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Andrew Hore Quoted Micro 2 December 2019
NEX EXCHANGE
Coinsilium (COIN) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Devmons to set up a joint venture using Coinsilium’s existing Gibraltar subsidiary TerraStream. The company will offer blockchain software and systems development. Devmons supplies the technology development expertise. More details will be published when the agreement is signed, and it is hoped that operations will commence in the first quarter of 2020. The new venture should not need significant funds, due to advanced payments being requested when any contract is won.
Gunsynd (GUN) has entered an agreement to sell its stake in Oyster Oil and Gas to Sajawin Pty Ltd. There will be a payment of £20,000 after the signing of the term sheet and a further £240,000 to be paid in two tranches, the second of which will be payable 60 days after completion. Sajawin still has to complete due diligence and raise at least A$1.5m when it reverses into an ASX shell. Gunsynd will subscribe for A$200,000 of shares. The deal can be terminated if the conditions are not met by the end of April. Production sharing contracts for four blocks in Djibouti are not included in the transaction. George Garnett has resigned as a non- executive director of Gunsynd.
Sativa Group (SATI) is exploring the possibility of an AIM quotation. It has appointed Cenkos Securities as adviser. Management hopes that the move could happen early next year. The first batch of seedlings is being prepared for a move to the cultivation room with the first extract of medicinal cannabis set to be delivered to King’s College London before the end of 2019. That will be used in research on inflammation and respiratory conditions. Crops take 12 weeks to grow.
NQ Minerals (NQMI) says that production at the Hellyer gold mine in Tasmania is ahead of expectations, but there is room for improvement in 2020. NQ has made an additional investment of £150,000 in Tasmania Energy Metals in the form of a three-year convertible loan. NQ has an option to acquire the exploration licences and minerals processing facility that is being developed. The Barnes Hill nickel project mineral resource estimate has increased to 14.3 million tonnes grading 0.725 nickel and 0.05% cobalt.
Southern Africa-based social impact company Inqo Investments Ltd (INQO) increased its interim revenues but also made a higher loss. The Kazuko Lodge was hampered by the water shortage in the Cape Town area, but the weak Rand is boosting demand for holidays from Americans. There was an increase in honey produced by Bee Sweet Honey in Zambia. Cash in the bank improved from R12.3m to R21.2m. following a further cash injection by existing shareholders. The NAV was R179m at the end of August 2019.
AfriAg Global (AFRI) has completed the sale of its African operations. The share consolidation was completed on 29 November.
Dana Group International Investments Ltd (DANA) says that its NAV fell from $51.9m to $7.03m in the 12 months to June 2019. There was a small profit for the year and the decline in NAV came from write-downs. Trading has ended in London Capital Group Holdings and Queros Capital Partners 8% bonds 2025.
AIM
Sustainable wood products supplier Accsys Technologies (AXS) is raising €46.3m in order to fund the completion of the Tricoya plant in Hull and the fourth Accoya reactor in Arnhem. It will also finance the evaluation of an Accoya plant in the US. The cash will be raised at €1.05 a share via a placing and a one-for-seven open offer. The Hull plant could be operational in the second half of 2020.
STM Group (STM) warns that the rebranding of its UK pensions business has been delayed as it awaits regulatory approval to operate as a Master Trust for auto-enrolment. New pension applications have been lower than expected. The 2019 underlying pre-tax profit is forecast at £2.5m. Next year’s indemnity insurance payment will cost an additional £500,000.
Wilmcote Holdings (WCH) is raising up to £6.5m via a 31.199996 for one open offer at 1p a share in order to replenish its coffers while it seeks a suitable acquisition in the chemicals and other sectors. There was £7.5m in cash at the end of June 2019. Wilmcote will look at smaller acquisitions than in the past.
Online fashion retailer Sosandar (SOS) increased interim revenues by 53% to £2.82m with growth accelerating in the second quarter to September 2019. October revenues were more than £1m. Sosandar is still loss-making, but it could move into profit in 2020-21. The customer database has been significantly increased.
Parcel delivery firm DX (DX.) says its recovery continues to be on track. It expects to return to profit this year.
Cyber security services provider Shearwater Group (SWG) generated organic revenue growth of 11% in the first half. Overall revenues grew 262% to £16.3m. New managed service contracts provide revenue visibility. There was £1.68m in the bank at the end of September 2019.
A £5m fundraising at 0.15p a share will help Union Jack Oil (UJO) to finance the drilling of two appraisal wells at West Newton, where it has a 16.665% interest. There will also be a side-track well drilled at Biscathorpe.
There will be a second half shortfall in revenues at Malvern International (MLVN) with little improvement on the same period last year. Delays in approving overseas students, plus poor trading in London and Malaysia. WH Ireland has withdrawn forecasts. Cutting out Malaysian losses could enable Malvern to make a profit in 2020.
CAP-XX (CPX) is acquiring supercapacitor manufacturing assets from Murata, which a licensee of CAP-XX IP. This will boost manufacturing capacity and should improve profit. CAP-XX has raised £2.75m and an open offer could raise up to £750,000 more.
Live data systems company WANdisco (WAND) is raising $16.5m at 425p a share, which was a premium of 23% to the previous closing price. This will provide additional working capital. An existing customer has extended its relationship with WANdisco and the contract is worth $500,000.
MAIN MARKET
Interim figures from Associated British Engineering (ASBE) show improved revenues and a lower loss. That is mainly down to a better performance by British Polar Engines. The business has been rationalised and surplus space will generate revenues in the fourth quarter. The pension deficit remains a concern.
Flavourings supplier Treatt (TET) reported flat full year revenues of £112.7m, but a 5% improvement in underlying pre-tax profit to £13.3m. There was a 10% decline in citrus revenues, which was made up for by growth elsewhere. The dividend was raised from 5.1p a share to 5.5p a share. There will be increased US capacity next year.
Nuformix (NFX) is raising £1.25m at 7p a share in order to provide funds while it negotiates deals in Asia and North America for NXP002, which is focused on the treatment for human idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. There will also be additional money spent on two other treatment programmes.
Highway Capital (HWC) had net liabilities of £908,000 at the end of August 2019. It continues to seek a suitable acquisition.
Blake Holdings is making a mandatory cash offer for Hardy Oil and Gas (HDY) having taken its stake to 42.27%. The 5p a share offer values Hardy at £3.7m.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 4 November 2019
NEX EXCHANGE
Chapel Down Group (CDGP) has managed to generate 92% of 2018’s record harvest in volume terms for the company’s wines. This was achieved even though the weather was not as good this summer. Some vineyards produced their first crop and are still maturing.
Belvedere Leisure Resorts plans to gain a quotation on the NEX Growth Market for its bonds on 22 November. The company is a subsidiary of Belvedere Leisure Park, which owns a site in Dumfries & Galloway with planning permission for a lodge park resort of 444 holiday lodges. The park will be built by Landal GreenParks. The bonds will offer a coupon 6.25%. An initial £10m of bonds will be admitted with a maximum of £25m expected to be raised.
