shareholders owning more than 10% of the share capital have put forward three proposed directors to be voted on at the AGM on 10 February. The company is happy for Sridhar Krishnan, Lai Hock Meng, a former PureCircle director, and Oliver Maes, who was previously a PureCircle director, to be appointed to the board.
Books publisher Quarto (QRT) is raising £13.9m at 68p each. The open offer is underwritten and it will help to reduce the debt burden.
Menswear retailer and hirer Moss Bros (MOSB) Total sales were 3% lower in the 24 weeks to 11 January, but gross margin improved. Hire revenues fell by 17.7%. Cash is £12m.
OTHER MARKETS
Pallets manufacturer RM2 International (RM2) intends to move from AIM to matched bargains market Asset Match (www.assetmatch.com).
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore Quoted Micro 16 December 2019
NEX EXCHANGE
Capital for Colleagues (CFCP) is investing in new portfolio company The Security Awareness Group Ltd (TSAG), which was established to acquire an existing business that has been trading for more than two decades. It provides training to ensure than employees are aware of cyber security and potential for human error. The £405,000 investment in loans, preference and ordinary shares, will enable the acquisition to be completed and leave Capital for Colleagues with a 34% stake. Management will own 51% and an employee ownership trust the rest.
Fuel emulsifier technology developer SulNOx is joining NEX on 17 December and it will be valued at £42.3m at 50p a share. SulNOx originally said it planned to join NEX during the spring when it raised £550,000 in pre-IPO funds. It has developed a process that can emulsify hydrocarbon fuels, such as diesel and heavy oils. The products can reduce Nitrous Oxide, Carbon Dioxide and Sulphur Oxide gases and particulates, as well as making combustion more efficient. The emulsifier can be used in existing engines.
Health property developer Ashley House (ASH) is exploring opportunities for modular affordable housing. Overheads have been reduced but the company says that it retains its core team and has appointed Paul Williamson as head of the modular activities. Adrian Wright, who is the largest shareholder with a 13.4% stake, has been appointed to the board.
Primorus Investments (PRIM) has met with the management of AIM-quoted investee company Greatland Gold (GGP) and it says that it believes that the Havieron gold/copper deposit may host more than 20 million ounces. Further share acquisitions are possible. Primorus currently owns 37 million shares at an average cost of 1.71p each, which is slightly higher than the market price. Newcrest Mining is farming-in to Havieron. Six rigs will be working on the project over the coming months.
Gunsynd (GUN) had cash of £568,000 out of total net assets of £2.36m at the end of July 2019. Gunsynd did raise £498,000 from a share issue during the period. There was an unrealised loss on investments of £224,000 partly offset by a realised profit of £35,000. There was a £400,000 cash outflow from operations. The stake in Oyster Oil and Gas was valued at £350,000 and Gunsynd has subsequently agreed to sell the shares for a total of £260,000. Production sharing contracts for four blocks in Djibouti are not included in the transaction.
NQ Minerals (NQMI) is expanding the capacity of the Hellyer gold mine in Tasmania. A 100 tonne per hour mining dredge should be operational by the end of the year.
Hydro Hotel, Eastbourne (HYDP) is increasing its interim dividend from 7p a share to 9p a share and this goes ex-dividend on 19 December. The final dividend will be maintained at 14p a share.
Tectonic Gold (TTAU) has sold its stake in Tirupati Graphite for £86,844. The initial investment in 2016 was £40,000.
EPE Special Opportunities Ltd (ESO) had a net asset value of 261.97p a share at the end of November 2019.
The acquisition of Netalogue Technologies (NTLP) has been completed and trading on NEX will end on 10 January.
Jersey-based Zandra Holdings has increased its stake in Formation Group (FRM) from 74.62% to 89.99%.
AIM
Lawyer Gately (GTLY) is acquiring T-three Group, which offers human resources services for £3.4m. Pro forma sales from continuing operations were £4.2m and EBITDA was £700,000 and the deal should be immediately earnings enhancing. This business fits with Kiddy which was acquired last year.
Feed, fuel and food distributor NWF (NWF) has leased another warehouse on the back of a five-year contract with a food customer. This will add 37,000 pallet spaces in Crewe, which will be predominantly used up by this contract. There is a five-year break clause on the lease. There will be £500,000 of start-up costs this year. Two fuel distributors have been acquired for £5m in recent weeks. The contributions from these will offset the additional cost in the year to May 2020. The feed business has grown its volumes and market share. Interim profit should be better than the weak comparisons.
