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Quoted Micro 20 December 2021
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
The ecommerce technology and brands retailer Samarkand Group (SMK) reported lower interim revenues because of a one-off PPE contract in the previous period. There was a small underlying dip in revenues to £7.17m as the wholesaling business is being run down to a less important level of operations. The two core parts of the business grew revenues. The company’s brands generated £2.25m and the NOMAD ecommerce technology business generated just over £3m. Samarkand remains loss-making. Net cash was £8.8m at the end of September 2021, but Samarkand subsequently acquired Napiers the Herbalists for an initial consideration of £1.7m in cash. Revenues continue to grow at an accelerating rate. The current focus is organic growth through adding new clients.
Rural Broadband Solutions (RBBS) is acquiring Cadence Networks for £80,000 in cash and the issue of two million shares at a notional price of 7p each. Cadence is an internet service provider with revenues of £145,000. It has three data centres in London that Rural Broadband Solutions can use to build its national data network to replace third party providers. This will help to improve gross margins. There are 2,733 premises connected to the fixed wireless network of Rural Broadband Solutions. A placing is raising £1.675m at 3p a share. Directors are subscribing for 18.3 million shares. Investec Bank will advise on infrastructure funding.
VSA Capital (VSA) reported interim revenues of £1.16m and a loss of £235,000. This reflects the delay in the flotation of Tungsten West, which subsequently generated revenues of more than £1m.
Walls and Futures REIT (WAFR) has sold its residential property in Southfields for £662,500, which is a 2% premium to its valuation. This is the final private rental property in the portfolio.
Love Hemp Group (LIFE) generated revenues of £4.33m in the year to June 2021 and revenues from major retailers are increasing. Plans to move to the Main Market are progressing.
Apollon Formularies (APOL) has completed its high-volume processing laboratory. Processing capacity has increased to 20 litres of medicinal cannabis oil a day.
BWA Group (BWAP) says that the independent expert review of the two 90%-owned mineral sands projects in Cameroon supports the potential for significant mineralisation. BWA intends to drill 2,500 metres at Nkoteng and 1,500 metres in Dehane in the first quarter of 2022. An initial mineral resource estimate is expected by next summer.
Igraine (KING) says 2%-owned investee company Excalibur Medicines has completed the ARCADIA phase II clinical trial to assess a potential treatment for diabetics with Covid-19. The trial shows that AZD1656 reduced mortality in patients in combination with other medication. There are no safety concerns
S-Ventures (SVEN) has raised £3m at 70p a share and it will spend the cash on growing its food and wellness businesses. Clean Invest Africa (CIA) has raised £102,000 at 0.5p a share. IamFire (IAF) has raised £4.75m at 3p a share. EPE Special Opportunities (ESO) has raised £20m from a zero dividend preference share offer. EPE has spent £1.1m and £175,000 buying back ordinary shares at 330p each and 350p each respectively.
Rutherford Health (RUTH) has arranged an £8m loan at an annual interest rate of 15%. Schroder UK Public Private Trust and other shareholders will provide the loan in two tranches of £4m. There is also a convertible loan of £2m from LF Equity Income Fund – the conversion price is 176p. This will provide the working capital needed and a longer-term financing will be arranged next year. The cash is required because the cash for the £12.35m placing with SDI Holding has not been received. The acquisition of Proton Partners International has also not been completed.
Western Selection (WESP) has reduced its stake in AIM-quoted Northbridge Industrial Services (NBI) from 11.35% to 9.65%. The sale, at 159.7p a share, raised £791,000. That is a gain on the balance sheet value of £216,000. Harwood Capital has increased its stake from 15.1% to 16.9%, including an unchanged 13.4% held by Gresham House Strategic (GHS).
New chief executive Andrew Carter has bought 66,079 shares in Chapel Down Group (CDGP) at 45.4p each. He owns 99,699 shares. Voyager Life (VOY) chief executive Nick Tulloch bought 537,776 shares at 18p each and chairman Eric Boyle acquired 519,112 shares at the same price. They own 14.3% and 9.1% respectively. Burns Singh-Tennent has bought one million shares in Oscillate (MUSH) at 2p each. He owns 5.22%.