First Sentinel (FSEN) is seeking shareholder approval to issue Green Finance preference shares, which would be quoted on NEX. The cash raised will be invested in the renewable energy sector. A general meeting will be held on 18 November. Warrants have been exercised at 10p a share and this has raised £400,000 for First Sentinel.
Mechanical and electrical design and installation company Field Systems Design Holding (FSD) reported a decline in revenues from £25.9m to £21.8m in the year to May 2019. Higher gross margins meant that the decline in the pre-tax profit was limited and it fell from £625,000 to £553,000. Water generated four-fifths of revenues, up from 48% the previous year. There are no solid spending forecasts, as yet, for the latest water capital investment period for between 2020 and 2025. This causes some medium-term uncertainty. The order book is worth £8.2m, compared with £12m one year earlier. There is a pension surplus.
KR1 (KR1) has made three more investments in blockchain-related tokens. A $100,000 cash investment and payment for advisory expertise will earn 1.017% of Vega tokens issued. Vega is developing a decentralised and censorship-resistant blockchain trading platform. A further $266,220 has been invested in Edgeware smart-contract platform tokens and they will be locked up for 12 months. KR1 will receive 1,000 Ether and this will translate into 3.8 million Edgeware tokens. KR1 has spent $50,000 on a minimum stake of 0.625% in Commonwealth Labs, which is helping to market the Edgeware platform.
Allenby Capital has published a research note on cannabis products supplier Sativa Investments (SATI) and it forecasts revenues of £1.64m in 2019 and £5.15m next year. This will not be enough to make Sativa profitable. Allenby believes that it may have to raise £6m next year to cover its cash outflows and maintain net cash. Sativa has changed the brand name from George Botanicals to Goodbody Botanicals.
Imperial X (IMPP) has raised £347,000 at 2.5p a share. This represents 27.3% of the enlarged share capital.
NQ Minerals (NQMI) increased lead concentrate production at the Hellyer mine from 5,452 tonnes in the second quarter to 6,656 tonnes in the third quarter, but zinc and pyrite concentrate production declined. However, recovery levels have improved for both lead and zinc.
BWA Group (BWAP) intends to sell its investments in Prepaid Card Services and a mining project in Cameroon. They are in the balance sheet at a value of £608,000. The focus will be gold explorer Kings of the North. St-Georges Eco-Mining is converting £300,000 of the £2.45m of convertible loan notes at 0.5p a share. This is equivalent to 23.75% of the enlarged share capital. The loan notes were issued to acquired Kings of the North Corp. BWA is still waiting for £88,000 of the £100,000 of convertibles issued for cash.
Black Sea Property (BSP) has published its 2018 accounts, but it will have to publish its interims before trading in the shares recommences. Management says that it is addressing the accounting concerns of its auditor BDO. The NAV was 0.95 cents a share at the end of 2018.
Asia Wealth Group Holdings (AWLP) reported a drop in revenues from $1.24m to $797,000. This meant that the company fell into loss. There is $726,000 in the bank at the end of August 2019.
Ganapati (GANP) improved its interim revenues from £2.19m to £2.33m, but higher admin expenses meant that the reported loss more than trebled to £8.5m. The company continues to develop its online gaming platform.
TechFinancials (TECH) has completed the sale of a loss-making asset for €100,000.
Queros Capital Partners (QCP) is asking shareholders to approve the ending of the NEX quotation. The general meeting will be held on 14 November.
AIM
Duke Royalty (DUKE) has made a follow-on investment in Lynx Equity, to help the company to finance the purchase of Denmark-based steel staircases supplier Sundby Trapper. This means that Duke has exposure of £12m in Lynx and it will receive annual distributions of £1.6m.
Space management software supplier Smartspace Software (SMRT) is paying £3.2m in cash and shares for Australia-based Space Connect, a provider of cloud-based workplace management software for room booking, desk management, catering and workspace analytics. This will save up to £1.2m a year on product development over two years. The software can be rolled-out in the UK. Smartspace made an interim loss of £4m.
An investor group intends to increase its stake in Petrel Resources (PET) from 29.99% to 51% via a share issue at 1.25p each. They will offer potential oil and gas-related investments to Petrel.
Cabot Energy (CAB) has decided to ditch its AIM quotation on 3 December, but it intends to have its shares matched on Asset Match. This will have to be approved by shareholders. The Canada-focused oil and gas company wants to reduce its overheads.
RedT Energy (RED) plans to merge with Avalon Battery Corporation and combine the best features of each company’s technology. Bushveld Minerals (BMN) is providing an interim loan facility prior to the raising of £23m of new funds.
Avingtrans (AVG) is already reaping the benefits of the acquisition of Booth Industries, thanks to a £7.2m safety doors contract from the government. That means that £12m of orders have been won since the purchase in June.
Safestay (SSTY) is buying a hostel in Athens for €1.5m. The hostel has been operating since 2008 and has an 18-year lease. Safestay has also completed the purchase of the Best Western Glasgow City hotel for £3.15m and this will be transformed into a 200-bed hostel.
MAIN MARKET
Stevia producer PureCircle (PURE) has won a legal decision in its patent litigation with SweeGen, which challenged the patent. It will pursue Federal District court litigation against SweeGen. The patent is for the process of producing Reb M stevia sweetener via bioconversion. The shares remain suspended because it has not published the results for the year to June 2019.
Meditor is considering a 5p a share offer for carpets retailer Carpetright (CPR) and without this offer thee would need to be a refinancing of £80m of debt and additional working capital.
Motor dealer Lookers (LOOK) has warned that its 2019 figures will be even worse than previously thought and chief executive Andy Bruce and chief operating officer Nigel McMinn have left the board. The pre-tax forecast has been cut from £38.7m to £15.5m, compared with £53.9m in 2018. Third quarter new car unit sales fell by 3.2% (on a like-for-like basis), compared with the market decline of 0.6%.
InnovaDerma (IDP) is launching a new topical product in Superdrug before the end of June. The full details will be announced nearer the launch.
The chairman and chief executive of Rainbow Rare Earths (RBW) have acquired 5.46 million shares at 3p each and they have a combined shareholding of 27.5%. Further cost reductions have been identified for the Gakara project in Burundi. A further 100 tonnes of rare earth oxides concentrate were shipped in October. Production levels will fall in the short-term as the production focus moves to a mechanised operation.
Cryptominer Argo Blockchain (ARB) has doubled its mining equipment order and changed the machines it is buying. The cost has been reduced from $13.1m to $9.51m. The machines are more efficient. The current machine orders will increase capacity by 240%.
Resources cash shell Mila Resources (MILA) is still seeking a deal. There was £429,000 in cash at the end of June 2019. Another shell, Bermele (BERM), is also still seeking a deal. It had £682,000 in cash at the end of July 2019.
