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Quoted Micro 15 January 2024
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Electric motors and drivetrains developer Equipmake Holdings (EQIP) has won an extension of its contract from sightseeing tours operator Big Bus Tours, and it has doubled in size to cover 20 buses. The contract is worth £3.5m. The buses will be delivered by the end of the third quarter of 2024. Full year revenues are expected to be £13.4m, although Equipmake will still be loss making. The share price slipped 8.57% to 8p, but it has risen by one-fifth over the past year.
Silverwood Brands (SLWD), whose shares are suspended at 30p. has come to a conditional settlement with the vendors of the 19.8% Lush stake, which was never transferred to the company by Lush. The deal was cancelled. The vendors are paying £300,000 to Silverwood Brands to cover deal costs.
Capital for Colleagues (CFCP) had 14 investments in the quarter to November 2023 and the NAV was £15.1m or 81.67p/share, down from 81.99p/share at the end of August.
Tyndall Investment Management increased its stake in skin treatments developer Incanthera (INC) from 6.85% to 11.8%.
Tony Wilson has increased his stake in Oscillate (MUSH) from 3% to 3.66%, while Rikki Devlin has taken a 3.04% shareholding.
Bitcoin mining company Vinanz Ltd (BTC) says that the SEC in the US has approved Bitcoin ETFs, which will provide investors with a way to access cryptocurrency. This should be positive for Vinanz. David Lenigas has bought 80,000 shares at an average share price of 9.2p.
NFT Investments (NFT) is changing its name to Phoenix Digital Assets. The share price rose 18.5% to 3.2p. NAV is 4.67p/share.
EDX Medical Group (EDX) sent shareholders a letter that stated it is pursuing nine different projects for point of care and laboratory testing services. The reverse takeover of TECC Capital means that there has been selling by legacy shareholders holding back the share price, but it has started to rally rising 17.2% % to 8.5p.
AQRU (AQRU) is changing its name to Supernova Digital Assets and it is focusing on becoming a value provider for the Solara ecosystem. Net assets are 0.297p/share, including crypto assets of 0.166p/share.
Kasei Holdings (KASH) non-exec director Bryan Coyne has acquired 125,000 shares at an average price of 8.14p each.
Valereum (VLRM) says that the general meeting to approve the acquisition of GSX Group will be held on 30 January and there will be a shareholder update meeting the next day. Nick Cowan has joined the board as chief executive, as has former AIM and Plus Markets boss Simon Brickles. Gary Cottle has also joined as a non-exec.
EPE Special Opportunities (EO.P) had net assets of 301.9p/share at the end of 2023.
PanGenomic Health (NARA) has entered into a non-binding letter of intent with Crescita Capital for a $5m drawdown facility. This will last three years and can be used for working capital and acquisitions. The facility involves the issue of shares at a discount to the market price at the time of issue. There will be a $300,000 commitment fee payable in cash or shares.
Tony Wilson has increased his stake in Oscillate (MUSH) from 3% to 3.66%, while Rikki Devlin has taken a 3.04% shareholding.
AIM
The Property Franchise Group (TPFG) has made an agreed bid for rival franchised lettings company Belvoir (BLV). The agreed offer of 0.806377 TPFG shares for each Belvoir share values Belvoir at 277.4p/share based on a TPFG share price of 344p, but it has subsequently fallen to 307.5p valuing Belvoir at 248p/share. TPFG shareholders will own 51.75% of the enlarged group.
Capital equipment supplier Mpac (MPAC) had a strong second half in 2023 and there was a record order intake during the year. Margins improved in the second half and full year pre-tax profit was £6.9m, up from £3.5m in 2022. The higher second half margins should continue in 2024, enabling a further improvement in profit.
NWF (NWF) has signed a 15-year lease on a third food distribution warehouse in Newcastle-under-Lyme. This will add 52,000 pallets to capacity. The site should be open in the autumn after capital expenditure of £8.5m. This site could add £1.2m to pre-tax profit in 2025-26.
Another positive trading statement from payments services provider Cornerstone FS (CSFS) has led to an upgrade of December’s previous upgrade. A maiden pre-tax profit of £800,000 on doubled revenues of £9.6m is forecast for 2023. Revenues per customer increased by around two-thirds to more than £10,000. The company moved from net debt to net cash.
AdvancedAdvT (ADVT) switched from the standard list to AIM on 10 January. Last year, five businesses were acquired from Capita and one of these is being sold. The remaining companies operate in business solutions and human capital management.
Online builders’ merchant CMO Group (CMO) had a tough fourth quarter. Online traffic rates declined, but conversion rates improved. Overall orders were flat. Home improvement and DIY spending is declining. The overall repair, maintenance and improvement sector is still relatively strong, but it weakened in the second half of 2023. Market share has grown, and costs have been cut. Liberum has increased its 2023 pre-tax loss forecast from £800,000 to £1.2m and forecasts a 2024 loss.
Consultancy Elixirr International (ELIX) confirmed 2023 results are in line with expectations and it will pay two dividends each year. Pre-tax profit is expected to improve from £19.3m to £23.9m. The shares will go ex-dividend for the 5.3p/share interim on 19 January.
Plant monitoring technology developer Light Science Technologies (LST) published a positive 2023 trading statement. Cost savings have helped to halve the pre-tax loss of £1.3m on revenues rising from £8.2m to £9.3m. Contract electronic manufacturing remains the largest sales contributor, although controlled environment agriculture products are growing in importance.
Touch sensors manufacturer Zytronic (ZYT) reports a 30% decline in full year revenues to £8.6m and it fell back into loss. Gross margins were hit by higher raw material costs and product mix. Sales continue to decline this year. There are signs that there could be improvement in the second half. Net cash is £4.7m.
Palm oil producer Dekel Agri-Vision (DKL) says 2023 revenues were at record levels, but there are problems with ramping up the cashew operation. Investment is required to replace parts of the machinery used in cashew production. Production should improve in the second quarter. The 2024 pre-tax profit forecast has been cut from €1.5m to €600,000.
Mercantile Ports and Logistics (MPL) says some trading activity was deferred last December. Cavendish reduced its 2023 revenues forecast from £6.9m to £5.4m. Coal import to the Karanja port were lower because of destocking. The loss will be higher. Management hopes to replace the current debt facilities with a new facility with lower interest charges. Buying by directors did not help the share price. Non-exec John Fitzgerald acquired 624,419 shares at 1.5725p each and Dmitri Tsvetkov bought 617,360 shares at 1.62p each.
