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Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 23 August 2021
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Adnams (ADB) says that trading has improved since 17 May with strong demand for hotel accommodation. Interim revenues were flat at £20.5m, while the loss dipped from £3.87m to £3.34m. Net bank debt was £13.4m at the end of June 2021.
GP software provider DXS International (DXSP) increased its full year revenues from £3.28m to £3.61m, while pre-tax profit improved from £239,000 to £254,000 even though the amortisation charge was significantly higher. There was £1.24m of cash generated from operations, although that is less than the £1.5m of capitalised research and development spending.
Good Energy (GOOD) continues to reject the 340p a share bid by Ecotricity because it undervalues the company. Management believes that the company can grow significantly as an independent entity. They also point out that Ecotricity is loss-making.
Oscillate (MUSH) has made a pre-IPO investment in Psych Capital, which would be one of first quoted psychedelic healthcare companies. Oscillate has acquired a 10.4% stake for £300,000. The Oscillate finance director is also finance director of Psych Capital. Richard and Charlotte Edwards have increased their stake in Oscillate from 5.94% to 8.31%. Oscillate has a 24.6% stake in Igraine (KING) which says that the report on the ARCADIA trial – relating to a potential treatment for people with diabetes suffering from Covid-19 – will be published by Excalibur Medicines on 6 September. Igraine has a 2% stake in Excalibur Medicines and also a co-investment agreement.
Yooma Wellness Inc (YOOM) is making the first of its promised acquisitions. It is paying up to £10.2m in cash and shares for Birmingham-based Vitality CBD, which sells its products through Boots, Tesco and Asda. Revenues were £1.6m in the first half of 2021.
Clarify Pharma (PSYC) has also made its first acquisition since joining Aquis. It has contributed $700,000 to a fundraising by Beckley Psytech. This gives Clarify a 0.26% stake. Beckley is developing psychedelic compounds to treat neurological and psychiatric disorders.
Dispersion Holdings (DEFI) has invested $200,000 in Blimp Technologies Inc, which has a platform that rewards homebuyers and sellers for contributing value to a tokenised network established by Home Network Foundation. Dispersion has made a second investment in Defi Yield Technologies Inc. The C$800,000 investment follows an initial investment of C$200,000, which was at a lower share price. This takes the shareholding to 2.24 million shares.
Watchstone Group (WTG) reduced its underlying admin expenses but there was still a £2.31m cash outflow in the first half of 2021. NAV was £15.4m at the end of June 2021. Watchstone has £14.1m in the bank and £1.8m more in escrow. The focus is on continuing litigation.
Eastinco Mining (EM.P) had a £528,000 outflow from operating activities in 2020. There was £52,000 of cash at the end of 2020.
SulNOx Group (SNOX) reduced its loss from £1.81m to £856,000 in the year to March 2021. SulNOx intends to move to AIM.
Coinsilium (COIN) has invested £300,000 in shares in financial services firm Greengage Global and is subscribing for up to £200,000 in convertible loan notes.
Evrima (EVA) has completed its investment in Eastport Ventures Inc, which is planning a flotation.
Abdelatif Lachab has increased his stake in Helium Ventures (HEV) from 5.94% to 6.23%.
AIM
Floorcoverings distributor Likewise (LIKE) switched from The International Stock Exchange to AIM last week and raised £10m at 25p a share. The cash raised will provide working capital for growth and cash for acquisitions. There will also be investment in further distribution centres, including a larger site in Manchester. Likewise chief executive Tony Brewer joined Headlam in 1991 and became chief executive in 2000. He left the company in 2016. The plan is to be a national distributor with revenues of more than £200m and an operating margin of more than 5% are targeted. Trading has been ahead of budget in the first half of 2021. Daily revenues exceeded £250,000 in each of May and June. The share price has risen to 31p.
Interim figures from plastic packaging manufacturer Robinson (RBN) led to a sharp downgrading of the 2021 pre-tax profit forecast. Raw material prices have soared, and volumes have not grown as fast as expected. Interim revenues were 19% higher at £21.2m – there was modest like-for-like growth excluding the Schela acquisition. A slump in gross margins meant that the business fell into loss. An interim dividend of 2.5p a share has been announced.
Piling contractor Van Elle (VANL) lost money last year, but it should return to profit this year. In the year to April 2021, revenues were flat at £84.4m, which was a good outcome because revenues were sharply lower in the first quarter due to lockdown. The underlying loss was one-third higher at £1.2m. The cold winter also held back progress. Van Elle plans to pay a dividend next year if trading goes to plan.
SkinBioTerapeutics (SBTX) had more cash than expected at the year end and it has set the price for its AxisBiotix-Ps food supplement. In the UK, the psoriasis treatment will cost £1.50 per sachet, which is higher than expected. There was £4.6m in the bank at the end of June, compared with expectations of £3.4m.
Intelligent Ultrasound (IUG) AI technology has yet to make a significant contribution to revenues. GE is offering ScanNav Assist as an option on its SWIFT ultrasound machine, but first half revenues were minimal because of Covid-19 restrictions holding back marketing. Even so, interim revenues increased by 36% to £3.6m due to higher sales of training simulators. That growth is continuing and AI revenues will build up over the longer-term.
MTI Wireless Edge (LON: MWE) has continued to grow its profit and demand is improving for its antennas with new contracts from space and naval customers. In the first half of 2021, revenues improved from $19.6m to $21.3m, while pre-tax profit rose from $1.83m to $2.05m.
Engineer Tricorn (TCN) has appointed administrators because it is running out of money and the board is trying to sell the trading operations. Trading in the shares has been suspended and Arden has resigned as nominated adviser.
DBAY Advisors has decided not to bid for credit hire and legal services firm Anexo (ANX). Trading has been ahead of expectations at Anexo.
MAIN MARKET
Trading in standard list shell Pineapple Power Corp (PNPL) shares has been suspended following the announcement of the reverse takeover of BVP Investments and its sustainability-focused investment portfolio.
Canadian Overseas Petroleum (COPL) has completed the reverse takeover of Atomic Oil and Gas. This adds producing assets. Oil production is expected to continue to increase. Other potential asset acquisitions are being assessed.
Tirupati Graphite (TGR) is acquiring Suni Resources SA, which has a portfolio of graphite interests in Mozambique. They include the Montepuez graphite project which is already under construction. The acquisition will cost £6.6m.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 28 June 2021
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Good Energy (GOOD) says it is perming better this year than in the same period last year which included the start of the lockdown. Forward buying has improved margins. The smart meter rollout is accelerating.
Dispersion Holdings (DEFI) has invested C$200,000 at 18 cents a share in Defi Yield Technologies Inc. This gives it a 3.5% shareholding in the company that is developing a platform for decentralised financial services.
Altona Rare Earths (ANR) has raised £178,000 at 12p a share, which was a premium to the market price. Altona subsequently acquired up to 70% of the Monte Muambe rare earths project. It will take a 1% stake on signing the deal and increase it to 20% in phase 1 when £40,000 in cash is paid and one million shares are issued. In order to take a 70% stake a total of £240,000 in cash will be paid and three million Altona shares have to be issued. On top of this there are minimum expenditure commitments over three phases of the project.
Rogue Baron (SHNJ) says its bar in Washington DC increased sales by 38% to $225,000 in the three months to May 2021 even though capacity has halved. Trading in the shares has started on OTCQB.