Blencowe Resources (BRES) is acquiring the Orom graphite project in Uganda for £2m in shares at 6p each. This is subject to a fundraising.
Iconic Labs (ICON) slipped out its results for the 18 months to June 2019 at 6.28pm on 31 October. They show a £6.12m loss, of which, £308,000 was from continuing operations. Net liabilities were £1.67m.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore Quoted Micro 21 October 2019
NEX EXCHANGEThird quarter trading at Arbuthnot Banking (ARBB) shows a one-third increase in loans to £1.6bn, while deposits are 17% ahead at £2bn. Impairments are rising, though. The private bank is adding 40 new clients each month.
Although Vox Markets has called off merger discussions with PCG Entertainment (PCGE) the latter’s shareholders will have preferential rights to participate in the flotation of Vox. Shareholders have to be on the register on 11 October to benefit. PCG has released any claims it may have against Vox, although Vox has the right to sue Align Research, the third party in the merger plans. PCG says nothing negative was found about Align in due diligence. First Sentinel has resigned as corporate adviser to PCG and trading in the shares has been suspended.
Good Energy (GOOD) has launched One Point to offer electric vehicle charging. The company has also been awarded he green classification and mark.
The Home Office has awarded Sativa Group (SATI) a controlled drug licence to grow medicinal cannabis. This covers cannabis with a THC content of greater than 0.2%. Sativa already has a low-THC industrial hemp licence.
AfriAg Global (AFRI) says that its investee company Apollon Formularies has received its third medical cannabis licence in Jamaica. This is for experimental research and development.
World Health Life (LIFE) has completed the acquisition of Love Hemp and a £2m convertible debenture fundraising. A second tranche of debentures should be issued in the next few weeks. Love Hemp has product distribution agreements with supermarkets and health food stores.
Triple Point Investment Management is providing a £20m loan facility for Rutherford Health (RUTH) and this will be drawn down in phases. The loan terms improve as patient numbers increase at the three proton beam therapy centres.
Tectonic Gold (TTAU) has received the first quarterly interest payment from Silverstream. The 12-month note matures in August 2020.
Primorus Investments (PRIM) will consolidate 20 shares into one new share and trading will commence on 22 October.
Secured Property Development (SPD) had £537,000 in the bank at the end of June 2019, but it is finding it difficult to find a suitable acquisition.
AIM
Immunodiagnostic Systems Holdings (IDH) is as consistent as ever. It has published a trading statement related to its interims at 4.35pm on Friday. The 2018-19 trading update was published at 4.35pm on Thursday 18 April – the last day before a long weekend. There was no particular reason to hide the latest statement. First half revenues were flat compared with a first quarter decline of 2%. Cash fell £300,000 to £28.1m over a three-month period.
Murgitroyd (MUR) is recommending a 675p a share bid from a company set up by Sovereign Capital Partners LLP. This values the patent and trademark attorney at £62.8m. Murgitroyd joined AIM 18 years ago at 121p a share and has been a consistent dividend payer.
Fully listed logistic services provider Wincanton (WIN) is considering a bid for Eddie Stobart Logistics (ESL) and DBAY Advisers is also still assessing whether to bid.
Disinfection products supplier Tristel (TSTL) plans to grow its revenues by up to 15% a year in each of the next three years. This follows an 18% increase to £26m in the year to June 2019, while pre-tax profit grew by one-fifth to £5.6m. The dividend was 21% higher at 5.54p a share. International markets account for 55% of revenues. Tristel is waiting for a response from the FDA, which should be forthcoming by the end of 2019.
Power projects developer Kibo Mining (KIBO) has raised £1.99m at 0.45p a share. This will be used to fund the development of power generation projects in Africa. The portfolio includes 1,055MW of power generation capacity with 355MW having heads of terms power purchase agreements. Each new share comes with a warrant exercisable at 0.8p a share.
Filtronic (FTC) has agreed to pay a warranty claim of $2m (£1.6m) and change a faulty component in antennas supplied in 2016-17. The fault relates to certain bandwidths in hot countries. The cash is payable in four instalments up until December 2020. On 23 October, Filtronic is set to report sales from continuing activities of £15.9m, down from £21.6m, and a small positive EBITDA. Filtronic has already received more than £10m of orders for its 5G backhaul transceivers due for delivery in 2019-20.
Woodford Investment Management has cut its stake in GYG (GYG) from 19.98% to less than 5%. That appears to have been a relief to the market because the share price of yacht painting services provider has recovered since the disposal. UBS has taken a 11.2% stake.
Kestrel Partners continues to build its stake in Pebble Beach Systems (PEB), taking its stake from 25% to 26.1%. Kestrel owns 23 million shares in Brady (BRY) and, even if it makes a loss, it will be having a cash inflow. Hanover Acquisitions is offering 10p a share for the risk management software company, which values it at £8.3m.
Construction consultancy services provider Driver (DRV) says it will report underlying pre-tax profit of £3m for the full year, after £400,000 of rationalisation costs. That represents a strong performance in the second half. Net cash was £5m at the year-end, after share buy backs.
Frontier IP (FIPP) has taken a 43% stake in Elute Intelligence Holdings, which is developing software to search complex documents and detect plagiarism. Frontier IP is providing some of its own IP to an existing business to form Elute with the rest of the stake coming from providing services to the company.
Blue Star Capital (BLU) is raising £900,000 at 0.1p a share and the cash will be equally split between six investments in esports companies.
Power transmission products manufacturer Renold (RNO) says that cost savings are offsetting a downturn in trading. It is still on track to report an underlying full year pre-tax profit improving from £10.1m to £10.4m. Order intake remains weak.
Rose Petroleum (ROSE) has announced a restructuring of the Paradox project. This will enable the oil and gas company to focus on the most prospective acreage.
MAIN MARKET
Quantum dots developer Nanoco (NANO) still has a cash buffer so that it can find a new manufacturing partner to replace the US one that has withdrawn from an agreement. There could still be net cash of £1.5m at the end of July 2020.
Zenith Energy (ZEN) is planning to raise cash at NOK0.35/share in Norway. That is equivalent to 2.95p/share, compared with a market price of 3.5p. The Azerbaijan-focused oil and gas company has a drilling rig that will be mobilised before the end of the month and well M-247 has been identified as a target. It was previously in production. Zenith has identified wells in the Muradkhani oilfield in which perforations of untapped intervals can generate additional production. This will happen in the next fortnight.
OTHER MARKETS
Former AIM company Getmapping has launched a strategic review and a formal sales process. Management of the believes that the geospatial services provider could grow faster with additional investment. A company taking a minority stake is another alternative. The process should be completed by the end of 2019. The shares are traded on the Britdaq matched bargains market.