Oriole Resources (ORR) has confirmed receipt of the payment of $450,000 related to the earn-in agreement with BCM International for the Bibemi gold exploration project in Cameroon. BCM will spend $4m on exploration to earn 50% of the project. Drilling should resume in the first quarter.
Semiconductors designer EnSilica (ENSI) has released a range of Post-Quantum Cryptography accelerators. These are cryptographic algorithms that can withstand cyber-attacks from quantum computers.
MAIN MARKET
Tertre Rouge Assets (TRA) has entered into a purchase agreement for a 1972 Lamborghini Miura P400 SV for £2.8m, which means that there are purchase agreements for six cars valued at £32m. Formal marketing of a fundraising has commenced, and the issue price should be 105p. Approval of the prospectus by the FCA is still awaited.
Kelso Group Holdings (KLSO) plans to raise up to £1.88m at 3p/share. The cash will be used for further investments in UK listed companies. Previous fundraisings were at 2p/share and 2.5p/share.
Standard list shell Sivota (SIV) has identified a potential acquisition that operates a technology platform in the travel sector, subject to due diligence and other conditions. The plan is to acquire up to 51% of the company for $15m. Sivota will raise £2.5m to provide the target with a convertible loan for working capital.
Quantum dots developer Nanoco (NANO) has signed a joint development agreement with STMicroelectronics. This two-year programme will optimise a second generation sensing material. This will boost non-licence fee income in 2024 and sales of test materials in 2024 and 2025.
Andrew Hore
Quoted Micro 18 September 2023
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
An update on the Amapa iron ore project in Brazil from Cadence Minerals (LON: KDNC) says permitting times for the mine and related logistics should be reduced to 12-16 months. An environmental control plan is required to obtain the permits. This will enable a funding decision for the project. Investee company Hastings Technology Metals has expanded its offtake agreement with thyssenkrupp Materials Trading, which will take two-thirds of production from the Yangibana rare earths project.
Invinity Energy Systems (IES) has converted an existing order from Taiwan to its next generation Mistral flow battery. This is a higher margin product targeted at large wind and solar applications. Management is securing additional production capacity with Taiwan partner Everdura.
EPE Special Opportunities (ESO) had net assets of 308p/share at the end of July 2023. Investee company Rayware’s sales have been hit by weak consumer demand. Pharmacy2U continues to grow. Two investments have been sold. Ther was cash of £16.3m at the end of July 2023.
Financial services company Eight Capital Partners (ECP) says its 2021 figures have been restated because of a change in the accounting treatment of the bonds. Non-cash transactions have been removed from the cash flow statement. The book value of the bonds has been changed to fair value and a modified loss recognised on loan liabilities. Net liabilities were £11.4m. The 2022 results show net assets of £25.3m after a debt conversion to equity. A partial reversal of previous fair value adjustments also helped.
Coinsilium Group Ltd (COIN) is providing a convertible loan of $50,000 and has a 12-month option to subscribe for $500,000 for shares in Silta at a pre-money valuation of $7.5m. This means that it could end up with 6.7% of Silta. Last year, Coinsilium entered into an early contribution agreement to buy $75,000 of SILTA tokens. Silta is developing an advanced AI platform for sustainable infrastructure financing.
Hydro Hotel, Eastbourne (HYDP) is paying an interim dividend of 12p/share.
Rod Weinberg has reduced his stake in SulNOx Group (SNOX) from 6.35% to 2.49%. Macaulay Capital (MCAP) managing director David Horner has bought 200,000 shares at 22.5p each. Nigel Pope has taken a 3% stake in NFT Investments (NFT). Gathoni Muchai Investments has trimmed its stake in Marula Mining (MARU) from 12.2% to 11.26%. A warrants subscription at 4p each raised £30,500.
Black Sea Property (BSP) has raised €4.44m from a loan note issue, which is being used to pay for the recent acquisition of a majority stake in Grand Hotel Varna, which owns three hotels and a beach marina resort, plus a mutual fund portfolio. There is still €15.5m to pay.
AIM
Parcel delivery and logistics company DX (DX.) has received a bid approach from private equity firm HIG European Capital Partners. Gatemore Capital Management, which owns 16.8%, says it is willing to support the proposal of 48.5p/share. Management had rejected lower bids, but it would be minded to recommend this one. Due diligence will be required.
Online gaming firm Gaming Realms (GMR) reported interim revenues 35% higher at £11.5m and a 74% increase in pre-tax profit to £2.4m. The licensing business drove the growth. North American revenues increased by 47% and there are more states likely to ease restrictions on online gaming. Growth is coming from moving into new markets and adding new games. There are upfront costs to the expansion, holding back short-term profit. Net cash is expected to be £8m at the year end
Iodine producer Iofina (IOF) increased interim revenues by 27% to $24.3m, while pre-tax profit improved from $2.6m to $4.7m. First half iodine production was 242Mt. Iofina commenced production at its IO#9 plant in Oklahoma at the end of the half year. This is the sixth plant in operation and will help boost second half production to 325-350Mt.
Contract research and infectious disease study services provider hVIVO (HVO) is moving into larger London premises in Canary Wharf. The latest interims have led to an upgrade of guidance for the full year and hVIVO intends to pay a nominal dividend for 2023. Interim revenues were £27.3m, up from £18m, and the full year outcome is expected to be £55.1m with most of the rest of the revenues already contracted.
Construction and property software supplier Eleco (ELCO) increased like-for-like interim revenues by 5% to £13.5m. More importantly, recurring revenues were 18% ahead at £9.7m. This indicates the success of the move to SaaS-based revenues which has held back progress in the short-term. Net cash could reach £10.8m by the end of 2023.
Mkango Resources (MKA) subsidiary HyProMag, which is a short loop rare earth magnet recycler, is participating in a grant funded project called RE-RE Wind, which is designed to provide a circular supply chain for rare earth magnets for wind turbines. The first generation of wind turbines are coming up to the end of their life and a decommissioning programme is required.
Payments services provider Cornerstone FS (CSFS) made a small maiden interim profit. The move into profit was earlier than expected. Interim revenues were 90% ahead at £3.6m and most of this is direct business rather than through third parties. The overheads were held down enabling more of the additional revenues to flow through to profit. Cash is being generated from operations.
Online gaming company B90 Holdings (B90) has raised £2m at 5.44491p/share. The cash will go towards funding acquisitions and further investment in existing assets. The company is also converting £4.73m of loan notes and interest into 86.8 million shares. Enwys, which acquires customers for online gaming companies, has been bought. There are more than 20 other acquisition targets.