Tectonic Gold (TTAU) is preparing to drill the Specimen Hill project in Queensland. There have been positive results from sampling and the structural modelling of the site has been completed.
Capital for Colleagues (CFCP) had net assets of 64.06p a share at the end of May 2021. It sold his investment in Anthesis Consulting for £1.15m during the period. There was cash of £2.65m at the end of May 2021.
DiscovOre (ORE) is changing its name to Oscillate. and it will focus on the medical psychedelic industry. This includes treatments for drug-resistant depression, anxiety, addiction and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Ananda Developments (ANA) expects to begin construction of a research facility in July. Strains of medicinal cannabis have been selected for research. Liberty Herbal Technologies has received a US patent for its vaping device.
CBD products supplier Sativa Wellness Group Inc (SWEL) has opened its 40th testing clinic for travellers and has introduced blood testing for Covid-19 immune response through some clinics. The clinics will be listed on the NHS Patient Access service.
Valereum Blockchain (VLRM) has raised £1m at 70p a share.
Virgata Services has extended its offer for Walls & Futures REIT (WAFR).
Tim and Charlotte Syder have increased their stake in Newbury Racecourse (NYR) from 4.5% to 8.7% and they appear to have been bought from Andy and Judith Stewart.
AIM
Printed circuit technology developer and supplier Trackwise Designs (TWD) has disappointed the market due to electric vehicle contract delays. Interim revenues more than doubled from £2.91m to £6.07m thanks to the initial contribution from Stevenage Circuits. A pre-tax profit of £200,000 in 2019 was turned into a loss of £400,000. There is currently net cash of £2.87m. The new factory should open later in the year.
Demand for Accoya wood continues to be strong, but Accsys Technologies (AXS) will not be able to increase production capacity until a new reactor is installed in the Netherlands later in the year to March 2022. In 2020-21, Accsys moved into profit and cash generation improved. A decision is awaited about how Accsys will make progress with the Hull Tricoya plant, where the contractor has resigned. Cash was raised in May to finance the US joint venture, but more cash may be required.
First Property (FPO) had to reduce the valuations of its owned Polish properties last year and that hit net assets. Management says that some of that valuation reduction should be reversed following a restructuring of the finance lease on one of the properties. NAV fell 22% to 42.8p a share at the end of March 2021 and it could improve to 48.8p next March. Loan to value is 45.3%. There is no final dividend.
In 2020, Dekel Agri-Vision (DKL) reported revenues of €22.5m and a reduced loss. The palm oil supplier will benefit from the higher palm oil price this year, enabling it to move into profit. The cashew plant will also make a contribution.
Musical instruments retailer Gear4Music (G4M) performed strongly last year, and revenues improved from £120.3m to £157.5m, while pre-tax profit jumped from £3.1m to £14.6m. This year will be tough, though. Pre-tax profit is forecast to fall back to £7.5m even though current trading is better than expected. The company has started buying existing brands. Premier is a drums brand and Eden is a bass amp supplier. Further acquisitions are likely.
Packaging manufacturer Robinson (RBN) says that revenues in the first five months of 2021 are 17% ahead of the same time last year. This is mainly due to an initial contribution from the Schela acquisition and passing on raw material costs – volumes are 1% ahead.
Jade Road Investments (JADE) had a net asset value of 67p a share at the end of 2020. There was an improved valuation of quarry company Future Metal Holdings. The three-year mining licence has been renewed and an independent assessment of the business will be published later this year.
Tristel (TSTL) has gained approval for foam-based surface disinfectant Jet from the EPA in the US. This will enable approvals to be sought with individual states. Tristel Duo, the disinfectant for ultrasound devices, has been approved in Canada and South Korea.
Vector Capital (VCAP) has raised £1.5m at 47p a share and this will be used for marketing and increasing the loan book. The cash raised at the end of 2020 has been deployed.
Location Sciences (LSAI) has given 12 months notice to its chief executive and finance director. They are continuing to work in the business.
MAIN MARKET
Nottinghamshire-based construction and infrastructure services provider NMCN (NMCN) has secured a highly dilutive rescue fundraising after falling into financial difficulties The company continues to lose money and the terms reflect the dire financial position. A £14m subscription is proposed, with a up to £5m more to come from an open offer. There is also a £10m convertible bridging loan – convertible at 20p a share and with fees and interest it equates to 62.4 million shares. Svella, which is run by former Stobart boss Andrew Tinkler, will subscribe for up to £7.4m of the subscription shares and provide the loan.
Fasteners supplier Trifast (TRI) reported slightly better than expected 2020-21 figures. Industrial activity is recovering. This year pre-tax profit is expected to improve from £11m to £12.9m.
Tirupati Graphite (TGR) has increased sales of its graphite products CarboflameX and GrafEN 45545 with trial and sample orders received. Land has been secured for a dedicated product development facility.
Cizzle Biotechnology (CIZ) has signed a deal to develop a companion diagnostic with St George Street Capital for certain of its potential autoimmune treatment assets that it has licensed. This deal takes Cizzle into a new area, but lung cancer remains the focus.
Zegona Communications (ZEG) is paying an interim divided of 2.6p a share. That is based on the dividend from Euskaltel and does not reflect the proceeds from the telecoms company’s takeover.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 15 February 2021
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Oberon Investments Group (OBE) has joined the Access segment following the reversal of the wealth management business into standard list shell Baskerville Capital. Assets under administration are more than £400m. Oberon was formed in 2017 and acquired investment manager MD Barnard. It also has a corporate broking business, and it is joint broker to MyHealthChecked (MHC). There was £1.44m raised at 4p a share at the time of the reversal.
Brewer Curious Drinks is being placed into administration and the business will be acquired by Risk Capital Partners, which was founded by Luke Johnson. This will have to be agreed by the HMRC and the secured creditor HSBC. There should be no redundancies Majority owner Chapel Down Group (CDGP) is offering small shareholders in Curious Drinks a share swap. There will be 1.57 Chapel Down shares issued for each Curious Drinks share. In 2015, Curious Drinks raised £1.71m via a crowdfunding with Seedrs, which equates to a market capitalisation of £17.7m. That funding was equivalent to 9.66% of Curious Drinks and there were 886 shareholders. The share swap should provide around 50% of the initial investment. There will be less than 1% dilution for Chapel Down shareholders. Chapel Down net debt will be slashed from £7.2m to £100,000. There was a loan from Chapel Down to Curious Drinks of £7.77m included in the 2019 accounts.
Coinsilium (COIN) holds $1.98m of cryptocurrency and tokens, which is a 17% increase in fewer than three weeks.
Gunsynd (GUN) has sold all its shares in Angold Resources. This raised £163,000. Chris Akers has increased his stake in Gunsynd to 5.36%.
Tectonic Gold (TTAU) continues to have a 100% success rate for its exploration drilling. According to managing director Brett Boynton the latest hole shows “multiple stacked veins somewhat like a palm tree spraying out mineralised fronds from the primary fault zone”.
NQ Minerals (NQMI) has raised £301,000 at 7p a share from one institution and private investors. Vulcan Industries (VULC) has raised a further £185,000 with some shares placed at 3.6p and some at 4p.
Western Selection (WESP) has bought a further 150,000 shares in Bilby (BILB) at 29.8p each. The total stake is 11%.