Pelatro (PTRO) has won another contract. This is for providing additional campaign management services to an existing telecoms client. The deal involves monthly revenues with a share of gains. It is worth $1m over three years.
Investment in connected devices technology is starting to pay off for Vianet (VNET) with the revenues and profit of the smart machines division growing strongly. Additional contracts have been won that provide additional business over the next five years. These contracts alone cover 20,000 units. Technology upgrades are helping the smart zones division to retain and generate more revenues from pub clients. The US smart zones business made its maiden profit in the period. The interim dividend is maintained at 1.7p a share.
Versarien (VRS) has enough cash for its current requirements. The graphene products developer had £2.64m in cash at the end of September 2019. There is an invoice discounting facility available to provide additional liquidity. There is £898,000 of borrowings which are being paid back at around £30,000/month. At the current rate of cash outflow, the cash should last around one year, although a company is not going to wait until it runs out to raise more cash. The hard wear components business is generating cash, but the plastics business has been a drain. There are still plenty of opportunities for Versarien, including in China.
Open Orphan (ORPH) is merging with hVIVO (HVO) via an offer for 2.47 shares for each hVIVO share. Both companies are clinical research organisations. There is limited overlap in the services offered.
Integumen (SKIN) has raised £1.37m at 1.5p a share. The company needs additional funds because a potential client is doing due diligence. Revenues are expected to quadruple to £4m in 2020. Capacity at the Labskin laboratory is being increased.
Audio equipment supplier Focusrite (TUNE) is holding a general meeting to increase the amount it is allowed to borrow from up to £15m to up to £60m. Net cash was £14.9m at the end of August 2019, but the company is keen to make acquisitions.
Digital chemistry analysis company Deepmatter (DMTR) says that AstraZeneca has agreed to use its DigitalGlassware technology in Sweden alongside its own automated compound synthesis platform. This is an initial trial to assess how the technologies can work together. Data capture by DigitalGlassware could reduce cost and time, as well as providing improved analysis.
Spitfire Oil Ltd (SRO) had cash of $2.1m at the end of June 2019. Spitfire has relinquished the Salmon Gums lignite licences. It is a shell and has to make an acquisition by 29 February or trading in the shares will be suspended. This seems likely. The there is six months to make an acquisition or lose the AIM quotation.
Coral Products (CRU) has gained approval to offset production from its plastics recycling plant against the plastic packaging waste levy. Production hours have been doubled and the equipment should be run 24 hours a day by the end of April.
FireAngel Safety Technology (FA.) expects to report a loss nearly double its previous expectations at between £2.6m and £2.9m. that is partly down to lower sales from higher margin products. The fire and smoke alarms company could still be profitable in 2020.
Packaging supplier Robinson (RBN) says that 2019 revenues are slightly lower than forecast but pre-tax profit will be better than expected at £2.2m.
Digital services provider The Panoply Holdings (TPX) reported a one-third increase in interim revenues to £13.4m and the public sector is becoming a greater percentage of revenues. The company is on course to move into profit this year. A pre-tax profit of £3m is forecast.
Wind sensor technology developer Windar Photonics (WPHO) is raising £1.41m at 27.5p a share. This follows the trading statement admitting that sales are disappointing.
India-focused online retailer Koov (KOOV) has been placed in administration because a funder failed to come up with the cash it promised.
MAIN MARKET
ASX-listed Adriatic Metals (ADT1) has joined the standard list. Adriatic has projects in Bosnia Herzegovina. The main focus is the Vares project, north of Sarajevo. There is lead, zinc, copper, silver, gold and barite.
Shefa Gems Ltd (SEFA) has announced a maiden resource for the Kishon Mid-Reach project. The contained revenues are $41/tonne, predominantly due to the Carmel Sapphire. The mining cost is estimated at $26/tonne and it could be reduced.
Zenith Energy (ZEN) has decided not to acquire Nordic Petroleum because of high costs. Work on the C-37 well in Azerbaijan should enable production of more than 250 barrels of oil a day.
Hadrian’s Wall Secured Investments Ltd (HWSL) says it should not continue in its current form due to the large discount to NAV. A review could end up with a decision to run down the company. Brett Miller has been appointed to the board. A new NAV figure has been delayed.