Keystone Law (KEYS) is paying a special dividend of 12.5p/share on top of the interim of 5.8p/share. Underlying pre-tax profit was one-quarter ahead at £5.7m, while net cash was £11.3m at the end of July 2023. Interest from new principal lawyers is increasing and 25 offers were accepted in the first half. There is plenty of back office capacity for additional lawyers.
Communications technology developer Feedback (FDBK) is taking time to secure new deals, but they should be on the horizon. The community diagnostic centres contract with the Queen Victoria Hospital has been delayed, but hopefully it should be secured by the end of the year. Feedback is still loss making, even though full year revenues were 74% ahead at £1.02m. The cash outflow, including capitalised development costs, was £3m and the £7.3m in the bank should last more than two years.
North Sea oil and gas producer IOG (IOG) has been told by the authorities that the Nailsworth P2342 and P130 licences are not going to be extended and this could have a negative commercial impact on the potential for the Elland licence. Bondholder discussions continue and the waiver lasts until 29 September. There was £14.5m in cash at the end of August, including £7.3m of restricted cash. There was stable production from Blythe H2, but the realised gas price was lower.
The Property Franchise Group (TPFG) has offset lower revenues from property sales by increasing lettings revenues. Overall interim revenues were 1% ahead at £13.2m. The higher tax rate meant that earnings slipped 2% to 13.8p/share despite an increased profit. The interim dividend was increased by 10% to 4.6p/share.
US-focused betting company Sportech (SPO) plans to leave AIM. It says the burden of time and money is too great. A circular will be sent out to gain shareholder approval at a general meeting.
Bushveld Minerals (BMN) has signed a binding term sheet for a potential $69.5m-$77.5m investment by Southern Point Resources. This includes the acquisition of 50% of Vanchem and 64% of the Mokopane project, plus a $12.5m investment in Bushveld Minerals. There will also be a working capital facility provided. Southern Point Resources will take over marketing and sales of vanadium and other products. The stake disposals will lead to a book loss of $59.6m.
Animal feed ingredients supplier Ocean Harvest Technologies (OHT) raised interim revenues by 43% to €1.8m and gross margins jumped to 36%. Investment in marketing and other aspects of the business meant that the loss was flat at €1.3m. These additional costs should help to generate further sales growth of its seaweed-based feed. Field trials could add up to €13m to annual revenues. However, delays in these trials mean that full year revenues have been downgraded from €4.3m to €3.4m. There should be net cash of €2.9m at the end of 2023.
MAIN MARKET
The FCA has approved the takeover of Lookers (LOOK) by Alpha Auto Group. The bid is 130p/share.
On The Beach (OTB) says its full year results will show record revenues and the holiday company says pre-tax profit will be at the top end of expectations. In the year to September 2022, revenues were £144.1m, which was slightly higher than the pre-Covid level of £140.4m, and underlying pre-tax profit was £14.1m. Consensus forecasts for 2022-23 were revenues of £179.5m and pre-tax profit of £22.6m. The guidance suggests that profit should be slightly higher than that. Even so, underlying pre-tax profit in 2017-18 was higher at £27.6m.
Andrew Hore
Quoted Micro 19 September 2022
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
ProBiotix Health (PBX) has secured a new commercial partner in Asia Pacific. Nutraceutical business Nutraconnect will develop and implement strategies for ProBiotix Health ingredients in Asia Pacific.
IamFire (FIRE) says investee company WeShop Holdings had 23,000 user downloads by the end of August. Transactions increased from 2,633 in July to 5,981 in August. Average spend per transaction has increased to £81. A US launch is planned.
Gunsynd (GUN) is making a further conditional investment of £100,000 in ASX-listed Rincon Resources. The investment is dependent on Rincon Resources shareholder approval.
Fintech investment company Eight Capital Partners (ECP) has generated £1m in fees from Zamaz (ZAMZ), which joined the standard list a fortnight ago. Zamaz believes that its technology platform can help to efficiently build direct to consumer brands via e-commerce. Other Eight Capital Partners revenue have been modest.
Evrima (EVA) says investee company Premium Nickel Resources has created a new metals division.
Spirits brand Rogue Baron (SHNJ) says that a third party has been contacting investor saying it is raising cash for the company, which is not true. Rogue Baron is considering ways of raising further funds.
SulNOx Group (SNOX) has won a new order from Ghana for SulNOxEco fuel conditioner. There is enough to treat six million litres of diesel, which is a larger order than the previous one. New agreements are being discussed in other African countries.
Site works have commenced at the Blesberg lithium and tantalum project in South Africa. Marula Mining (MARU) says mining permits have been applied for.
A company associated with Asimilar Group (ASLR) non-exec director Mark Horrocks has acquired 750,000 shares at 4.1p each, which takes his share interest to 5.27%.
Engineering company Vulcan Industries (VULC) has raised £132,000 at 0.92p a share. Superseed Capital Ltd (WWW) has issued £1m of convertible loan notes to SuperSeed Venture LLP, which is its investment manager. The conversion price is 130p a share.
Barry Hersh is a 9.98% shareholder in Rural Broadband Solutions (RBBS). PEU SA has a 7.56% stake in Eastinco Mining and Exploration (EM.P).
AIM
Churchill China (CHH) had an extremely strong first half in 2022 because of demand for hospitality products. Sales of plates and other products to restaurants and hotels were behind the 73% growth in revenues to £41.4m. Sales of retail products declined as production focused on hospitality products. Churchill China is gaining market share in the UK and internationally. The interim dividend is 57% ahead at 10.5p a share. A full year pre-tax profit of £8.8m is forecast.
New admission Aurrigo International (AURR) has risen a further 9.52% to 57.5p. The transport technology products supplier raised £8m at 48p a share when it joined AIM. The cash will be invested in the aviation technology division and to develop new products.
Broker and administrator Jarvis Securities (JIM) has appointed Ocreus to review systems and controls at its main subsidiary after it ran into trouble with the FCA. This will take between three and six months. Jarvis has voluntarily agreed not to take on new clients from certain existing Model B corporate clients until the systems have been reviewed. The restrictions should not hamper forecast revenues and profit, although the costs of the review could hamper shareholder dividends from Jarvis Securities. This news was announced late on Friday and the share price nearly halved.
Retail brand Joules (JOUL) has ended its talks with retailer NEXT (NEXT) about a cash injection, leaving it with the need to find another source of funding. That is likely to require a share issue.
Baby products retailer Mothercare (MTC) reported revenues falling from £85.8m to £82.8m, but it returned to profit. The figures were at the top end of expectations and the company was cash generative. finnCap forecasts a fall in pre-tax profit from £8m to £1.9m this year. The pension deficit is declining.