AIM
Joules (JOUL) has acquired the Garden Trading Company, which takes it into the home and garden market and adds annual revenues of £168m. Joules is paying £4.5m in cash and 2.83 million shares. Peel Hunt has increased its 2021-22 pre-tax profit forecast by £2m to £10.6m.
Engineer Avingtrans (AVG) maintained its interim revenues at £54.1m and the stemming of losses at recent acquisitions has helped pre-tax profit to nearly double to £3.5m. It offset the lower demand from the oil and gas sector. The recent merging of the MRI operations with Magnetica, will enable niche MRI products to be developed, but it will take time for the revenues to come through. Meanwhile, Avingtrans is stopping supplying third parties. The valuable Luton site could be sold in the next year or so if market conditions allow.
Kromek (KMK) is raising up to £13m via a placing and open offer at 15p a share. The cash will be used to accelerate the commercialisation of its bio-security products and boost the marketing of medical imaging and nuclear detection products. Intuitive Investments Group (IIG) is investing £250,000 in the placing.
Packaging manufacturer Robinson (RBN) is acquiring blow moulded containers producer Dhela Plast for up to £7.7m. There will be additional investment of £2.4m in the Danish company. The customer sectors are similar to Robinson and the deal widens its geographic reach.
MAIN MARKET
Motor finance provider S & U (SUS) expects a rebound in demand when lockdown restrictions are eased. In the past two months new deal transactions are running at nearly 80% of previous levels. Investment in Aspen Bridging has been increased because of the strong demand. A second interim dividend of 25p a share has been announced.
A planned demerger of assets by Aseana Properties Ltd (ASPL) has been stopped because the banks have not agreed to the proposal.
Castillo Copper Ltd (CCZ) confirms an extension to the 100%-owned Big One deposit and JORC modelling is underway.
Argo Blockchain (ARB) intends to acre 320 acres in Texas where it will build a new mining facility in the next 12 months. The overall cost will be $17.5m in shares.
UP Global Sourcing (UPGS) grew interim sales by 11%. Beldray represented 28% of sales, with the next biggest contributions coming from licenced brands Salter and Russel Hobbs.
One Heritage Group (OHG) is taking advantage of the share price rise over the past two months to raise £548,500 at 30p a share. The residential developer floated before Christmas at 10p a share. One Heritage plans to buy an office block in Stockport, which can be converted into residential. Plus House will cost £725,000.
Tirupati Graphite (TGR) is increasing the planned flake graphite capacity of the first module at the Vatomina project by 50% to 9,000 tonnes a year. The project will be commissioned in the second quarter. Carboflamex and other expandable graphite products produced by the company have gained certification to be sold in the EU.
Avation (AVAP) has entered into a lease with an Asian airline for an ATR72-600 aeroplane, which should be delivered in March.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 6 July 2020
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Rutherford Health (RUTH) has secured a diagnostics agreement with Somerset NHS Foundation Trust that is worth £19.1m over ten years, although it is initially for five years. Rutherford will supply imaging services from a facility in Taunton, which will be developed in partnership with Equitix. The service should start in the second half of 2021.
Good Energy (GOOD) says that it remains profitable, although smaller business energy demand was lower in the second quarter. Gross margins have been hit because excess energy had to be resold. Operational efficiencies have offset some of this effect. Cash collection has been strong. Four-fifths of customers have been transferred to the Kraken customer services system. This will help to reduce costs.
Shepherd Neame (SHEP) has negotiated additional bank facilities. Total debt facilities are £132.5m. The brewery has been generating income from increased sales to supermarkets and for export. The majority of the company’s pubs should reopen by the end of July.
Cannabis-focused investment company Greencare Capital (GRE) has raised £1.37m at 50p a share. That is double the original flotation price. Management is hopeful that it will make an initial investment in its favoured acquisition target in the near future.
NQ Minerals (NQMI) says that plant production levels at the Hellyer gold mine increased by 44% to more than 1.3 mtpa. NQ has completed the acquisition of the Beaconsfield gold mine in Tasmania.
British Honey Company (BHC) says sanitiser sales have enabled the company to achieve sales of 240% of budget in the past three months. BHC has swapped 4.5% of its shares for a 10% stake in List Distillery LLC. BHC has an option to buy the rest of the company for £4.5m plus up to £500,000 in contingent consideration.
Capital for Colleagues (CFCP) had an NAV of £7.55m (48.9p a share) at the end of February 2020.
Tectonic Gold (TTAU) has changed its corporate adviser from Peterhouse to VSA. Tectonic has published full year figures to June 2019 and interims to December 2019. NAV was £2.49m at the end of 2019.
Wishbone Gold (WSBN) generated sales of $3.64m of sales in the first quarter of 2020, compared with $3.85m in the same period last year. In 2019, revenues were $10.7m.
Human Brands is selling some of its brands, including Shinju Whisky, to Rogue Baron in return for shares and Gunsynd (GUN) will have its £379,000 convertible loan note novated to Rogue Baron, which has been granted EIS advanced reassurance. Rogue Baron plans to float on a UK market and this could trigger the issue of further shares to Gunsynd.
First Sentinel (FSEN) has supplied a £300,000 loan facility to Vox Markets. This is convertible into shares. So far, £250,000 has been advanced. Loan facilities totalling £500,000 have been provided to Ridercam Systems. A £130,000 investment has been made for a 7.4% stake in investment company Malaika. The company’s Australian subsidiary has provided a loan facility to energy producer Direct Energy Holdings.
Ecovista (EVTP) was withdrawn from the AQSE on 1 July. The day after it published interim figures to February 2020. There was £42,000 in cash and this should cover general running expenses. Management says that being quoted cost £60,000 a year. NAV is £735,000.
Formerly known as Welney, Quetzal Capital (WENP) has been readmitted to the market following a share consolidation of 100 existing shares into one new share and placing raising £22,000.
AIM
Cambridge Cognition (COG) continues to win new contracts and the first half order intake was £4.9m. The digital health business has increased its contracted order book to £7.5m. The company is on course to make a much lower loss in 2020.
Construction disputes and expert witness services provider Driver (DRV) improved its profit in the first half thanks to a good performance from its Asia Pacific businesses. However, the Middle East is still a problem and a strategic review is underway. Net cash was £3.3m at the end of March 2020 and it has increased since then. There is no dividend. The second half will be tougher, though.
Forex provider Equals (EQLS) continues its strong growth record in 2019. Trading levels were hit by the COVID-19 lockdown in April and May, but June’s revenues per day recovered to a similar level to June 2019. The administration of Wirecard has had limited effect on business.
AFC Energy (AFC) is raising £31.6m at 16p a share. This will be used to invest in manufacturing for the H-Power fuel cell systems and employing additional staff for the deployment of the technology in the electric vehicle and construction markets. There will also be cash put into the development of the AlkaMem anion exchange membrane and the HydroX-Cell solid-state membrane fuel cell system.
Telecoms equipment supplier Filtronic (FTC) says it grew revenues from continuing operations in the year to May 2020 and it made a small underlying profit. Delays to deliveries mean that it is difficult to assess the outcome for the current financial year.
Redx Pharma (REDX) is raising $29m through a convertible loan note issue to Redmile and Sofinnova Partners and £812,000 via a share issue to Sofinnova.
Robinson (RBN) is paying an interim dividend of 3.5p a share. The packaging supplier did not pay a final dividend and the interim will be payable on 30 July to make up for that. First half trading was in line with expectations. Full year pre-tax profit is expected to be flat at £2.3m.