Ferro-Alloy Resources (FAR) says that a sharp fall in the vanadium price has hit short-term profitability and cash generation. It remains confident that the operations in southern Kazakhstan are still viable.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore Quoted Micro 22 July 2019
NEX EXCHANGE
Arbuthnot Banking (ARBB) improved its underlying pre-tax profit from £2.7m to £3.4m in the first half of 2019. The interim dividend has been raised from 15p a share to 16p a share. The recent residential mortgage portfolio acquisition was after the end of June. The strategy is to diversify the business and asset-based lending and specialist finance are being built up. Savings platform Arbuthnot Direct has recently been launched. The core private banking operations of Arbuthnot Latham are still growing, though. The shareholding in Secure Trust Bank has been sold down to below 10%, which means it is no longer consolidated. The change from associate led to a write down and NAV declined to £13.21 a share.
VI Mining (VIM) has so far paid $9.1m in cash to the vendors of the Minaspampa and Rosario projects in Peru. There is still $42.2m outstanding 18 months after the acquisition agreement was signed. Majority shareholder Sumner Group Holdings is raising money from a security token offering, which could be completed in the autumn. Some of the proceeds will be used to replace existing facilities and help to pay outstanding acquisition considering, pending renegotiation of the deal. Chief executive David Sumner has provided a $10m term loan, plus a £39m facility of which $3m has been drawn down. There is $1.2m outstanding on the Tassili Jewellery LLC loan facility.
AfriAg Global (AFRI) has completed its acquisition of a 2.325% stake in cannabis company Apollon Formularies. The Jamaican subsidiary has produced its first licensed medical cannabis oils for commercial sale on the island.
MetalNRG (MNRG) has published a prospectus for its move to a standard listing on 23 July. It has raised £193,000 at 0.3p a share.
Clean Invest Africa (CIA) says that its CoalTech subsidiary has signed a joint venture agreement with Creon Capital covering Russia and nearby countries. CoalTech is negotiating with other potential partners to set up operations in Europe, Indonesia and the US.
Tectonic Gold (TTAU) says its mining subsidiary has received approval for the R and D tax incentive scheme in Australia for 2018-19. A claim is being prepared.
Share trading has recommenced in Ganapati (GANP) after it published results for the year to January 2019. There was a cash outflow from operations of £23.8m. Since January, two new games have been generated each month.
AIM
Focusrite (TUNE) has acquired Germany-based studio monitor loudspeakers supplier Pro Audio for £16.2m in cash and it will still have £12m left in the bank. Pro Audio supplies ADAM branded products and made a pre-tax profit of €1m. This is an earnings enhancing acquisition. The businesses will operate separately but work together to develop cross-selling benefits.
Swallowfield (SWL) is selling its manufacturing business to the much larger US manufacturer Knowlton Development Corporation for £35m in order to concentrate on its portfolio of personal care and beauty brands. This should leave net cash of £23m in Swallowfield and this will be used to acquire more brands. The company is changing its name to Brand Architekts Group.
Lawyer Gateley (GTLY) grew all its main operations. Acquisitions helped revenues to increase by one-fifth to £103.5m in the year to April 2019, but there was still organic growth of 9.5%. Pre-tax profit improved from £15.4m to £18.1m. The dividend was raised from 7p a share to 8p a share. Corporate business grew more modestly than other parts of the business, but this was impressive given market conditions for corporate deals. A profit of £21m is forecast for this year.
Victoria (VCP) has raised €330m via an issue of 5.25% senior secured notes 2024. This offer was three times subscribed. The floorcoverings manufacturer is using the money to refinance existing debt and will have £80m of cash after the issue.
Packaging machinery supplier Mpac Group (MPAC) is trading significantly ahead of expectations. Equity Development has increased its 2019 operating profit forecast from £4.6m to £5.5m.
Adamas Finance Asia (ADAM) has completed a co-investment agreement with a Hong Kong-based family office for the investment in Japanese resort business Infinity Capital Group. The family office will pay Adamas $1m of the $2m already drawn by Infinity and the other $2m will be provided 50/50 by the two parties. The facility has a coupon of 17.5% per annum. This deal provides cash to invest in other opportunities. Adamas took advantage of a dip in the share price to buy back £30,400worth of shares at 38p each.