TV and film production services provider Facilities by ADF (ADF) had tough comparisons for its interim figures and reported pre-tax profit was lower. Revenues improved from £11.5m to £12.6m, but the lack of large productions and higher overheads since flotation mean that profit was lower. There will be more, and higher value, productions in the second half, so some of the profit shortfall should be offset. Flotation funds are being used to increase the size of the vehicle fleet.
Artisanal Spirits Company (ART) increased membership by 24% in the first half of 2022. This growth was international, and the current membership is around 36,000. Full year revenues are expected to increase from £18.2m to £21.6m. The value of the casks of whisky in stock has increased from £430m to £455m in the latest six month period.
Cyber security services provider Corero Network Security (CNS) improved sales in the first half and growth could accelerate in the second half. Full year revenues are forecast to increase by one-third to $27.9m. Demand for cyber security continues to increase. Corero should breakeven this year.
Strong growth in first half revenues at plant-based polymers developer Itaconix (ITX) means that it is set to double full year revenues to $5.2m. Revenues trebled from cleaning applications. There was $900,000 of net cash at the end of June 2022.
The Property Franchise Group (TPFG) increased interim revenues by 18% to £13.1m and pre-tax profit was 9% higher at £3.8m. The interim dividend was increased by 11% to 4.2p a share. Trading remains strong even though house buying incentives were ended last year.
Building and architecture software supplier Eleco (ELCO) did not surprise the market with the 3% decline in interim revenues to £13.4m, although recurring revenues were 9% higher at £8.2m. This reflects the change to a SaaS model. Pre-tax profit was 23% down at £2.1m due to higher costs.
Ncondezi Energy Ltd (NCCL) has replaced a working capital facility with a convertible loan and more cash is being made available. The shareholder loan repayment cannot be demanded before 30 November 2023.
Shell company Advance Energy (ADV) raised £425,000 at 0.085p a share. There are warrants attached to each new share that are exercisable at 0.13p a share. The cash will enable management to investigate a suitable reverse takeover candidate and fund due diligence. Management is in talks with the majority owner of a European oil and gas company and trading in the shares is suspended. Any deal will be funded with shares and via an earn-out based on production. The suspension will continue until a prospectus is published or the deal does not happen.
Tertiary Minerals (TYM) has signed a technical co-operation agreement with First Quantum Minerals for two copper projects in Zambia – Mukai and Mushima North. Mukai is next door to First Quantum’s Trident project. First Quantum also has interests in the same region as Mushima North. First Quantum will supply historical exploration date for the areas. First Quantum does not have first right of refusal over the projects.
MAIN MARKET
Fintech Asia Ltd (FINA) is seeking fintech acquisitions. This includes mobile banking, digital payments and blockchain. It raised £1.46m at 50p a share, before expenses of £613,000. The cash should finance the operating of the company and investigating potential acquisitions for more than one year. Further share issues will be required when any targets are identified, and deals secured. There were no trades reported on the first two days. The current share price is 55.5p (53p/57p).
Ikigai Ventures Ltd (IKIV) is looking to acquire businesses with a positive social impact strategy, particularly those based in Asia. It has a similar shareholder base to Fintech Asia. Ikigai Ventures raised £2.09m at 50p a share, before expenses of £714,000. That cash should last more than one year. There were no trades reported on the first two days. The current share price is 55.5p (53p/57p).
Innovative materials developer HeiQ (HEIQ) increased interim revenues by 17% to $30.3m and it is making progress with newer products, such as AeoniQ and GrapheneX. Hygiene products generated 43% of total revenues. Service and licence revenues more than trebled. There was $9.5m in the bank at the end of June 2022. Cenkos expects revenues to grow from $57.9m to $69.4m in the full year and grow by a further 10% next year. The 2022 pre-tax profit is expected to be $4.8m.
Andrew Hore
Quoted Micro 11 April 2022
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
NFT Investments (NFT) is not going ahead with the acquisition of crypto tech and operations company Pluto Digital Assets and trading in the shares has recommenced. NFT had cash of £21.9m, having made seven investments, and net assets of £34.4m, 3.43p a share, at the end of 2021.
National Milk Records (NMRP) is linking up with another former Milk Marketing Board business Genus (GNS). National Milk Records will provide the fully listed animal breeding company with multi-panel genomic testing and evaluations. The two firms have been part of a process to map the DNA of the worst cows and bulls in terms of environmental impact. Farmers will be able to choose to breed cows with lower impact and highest milk yields. The initial contract lasts for five years.
Asimilar Group (ASLR) has joined the Access segment of the Aquis Stock Exchange. The technology investment company hopes that this will improve share liquidity. The AIM-quotation is being maintained but may be terminated to save money if the new quotation is successful.
Rogue Baron (SHNJ) has signed two new distribution deals. Oak and Still will distribute Shinju whisky in the UK from April 2022. Beverage Hunters will be the distributor in Spain from May.
Vanadium flow batteries technology developer Invinity Energy Systems (IES) has successfully concluded a validation programme by Korea-based Hyosung Heavy Industries and signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding for a global partnership and exclusivity in Korea.
Talent management and livestreaming company All Things Considered (ATC) increased revenues and other operating income by 23% to £9.9m in 2021. The loss is likely to be £2.8m. There was £4.4m in cash at the end of 2021. The live music market continues to recover. All Things Considered has invested $6m from a short-term promissory note into a new company focused on music digitisation and blockchain technology. This is a minority investment out of a total of $80m. The full year figures should be published in May.
Chapel Down Group (CDGP) has been appointed as the official sparkling wine supplier to the English Cricket Board. The company’s sparkling wines will be given to the winners of internationals and domestic finals.
Cadence Minerals (KDNC) says that iron ore stockpile shipments have started from the Amapa project in Brazil.
Eastinco Mining (EM.P) has discovered 16 new pegmatite zones following geochemical sampling at its HCK joint venture in southern Rwanda. This takes the total to 18.Surface geological exploration is underway at Musasa.
Clean Invest Africa (CIA) has renegotiated its loan facility and the £5m deemed to be outstanding has been changed into convertible loan stock that is convertible into shares at 1p each. There will be immediate conversion of £4.47m of loan notes.
Gunsynd (GUN) invested £75,000 into First Tin (1SN) at the placing price of 30p, having already invested £125,000 at 15p a share. The share price ended the first day at 30p.