Vienna-listed Fashion On Screen is moving into theatre by acquiring musicals producer Shaftesbury Avenue. The all-share purchase is valued at £2.5m. Fashion On Screen believes that some of the musicals could become film productions.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore Quoted Micro 2 September 2019
NEX EXCHANGE
SG Recruitment Ltd (SGRL) generated revenues of £777,000 in the 15 months to March 2019. The nursing staff provider lost £2.63m. Since the year end, more contracts have been signed with NHS hospitals, as well as with a hospital in the UAE. The staff offered to hospitals have all obtained qualifications in English and 76% end up being employed. Most of the previous debt has been converted into shares, so net debt was £91,000 at the end of March 2019.
Lombard Capital (LCAP) reported an increase in net liabilities from £234,000 to £537,000 at the end of March 2019. There were £750,000 worth of bonds issued during the period.
PCG Entertainment (PCGE) hopes that the acquisition of Vox Markets and Align Research should be closed in early October. Previous operations have been provided for in full and have been sold. There was £14,000 in the bank at the end of March 2019.
A new investor to Walls and Futures REIT (WAFR) has subscribed £100,000 for shares at 70p each, which is a one-third premium to the market price at the time. Westerby Trustee Services Ltd owns 3.8% of the company on behalf of Westerby Private Pension (R Prest).
Cadence Minerals (KDNC) says that the judicial restructuring plan for the Amapa iron ore project has been approved by the Sao Paulo commercial court. This will enable Cadence to acquire a 20% stake in Amapa. A further $3.5m investment will take the stake to 27%. Cadence plans to consolidate 100 existing shares into one new share. Shareholders will be asked to approve the proposal at the AGM on 20 September.
Paul Tuson is stepping down as finance director of Rutherford Health (RUTH) and the reappointment resolution was withdrawn from the AGM agenda.
Sativa Investments (SATI) has opened its third Goodbody CBD Wellness store in Bristol, following store openings in Bath and Cirencester. It is seeking franchisees to roll-out further stores around the country.
Panther Metals (PALM) chief executive Darren Hazelwood has acquired 18.87 million shares at 0.3p each. That takes his stake to 10.3%.
First Sentinel (FSEN) has raised £59,000 at 14p a share via a placing with D Beta One EQ Ltd.
AIM
President Energy (PPC) insists that it will continue to be profitable even though the Argentinian authorities are attempting to fix the price that producers can sell oil and the dollar exchange rate used for the price for a 90-day period. President has decided to delay its well drilling programme until the first quarter of 2020 and the focus will be gas wells. Gas sales from four wells in Estancia Vieja and Las Bases will commence production by the end of September. A new gas pipeline should be completed by the end of the year. finnCap has withdrawn its forecasts.
Order books and production volumes are ahead of last year at gift wrap and greetings products supplier IG Design (IGR) thanks to a combination of organic growth and last year’s US acquisition. IG is on course to increase pre-tax profit from £30.3m to £36m.
Online musical instruments retailer Gear4Music (G4M) says that it has taken actions that are already helping to improve gross margin.
Cambridge Cognition (COG) says sales are lower than expected. The digital neuroscience services provider says that full year revenues will fall from £6.13m to around £5.5m. The loss will be around £2.8m. First half revenues were £2.1m and the loss was £1.74m. There is a strong order book, so this augurs well for next year.
Adamas Finance Asia Ltd (ADAM) has funded the second tranche of the investment in Infinity Capital Group. The $2m is being funded equally by Adamas and a Hong Kong family office.
MAIN MARKET
Blockchain Worldwide (BLOC) intends to move to AIM if its acquisition of media-focused artificial intelligence and machine learning company Entertainment AI goes ahead.
At a general meeting, shareholders in Tex Holdings (TXH) approved the 2018 report and accounts and directors’ remuneration report, but they did not approve the reappointment of Scrutton Bland as auditors.
Argo Blockchain (ARB) is reaping the benefits of its investment in crypto mining equipment. The cost of 1,000 machines has already been recouped and Argo is on course to recoup the cost of a further 2,267 machines.
Ross Group (RGP) did not generate any revenues in the six months to June 2019 and the loss was £3.15m. Ross acquired start-up operations during the period. They will supply Chitin.
Asian consumer businesses investor Symphony International Holdings (SIHL) increased its NAV by 14% to $560.4m in the six months to June 2019.
George Bennett has become chief executive of Rainbow Rare Earths (RBW) and Martin Eales has left the board. In the year to June 2019, Rainbow sold 850 tonnes of concentrate from the Gakara project, although bad weather hampered production in the fourth quarter. Sales prices have declined.
China-focused healthcare investment company Cathay International (CTI) reported a decrease in revenues from $49.2m to $38.3m. There was a $7.9m gain on the sale of shares in Zhejiang Starry Pharmaceutical, but that was not enough to cover the operating loss and interest costs.
OTHER MARKETS
Britdaq-quoted Staminier Ltd has secured a three-year option over 13 acres of land near to the south terminal of Gatwick Airport and it wants to build a car park with 2,200 spaces. In July, Staminier acquired a majority stake in eco-friendly housebuilder Eco-Space 41 Ltd. There is a four-year option to acquire the other 49% for £750,000. The strategy is to acquire businesses at a discount to their intrinsic value. There are plans to move to a more liquid stockmarket.
Asset Match will provide a trading facility for shares of former AIM company Albert Technologies Ltd. The first auction will be during September.
US Oil and Gas (USOP) has raised $382,000 at 31p a share. This follows a fundraising in July of $577,000 at 30p a share. The cash will be spent on exploration.
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
Alan Green talks ECR Minerals #ECR, Smart Metering #SMS, Sativa Group #SATI, Feedback #FDBK & Petrel Resources #PET on Vox Markets podcast
Alan Green talks ECR Minerals #ECR, Smart Metering #SMS, Sativa Group #SATI, Feedback #FDBK & Petrel Resources #PET with Justin Waite on the Vox Markets podcast. Interview is 49 minutes and 10 seconds in.
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 1 July 2019
NEX EXCHANGE
NEX Exchange company of the year
National Milk Records (NMRP)
Dairy and livestock services provider National Milk Records has been on NEX for more than a decade. The share price has increased by more than 500% over the past decade. In the latest quarter to March 2019, revenues improved from £5.32m to £5.56m, even though the number of cows on the database had declined from 743,054 to 713,379 over a 12-month period which hit milk recording revenues. Income from specialist testing has increased. Overall, growth was not as strong as in the first six months, which benefitted from one-off income. An oversupply of milk in recent weeks has hit the milk price and this has held back spending by farmers.
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Wealth management group AFH Financial Group (AFHP) is raising up to £20m via a convertible unsecured loan stock issue. The conversion price is 420p a share, up from 360p before the issue was announced, and the interest rate is 4%. This cash will fund further acquisitions. There are five that are already in due diligence.
Health and community care properties developer and modular buildings supplier Ashley House (ASH) is not likely to achieve financial close on three projects, so it will lose money in the 14 months to June 2019. The second half will be profitable. The company should return to profit in 2019-20.
Property investor Ace Liberty and Stone (ALSP) has increased the valuation of its portfolio by 22% to £86.9m at the end of April 2019. Annualised rental income is £6.5m.