MAIN MARKET
Trading in Lookers (LOOK) shares has been suspended because it has not published 2019 results. They should be published in August. An investigation by Grant Thornton suggests that there will be a £4m non-cash write-off relating to fraud with a further £15m non-cash write-off for incorrect or inconsistent accounting, mainly relating to stock.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 26 August 2019
NEX EXCHANGE
Walls and Futures REIT (WAFR) grew revenues by one-third to £136,000 but the ethical housing provider moved from profit to loss. In the year to March 2019, revenues improved from £103,000 to £136,000. The main reason behind the reported loss was a reduction in the gain on revaluation of assets from £198,000 to £145,000. The NAV still increased from £3.25m to £3.31m. These figures were prior to the acquisition of a property in Didcot. There is a pipeline of other potential transactions.
Barkby Group (BARK) has appointed finnCap as its corporate adviser.
Peterhouse has resigned as corporate adviser to Gamfook Jewellery (GAMF) and that follows the resignation of its auditor Crowe and the continued delays to the publication of the accounts for 2018. Peterhouse took over as corporate adviser from Daniel Stewart in March. Gamfook floated in December 2018.
Rutherford Health (RUTH) has opened its latest centre in Reading. The company was previously known as Proton Partners International Ltd.
Henry Lees-Buckley is taking on the chief executive role at Sativa Group (SATI) and Geremy Thomas has moved to deputy chairman.
AIM
Injection moulded plastic products Coral Products (CRU) returned to profit in the year to April 2019, although the underlying pre-tax profit only edged up from £568,000 to £580,000 because of a decline in exceptional costs. The second half was not as good as the first half, but cost cutting enabled a recovery at the end of the year. Net debt was £8.2m at the end of April 2019. There is no final dividend following the interim of 0.25p a share. Continuing problems at a major customer could continue to hamper progress. Equipment enabling recycling of plastic products is up and running. New products will be launched later this year, including roof tiles and road highway sound barriers.
International staffing provider Empresaria (EMR) had a tough first half, but despite this the company still expects to maintain its full year profit at £11.4m. Interim net fee income was 7% ahead but underlying pre-tax profit was one-fifth lower at £3.7m. That suggests a much stronger second half even though the German and Japanese businesses remain subdued, although they could start to recover. The diversification of the business in terms of sectors and geographies helps to offset the weakness in parts of the group. New chief executive Rhona Driggs is putting in place a new strategy, which should help next year’s figures.
Adamas Finance Asia Ltd (ADAM) has maintained its NAV at $1.10 a share (88p a share). Investee company Hong Kong Mining Holdings is still on course to restart mining operations and it is acquiring additional land for mining activities. Fook Lam Moon is assessing opportunities to expand its catering operations. The internal fit out for Infinity Capital’s Tellus Niseko project should be completed before the end of September.
MySale Group (MYSL) has raised £11.2m at 2p a share, which is a 58% discount to the market price. There will be £5.5m used to pay down bank facilities. The number of shares in issue is trebled. This follows a strategic review by the retailer, which is refocusing on Australasian operations and the selling down of stock. The cost base will be reduced.
Transport optimisation software and equipment supplier Tracsis (TRCS) grew its cash pile to £24m at the end of July 2019, even after paying around £9m on acquisitions. Pre-tax profit is in line with expectations at £9.4m, up from £8.5m.
Breedon Group (BREE) intends to change its tax domicile from Jersey to the UK. The company will still be incorporated in Jersey. The general meeting to gain approval to change the article of association will be held on 9 September.
Packaging supplier Robinson (RBN) improved gross margins by 12 percentage points to 19.7% in the first half, but that was partly offset by higher overheads. Pre-tax profit improved from £478,000 to £684,000. Net debt was £9.1m. The interim dividend is unchanged at 2.5p a share.
IT services provider Adept4 (AD4) is in talks to acquire CloudCoCo, which was set up by former sales directors of Redcentric. The deal would involve the issue of new shares that would nearly double the number in issue. The Business Growth Fund has agreed to sell £5m of unsecured loan notes to MXC Capital for £3.5m.
Data software and services provider D4T4 (D4T4) says that the figures will be second half weighted this year but not as much as last year.
Science Group (SAG) has increased its stake in Frontier Smart Technologies (FST) by subscribing £1m at 25p a share. This takes the stake to 52.3% (costing £6.9m) and this means that Frontier’s results will be consolidated. A standby facility is also being provided. Frontier’s cost base is being reduced.
Commodity trading and risk management software provider Brady (BRY) expects 2019 revenues to be around one-fifth lower than previous forecasts. That means that revenues are expected to decline from £23.2m in 2018 to £19m and this will lead to a loss of more than £4m.
Three directors have been removed from the board of Management Resource Solutions (MRS) and they have been replaced by John Copley and Robert Wall following a requisitioned general meeting.
Cancer therapies developer Scancell (SCLP) has initiated the UK SCIB1 phase 2 clinical trial for advanced melanoma, where SCIB1 is used in conjunction with the checkpoint inhibitor Pembrolizumab.
The financial director of Maestrano (MNO) has resigned to take up a role in Australia. The software company continues to undertake due diligence on a potential acquisition. An Australian bank client has decided not to go ahead with a new banking platform. There should be enough cash to last into next year.
Cyber security company Osirium Technologies (OSI) has signed up the first customer for its Opus privileged process automation software, plus two customers for the PxM platform. The Opus client is an asset manager that is already a user of PxM.
Cellcast (CLTV) has called a general meeting on 6 September in order to approve the sale of its operations. The company will change its name to Vintana.
MAIN MARKET
BATM (BVC) reported an improved interim profit, but that was due to a one-off unrealised gain after an investment in the Ador diagnostics joint venture. Revenues dipped from $58.2m to $56.2m. The second half performance will be more important. Revenues are expected to grow from $119.6m to $128.5m, with pre-tax profit jumping form $2m to $6.7m. There is further longer-term growth to come from both the biomedical and networking divisions. The recent fundraising means that there is plenty of cash to finance growth.
Argo Blockchain (ARB) is further increasing its capacity and this could make it the largest quoted cryptocurrency miner by next year.
Injection moulding and engineering company Tex Holdings (TXH) says net assets per share have fallen from 168p to 140p after it swung into loss last year. There is no final dividend. The plastics division is trading profitably and orders have improved at the engineering division.
Path Investments (PATH) plans to acquire FineGems Extraction Corporation, which has a 75% stake in a company that holds the Jagoda licence in Zambia. The assets are near to production. They are manganese ore and tourmaline deposits. The acquisition would leave existing shareholders with 50% of the enlarged share capital.
Gold explorer IMC Exploration (IMC) has raised £150,000 at 1p a share and has paid £27,000 of professional fees in shares. The cash will be spent on exploration and geological work on a tailings project in Avoca, County Wicklow.
Dev Clever (DEV) has appointed Novum Securities as joint broker and raised £436,000 at 3.4p a share. The consumer engagement systems company has secured a three-year agreement with Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions, which will offer Dev Clever’s Engage gamification platform and its learning and development platform to retail customers.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore Quoted Micro 13 May 2019
NEX EXCHANGE
National Milk Records (NMR) improved revenues from £5.32m to £5.56m in the three months to March 2019. Disease testing revenues grew at the fastest rate. This quarter did not benefit from one-off revenues like the first two quarters of the financial year.