AIM-quoted Vela Technologies (VELA) has acquired a 28.8% stake in healthcare and medtech firm Igraine (KING) for £404,000 or 1.8p a share. Richard Edwards had previously sold his 10.3% stake.
Giles Brand has increased his stake in EPE Special Opportunities (ESO) from 32.1% to 33.4%.
Aquis Exchange (AQX) non-exec chairman Glenn Collinson has bought an initial stake of 12,003 shares at 512p each. Shepherd Neame (SHEP) director Richard Oldfield has bought 25,000 shares at 837.4p each and 15,000 shares at 835.35p each. Hot Rocks investments (HRIP) non-exec chairman Brian Rowbotham bought 715,000 shares at 0.7p each and he owns 3.5%. Non-exec director Charles Vaughan has taken his stake to 2.53% after purchasing 1.5 million shares at 0.65p each.
AIM
The London Stock Exchange says that Arden Partners (ARDN) will lose its nominated adviser status if the merger with legal services provider Ince (INCE) goes ahead.
The Property Franchise Group (TPFG) revenues more than doubled to £24m, while pre-tax profit jumped from £4.77m to £6.42m thanks to the acquisition of rival Hunters Property. There is more to come. More financial advisers are being recruited and more of the franchisees are taking advantage of the services. The total dividend of 11.6p a share was higher than expected.
Belvoir Group (BLV) generated organic revenue growth of 25% last year. In 2021, pre-tax profit jumped from £7.5m to £10.3m, while the dividend is 8.5p a share. Management expects the residential sales part of the business to return to normal levels following the ending of incentives, while the lettings and financials businesses continue to grow.
Gaming machine monitors and consoles supplier Quixant (QXT) generated 2021 revenues of $87.1m, while pre-tax profit was $5.4m. Net cash is $17.6m. Screens supplier Densitron achieved the highest sales since it was acquired. Revenues are increasing from higher value added products.
Trading levels of most of the businesses of Tracsis (TRCS) have got back to previous levels, although the traffic data division recovery was delayed. In the six months to January 2022, group revenues were 31% ahead at £29.2m, while underlying pre-tax profit improved from £4.1m to £5m. The interim dividend is 0.9p a share. The recent US acquisition provides a customer base in the US, which is not as far advanced in terms of rail optimisation software as the UK.
Freight forwarding and transport services both improved their profit contribution to Xpediator (LSE: XPD) in 2021. The warehousing and logistics profit slumped due to problems in the UK. Pre-tax profit rose by one-quarter to £9.1m in 2021. The total dividend was reduced to 1.1p a share. A special dividend is a possibility this year, though. A new chief executive is still being sought.
Ecommerce technology provider Attraqt (ATQT) increased full year revenues by 9% to £22.9m but continued to lose money. There was £3.5m in the bank at the end of 2021 and management hopes to be cash neutral in 2022.
SourceBio International (SBI) grew Covid-19 testing revenues and core divisions also improved revenues during 2021. Group revenues grew from £50m to £92.5m, but they are expected to decline to £39.5m in 2022. That masks sharply higher core revenues partly due to a recent acquisition. The Covid testing labs can be converted to other uses.
Floorcoverings supplier Likewise (LIKE) says that first quarter of 2022 is ahead of budget. The Birmingham logistics site is up and running. The latest acquisition is Delta Carpets, which is earnings enhancing.
Anglesey Mining (AYM) has made the switch from the Main Market to AIM. It had been listed since May 1988. The company’s main asset is the 100%-owned Parys Mountain copper lead zinc deposit in Anglesey, north Wales. Other assets include a 20% interest in the Grangesberg iron project in Sweden. There is a right of first refusal to increase the stake to 70%. The share price moved up by 0.01p to 4.06p on the first day of trading on AIM.
MAIN MARKET
First Tin (1SN) raised £20m at 30p a share and ended the first day of trading at 30p (29p/31p). First Tin issued 60 million shares to acquire Taronga Mines, which owns Australian tin mining assets. The company already owned German tin projects. The cash raised should last for 18-24 months.
Radiology services provider Medica Group (MGP) had a much stronger second half to 2021. Revenues from elective surgery where slightly lower in the first half because of the effect of lockdowns and restrictions. The 2021 group revenues improved from £12.5m to £17.3m as surgery activity built back to previous levels. In 2021, group revenues improved from £36.8m to £61.9m, while underlying pre-tax profit increased from £4.74m to £11.5m. That excludes £4.13m of non-underlying costs, including amortisation, share based payments and one-off professional fees of £555,000. Net cash was £3.88m at the end of 2021. There is potential contingent consideration of £6.89m. The total dividend is 5% higher at 2.68p a share.
DG Innovate (DGI) completed its reversal into Path Investments. The company was acquired for £32.4m in shares issued at 0.6p each and has two operations. The first is developing electric drive technology and the other is developing sodium-ion batteries. The £2.55m raised at 0.5p a share, plus the £2.08m raised from warrants exercised at 0.25p each, will help to commercialise these technologies. The share price ended the first day at 0.34p, which is higher than the suspension price.
Ajax Resources (AJAX) is a shell seeking energy and natural resources assets and it raised £1.34m at 4p a share. The shares ended the week at 4.75p. The pro forma net assets are 2.6p a share. Management is seeking production that provides cash flow and/or strong exploration potential in known resources areas.
Aura Renewable Acquisitions (ARA) is a new shell seeking acquisitions in the renewable energy sector and it raised £1m at 10p a share. It ended the first day of trading at 17p. Pro forma cash is 8.4p a share. The founder shareholder is Harmony Capital Investments, which is behind the management of AIM-quoted, Asia-focused investment company Jade Road Investments Ltd (JADE), where Aura chairman John Croft is executive chairman. Aura is targeting is a range of businesses in areas such as wind, solar, biomass, hydro, carbon capture, waste management, smart grids and hydrogen supply.
OTHER MARKETS
Cyprus listed FOS Holdings has appointed Nick Kounoupias as chief executive. He is a solicitor with his own intellectual property consultancy. The film and entertainment company is planning a complex of five studios in Cyprus between Limassol and Larnaca, plus studios in other locations around the world. EU grants will help the funding of the studio complex, but other funding will need to be secured. FOS also plans to make three films a year.
Andrew Hore
Quoted Micro 7 February 2022
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
SuperSeed Capital Ltd (WWW) raised £2m at 100p a share in order to invest in UK based seed technology companies alongside a related fund. The share price ended the week at 70p (65p/75p). The directors can issue up to 50 million additional shares up until 27 January 2027.