Investment company Angelfish Investments (ANGP) had cash of £1.48m, but debt was £3.35m and net liabilities of £543,000 at the end of 2018. This means that the preference dividend cannot be paid because there are no distributable reserves. The decline into net liabilities was mainly due to a £942,000 write-down on loans made to OME. Pre-revenue investments are included at cost.
PCG Entertainment (PCGE) has appointed First Sentinel as its corporate adviser. PCG has not replaced its nominated adviser so it will lose its AIM quotation. Acquisition talks continue.
First Sentinel (FSEN) has invested £75,000 in fintech company Capable Finance in return for a 50.01% stake and a £25,000 loan with an annual coupon of 15%. First Sentinel directors have participated in a £110,000 placing and they own most of the rest of the shares. First Sentinel has gained a Euronext Dublin listing for its 7.5% bonds, May 2024. Some of this cash will be invested in the activities of Capable Finance.
Shareholders in Valiant Investments have approved the change of name to Eurocann International (BUD) and the focus on medicinal cannabis. It has disposed of its investment in Flamethrower one of its own directors and raised £263,000 at 1.5p a share. Valiant had £1,289 in the bank at the end of 2018. There is still a £200,000 convertible investment in All Star Minerals (ASMO). The company has a stake in North Bud Farms Inc, which has a cannabis production facility in Quebec.
AfriAg Global (AFRI) has raised £250,000 at 0.1p a share. This ash will contribute to the £700,000 investment in Apollon Formularies. Executive chairman David Lenigas has bought 17 million shares at 0.11941p each.
Ananda Developments (ANA) has formalised the joint venture with Anglia Salads and JE Piccaver to create DJT Group. Ananda and Anglia which each own 50% of DJT, which will apply for a licence to cultivate and supply cannabis. Ananda had £141,000 in the bank at the end of January 2019.
Sativa Investments (SATI) subsidiary PhytoVista Laboratories has completed an independent blind test consumer cannabidiol products for The Centre for Medicinal Cannabis. Many proved to have too low or too high a content of relevant ingredients.
MetalNRG (MNRG) has terminated its heads of terms with Mkango Resources relating to earning up to 75% of the Thumbani licence because it could not come up with the finance required.
Wishbone Gold (WSBN) increased its revenues from $8.2m to $10.9m, although the loss doubled to $1.89m. That is mainly down to a $797,000 loss on an equity sharing agreement. The cash outflow from operations fell from $904,000 to $813,000.
Via Developments (VIA1) reported an increase in interim loss from £10,000 to £259,000, because of higher finance costs.
Cadence Minerals (KDNC) is raising £1.6m at 0.11p a share and this will fund the investment in the Amapa iron ore project.
Auxico Resources Canada Inc (AUAG) is leaving NEX on 26 July. The minerals explorer has been on NEX for less than nine months. It does not believe it is large enough to benefit from a quotation on NEX as well as the Canadian Securities Exchange.
Small Cap Awards 2019 winners
Company of the year
Beeks Financial Cloud (BKS)
Beeks Financial Cloud provides cloud-based connectivity and infrastructure services provider for automated trading of financial assets. It also provides cyber security services to prevent distributed denial of service attacks. Beeks was formed in 2010 and has consistently grown its revenues. Beeks joined AIM in November 2017 and in May it acquired the trading assets of US-based Commercial Network Services and this adds 1,000 customers. Progressive Research forecasts a rise in pre-tax profit from £1.2m to £1.4m in the year to June 2019.
IPO of the year
Cake Box Holdings (CBOX)
Egg-free cakes supplier Cake Box won this award the day before its first anniversary on AIM. Cake Box raised £16.5m at 108p a share and at one point the share price was nearly double this level. There is still a premium of more than 60% to the flotation price. In the year to March 2019, revenues increased from £12.8m to £16.9m and underlying pre-tax profit improved from £3.3m to £4m. Two new distribution centre sites have been acquired. There is scope to more than double the business, which currently has 113 stores.
Impact company of the year
Kromek (KMK)
Kromek has developed a range of radiation detection and imaging products based on cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) technology. The company focuses on three sectors – medical imaging, nuclear detection and security. Kromek has been winning multi-million pound international contracts and it has a strong balance sheet following a recent fundraising. Revenues increased by 23% to £14.5m in the year to April 2019. Kromek is losing money, but it is on course to reach breakeven in a couple of years. The orders that are already won underpin the revenue forecasts for the coming years.
Executive director of the year
Mike Creedon, chief executive of Scientific Digital Imaging (SDI)
Mike Creedon has been on the SDI board since 2010, having previously been a finance director of two former AIM companies, Ideal Shopping Direct and Ninth Floor. SDI is an acquisitive digital imaging and sensor control technology company. The acquisition record is good. A trading update has led to a small pre-tax profit upgrade to £2.9m. The 2019-20 pre-tax profit is maintained at £4.1m.
Analyst of the year
George O’Connor, Stifel Nicolaus
Journalist of the year
Simon Thompson, Investors Chronicle
Fund manager of the year
Marlborough Nano Cap Growth
Lifetime achievement
Andrew Buchanan
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AIM
Zoo Digital (ZOO) slipped back into loss in the year to March 2019, but it should return to profit this year. Demand for film and TV localisation services continues to grow but momentum has not been as expected.
Wynnstay (WYN) had already warned about tough second quarter trading, but underlying pre-tax profit held up reasonably well, falling 15% to £4.3m, even though revenues were 19% higher at £218.5m. The increase in revenues was mainly down to commodity inflation. The warmer winter weather hit demand for animal feed, although fertiliser demand has been strong. The agricultural merchanting depots acquired in the past year are moving towards profit. There has been some rationalisation of the depot network. The interim dividend has been raised 4% to 4.6p a share.
China New Energy Ltd (CNEL) has applied for a listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and it will ask shareholders for permission to cancel the AIM quotation, subject to a successful Hong Kong listing.
Harwood Wealth Management (HW.) has increased its assets under influence to £5.3bn, helped by recent acquisitions. There is a strong pipeline of additional acquisitions. Interim pre-tax profit improved from £930,000 to £1.63m.
MAIN MARKET
BATM (BVC) is raising $18m, 20% more than initially sought, at 42.5p a share. Most of the cash is earmarked for the cyber and networking activities. The rest will go towards medical activities. The cash will help in securing partnerships with larger technology companies.
Argo Blockchain (ARB) has varied and extended its contract with Canadian data centre provider GPU.one. This will provide access to 14MW of power at lower prices. This increases capacity by 47%, utilising the equipment that has already been ordered, and cuts power cost by 39%. The deal starts on 25 June and lasts three years. Argo can give four months’ notice. A previous deposit of £1.44m has been turned into an investment in GPU.one.
Tex Holdings (TXH) says the engineering operations have started the year slowly, but trading should return to previous levels. The plastics division is trading in line with expectations and there is investment in new machinery. The shares remain suspended.