AIM
NWF (NWF) had a successful first half even though feed volumes were disappointing and group figures will be much better than the previous year. Actions taken to retain drivers have helped the fuels and food distribution divisions. Fuels has done better than expected with a short-term boost from fuel shortages, which NWF did not suffer from, in the autumn. The food distribution business is benefiting from increased capacity. Net debt has fallen providing further scope for fuels acquisitions.
Totally (TLY) is acquiring Energy Fitness Professionals (Energy Fit-Pro), which provides workplace fitness services. The total cost will be up to £1.3m and Totally still has plenty of cash to finance further acquisitions. In the year to March 2021, Energy Fit-Pro made a pre-tax profit of £445,000 on revenues of £984,000. There will be cross-selling opportunities.
Digital transformation services provider Made Tech Group (MTEC) grew interim revenues by 131% to £11.7m thanks to the focus on the public sector. Hiring continues ahead of anticipated growth. Short-term gross margin was reduced due to the increased use of contractors.
Multi-utility connections and electric vehicle charging installer Fulcrum Utility Services Ltd (FCRM) is raising £19.5m at 12p a share and it could raise up to £6m more via an open offer. The placing and open offer price is below the underlying NAV of 15.4p a share, although more than 50% of that figure relates to intangible assets. The order book was £80.9m at the end of September 2021.The cash will be used to invest in the smart energy infrastructure sector as meter asset provider (MAP).
Acquisitions and tax adviser K3 Capital (K3C) expects to report a 30% increase in interim revenues to £30m through a combination of like-for-like growth and acquisitions. The diversification into additional services provides a stronger base for the group.
Hurricane Energy (HUR) could make a $54m write-off on its activities in the Greater Warwick area (GWA) of the North Sea because it does not want to fund the drilling obligations under the licence.
Tungsten Corporation (TUNG) founder Edmund Truell and his associates are backing a possible bid of 40p a share by Kofax Inc. California-based Kofax is an automated software provider that simplifies the handling of data. The board says that the bid significantly undervalues the digital invoicing business. Cloud-based automation technology provider Jaggaer LLC has decided not to make a rival bid but venture capital firms Accel-KKR, could still make an offer.
Deepmatter Group (DMTR) is seeking more cash, but it will take until early next year to secure additional investment for the digital chemistry data company. At the end of June 2021, Deepmatter had £1.8m in cash and that has fallen to £400,000. Deepmatter is loss-making.
Printed circuit technology developer Trackwise Designs (TWD) is raising £6m at 80p a share, which is a significant discount to the market price at the time of the announcement. An open offer could raise up to £1m. Capital equipment deliveries were delayed, although the EV contract will start next year.
Sovereign Metals Ltd (SVML) was listed on the ASX and obtained a secondary quotation on AIM. A scoping study for the Kasiya rutile project confirms that it is a significant deposit. The NPV8 after tax is $861m with a mine life of 25 years. The capital cost is estimated at $332m.
Youth-focused digital media company LBG Media (LBG) joined AIM in order to build a cash pile on the balance sheet so that organic and acquisitive growth can be achieved. It raised £30m at 175p each, leaving pro forma net cash of £27.1m. The share price ended the first day at 200p and the week at 193.45p.
DSW Capital (DSW) licences its brand to professionals involved in corporate finance and accounting services and provides them with back office support. Many individuals become licensees after working with major accountancy firms. Warrington-based DSW believes that the flotation will boost the profile of the business and enable it to grow geographically and broaden the services provided. DSW raised £5m at 100p a share and the price ended the week at 123.5p.
In the six months to October 2021, Begbies Traynor (BEG) revenues were 39% ahead at £52.3m. Underlying pre-tax profit jumped 60% to £8m thanks to an improvement in operating margin from 14.4% to 16%. Net cash was £1.2 million at the end of April 2021.
Public Policy Holding Company Inc (PPHC) provides public affairs, crisis management and lobbying services in the US. It has three subsidiaries in the top 20 US lobbying firms. A placing raised £11.1m at 135p a share. Although the company has reported losses, a change in bonus arrangements will make it profitable.