Gledhow Investments (GDH) reported a reduction in net assets to £735,000 at the end of March 2019. Gledhow has trebled its money in Block Energy and sold the stake, but most of the proceeds came after the end of March.
Primorus Investments (PRIM) believes that Sport:80 has missed the chance to float, but TruSpine still has a chance to become quoted. International payments and lifecycle software provider Zuuse could be ready for a flotation within 18 months.
Wheelsure Holdings (WHLP) has finally published its results for the year to August 2018. They show revenues falling from £226,000 to £96,000, although the loss was similar at £336,000. UK and Netherlands demand were weaker than expected.
Health and community care properties developer and modular buildings supplier Ashley House (ASH) says its joint venture Morgan Ashley has achieved financial close on two more projects. A further three could be closed in the current quarter. Even so, group pre-tax profit will be lower. There will be an update in July.
Sativa Investments (SATI) is changing its name to Sativa Group to reflect that it is a trading company with a greater focus on UK operations. The application for a Home Office research and development licence to grow medicinal cannabis is proceeding well. This is for its own requirements as well as growing some varieties for order.
Ace Liberty and Stone (ALSP) has acquired properties in Warrington and Middlesbrough for more than £10m. The Communities and Local Government department is the long-term tenant of both properties. The Warrington property cost £2.9m and the Middlesbrough property £7.125m.
In the first four months of 2019, NQ Minerals (NQMI) has produced 6,857 DMT of lead concentrate, 4,763 DMT of zinc concentrate and 29,389 DMT of pyrite concentrate.
Giles Brand has increased his stake in EPE Special Opportunities (ESO) from 23.1% to 30.5%. EPE has a NAV of 241.3p a share. Almon I Holding SA has a 3.16% stake in Coinsilium Ltd (COIN).
MetalNRG (MNRG) is delaying a move to the Main Market because of the uranium exploration ban in The Kyrgyz Republic, which means that the proposed farm-in agreement for the Kamushanovskoye uranium deposit has been suspended. Due diligence is progressing on the Thambani licence and the transaction agreement with Mkango Resources by the end of June. Once it has funding, MetalNRG will make progress with the Gold Ridge project.
Panther Metals (PALM) reported a doubled cash outflow from operating activities of £309,000 last year. There was £1,247 in the bank at the end of 2018.
AIM
Begbies Traynor (BEG) says that trading was ahead of expectations. The business recovery and property services provider says both divisions performed well. Shore has upped its pre-tax profit forecast for the year to April 2019 by 6% to £7.1m, compared with £5.6m the year before. The full year figures will be published on 9 July.
Interactive Investor has decided not to make a bid for Share (SHRE).
RA International (RAI) has won two new contracts. A five year contract worth $9.8m has been awarded by the United Nations Support Office for vehicle and equipment fleet services in Somalia. This is for ten locations compared to one previously. There is also a contract for construction services relating to the US Embassy in Denmark.
Immupharma (IMM) intends to merge its two French subsidiaries and either get private equity backing or float the combined business on a European stockmarket. The business is developing the Nucant cancer programme (Elro) and the peptide platform (Ureka). Immupharma will concentrate on Lupus treatment Lupuzor and it is talking to potential corporate partners.
India-focused online fashion retail investment company Koovs (KOOV) has agreed a £10.5m cash injection at 15p a share by a subsidiary of Indian retailer Future Group.
Bidstack (BIDS) is raising £5m at 12.5p a share. This will finance the growth of the in-game advertising business. Bidstack reversed into Kin Group nine months ago and that that time raised cash at 6p a share.
Trading in contract research organisation Venn Life Sciences (VENN) shares is suspended ahead of the reverse takeover of Open Orphan DAC for £5.7m in shares. The strategy is to gain approval for and provide orphan drugs for the European market. Cash will be raised to fund the new strategy.
Keystone Law (KEYS) increased full year revenues from £31.6m to £42.7m and pre-flotation costs profit jumped from £2.54m to £4.75m. This year’s profit forecast had already been upgraded at the time of the trading statement and the figure is maintained at £5.6m. This year’s dividend is set to rise from 9p a share to 10.3p a share. The cash pile is expected to rise from £6.3m to £7m.
N+1 Singer has upgraded its profit forecasts for Cambria Automobiles (CAMB) following its interims. The pre-tax profit forecast for the year to August 2019 has been increased by 13% to £11m, up from £9.8m last year and not far off the figure for 2016-17. Capital investment is peaking and net debt is expected to rise to £9.1m by the end of August 2019. NAV is set to rise to 68p a share.
Vertu Motors (VTU) reported strong full year figures with growth in used cars and aftersales offsetting the downturn in new car sales. Pre-tax profit of £23.7m was higher than forecast but lower than the £28.6m reported for the previous year. Cash generation is also better than expected. This year’s forecast has been trimmed to £25.7m. The share price remains below its NAV of 44.9p a share.
Osirium Technologies (OSI) is considering raising additional funds in order to fully exploit its new product. Opus is a cyber security product for IT process automation. Additional business development managers and distribution partners have been taken on and additional cash would enable further geographic expansion. Osirium is good at retaining clients and Opus provides an additional product to sell to them.
Packaging manufacturer Robinson (RBN) has increased its revenues by 15% in the first four months of the year and most of that is due to higher volumes. This means that it is well on its way to growing full year revenues from £32.8m to £36.1m even though second quarter revenues may be lower due to destocking. Further capital spending has been funded by cash from operations.
MAIN MARKET
Ingredients supplier Treatt (TET) increased interim revenues by 6% to £56.6m and pre-tax profit was 7% higher at £6.2m. Additional shares in issue mean that earnings per share were slightly lower. The core citrus business revenues fell slightly but other areas grew. Net cash was £9.4m at the end of March 2019. This will be spent on the relocation of UK operations and there will be net debt by the end of September 2019.
Air Partner (AIR) slipped out its figures for the year to January 2019 well after the market closed on Thursday. Even so, there was a positive share price reaction and there were no real disappointments. Underlying pre-tax profit was flat at £5.8m. The total dividend was edged up to 5.6p a share.
Macfarlane (MACF) has acquired protective packaging distributor Ecopac for £3.9m. A pre-tax profit of £500,000 was generated in 2017-18. Macfarlane will provide additional products for Ecopac to distribute.
Argo Blockchain (ARB) will hold the requisitioned general meeting on 16 May. Frank Timis is hoping to change the strategy of the company and conserve the cash pile for other uses. He wants Jonathan Bixby and Mike Edwards removed from the board. Argo expected to generate £220,000 in cryptoassets in April, which is similar to cash operating costs. These costs are expected to rise to £300,000 in May but the month should still be cash neutral.
Cardiff Property (CDFF) increased its NAV from 21.78p a share to 21.84p a share in the six months to March 2019. The interim dividend has been raised by 5% to 4.6p a share. Activity in the Thames Valley area has slowed in the first half.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 28 January 2019
NEX EXCHANGE
Full year figures from AFH Financial Group (AFHP) show how successful its acquisition strategy is with revenues 51% higher at £50.7m and pre-tax profit that nearly doubled to £6m. Despite the additional shares issued to part-finance these acquisitions, underlying earnings per share were one-third higher. The dividend is 50% higher at 6p a share. Acquisitions have continued since the year end. Management believes that it can double funds under management to £10bn in three to five years.