Velocys (VLS) has raised £7m at 3p a share on the back of news that Shell and British Airways will co-fund the development of the Immingham biorefinery project. The cash will be used for further technology development and to progress the Mississippi biorefinery project.
Block Energy (BLOE) has completed the increase from a 71.5% to 100% of its working interest in the West Rustavi field in Georgia. The cash and shares payment means tha Georgia Oil and Gas has increased its stake in Block to 7.7%. Miton has cut its stake from 9.17% to 4.73%.
Mortice (MORT) has decided to cancel its AIM quotation and is offering shareholders the chance to sell their shares for 12p each. A lack of liquidity and a weak share price making it difficult to finance acquisitions are the main reasons for leaving AIM.
Albert Technologies Ltd (ALB) also wants to leave AIM, but it is not offering an exit for shareholders. It believes it can attract investors, but they would prefer to invest in an unquoted company.
Science Group (SAG) has been buying more shares in Frontier Smart Technologies (FST) at the bid price of 35p each and it has built up a 39.9% stake. It also has 3.1% acceptances for its bid.
Mirada (MIRA) has integrated Netflix into its set-top box platform and this will make its technology even more attractive to broadcasters.
Bangladesh has brought in a law that all listed companies have to pay at least 30% of post-tax profit, or an extra 10% tax charge will be levied. Beximco Pharmaceuticals (BXP) is assessing the legislation and will consider how best to manage cash.
Novacyt (NCYT) has sold its loss-making clinical labs business for £400,000 and it will concentrate on diagnostics businesses Primerdesign and Lab21. The first instalment of £100,000 has been paid and £100,000 more is due in September, but the rest will be paid in three equal instalments on the first, second and third anniversaries of the deal.
MAIN MARKET
Spinnaker Opportunities (SOP) has received a commitment to invest up to £1.4m from a single investor conditional on the deal to acquire medicinal cannabis company Kanabo Research. The investment will be for a maximum of 4.99% of the enlarged share capital, although if there is any of the £1.4m left it could be invested in a convertible loan note. The investment underpins the expected acquisition-related fundraising and a fee of 10% of the investment is payable.
General meeting resolutions to wind-up Avocet Mining (AVM) were withdrawn at its general meeting. This comes after discussions with shareholders. There is a few weeks cash left in the business and any potential transaction would have to come with finance to cover the costs of an acquisition process.
Dukemount Capital (DKE) has commenced construction of 17 specially developed apartments and retail space on its West Derby property.
OTHER MARKETS
Fashion On Screen has listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange, which has European Growth Market status by the HMRC. This means that there is no stamp duty. The company had previously considered a listing on the Nasdaq First North market in Copenhagen. Fashion On Screen has raised more than £3m prior to its listing. A film based on the kidnapping of racing driver Juan Fangio in Cuba in 1958 could start before the end of the year (for more about the background to the story listen to https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p055fjfx).
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 27 May 2019
NEX EXCHANGE
Ananda Developments (ANA) is amending its investing strategy and acquiring Tiamat Agriculture, which is applying for a UK controlled drug cannabis cultivation and supply licence. Anglia Salads and JEPCO will provide cannabis growing expertise. The new investing strategy will include the cultivation of medicinal cannabis. URA Holdings will subscribe £400,000 for shares at 0.45p each.
AfriAg Global (AFRI) has raised £1m at 0.1p a share and the cash will be used to acquire a 2.34% stake in Apollon Formularies Ltd. AfriAg hopes to gain first refusal to acquire the rest of Apollon in a transaction that would value the company at £40m.
Good Energy (GOOD) will redeem the first Good Energy Bond, which was launched in 2013, before the end of June. The outstanding principal is £3.6m and the cash for repayment will come from the disposals of Newton Downs and Brynwhilach solar farms to the local communities. The cash helped to develop nearly 150MW of renewable generation projects.
Wishbone Gold (WSBN) says that gold recoveries in Honduras have been low and it is considering whether to sell to the joint venture partner or take full control of the operations. Gold trading volumes are increasing but the contribution to overheads is modest.
Panther Minerals (PALM) has applied for an exploration licence for the Marrakai gold project in Northern Territory, Australia. Panther has also acquired additional ground surrounding the former Little Bear mine in Ontario, Canada.
Formation Group (FORM) reported a reduced loss in the six months to February 2019. There is £3.05m in cash in the balance sheet.