Samarkand Global (SMK) says that trading conditions in China will hamper progress for the rest of this financial year. Covid restrictions have hit trading during the Chinese New Year period. Revenues will be lower than expected and higher investment will increase the expected loss. Recent deals will help Samarkand grow in the longer-term, but there are also forecast reductions for the next two years. VSA no longer expects Samarkand to make a pre-tax profit in 2022-23.
Gunsynd (GUN) investee company Low6 has raised $5m and the sports betting platform company agreed to reverse into a Canadian shell, which will list on the TSX Venture Exchange. Gunsynd has raised A$493,000 (£260,000) from the sale of part of its stake in ASX-listed Charger Metals Ltd. This has raised the initial investment and left Gunsynd holding three million shares.
Capital for Colleagues (CFCP) is selling its A ordinary shares in The Homebuilding Centre back to the company in five tranches. There will be a minimum payment of £50,000 a year. This guarantees Capital for Colleagues will receive its initial investment of £250,000. It still owns 15% of the ordinary shares.
Cadence Minerals (KDNC) has raised £4.2m at 20.5p a share via a placing and subscription. A one-for-20 open offer could raise up to £1.52m. Cadence has to invest $6m in two stages to take a 27% stake in the Amapa iron ore project in Brazil.
CBD products supplier Love Hemp Group (LIFE) is attempting to raise £2m at 1p a share and still plans to move to the Main Market in the first quarter of 2022. There are also plans to swap shares for debt. The company is moving to a new facility consolidating all the activities. Chairman Andrew Male and chief executive Tony Calamita, along with others, will accept their remuneration in shares until June 2022. This reduces the cash outflow.
Property investor Ace Liberty and Stone (ALSP) increased its interim pre-tax profit from £674,000 to £755,000. That is after a loss on disposal of £315,000, although fair value losses reduced from £200,000 to £100,000. Rental income fell 3% to £2.89m. There are £3.05m of assets held for sale. Net assets were 333.1m at the end of October 2021, while net debt is £50.4m.
AQRU (AQRU) has acquired Bison Exchange UAB for €30,000. The acquisition has changed its name to Accru Finance. The company can provide virtual currency exchange and wallet custody operations in Lithuania.
KR1 (KR1) has invested $5m in Starry Night Capital, which is building a portfolio of high-profile non-fungible tokens.
Pioneer Media Holdings (PNER) has completed the acquisition of Bark Ventures, a NFT play-to-earn game developer, for 2.86 million shares.
Western Selection (WESP) has cut its stake in Northbridge Industrial Services (NBI) from 6.21% to 4.74% while Harwood Capital has increased its holding from 20.4% to 22.56%.
Helium Ventures (HEV) had £704,000 in cash at the end of October 2021. That is after a A$400,000 investment in Blue Star Helium, which has exploration projects in North America.
Quantum Exponential (QBIT) is still talking to potential investee companies. It owns 199,993 shares in Arqit Quantum, which has a contract with Virgin Orbit that covers two satellite launches.
Minerals explorer Altona Rare Earths (ANR) plans to continue to develop its rare earths projects Mozambique and Malawi to bankable feasibility study stage, as well as reviewing another acquisition that could be completed by the summer.
BWA Group (BWAP) reports that exploration of the 90%-owned mineral sands projects in Cameroon shows promising returns of rutile, ilmenite, kyanite and zircon over continuous zones.
Valereum (VLRM) has secured a $10m funding facility and this will help to finance the acquisition of the Gibraltar Stock Exchange. It has drawn down $3m which has to be repaid in six months of it can be converted into shares at 36.82p each, which is just below the current share price of 38p. There were also 663,302 warrants issued exercisable at 33.47p.
Clean Invest Africa (CIA) has raised £100,000 at 0.5p a share, with each two shares granted one warrant exercisable at 1.5p each.
AIM
NWF (NWF) reported a jump in interim profit. The fuel and food distribution businesses traded strongly with the former benefiting from concerns about supply shortages last autumn. The feeds business fell into loss, partly due to the loss of a distributor, and there was a £8.4m asset write down. Stripping out that exceptional, underlying pre-tax profit jumped from £2.5m to £4.3m. NWF maintained its interim dividend at 1p a share. Net debt was £7.4m at the end of November 2021. Management is seeking fuel distribution acquisitions to add to the regional network.
Wynnstay Group (WYN) has continued its record of increasing its dividend with an 18th consecutive rise. The total dividend improved from 14.6p a share to 15.5p a share. In the year to October 2021, underlying pre-tax profit was 37% higher at £11.4m. NAV is 525p a share. Wynnstay has increased market share in the feeds market, particularly for dairy and egg production. Agricultural merchanting operations benefited from the improved spending power of farmers. There could be a dip in profit this year.
Piling contractor Van Elle (VANL) improved its interim results and this led to an upgrade in full year forecasts. First half revenues were 57% ahead at £60m and it moved back into profit. Equipment usage levels have risen sharply. Net cash is £3.5m and this is enabling an increase in investment in new equipment. Van Elle had an order book of £39m at the end of 2021. Peel Hunt has increased its full year pre-tax profit forecast from £3m to £3.3m.
Hercules Site Services (HERC) originally raised £4m at 50.5p a share. The existing shareholder also raised £4m. Cirencester-based Hercules Site Services provides construction workers with a wide range of skills including carpenters, bricklayers, ground workers, security and site engineers. It also hires out suction excavators and sometimes there are cross selling opportunities with the labour supply business. More suction excavators are being acquired this year and there should be 20 following this fundraising. Demand for staff for infrastructure projects is increasing.
Electra Private Equity has sold all but one of its core investments, changed its name to Unbound Group (UBG) and moved to AIM. The remaining core business is footwear business Hotter. This is a direct to consumer business, although there are still 23 retail stores, down from 78 three years ago. One of Unbound’s main assets is its customer database. It hopes that selling additional products to that customer base will significantly improve profitability. The first sales of third-party products through the company’s website will be in the second quarter of 2022. The plan is to generate 50% of profit from these products.
Franchised lettings and estate agency business Belvoir Group (BLV) enjoyed a strong end to the year even though the stamp duty holiday ended in the autumn. The 2021 pre-tax profit forecast has been raised from £9.6m to £10m, while the £8.9m forecast for 2022 is maintained at £8.9m.
The Property Franchise Group (TPFG) continued to make strong progress in the fourth quarter despite the ending of the stamp duty holiday. There was a like-for-like increase of 26% in revenues, while the acquisition of Hunters Property meant that they more than doubled to £24.1m.
Freight forwarder and logistics company Xpediator (XPD) achieved 2021 revenues of more than £300m, compared with forecasts of £250m. The pre-tax profit will be much more than £8.5m.