Problems at the CHESS naval systems subsidiary led to a slump in interim profit at defence firm Cohort (CHRT), but it still increased the interim dividend by 10% to 3.85p a share. The group order book remains strong and includes some large orders. A new managing director has been appointed at CHESS.
Jade Road Investments Ltd (JADE) says that the structure of restaurants group Fook Lam Moon has changed, and it may no longer own 71%. This could lead to a partial or full provision of the $29.1m valuation in the balance sheet.
MAIN MARKET
Anemoi International (AMOI) has completed the acquisition of id4 AG for £5.33m, with an initial payment in shares with 50% deferred and dependent on achieving targets over the next five years. The SaaS-based business provides anti-money laundering and know your client software products. A placing raised £2.175m at 4p a share.
Spinnaker Acquisitions (SPAQ) is planning to acquire leak detection technology developer HomeServe Labs, from fully listed HomeServe (HSV) for a mixture of cash and shares. The business trades under the name LeakBot and it helps insurers to reduce claims costs. Insurers can provide LeakBot to homeowners free of charge. The company would be renamed Ondo InsureTech.
Marine technology products developer OTAQ (OTAQ) is raising £1.38m at 22p a share. Interim revenues fell from £2m to £1.8m. Net debt was £800,000 at the end of September 2021. The regulatory review in Scotland has held back progress and it continues to do so. There are plans for new product launches.
Publisher National World (NWOR) says full year revenues will be around 85%, following the purchase of JPI Media, with growth in digital income and a slowing in the rate of decline of print revenues. There should be cash of £23m at the end of 2021.
Andrew Hore
Ian Pollard – Big Rollers Deserting Rank
Rank Group plc RNK In the 40 weeks to the first of April the digital business has continued to trade strongly but like for like revenue at Mecca and Grosvenor Casinos fell by 2% and 3% respectively. In quarter three the fall at casinos turned into a slump with like for like revenues falling by 9%, the under performance exacerbated by a negative contribution from VIP players. The board is taking corrective measure but expects that the groups UK venues will continue to be impacted for the remainder of the current financial year and will continue into 2018-19
Electrocomponents plc ECM expects results for the year to the end of March will be ahead of their own previous expectations and profit before tax will be slightly head of the top end of market expectations. The second half produced strong year on year growth in free cash flow. Group overall like for like revenue growth for the year shows a rise of 13%, Asia Pacific leading the way with a rise of 18% and The Americas taking second place with a rise of 14%
Homeserve plc HSV adjusted profit before tx for the year to the end of March is expected to be significantly ahead of last years 112m after another strong year. North America produced an excellent performance, driven by continued organic growth and acquisitions
AdEPT Telecom ADT is to recommend an increase from 4p to 4.5p per share in the final dividend for the year to the end of March, making an inrease of 13% for the year a a whole. . Underlying EBITDA will be slightly ahead of market expectations of a 23% year on year rise.
Sophos Group SOPH updates that the year to 31st March was another year of strong growth with reported billings showing n increase of 20-22%, rising to 23% in quarter four.
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Ian Pollard – The Poles Are Doing Well Back Home
Kingfisher KGF Third quarter sales illustrate the problems facing many European high streets. The UK & Ireland did reasonably well with a rise of 1.5% on a like for like and constant currency basis although this was only possible because of a 10.2% rise at Screwfix. France, Russia and Spain performed badly and the only bright spot was Poland with a gain of 6% but that was perhaps to be expected now that all those Polish plumbers and plasterers have left the UK and gone back home for a better life. Overall the total result was a decline in sales of 0.5%. Let us hope that this is not a harbinger of things to come as the internet takes over.
CRH plc CRH the 9 months to the end of September saw the continuation of underlying growth in the Americas, although this was impacted by adverse weather. Positive momentum in Europe continued with a 2% rise in sales but Asia was bad news with the first halfs decline in sales rising by 50% in quarter 3 to 12%. Like for like EBITDA in Asia slumped by 45% whilst the rest of the world only managed a tiny rise of 2%. Once again the Poles came up trumps with cement volumes well ahead of 2016.