Angelfish Investments (ANGP) is investing up to £150,000 in convertible loan notes in ASSIF, which is developing a digital product to improve mental health. The first tranche has been drawn down and the rest will be invested when design work is completed. The loan notes are convertible into up to 35% of ASSIF, depending on the milestones achieved prior to conversion.
NQ Minerals (NQMI) has shipped 34,500 tonnes of precious metal pyrite concentrate from the Hellyer gold mine in Tasmania.
Proton Partners International Ltd (PPI) has started offering high energy proton beam therapy in Bomarsund in Northumberland.
Newbury Racecourse (NYR) non-executive director Dominic Burke has nearly doubled his shareholding to 2.8%. Tim Syder increased his stake to 3.1%.
V22 (V22O) will leave NEX at the close of business on 31 May.
AIM
SafeCharge International (SCH) is recommending a $5.55 (436p) a share cash offer from a subsidiary of fellow payment services provider Nuvei Corporation, valuing the company at £699m. The final dividend of 7.22p a share will be paid. The international payments processor joined AIM five years ago at 162p a share. Nuvei has a strong market position in North America and SafeCharge provides scale in Europe.
Trading in the shares of LXB Retail Properties (LXB) has been suspended following court approval of the dissolution of the company and a return of capital of 1.2p a share. The cancellation of the quotation will happen on 31 May.
Volvere (VLE) has sold its oldest subsidiary Sira Defence and Security for £3m, although management bonuses of £320,000 will be paid out of the proceeds. Sira cost a nominal amount and has contributed cash to the group. This leaves 80%-owned frozen pies maker Shire Foods, which increased its full year pre-tax profit from £635,000 to £854,000. Even stripping out incentive payments relating to the sale of the Impetus business, Shire hardly makes enough profit to cover central overheads.
Lawyer Gateley (GTLY) has confirmed that its full year revenues will be at least £102m and EBITDA at least £19m, an increase of 15%. The growth is a combination of acquisitive and organic. Knights Group (KGH) says that its full year revenues will be not less than £52.4m and underlying pre-tax profit will be ahead of expectations at £9.7m.
Argentina-focused oil and gas producer President Energy (PPC) increased revenues by 160% to $47.2m in 2018 and this enabled it to move into profit. This year pre-tax profit is set to improve from $3.5m to $17.3m as last year’s acquisition makes a more significant contribution and capital investment starts to pay back. Average production is expected to be 3,800 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2019.
Science Group (SAG) has taken a 9% stake in digital radio technology developer Frontier Smart Technologies (FST) at 12.5p a share. Science offered to acquire the whole company via a cash bid of 30p a share but the proposal met with a negative response from the target’s board and the offer has been withdrawn.
Caledonian Trust (CNN) has renegotiated the conditions of the proposed sale of St Margaret’s House in Edinburgh, which was announced in February 2018. The buyer is still in the process of applying for planning consent and it has three months in which to submit the application, plus 12 months to secure consent. A further three months will be allowed to find a pre-let and Caledonia will vacate the property six months after that. This means that it could be two years before the transaction is completed. The consideration is still £15m, compared with a book value of £8m.
Rose Petroleum (ROSE) has received a £300,000 investment at 1.2p a share and appointed Colin Harrington to the board as executive chairman. Origin Creek Energy has a 14.8% shareholding following the share issue. This replaces the previously announced subscription at a lower share price and Robert Bensh has left the board because of that.
Kibo Energy (KIBO) says that 60%-owned flexible power generation development subsidiary MAST Energy Developments is acquiring Bordersley Power Ltd, which is developing a 5MW gas-fuelled power generation plant and relevant grid connections. The deal is dependent on certain conditions.
Cellcast (CLTV) is owed £453,000 by a Kenyan client of its gaming and lottery consultancy activities, which generated revenues of £395,000 in 2018. The government in Kenya is cracking down on advertising of gambling and it had previously raised taxation rates. Cellcast had £698,000 in the bank at the end of 2018.
Trading in the shares of Dublin-based Amryt Pharma (AMYT) has been suspended ahead of the proposed all share acquisition of the larger Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, which is a subsidiary of Nasdaq-listed Novelion Therapeutics Inc. Amryt plans to raise $60m from a share issue.