MAIN MARKET
Shipbroker Braemar Shipping Services (BMS) says that 2021-22 revenues will be at least £101m because the strong first half trading has continued into the second six months to February 2022. Operating profit should be at least £9.8m, up from £7.7m. Talks continue about the disposal of Cory Brothers.
Constellation Automotive has taken a 19.9% stake in motor dealer Lookers (LOOK) at the same time as it is completing its takeover of Marshall Motor. This will put Constellation in a strong position if there is a takeover battle for Lookers.
Hiro Metaverse Acquisitions 1 (HMA1) is a SPAC seeking acquisitions in video games, esports and other related areas. It raised £115m at £10 a unit (one share and 0.5 of a warrant).
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 2 August 2021
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Brewer Shepherd Neame (SHEP) says trading has picked up since 12 April and was even better from 17 May. Beer volumes are good, but the company lost money in the year to June 2021. Between 12 April and 26 June managed pub revenues were 84% of the same time in 2019, while tenanted pubs achieved 77% of the volume in 2019. Tenanted pubs return to paying normal rent on 2 August. Net debt is £89.8m.
Brands owner and ecommerce technology platform operator Samarkand (SMK) increased its revenues by 201% in the year to March 2021, but that was flattered by one-off personal protective equipment revenues. Since the year end a Tokyo office has been opened. The latest technology, Nomad Checkout is being piloted.
Oberon Investments (OBE) more than trebled its revenues to £3.8m in the year to March 2021. Assets under administration increased by 340% to more than £550m and more investment management firms were acquired after the year end. The broking operation has already started to win clients and has raised £30m since June 2020. There were record first quarter revenues. Chris Akers has taken a 3.58% stake.
CBD and hemp products supplier Love Hemp (LIFE) has increased its full year revenues by 60% to £4.31m, although second half revenues were lower than those in the first half, which benefitted from large orders by Boots and Holland and Barrett. This year online revenues are expected to increase significantly.
NQ Minerals (NQMI) has requested that trading of the shares on Aquis should cease. There are problems with the company’s 2020 accounts. Begbies Traynor has been appointed to advise on restructuring, but the board is unsure whether the company can continue trading.
KR1 (KR1) has invested $100,000 in the Redstone project, which will be changed for tokens at a later date. Redstone is a cross-chain data oracle technology that provides fast access to data and historic audit trail. A further $269,892 was invested in Interlay for 1,224 series seed shares.
S-Ventures (SVEN) has acquired plant-based nutrition products supplier Pulsin for £2m in cash, £2m in loan notes and 15.18 million shares. The issue of three million of the shares is deferred and dependent on sales in 2021. Pulsin has net debt of £1.2m and generated sales of 37.05m in the year to April 2021. S-Ventures already owns Ohso Chocolate and snacks firm We Love Purely.
EPE Special Opportunities (ESO) has invested £22.5m for a majority stake in a company that owns homeware brands, including Kilner, Viners, Typhoon and Ravenhead. In 2020, revenues were £35.6m.
Dispersion Holdings (DEFI) had net cash of £8.8m at the end of July 2021. It has also invested £910,000 in decentralised finance investments.
Black Sea Property (BSP) is selling a property in Cyprus for €1.06m, compared with a valuation of €830,000.
Coinsilium (COIN) has moved to the Apex segment.
AIM
Big Technologies (BIG) provides remote and personal monitoring services, predominantly to the criminal justice market, and the technology has been developed over more than a decade. The company raised £14.7m after expenses at 200p a share. There was also £185.6m raised by existing shareholders, which sold around one-third of the shares in issue. In three days of trading the share price soared to 355p, which values the company at £1bn. Revenues increased from £19.3m in 2019 to £29.6m in 2020 thanks to new contracts and additional revenues from existing customers. Pre-tax profit jumped from £5.53m to £12.7m.
Tracsis (TRCS) has won a multi-year contract for its RailHub planning software. The deal is worth several million pounds, and this will make an initial high margin contribution to the financial year to July 2021. It sparked a £1m uplift in the 2021 profit forecast to £10.5m.
The Property Franchise Group (TPFG) has doubled interim revenues, helped by the Hunters acquisition early this year. Organic growth was 35%.
Hostels operator Safestay (SSTY) had a tough 2020 and has just published its 2020 figures. It achieved 38% occupancy in its hostels when they were open. The loss was £10m. NAV is £28.5m. Leasehold sales have helped to reduce bank debt to £18m in July 2021. There are 16 hostels currently trading and the other two are set to reopen.
Seed Innovations (SEED) has a 5.1% stake in Canadian Stock Exchange listed CDD and health products supplier Yooma Wellness Inc, which is joining Aquis on 10 August.
MAIN MARKET
Spinnaker Acquisitions (SPAQ) is a new cash shell that has been brought to the market by the same team that floated Spinnaker Opportunities, which eventually acquired cannabis products supplier Kanabo (KNB). It raised £2.08m at 10p a share. The share price has risen to 12.5p, but there is a wide spread of 10p/15p. Spinnaker is seeking to acquire a business in the sustainability and energy transition services markets.
Motor dealer Lookers (LOOK) outperformed the market in the first half of 2021 with a like-for-like increase in vehicle sales of 45%. The interim profit will be around £50m, which is one-fifth higher than previous expectations.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 7 December 2020
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Newbury Racecourse (NYR) has completed the sale of 1.2 acres of land on the northern perimeter of the racecourse for £1.5m. That is equal to book value.
NQ Minerals (NQMI) is able to draw down from its recently arranged $55m loan facility between its subsidiary Hellyer Gold Mines with ING. The cash is being used to pay off previous debt.
Wheelsure Holdings (WHLP) improved revenues from £178,000 to £235,000 in the year to August 2020, but there remain potential delays to sales. That is particularly true of Transport for London because of its financial problems. The loss was slightly reduced from £224,000 to £203,000. Wheelsure has moved from net liabilities to net assets of £7,000.
Four new directors have been appointed to the board of SulNOx (SNOX) following a general meeting and they have replaced the previous directors. Radu Florescu had previously been a director of the company. Shareholders have also given them permission to issue shares.
Trading has recommenced in Altona Energy (ANR) shares after £138,000 was raised at 6.5p a share. Further cash will be required in the next four months. Indications have been received from investors that a move to AIM or the standard list could enable Altona to raise £1m. Due diligence is being completed on the two rare earth acquisition targets in Malawi and Uganda. Christian Taylor-Wilkinson has been appointed chief executive.