Canadian Overseas Petroleum Ltd (COPL) has joined the standard list. The oil and gas company is focused on Nigeria and sub-Saharan African.
Avocet Mining (AVM) is holding a general meeting on 18 July to gain shareholder approval for a voluntary liquidation. Avocet has sold its interest in the Tri-K gold project in Guinea for $21m. This leaves a small residual cash sum. There is unlikely to be anything substantial left to distribute to shareholders.
Oil and gas company Aminex (AEX) shareholders have approved the switch from a premium listing to a standard listing. It is also cancelling its Dublin listing. It may have been difficult to get the full benefits of the lighter regulation of a standard listing if the company were still listed in Dublin.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore Quoted Micro 24 June 2019
NEX EXCHANGE
Proton Partners International (PPI) has set up a partnership with Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, which means that the company’s Rutherford Cancer Centre North East will treat 120-150 patients a year. Woodford Investment Management has a 46.15% stake in Proton.
AfriAg Global (AFRI) intends to increase its stake in medicinal cannabis company Apollon Formularies to 2.34%. The long-term plan is to make an all share offer for Apollon. The Jamaican operation of Apollon has completed its third cannabis harvest. AfriAg has raised a further £250,000 at 0.1p a share. Sativa Group (SATI) has appointed Cenkos as its corporate adviser and broker, replacing Peterhouse. Stanford Capital has been appointed as joint broker of medicinal cannabis products developer Ananda Developments (ANA) and Peterhouse is staying on as corporate adviser and joint broker. Stanford has been issued with 3.33 million warrants exercisable at 0.45p each.
First Sentinel (FSBN) has published its 2018 figures, which were hit by a loss on its investment in Curzon Energy (CZN) and this led to a halving of NAV to £671,000. There are plans for a £7m bond listing on Euronext. Trading in First Sentinel shares has recommenced.
Since the year end, rail safety products developer Wheelsure (WHLP) has received further orders from London Underground, DLR and Siemens in Germany. Wheelsure may need additional working capital.
Gunsynd (GUN) will receive 225 shares (22.5%) in Oyster Oil and Gas Ltd as part of a settlement with creditors. Oyster requires additional cash in order to finance work on exploration assets.
Skills verification platform Indorse, where Coinsilium Ltd (COIN) has a 10% stake, will receive an investment of up to $6.5m from Brand Capital, the investment arm of India media company Times Group. Indorse has been valued at $15m for this investment, which means that Coinsilium’s stake has increased in value by 350% to $1.5m.
AIM
ULS Technology (ULS) has maintained its share of conveyancing transactions and reported flat pre-tax profit of £5.4m in the year to March 2019. This year will also be one of consolidation. Investment is being put into launching DigitalMove, which is an online platform that will make the business more efficient and provide access to additional customers. It can also be used to add new products and services.
Castleton Technology (CTP) is paying a maiden dividend of 1p a share. The provider of software and managed services to the social housing sector is expected to grow revenues by 7% this year and this could be supplemented by acquisitions. Strong cash generation means that there are spare debt facilities that can be used for acquisitions. This year pre-tax profit is forecast to improve from £5.6m to £6.4m.
Malvern International (MLVN) says that an unsettled claim means that there will be a profit shortfall in 2018. Originally a profit of £400,000 was expected but it will end up being just above breakeven. Trading in the first four months of 2019 is ahead of budget but the second half is the most important.
ClearStar Inc (CLSU) is on track this year even though the US market has softened. US unemployment has edged up, but the US remains the key market for the background checking services provider.
Telecoms marketing services provider Pelatro (PTRO) has won a contract with a large telecoms company in Asia. The contract is for the mViVa contextual marketing platform on a licence fee model. This contract and other recent work will add $1.5m to revenues. This provides an underpinning for the full year revenues forecast of $10.5m.
Diaceutics (DXRX) has acquired 16 million patient records a year to add to its patient data. Diaceutics has invested £1m to expand this global data.
Totally (TLY) has completed the acquisition of Greenbrook, which means that 90% of revenues will be generated by urgent care services. This deal should make Totally significantly profitable and enable it to start generating cash.
Some good news for Quartix (QTX) as subscriptions and new installations are increasing. This has led to a 5% upgrade in forecast 2019 revenues for the telematics business to £25.3m, although the profit forecast is unchanged at £6.5m.
Paragon Entertainment (PEL) intends to appoint an administrator following discussions with its bank, HSBC. There is not enough cash to pay all creditors.
MAIN MARKET
Sports Direct International (SPD) is making a mandatory offer for GAME Digital (GAME) at 30p a share. The offer is open until 11 July. Sports Direct already has a 38.5% stake and it does not believe GAME can prosper on its own.
A major US customer is not going ahead with a contract with Nanoco (NANO) lasting until the end of 2019. The ending of the deal has nothing to do with the performance of the nanomaterial technology. Nanoco should have £6m in cash at the end of 2019.
BigDish (DISH) says its food booking platform is going live in Reading and Brighton, which is a particular region where expansion is targeted. BigDish says that it is fully funded to 2021.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 10 June 2019
NEX EXCHANGE
Proton Partners International Ltd (PPI) has asked Woodford Investment Management to subscribe for £25m worth of shares at 176p a share. This is part of an agreement with Woodford that was outlined in the prospectus and it comes at a time when the fund manager is coming under pressure for poor performance and it has closed redemptions from one of its funds. The cash will pay off a loan and provide working capital.
NQ Minerals (NQMI) is making a £155,000 investment in Tasmania Energy Metals and the two companies will evaluate whether they should develop an integrated facility for the treatment of metal concentrate. NQ also has an exclusivity period until the end of July during which to decide whether to acquire Tasmania’s assets.
Sativa Investments (SATI) has signed an offtake agreement with a Swiss supplier of cannabis oil. This will be used to manufacture cannabidiol products.
AfriAg Global (AFRI) has invested £300,000 in Apollon Formularies for a 0.71% stake. Apollon plans to open a licenced retail medicinal cannabis dispensary and processing facility in Jamaica by the end of the month.
Newbury Racecourse (NYR) says that it is unlikely to return to paying dividends or return capital to shareholders before 2022 at the earliest. There is uncertainty about future revenue streams from fixed-odds betting terminals and how this could impact UK betting. It could reduce prize money levels. The onsite hotel has increased revenues by 15% so far this year.
Trading in shares of Equatorial Mining (EM.P) has been suspended ahead of publishing accounts. They should be published at the time of the general meeting to gain approval of the acquisition of Rwanda-based miner and explorer Eastinco. A £1.2m fundraising is also planned.
Altona Energy (ANR) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Shaanxi Qianyan Vanadium and Magnesium Mining, which owns a vanadium mine in China. The plan is to forma joint venture where Altona will be the controlling shareholder. Due diligence will take up to six months and there will be a JORC-compliant mineral resource classification report. The estimated reserve is 190,000 tonnes of vanadium.