MAIN MARKET
Blockchain Worldwide (BLOC) has made a non-binding offer for Entertainment AI Inc although it is still subject to due diligence on the artificial intelligence and machine learning company. Trading in the shares has been suspended.
LED lighting supplier Luceco (LUCE) says trading continues to improve even though sales to UK professional customers are subdued. The overseas market is stronger. Margins are improving.
Motor finance provider S and U (SUS) says that profit from its core business has improved so far this year. The property bridging lending business has increased its loan book to £22m.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 14 January 2019
NEX EXCHANGE
Bruce Pubs (PUB) has raised £100,000 from an issue of 7.2% bonds and trading has commenced on NEX. The pubs operator wants to raise up to £20m. The cash will be used to acquire pubs in Scotland. Bruce owns 18 licenced premises with another licence pending. Bruce Pubs is a subsidiary of the holding company Bruce Group, which had net assets of £3.8m at the end of June 2018.
Sativa Investments (SATI) is investigating ways of raising cash to finance the company’s glasshouse and working capital for the first cannabis crop. There are also talks with vets about using medicinal cannabis in animal health. Sativa is pleased with the platform that NEX has given the business. Imperial X (IMPP) is the latest NEX company to change its investing strategy to cannabis investments.
Trading in the shares of Clean Invest Africa (CIA) following news that it has negotiated an agreement to acquire the 97.5% of CoalTech LLC it does not own. The company has technology that can convert waste coal into coal pellets for industrial and commercial use. A circular will be sent to shareholders in the first quarter of 2019.
Primorus Investments (PRIM) has increased its stake in Greatland Gold (GGP) to 35 million shares, which is equivalent to 1.09%. The average cost is 1.71p a share. The investment has been made ahead of further drilling results at the Havieron gold/copper project in Australia.
EPE Special Opportunities (ESO) reported a NAV of 189.95p a share for the end of 2018.
AIM
President Energy (PPC) beat its production target for the end of 2018. The Argentina-focused oil and gas company was producing 3,300 boepd by the year end, which is 10% above the target. The latest drilling programme of three wells has been a 100% success. President intends to build on this base during 2019. The next reserves audit should be published in March. There should be a significant jump in profit in 2019. Panmure Gordon forecasts a 2019 pre-tax profit of $18.6m. The cash generated will help to finance forecast capital investment of around $40m during the year. The target price is 15p a share.
Gateley (GTLY) continues to trade strongly with organic growth supplemented by contributions from acquisitions. The legal services provider increased interim revenues by one-fifth to £46.4m, while pre-tax profit rose from £4.2m to £5m. Net debt increased from £7.1m to £8.2m after acquisitions spending and dividend payments. The second half tends to be more cash generative. More business is coming from litigation work but management is confident that its revenue recognition policies mean that the strong cash generation will not be hit.
Castleton Technology (CTP) is paying £1.8m for Deeplake Digital, which provides digital communications services between landlords and tenants. Thirty of its 90 customers are new to Castleton.
ATTRAQT (ATQT) is expecting to make a small EBITDA figure for 2018. The online shopping performance enhancement services provider will report its 2018 results on 14 February.
More woe for Footasylum (FOOT) as gross margins come under pressure. Revenues were in line with expectations over Christmas but less money was made from them as old stock was discounted. The 2018-19 loss forecast has been edged up to more than £5m.
Higher input costs mean that Accrol Group (ACRL) will not do as well as expected and it will make a significant 2018-19 loss after exceptional charges.
Packaging machinery supplier Mpac Group (MPAC) says 2018 trading was in line with expectations and the year has started with a strong order book. The company is assessing the potential additional cost of pension equalisation for its defined benefit scheme.
Bowleven (BLVN) is paying a 15p a share special dividend on 8 February. This will leave the oil and gas explorer with the cash it requires for its exploration programme.
Wealth manager Mattioli Woods (MTW) says that its interim EBITDA margin was substantially ahead of the 20% target. Gross discretionary assets under management were £2.4bn at the end of November 2018.
Churchill China (CHH) had a strong finish to the financial year with a better second half performance in the UK. The 2018 profit will be higher than expected. The figures will be published on 27 March.
Shoe Zone (SHOE) stands out amongst its peers because it has had strong 2017-18 figures and a good Christmas. Last year’s pre-tax profit improved from £9.5m to £11.3m. Forecasts have been upgraded with 2018-19 earnings per share increased from 16.4p a share to 17.6p a share based on flat profit and a higher tax charge.