Startup Giants (SUG) has commenced a programme to raise up to £3m. There will be an initial share placing to raise £200,000. The company has launched its 2019 accelerator round for pre-seed capital tech entrepreneurs. Funding of up to £100,000 can be received by successful applications.
KR1 (KR1) has invested $200,000 in Rlay, a data collaboration framework for crowdsourcing. KR1 will receive an undetermined number of discounted tokens. This will be a discount to the lowest price paid by any investor in the tokens. KR1 has spent £50,000 in 50,000 Nash tokens. These are the first tokens issued out of Liechtenstein.
MiLOC Group Ltd (ML.P) has signed a deal with Master Kingdom Ltd in order to create a range of body care and body wash products, which will be sold under the Artist’s brand name.
MetalNRG (MNRG) says that the Kyrgyzstan authorities have granted the application for a mining licence for the company’s uranium project in the country. The in-situ value of the uranium reserves is $253m and there is potential exploration upside.
Johnny Martin Smith is joining the board of VI Mining (VIM) and trading in the shares has resumed. Smith is a former mining analyst.
NQ Minerals (NQMI) has raised a further £142,000 at 11p a share. Bryan Smart has resigned from the board.
BWA Group (BWAP) had nearly £45,000 left in the bank at the end of October 2018. Elections have delayed progress with the potential licence acquisitions for rutile sands deposits in Cameroon. Investee company Prego International is moving from Guernsey to Norway and it may merge with another business.
Milamber Ventures (MLVP) is seeking a replacement for First Sentinel Corporate Finance as its corporate adviser.
AIM
Mporium (MPM) has signed a partnership deal with claims management firm Allay, which will use the company’s technology to generate leads for its business. Allay will be issued a 25% stake in Mporium in return for the revenuesthat will be generated, which could be worth millions of pounds. The stake could be increased to 29.9% if Mporium is successful in winning leads for Allay.
Mastercard has launched a rival bid for Earthport (EPO) and Visa is considering its position. The new bid is 33p a share and this values the company at £233m. That is a 10% premium to the Visa bid.
Aquaculture business Benchmark (BMK) has expanded its production capacity and is launching new products. Revenues were 8% higher at £151.5m and it would have been higher at constant exchange rates. It made an underlying pre-tax profit of £5.6m last year, up from £4.7m, and that could nearly double this year. Net debt was £55.7m.
Sureserve (SUR) has been restructured and non-core businesses sold. This enables it to concentrate on compliance and energy support services. Full year revenues from the continuing operations were 5% higher at £191m and underlying pre-tax profit improved from £5.4m to £6.6m. This was better than expected and net debt was £11.4m. The dividend has been halved to 0.25p a share.
K3 Capital (K3C) was expected to report lower figures in the first half due to the timing of larger corporate finance deals and the mergers and acquisitions achieved interim revenues 4% lower at £7.2m and an even larger decline in profit. The second half should be better and revenues could be slightly higher than last year at £16.6m, but full year pre-tax profit is forecast to fall from £7.3m to £7m.
Wynnstay Group (WYN) reported record full year results. The higher milk price has led to increased demand for dairy feed. Revenues grew from £390.7m to £462.7m and pre-tax profit moved from £7.9m to £9.5m. The agriculture and retail divisions both improved their profit and the latter added additional sites in the second half that were not profitable in the period. There was the normal second half cash inflow but it was not as great as in the past, so net debt was nearly £1m. The dividend has been raised 6% to 13.4p a share.
InfraStrata (INFA) has raised £1.5m at 1.2p a share. This will boost its balance sheet while it negotiates with investors in the Islandmagee gas storage project. One equity investor has appointed advisers to do due diligence work. The project will continue to progress as these negotiations continue and the cash will make sure that progress is made while the final funding package is secured.
Lighthouse Group (LGT) has secured a deal to transfer the members and assets of its pension trust to Smart Pensions Ltd. The IFA will protect itself from the rising cost of the administration and capital requirements of pension trusts.
Audioboom (BOOM) grew last year’s revenues by 92% to $11.7m, although this was a 13 month period, and it says that there was no cash outflow from operations in the final three months. That meant that there was $1.6m in the bank at the end of 2018.
Robinson (RBN) traded in line with expectations last year. The packaging manufacturer expects revenues of £32.8m, which is a 10% improvement. The fastest growth was in Poland. Even so, pre-tax profit will be lower, but it should bounce back in 2019.
A large localisation project has been cancelled and this will hamper the progress of Zoo Digital (ZOO) in the second half of its financial year. The legacy DVD business is also declining faster than anticipated. This means that ZOO will not be profitable in the year to March 2019.
Velocity Composites (VEL) increased its full year revenues by 15% to £24.5m, and there was a small loss, but business wins are slower than previously hoped. Revenues could be flat this year.
Another upgrade for audio visual products distributor Midwich Group (MIDW) following its latest trading statement. Pre-tax profit is expected to rise from £24.3m to £29.1m and then a further increase to £31.7m in 2019.
MAIN MARKET
Robin Boyle has failed to get back on the board of Athelney Trust (ATY) but he was successful in removing the existing directors. David Lawman and Paul Coffin were appointed although the latter resigned at the end of the week and he was replaced by Frank Ashton. The proposed tender offer and placing was also passed.
Dev Clever Holdings (DEV) is the latest company to float on the standard list. A share issue has raised £898,000 at 1p a share, including £220,000 due to the conversion of debt. The software development company was valued at £3.73m. The share price ended the week a 7.75p.
Nanoco (NANO) has signed a contract extension with a US company and this lasts until the end of 2019. This underpins the current year forecast.
Ross Group (RGP) has issued the final 21.3 million shares for the acquisition of Archipelago Aquaculture, which plans to start producing Chitin to help to produce quality shrimp. The deal was announced last September, and 17.9 million shares were issued at 1p a share. Global Blue Technologies Inc owns 19.9% of Ross.
Interim figures from Haynes Publishing (HYNS) show a 23% increase in underlying pre-tax profit to £1.6m on a 7% rise in revenues to £18.3m. Digital revenues were 23% higher at £9.7m. The growth in revenues and profit was in the UK and Europe. The interim dividend is unchanged at 3.5p a share. Net cash was £2.6m.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 10 December 2018
NEX EXCHANGE
TechFinancials Inc (TECH) is developing a blockchain-based sports ticketing business with Footies Tech Ltd. The new company will licence blockchain technology from TechFinancials, which will have a 75% stake in the company. TechFinancials will provide up to $500,000 to the company and this commitment is dependent on a client signing up within three months. The idea is to make the sports club take control of the initial sale and any secondary ticket transactions. Former Liverpool FC chairman Ian Ayre will be chairman of the new company.
Eight Capital Partners (ECP) has invested £60,000 in Pelican House (PHM) at 0.45p a share. Eight Capital will be issued 13.33 million warrants exercisable at 0.45p a share. Eight Capital is appointing John Treacy to the board of Pelican, which is changing its investment strategy from natural resources to sports and leisure.
Crossword Cybersecurity (CCS) has raised £2m at 290p a share and it will move to AIM on 14 December. The share price peaked at 430p in March. Crossword is valued at £13.6m at the placing price. Hargreave Hale AIM VCT has taken a 7.37% stake.