Formation Group (FRM) has secured a £10m subscription at 7.71p a share through the acquisition of Zandra Holdings, whose asset is £10m in cash. This takes the Kennedy Private Trust stake in Formation to 89.99%. A £10m loan facility ahs also been secured.
The Little Bear mine area has been transferred to Panther Metals (PALM) and the Little Bear vein is a high priority drill target in order to see if the bonanza grade gold mineralisation still exists at depth. Panther has also applied for a licence over the Annaburroo gold project in Northern Territory, Australia.
Walls and Futures REIT (WAFR) has secured a £600,000 secured revolving credit facility and spent £465,000 on a bungalow in Didcot to be redeveloped into a home providing specialist support for four adults.
Valiant Investments (VALP) is raising £263,000 at 1.5p a share and it is changing its name to Eurocann International as an indication of the change in strategy to investment in the medicinal cannabis sector. Jeremy Rose will become chief executive and he has a number of directorships including of Speakeasy Cannabis. Burns Singh Tennent-Bhohi will become a non-executive.
EcoVista (EVTP) had £419,000 in cash at the end of February 2019 and it is seeking further investment. The interim loss declined from £238,000 to £202,000. Net assets were £1.19m at the end of February 2019.
Share trading in Wishbone Gold (WSBN) has been suspended because it has not published its 2018 accounts.
AIM
The smart machines division of Vianet (VNET) is going to be the source of profit growth for the coming years. Profit can be improved by converting the vending machines that came with the Vendman acquisition to Vianet’s contactless technology, as well as winning new business. The smart zones pub dispensing technology division should be able to maintain its contribution with lower UK profit due to pub closures being offset by an improved performance in the US. Pre-tax profit is expected to improve from £2.7m to £2.9m, although earnings per share will be hit by a higher tax charge.
Interim revenues at smart home devices supplier LightwaveRF (LWRF) increased 120% to £2.5m, although there was still a pre-tax loss of £1.35m. New distribution channels are helping to accelerate growth in revenues. The company could move into profit next year
Bad weather in the US has hampered the progress of Somero Enterprises (SOM) and led to forecast downgrades. Demand for concrete levelling equipment is normally stronger in the spring. This year’s earnings have been cut by 12% and next year by 11%. This will also reduce the potential dividend. The forecast 2019 normal dividend plus payout of surplus cash has been cut from 27.8 cents a share to 19.8 cents a share.
Waste-to-energy technology developer EQTEC (EQT) is acquiring a 19.99% stake in North Fork Community Power, a biomass gasification power project in California. EQTEC will supply $2.5m worth of equipment from its Newry site in return for the stake. It also expects to generate €2.2m from selling additional equipment.
Microsaic Systems (MSYS) has signed a distribution agreement for the Microsaic 4500 MID MS detector with CM Corporation for the South Korean market.
A shareholder owning a 17.2% stake in Rurelec (RUR) intends to propose an AGM resolution for the appointment of Gordon Fisher as a director. He is a former boss of a freight forwarding and customs brokerage. The electricity generator reduced its pre-tax loss from £5.8m to £600,000 in 2018, mainly due to lower overheads, exchange gains and a disposal gain. NAV is 4.4p a share, which is more than four times the share price.
Driver (DRV) had already said that its interims would be disappointing and pre-tax profit slumped from £2.11m to £762,000. The Middle East and Asia Pacific were tough markets with lower contributions. The expert witness operations made a reduced contribution. A 0.5p a share interim dividend was announced, and the ex-dividend date is 19 September. The company is also buying back shares in order to put a floor under the share price.
Chemicals-focused shell Wilmcote Holdings (WCH) is in exclusive discussions with Arclin Inc for a potential acquisition. Trading in the shares has been suspended.
Acquisitions consultancy K3 Capital (K3C) has confirmed that trading is in line with previous guidance and EBITDA is at the upper end of the range of £4.5m to £5m. An 80% payout would mean a reduction in dividend from 11.2p a share to 7.2p a share.
Osirium Technologies (OSI) has won a contract with a European telecoms services provider. The three year contract covers cyber security software and services.
MAIN MARKET
A strong first half has continued into the second half trading for automotive information publisher Haynes Publishing (HYNS) and pre-tax profit for the year to May 2019 is expected to exceed expectations by 10%. This suggests pre-tax profit of around £2m. The results will be announced on 12 September.
Caffyns (CFYN) reported a small improvement in underlying pre-tax profit to £1.45m in the year to March 2019. New car sales were 10% lower, which is more than three times the market decline. However, there was growth in used car sales and aftersales revenues.
Positive news from Argo Blockchain (ARB) where results for May were well ahead of the company’s budgets. New cryptomining hardware has started contributing faster than expected and rising cryptocurrency prices have improved mining yields. A further £2.85m is being invested in equipment. There was £685,000 generated in May, based on a bitcoin price of $8,575, while cash operating costs were £280,000. Second quarter figures will be better than expected. If the bitcoin price is maintained, then there will be £2.85m of crypto assets at the end of the second quarter.
BigDish (DISH) has raised £2.1m at 7.2p a share and this should be enough cash for the restaurant platform until 2021. The UK rollout will be accelerated.
Pembridge Resources (PERE) is acquiring the Minto mine from Capstone Mining. Pembridge will pay up to $20m out of future cash flows. Commercial production could recommence before the end of the year. A $10m loan has been secured.
Symphony International Holdings (SIHL) has made an investment in Soothe Healthcare, which manufactures feminine hygiene products under the Paree and Pariz brands.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 3 June 2019
NEX EXCHANGE
BWA Group (BWAP) has conditionally agreed to acquire share capital of a company with rights to five mining projects, predominantly in Quebec. The company is majority owned by Canadian Stock Exchange listed St-Georges Eco-Mining Corp and the total cost of the deal is C$7.5m (£4.3m). This will be paid in unlisted, convertible, interest-free loan notes. The repayment date will be three years after issue. The notes are convertible at 0.5p a share, or the market price of a share if it is higher. BWA will subscribe for C$300,000 (£170,000) of shares in St-Georges. BWA needs to raise at least £500,000 to go ahead with the deal.
Chapel Down Group (CDGP) increased 2018 sales by 10% to £13m. Turnover from wine and spirits and from Curious Drinks grew by similar percentages. However, a pre-tax profit of £253,000 to a loss of £850,000 as overheads were doubled to £5.57m. There is still £12.8m in the bank even though there was a cash outflow from operations and £8.37m of capital investment. There are 635 acres of vineyards that have been planted and a further 388 acres will be planted on the North Downs.
Wealth management firm AFH Financial (AFHP) increased interim revenues by 61% to £36.6m and underlying earnings per share were 49% higher to 14.9p a share. AFH continue to acquire IFA firms. Funds under management totalled £5.4bn and that is expected to nearly double within five years.