Quiz (QUIZ) sales continue to decline, albeit at a slightly lower rate of 5% like-for-like. The fashion retailer had to discount and gross margins were two percentage points lower. Overheads are also too high because of the lack of growth. The full year profit forecast has been cut from £6m to £4.4m.
A North African order for the Helios product supplied by Starcom (STAR) has been delayed until 2019 so 2018 revenues will be lower than expected. The total order value is $1.1m and the majority was expected to be recognised in 2018. Even so, revenues were better than expected, but the loss will be higher.
A general meeting has been requisitioned at Angus Energy (ANGS) by shareholders owning 6.2% of the company. It is believed that former chairman Jonathan Tidswell-Pretorius is behind this requisition, which involves the proposed removal of Paul Vonk from the board and the appointment of the Earl of Lucan and George Bingham. Non-exec Rob Shepherd has resigned. Angus has entered into a 24 month, £3m loan facility with YA II PN Ltd and Riverfort Global Capital in order to finance the development of the Balcombe field in the Weald basin. A £1.5m drawdown is planned immediately.
Rose Petroleum (ROSE) has acquired additional acreage in the Paradox Basin in Utah at a cost of $35,000. Rose believes that the new acreage could have an NPV10 of around $12m. The deal follows the results of the Schlumberger study which suggests that the site of a proposed well in the area should be in an optimal position.
Diurnal Group (DNL) has been granted a second patent for hydrocortisone treatment Chronocourt, which already has orphan drug designation. The patent lasts until 2033.
A £2m subscription and $5m investment into an internal finance note by 1795 Volantis Fund will provide Obtala Ltd (OBT) with additional funds. 1795 Volantis Fund will own 12.9% of Obtala, as well as 40 million warrants exercisable at 10p each. The disposal of a Tanzanian agricultural business will bring in a further $2.5m. Obtala intends to acquire the 25% it does not own in Montara Continental for $5m, which will be reinvested in the internal finance note.
Fuel cell developer Proton Power Systems (PPS) will own 33.33% of Hamburg-based Clean Logistics, which is being set up to build heavy trucks powered by fuel cell hybrid systems in the range of 75kw-150kw. The other two equal shareholders are Hopen, which has interests in battery and electric vehicle developers, and modular transport service provider Hary.
Sopheon (SPE) had a strong end to 2018. The software provider will provide more details in its trading statement later this month, when finnCap says it will reassess its forecasts.
Dekeloil (DKL) says that fourth quarter volumes were in line with expectations with a 2% increase in crude palm oil production on the third quarter. The annual production was 15% lower because of the weak first half. Selling prices have been at a premium to the market price. The purchase of a 43.8% stake in the Tiebissou cashew processing project has been completed.
Imaginatik (IMTK) has decided to sell its software business and assets to Planbox. The initial cash payment is $1.7m and up to $800,000 more could become payable. If it is all paid then the selling price would be higher than the book value of the assets. Imaginatik will become a shell with around £1m in cash left from the initial payment. If the disposal is approved by sharehodlers the company will change its name to Abal Group.
Telematics firm Quartix (QTX) continues to grow fleet sales but lower insurance sales are partly offsetting that growth. A supplementary dividend will be announced with the final dividend when the 2018 figures are published on 25 February.
Brighton Pier Group (PIER) says problems with the railways are hampering the income generation of Brighton Pier and earning shave been lower. The trading of the bars division was flat last year. Pre-tax profit will be around £3.2m, which is 18% lower than previous expectations.
Frontier IP (FIPP) says that its investee company Exscientia has raised $26m and is collaborating with Roche in a deal worth up to CHF67m. Frontier IP owns 3.32% of artificial intelligence-driven drug developer Exscientia.
MAIN MARKET
InnovaDerma (IDP) has revealed a 6% dip in first half revenues to £3.9m, even though retail sales grew strongly. Direct sales fell, although there are indications that they are recovering. The cosmetic products supplier will have to do well in the second half to achieve full year forecast revenues of £14.4m.
Trident Resources (TRR) has £1.85m in the bank at the end of October. The shell raised £4m when it floated in October. The balance sheet includes trade receivables of £2.1m, although management says that it started the year with just under £4m in cash. Potential acquisitions are being assessed.
Andrew Hore