Early Equity (EEQP) is assessing additional investments that fit its strategy. There was £437,000 of cash in the balance sheet at the end of August 2018. The main investment is a 47.1% stake in healthcare products distributor Yicom Global.
Miton has increased its stake in Wheelsure Holdings (WHLP) from 15.5% to 17.8%. DXS International (DXSP) chief executive David Immelman has bought 20,002 shares at 9.9p each, taking his stake to 10.45%.
Welney (WENP) is considering a couple of proposals that can enable the company to move ahead. The loan note holders have agreed not to call in the loans for at least another 12 months. Net liabilities were £268,000 at the end of June 2018.
Block Commodities (BLCC) has launched the Farmer 3.0 (described as an integrated agri-business ecosystem) pilot project, which covers up to 1,000 Ugandan farmers. The plan is to expand the service to up 50,000 farmers.
AIM
Plastics Capital (PLA) has still to see the benefits of its investment in capacity and winning new business. In the six months to September 2018, revenues improved 11% to £40.6m and underlying pre-tax profit recovered from £1.2m to £2.1m. Net debt was £15.7m at the end of September 2018 to £14.5m by March 2019. Cenkos forecasts a 2018-19 profit of £5m, rising to £5.4m next year.
Broker finnCap (FCAP) joined AIM and completed the acquisition of Cavendish Corporate Finance last week. finnCap raised £3.75m at 28p a share.
The People’s Operator (TPOP) has the chance to receive an investment from the owner of LycaMobile. A share capital reorganisation is required before any shares can be issued. Every 2,000 shares will be consolidated into one share. An investment of £1.3m will be in shares (29.9%) and convertible loan notes – convertible at 10p a share.
Evgen Pharam (EVG) says that the final patient in the STEM:SFX-01 trial for metastatic breast cancer will take her last dose by the end of 2018. The final readout for the trial should be in March.
Ceres Power (CWR) has finalised its collaboration with Weichai Power. They will create a fuel cell manufacturing joint venture in China and technology will be licenced to the new venture, which could generate up to £30m in payments. There is also a £9m joint development agreement for range extenders for electric buses. Weichai will invest £28m at 164.5p a share.
Hagai Tal has resigned as chief executive of Taptica International Ltd (TAP) after he was criticised about his actions at a previous company. Rivi Bloch takes over as interim chief executive. The business appears to be changing with revenues not up to expectations but margins improving.
Panther Securities (PNS) is paying a special dividend of 15p a share after what it calls the best year it has experienced. Next year at least 12p a share will be paid.
Woodford has says that it will subscribe £8m in a fundraising for eve Sleep (EVE) and Channel 4 says that it will invest £900,000. Chairman Paul Pindar will invest £1m. Discussions continue with other investors in order to raise the £15m required.
Vianet (VNET) is growing its smart machines operations and it was responsible for the growth in revenues in the first half. The pubs market remains tough and smart zones revenues dipped, but there is the prospect of a large order in the US. Full year profit is expected to improve from £2.7m to £3m. The interim dividend is maintained and the total dividend for the year should be unchanged at 5.7p a share.
Versarien (VRS) has signed a supply agreement to supply a new graphene enhanced polymer range to AECOM. Interim revenues were 19% higher at £5.22m. There was cash of £6.07m at the end of September 2018. There was a £1.1m cash outflow in the six month period.
Omega Diagnostics (ODX) continues to lose money and net debt was £700,000 at the end of September 2018. The £2m overdraft facility should provide enough finance for the company’s needs. The commercialisation of Visitect CD4 is important to long-term progress for the company. CE marking for advance disease should be awarded soon. The timing of approvals and therefore revenues is difficult to predict.
Pebble Beach Systems (PEB) has resolved its dispute with xG Technology Inc over the disposal of its hardware business. No further liabilities are due by either party and the forecast cash balances for Pebble Beach will not be materially different.
Rose Petroleum (ROSE) has agreed an operational plan with the Utah authorities for its acreage in the Paradox Basin and this includes recently acquired acreage. A suitable drilling rig should be available in the first quarter of 2019. The plan is to secure funding for the drilling programme.
Zinc Media Group (ZIN) has appointed Mark Browning, who is currently boss of ITN Productions, as chief executive and he will start in the first half of 2019. He replaces former finance director David Galan, who became full-time chief executive in February.
Adam Formela has stepped down as chief executive of packaging manufacturer Robinson (RBN). Martin McGee has become interim chief executive.
Trading in the shares of MySQUAR (MYSQ) will end on 10 December. Additional cash is required and a sale of assets to a NEX-quoted company in return for shares could happen. The investigation of past financial transactions continues.
Fishing tackle retailer Fishing Republic (FISH) has appointed administrators.
MAIN MARKET
Cryptocurrency mining services provider Argo Blockchain (ARB) estimates that its current annualised revenues are $6.2m (£4.8m). Trading is ahead of expectations. Net cash was £15m at the end of November 2018.
Sand U (SUS) says trading is in line with expectations. There has been a reduction in demand for finance for used cars. This means that the loan portfolio is growing more slowly than expected.
Standard list shell Spinnaker Opportunities (SOP) is evaluating opportunities in the cannabis market.
Andrew Hore
Ian Pollard: Grafton Group #GFTU Increases Interim Dividend By 14%
Grafton Group plc GFTU has produced a strong performance for the half year to the 30th June with all segments reporting double digit growth in profitability and excellent organic growth in key markets. Statutory profit before tax and basic earnings per share both rose by 18% after a 9% rise in revenue and the interim dividend is to be increased by 14% to 6p. per share.
Empresaria Group EMR saw profit before tax rise by 12% on a constant currency basis in the half year to the 30th June as it continued to deliver on its diversification strategy which produced first half organic profit growth. Revenue grew by 5% on a constant currency basis. After regulatory change in two of its main markets, Germany and Japan, both are expected to return to profitability.
Cloudbuy plc CBUY claims to be making progress in reducing losses and cash burn despite a further 21% fall in revenue in the six months to the 30th June. The operating loss for the half year fell by 39%.
Robinson plc RBN First half revenue rose by 15% and underlying volume was up by 9% for the half year to the 30th June. The volume increase came from improved trading with existing customers and new business obtained in Poland and the UK following investment in strengthened commercial teams. With revenue showing some signs of momentum, further growth is expected in the second half and the interim dividend is to be maintained at 2.5p per share.
Paragon Entertainment Ltd. PEL had already warned it had suffered a very poor half year to the 30th June but the order book has started to recover and management claims it is committed to making a substantial recovery in the second half of the year. First half revenue collapsed by 50% and basic earnings per share fell from a positive 0.18p to a negative 1.07p per share.Last years underlying first half profit of £448,000 was turned into a loss of over £2m.
Beachfront villas & houses for sale in Greece; http://www.hiddengreece.net
Quoted Micro 28 August 2017
NEX EXCHANGE
Good Energy (GOOD) and Ecotricity have come to an agreement that means the latter has withdrawn its requisition of a general meeting. No details were released about the reasons behind the withdrawal.
Cadence Minerals (KDNC) is in talks to sell part of its 16.1% stake in AIM-quoted Bacanora Minerals (BCN) to a strategic investor group. Bacanora’s main interest is in the Sonora lithium project in Mexico.