St Mark Homes (SMAP) has net assets of 130p a share, which is a discount of around one-third to the share price bid/offer of 85p/90p. The dividend was maintained at 5.5p a share, providing a yield of more than 6%. In 2018, revenues increased from £120,000 to £294,000, but underlying pre-tax profit declined to £80,000, because of higher overheads and a lower contribution from joint ventures. The regional housebuilder intends to release capital from existing developments to fund other opportunities in the outer London Boroughs.
Coinsilium (COIN) reported near-trebled revenues of £1.68m in 2018, but a pre-tax profit of £121,000 was turned into a loss of £982,000. That is due to much higher overheads and a £973,000 impairment of current assets. There was £592,000 in the bank at the end of 2018. Most of the revenues came from advisory services to blockchain companies. That business has moved to Gibraltar.
KR1 (KR1) made reduced realised gains in 2018 and there was an unrealised loss on investments, compared with an unrealised gain in 2017. The total pre-tax loss was nearly £11m. The NAV fell from £13.6m to £6.11m.
Capital for Colleagues (CFCP) increased the value of its investments by around £630,000, which reflects performance and prospects. Even without that unrealised gain, the loss declined. The NAV of the employee-owned businesses investor rose from 41.5p a share to 48.1p a share at the end of February 2019.
European Lithium (EUR) is commencing a drilling programme to confirm part of the inferred resource at the Wolfsburg lithium project in Austria. This data will be used in the definitive feasibility study.
In the six months to February 2019, Wheelsure Holdings (WHLP) reduced its loss from £181,000 to £126,000. Revenues remain small but they grew from £44,000 to £61,000. There were orders from Germany in the period, but Netherlands and Austria were delayed. Lower overheads helped to reduce the loss.
Cancer therapy provider Proton Partners International Ltd (PPI) generated revenues of £1.47m in the year to February 2019. There was cash generated from operations but that was dwarfed by £42.3m of capital investment. Additional cash has been raised since the year end.
In 2018, the revenues of Chinese treatments supplier MiLOC (ML.P) dipped from HK$11.6m to $10.7m, while the reported loss more than doubled to HK$37.9m. That was mainly due to a royalty fee related to AKFS Plus haircare brand. There was HK$2.75m in the bank at the end of 2018. Since then, HK$3.45m (£334,000) has been raised in a placing at 28.5p a share.
Cannabis investor Sativa Investments (SATI) has secured a commercial offtake agreement with a Portuguese supplier of cannabis oil. This will be included in products produced in Somerset.
Barkby Group (BARK) has secured a new six-year lease for the Rose and Crown Inn, near Swindon. This is the second lease from Arkell’s Brewery.
TechFinancials Inc (TECH) says 75%-owned Footies Ltd has completed its sports ticketing system demonstration product. This will enable it to approach potential football club clients. It is still hopeful that it can sign one up this year. Ian Ayre has stepped down from the Footies board.
Investment company Eight Capital Group (ECP) had net assets of £668,000 at the end of 2018. The investments include shell companies Abal Investments (ABAL) (formerly Imaginatik) and Sport Capital Group (SCG) which has net assets of £206,000 at the end of 2018.
Investment fund manager Startup Giants (SUG) still had £646,000 in the bank at the end of 2018.
Trading in the shares of Angelfish Investments (ANGP), London Capital Group (LCG), Black Sea Property (BSP) and Gamfook Jewellery (GAMF) is suspended because they have not published their 2018 accounts. Gamfook has replaced its auditor and will not publish accounts before the middle of July. Allenby has ceased to be nominated adviser and broker, as well as NEX corporate adviser, to PCG Entertainment. Trading in PCG shares is already suspended because of a potential reverse takeover.
AIM
Ramsdens (RFX) has acquired another four stores trading as The Money Shop and 12 loan books from Instant Cash Loans. This takes the number of stores acquired to 22 and the loan books to 17. Ramsdens says that there will be a small contribution to profit in the first year. The additional stores will be rebranded as Ramsdens and it has 163 stores. The 2018-19 figures will be published on 12 June.
Ideagen (IDEA) has gained a new £1.2m, three-year SaaS contract with an airline. The software will be used for safety incident reporting. Ideagen is expected to report a 2018-19 pre-tax profit of £12.2m.
Volvere (VLE) is returning up to £16.6m via a tender offer at 1290p a share, a premium of 12% to the market price when it was announced. Recent disposals have generated £25.6m, which took the cash pile to £36.2m. Management says it requires around £20m of cash for ongoing requirements.
Stride Gaming (STR) has received a bid proposal from Rank Group. A 151p a share offer is being considered. Stride floated four years ago at 132p a share.
TSX Venture Exchange company Hunt Mining Corp is offering 10.76 shares for each share in Patagonia Gold (PGD) and this values the target at £17.2m. The bid is recommended, and Patagonia shareholders will own 80% of the enlarged company. Hunt is producing silver and gold in Argentina and Patagonia has assets in the same region.
Nautilus Mineral Services (NAUT) wants to cancel its AIM quotation. A general meeting has been set for 24 June and shareholders owning 73.4% agree with the proposal. A matched bargain facility is planned.
Suits manufacturer Bagir (BAGR) still has not received the remaining cash investment of $13.2m from Shangdong Ruyi, which has requested an extension and wants to change the terms of the deal.
AfriTin (ATM) says that it expects to ramp up production at the Uis tin mine in the fourth quarter. The initial phase of the plant will be able to produce 60t/month of tin concentrate.
AssetCo (ASTO) says that Grant Thornton has been granted permission to appeal the judgment against it relating to the auditing of past AssetCo accounts.
Tavistock Investments (TAVI) has ended its strategic alliance with Lighthouse Group (LGT) because of the Quilter takeover of the IFA.
MAIN MARKET
Aptitude Software (APTD) plans to sell Microgen Financial Systems for £51m. Previously, this business was going to be demerged on AIM. There should be £48.4m after expenses and a majority of this will be returned to shareholders.
Standard list shell Fandango Holdings (FHP) has ended acquisition discussions with Konnect Mobile Communications because it could not raise the funds it required. There was £8,000 in the bank at the end of February 2019.
Novo Holdings has exercised its option to subscribe for 6.57 million Oxford Biomedica (OXB) shares at 690p each. Novo will own 10.1%.
Summerway Capital (SWC) had £5.69m in cash at the end of February 2019. Potential acquisitions have been identified.
Toople (TOOP) has raised £662,000 at 0.35p a share and it will use £150,000 as final settlement of £601,000 of loans from David Brieth. There was £1.15m in the bank at the end of March 2019. There was a cash outflow of nearly £1m in the previous six months. Last September’s placing was at 0.3p a share.
Cathay International Holdings (CTI) has been fined £411,000 by the FCA due to a breach of listing principles. These relate to the preparation of forecasts and monitoring of financial performance, as well as a failure to provide information in a timely manner. Chief executive Jinyi Lee and finance director Eric Siu were both deemed to be involved in the breaches but they are considering an appeal.
Andrew Hore