Entertainment One ETO claims strong and robust first half results with last years loss of 2.5m being wiped out and replaced with a reported profit before tax of 0.8m. Revenue was stable and on an adjusted basis, profit before tax rose by 53%.
Halma HLMA produced record revenue, profits and dividends in the six months to the 30th September, with both statutory profit before tax and earnings per share rising by 18%. Revenue was up by 15% with growth in all major regions and sectors. The interim dividend is to be increased by 7%
Homeserve HSV is increasing its interim dividend by 15% for the half year to the 30th September after good rises of 17% in EBITDA and 13% in adjusted operating profit. Strong momentum continued in North America and there was further growth in France & Spain
Big Yellow Group BYG is increasing its interim dividend by 13% in line with adjusted profit before tax, after a good first half performance and a rise in like for like revenue of 6%
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Vodafone – Sees Robust Momentum As Revenue Drops 3.3%
Vodafone VOD is yet another company which seems to think it can describe a fall in revenue as “good” and a sign of “robust momentum” It even goes to the extent of producing better looking statistics which it calls ” alternative performance measures”, regularly reviewed by management to give readers additional information. Presumably management does not like having to review the real highlights, which include a 3.3% fall in group revenue for the quarter to the 30th June, led by Europe with a reported fall of 4.8% Real momentum there but most people would regard it as going in the wrong direction.
Learning Technologies Group LTG expects revenue in the half year to 30th June to show a 62% rise in revenue to a record £20.8m. After making excellent progress as market leader in the high growth e learning sector, the order book stood at record levels at the end of the half year and the integration of Net Dimensions which was acquired in March, has been completed on time. The benefits from this will start to be seen at the beginning of 1918, as planned.
Beazley BEZ Profit before tax for the half year to the 30th June rose by 6% and earnings per share by 17% after a strong performance in the US. The interim dividend is also being increased by 6% to 3.7p per share.
Homeserve plc HSV has seen the continuation of strong growth in the period from the 1st April to the 20th July, with particularly strong momentum coming from North America where it has signed up 24 new partners providing it with access to 53m homes.
Empresaria Group EMR has delivered a record first half performance with strong growth leading to a 26% rise in net fee income. The company”s investment strategy has proved to be a success and the acquisition of Rishworth Aviation is expected to provide further growth in terms of pilot recruitment, in the coming years.
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MP Evans Dividends Surge As Palm Oil Back In Favour
M.P. Evans Group MPE enjoyed an excellent 2016 and like for like profit for the year to 31st December more than doubled, rising from from $7.8m to $16m. Total dividends for 2016 will follow suit with a rise from 8.75p in 2015 to 20p (including a special dividend of of 5p per share) and even more is promised for current year when total payments of 25p per share are expected. The board is said to be excited about the addition of significant new plantations.
The share price after steadily declining for a number of years, has recognised the transformation in palm oil prospects, rising from 415p in mid October, to todays 750p.
Homeserve HSV updates that it has had a very good year and expects that results will be at the upper end of market expectations. Customer growth in the UK was at a fairly modest 1% but in the US, there was significant expansion. The CEO is delighted with the company’s performance and promises that there will be further strong growth in the current year.
Electrocomponents ECM Expects that after a strong fourth quarter, results for the year to the 31st March will be ahead of previous expectations and headline profit before tax will be ahead of current market consensus. Revenue growth in quarter 4 accelerated to 8%. strong recovery was seen in North American and Pacific growth and a continuation of robust growth in Europe.But, both revenue and profits have benefitted from significant foreign exchange movements and additional trading days in 2017.
Hardide HDD First half sales to the Oil & Gas sectors have more than doubled compared to 2016 and overall trading is comfortably ahead of both first and second half performances in 2016..
Murgitroyd Group MUR enjoyed a strong third quarter with a 6% rise in revenue over the previous year, leading to a much improved trading perfrmance, ahead of revised internal forecasts.