Blockchain investment company Coinsilium Group Ltd (COIN) has formed a Gibraltar-based subsidiary called Terrastream Ltd, which plans to develop blockchain platform for a token-based alternative funding system. Gibraltar is expected to be the first jurisdiction to develop a regulatory framework for distributed ledger technology and the blockchain. A token sale will help to finance the development work. The initial focus is likely to be the resources sector.
MetalNRG (MNRG) has added additional ground to its licence in Australia. The new area will be called Palomino North.
All Star Minerals (ASMO) has extended the terms of the convertible loan note issued to Valiant Investments have been extended so it matures in May 2018. The annual interest charge is 20% and the conversion price is 0.1p a share. The maturity dates of other loan notes totalling £110,000 have been extended to January 2018. The interest rate and conversion price are the same. Shares have been issued to satisfy past liabilities on these loan notes.
AIM
Warehouse REIT has issued the AIM prospectus for its placing, offer for subscription and intermediaries offer to raise up to £150m. An existing portfolio of warehouse assets will be acquired for £108.9m, based on a 7% net initial yield, and there are other potential assets being assessed. A dividend of 5.5p a share is being targeted for the year to March 2019.
Utilitywise (UTW) has confirmed that trading last year was in line with expectations so pre-tax profit is likely to decline from £8.2m to £4.7m.
Palace Capital (PCA) has sold a Bristol property for £2.25m, which is its net asset value, following the loss of one of its tenants, Blafour Beatty. The property was acquired as part of a portfolio from Quintain in 2013.
Scientific Digital Imaging (SDI) is acquiring Applied Thermal Control, a manufacturer of chillers, coolers and heat exchangers, for up to £1.2m.
Management Resource Solutions (MRS) says that its chief executive Joe Clayton has left the company. He was appointed chief executive at the end of 2016. In the year to June 2017, MRS generated revenues of A$52.2m and the loss for the year will be higher than expected. Exceptional costs will also be higher than thought initially. MRS had cash of A$2m.
Gatemore Capital has increased its stake in DX (DX.) from 21.3% to 23.8% following the resumption of trading in the shares.
Redx Pharma (REDX) will be paying unsecured creditors in full. The process has begun but it will take some time. This brings the reintroduction of trading in the shares nearer.
Home improvements products provider entu (UK) (ENTU) is appointing an administrator because it has not agreed a refinancing with a potential financial backer. The trading businesses will be sold. Trading in the shares was suspended on 24 August. entu raised £32.8m when it joined AIM in October 2014.
Kin Group (KIN) has been unable to secure the funding it requires and an administrator has been appointed to the main subsidiary. Kin Group will not get anything from a sale of the subsidiary and it will become a shell. There will still be a requirement for a fundraising for the shell to be viable.
365 Agile (365) has left AIM because it has been unable to secure a reverse takeover. Potential acquisitions are still being assessed.
Mercantile Ports and Logistics Ltd (MPL) has signed up the first customer for its Mumbai port facility. This should generate £4.7m for each one million tonnes handled, with the payment raised by 7% a year. Two million tonnes of cargo have been contracted for the first year, with a guaranteed minimum of 750,000 tonnes, and the figure will rise for each of the next two years reaching three million tonnes in the third year, with a minimum of two million tonnes. Operations should commence in December. The share price rose by two-thirds to 8.13p.
Sula Iron & Gold (SULA) has raised £900,000 at 0.146p a share but £500,000 of this figure will be part of an equity sharing agreement. Sula is gambling that it will receive £500,000 or more as part of the equity sharing agreement and this will paid on a monthly basis until September 2018. The benchmark price is 0.161p a share so each month the share price has to be at least that level for Sula to at least receive that amount owed. The board members have agreed to halve their salaries.
Verditek (VDTK) has secured a deal that will mean that 51%-owned Greenflex Energy will provide its solar technology to power digital advertising boards in bus shelters in Italy. This is a trial contract won via competitive tender and starting with one bus shelter and then rolling out to a further 20. The customer is Media One, which operates more than 5,000 digital advertising boards.
Finsbury Food (FIF) is closing the loss-making pastry products maker Grain D’Or,which has failed to improve despite cost controls. Grain D’Or was acquired as part of the £56m Fletchers acquisition in 2014 and last year generated revenues of £28.5m.
Church & Dwight has terminated its CSD500 condom licensing deal with Futura Medical (FUM) after just over four years. The licence covered North America and part of Europe. The rights will be returned to Futura by November. New partners will be sought.
Green & Smart Holdings (GSH) says that biogas project development is on track and the company could pay a maiden dividend for the 2017-18 financial year.
Investment in the business has held back first half progress at packaging manufacturer Robinson (RBN) and underlying pre-tax profit fell from £580,000 to £364,000. It was also difficult to pass on plastic resin cost increases. Full year profit is forecast to fall from £2.2m to £1.2m.
Bushveld Minerals Ltd (BMN) has retired its $3m prepayment facility, which was used to buy part of its 78.8% stake in Strategic Minerals Corporation, with Wogen Resources. Vametco Alloys has increased its facility from $6m to $11m. Vametco’s Nitrovan vanadium will be marketed by Wogen around the world outside of Japan and Taiwan.
Filta Group Holdings (FLTA) is acquire drain services provider Grease Management for up to £1.11m. Annual revenues are £1.28m and three-quarters are recurring. Post-acquisition cost savings of around £100,000 could nearly double the profit contribution.
Cancer drug developer Sareum (SAR) says that its full year profit will be better than expected. The cash pile will also be higher than forecast.
Sphere Medical Holdings (SPHR) is ditching its AIM quotation as part of a funding deal with Woodford Investment Management and the Wales Life Sciences Investment Fund, which will invest £5m in convertible preferred shares. Other investors will invest up to £3m. The convertibles will be issued at 2.82p each and can be swapped for one ordinary share. Sphere will be re-registered as a private limited company, which makes it possible for Woodford to invest more.
MAIN MARKET
Nanoco Group (NANO) is attracting interest in its cadmium-free quantum dots following the EU’s plans to ban cadmium in displays from October 2019. However, revenues are slower in coming through than hoped.
Photovoltaic silicon wafers supplier PV Crystalox Solar (PVCS) still had net cash of €27.9m at the end of June 2017. Running down inventories has offset the loss of €5.4m. A decision should be made by the arbitration tribunal concerning a customer that did not purchase the wafers it was contracted to buy by the end of September.
Packaging company Macfarlane Group (MACF) increased its revenues from £81.5m to £89.8m, while pre-tax profit jumped from £2m to £2.54m with the improvement coming from the distribution business. Net debt was £14.6m at the end of June 2017, while the pension fund deficit was cut from £14.5m to £13.4m. The interim dividend was increased from 0.55p a share to 0.6p a share.
Following the ending of bid talks for Quarto (QRT), Liontrust has cut its stake from 12.65% to 7.54%. Cavendish Asset Management has taken its stake to 5.18%, while two directors have also made small purchases.
Shares in standard list hostels operator Myanmar Strategic (SHWE) started trading on 22 August. The placing price was $10 and the shares are trading at $9.5m – a bid/offer price of $7/$12.
Standard list shell Boston International (BIH) is in talks to acquire Cornhill FX Holdings. This is part of the strategy to acquire operations in the foreign exchange sector. Legal and financial due diligence is being undertaken. Cornhill Capital is Boston’s broker.
Andrew Hore