Quetzal Capital (WENP) made a pre-tax profit of £276,000 in the year to June 2020. That was due to creditors accepting 7.5p in each £1 they were owed. Business opportunities are being assessed.
Wishbone Gold (WSBN) has applied for a new exploration licence in northern Queensland, which is 15km north west of the Ravenswood gold mine.
IOV Labs Ltd is investing £330,000 in Coinsilium Group (COIN) at 3p a share. One warrant will be issued for each two shares and the exercise price is 4.5p a share. IOV can appoint a director to the board, having increased its stake to 13.9%. Coinsilium says that it has enough cash until January 2022.
BWA (BWAP) reported an interim loss of £2.91m, which reduced net assets to £2.43m. The Cameroon business has marked out two licence areas and the first sampling has been undertaken with the lab results expected. BWA had written off its stake in the Prego prepaid debit card business, but there is a potential takeover by a Canadian listed company.
Belvedere Leisure (BELV) has issued £872,000 of 6.25% secured bonds, September 2025. This takes the number in issue to £979,000.
AIM
Floorcoverings manufacturer Victoria (VCP) produced better than expected interims. Peel Hunt increased its full year pre-tax profit forecast from £9.4m to £28.7m, while earnings are set to improve from 5.6p a share to 17.4p a share. There should be further significant recovery next year, but by then further acquisitions will have been made so the group will be different.
Springfield Properties (SPR) has gained planning approval for its first private rental development in Scotland. It is for 75 family homes at the company’s Bertha Park Village. Springfield will build the homes under a fixed cost contract and hand them to the PRS provider. This provides additional, predictable cash flow.
Online fashion retailer Sosandar (SOS) increased interim revenues by 52% to £4.3m even though marketing spending was reduced. Conversion rates are improving. Sales through John Lewis and Next started in August. The loss was reduced from £2.79m to £1.1m. Marketing has been stepped up and there has been further growth in revenues during the autumn. There was still £4m in the bank at the end of November 2020.
Digital TV software Mirada (MIRA) reported a 5% reduction in interim revenues to $5.5m due to Covid-19 related delays. Allenby forecasts a decline in full year revenues from $13.2m to $11.5m and the loss is expected to increase from $1.42m to $3.26m. Net debt could rise to $8.45m by the end of March 2021. Next year, the loss should be lower and Mirada should be cash generative so net debt would reduce by March 2022.
AssetCo (ASTO) has launched a tender offer for 6.53 million shares at 411p each. That will return £26.9m to shareholders. Following payment from former auditor Grant Thornton, AssetCo should have cash of around £55m.
Tavistock Investments (TAVI) has postponed a general meeting designed to pass a new long-term incentive plan for executive directors Brian Raven and Oliver Cooke. There has been unfavourable feedback from shareholders.
The Property Franchise Group (TPFG) has made a bid approach to fellow residential lettings business Hunters Property (HUNT).
Nucleus Financial (NUC) has received a bid approach from IntegraFin Holdings (IHP) and the offer is likely to be in cash. Aquiline Capital and Allfunds (UK) are also considering offers. Sanlam UK owns 52% of Nucleus.
DBAY Advisers has acquired shares in Telit Communications (TCM) at 194.8p each, so any potential bid will have to be at least at this price.
Invinity Energy Systems (IES) is raising £20.5m via a placing at 175p a share and up to £2m more could be raised through a one-for-64 open offer. The cash will help to scale up production of its vanadium flow batteries.
Pires Investments (PIRI) is subscribing for a 15% stake in decentralised finance company DeTech Studio and it will also be issued four million YOP tokens. YOP is the decentralised finance platform that DeTech is developing. The plan is to make it easier for non-experts to use. The yop token will facilitate engagement with smart contracts on the Ethereum network.
MAIN MARKET
Tirupati Graphite has launched its fundraising ahead of a standard listing on 11 December. It is raising £6m at 45p a share, which would capitalise the company at £33.6m. The cash will be invested in mining and processing of graphite.
Marwyn has launched three new shells on the standard list. Marwyn Acquisition Co I Ltd (MAC1), Marwyn Acquisition Co II Ltd (MAC2) and Marwyn Acquisition Co III Ltd (MAC3) are all seeking acquisition targets in media, technology and healthcare that can take advantage of digitalisation. Directors of past Marwyn shells are investors in the new shells. Each company has issued 700,000 shares at 100p each.
Standard list shell Mining Minerals (MMM) is in discussions with a potential strategic investor.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 14 September 2020
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Investment company S-Ventures is set to join the market on 16 September. The strategy is to make investments in consumer health and organic food businesses in the UK and Europe. The S-Ventures management will use their expertise to help smaller brands grow faster and achieve greater scale. Up to three acquisitions are planned each year and they are likely to have values of between £150,000 and £2m.
Evrima (EVA) has secured an option to acquire a 17.2% stake in Kalahari Key Mineral Exploration (KKME), which would increase its investment in the Botswana-focused nickel, copper and platinum explorer to 19.6%. The former Sport Capital Group has 60 days to acquire the stake for $183,000 in the form of 2.3 million shares at 6p each. The same number of warrants will be issued, and they are exercisable at 12p each. AIM-quoted Power Metals has a
Block Commodities (BLCC) has been fined £7,000 by the Aquis Stock Exchange. Block failed to make sure that it provided accurate and fully up to date information to investors about fundraisings. It also failed to consult with its corporate adviser. Trading in the shares remains suspended.
All Star Minerals (ASMO) is assessing potential gemstones opportunities in Africa.
Lombard Capital (LCAP) has sold a 29.5% stake in LCP Financial for £275,000 in order to provide funds to develop the waste and recycling operations.
Early Equity (EEQP) has appointed Novum Securities as its corporate adviser and trading has recommenced in the shares.
Gold explorer Tectonic Gold (TTAU) has raised £403,000 at 0.275p a share. Each new share has a warrant attached that is exercisable at 0.7p each after the results of the exploration drilling are released. The cash will finance drilling.
AIM
Michelmersh Brick (MBH) has restarted production following lockdown despatches have recovered more quickly than the sector. Interim revenues fell by 17% and underlying pre-tax profit was halved, but full year expectations have been upgraded. The bricks manufacturer is operating at normal levels and June 2020 revenues were better than those in June 2019. Canaccord Genuity has upgraded its full year profit forecast from £5.3m to £6.5m, down from £9.7m in 2019. Limited UK brick production capacity means that Michelmersh is in a strong position and it has demonstrated its resilience this year.
Internet domain name registry and services provider CentralNic (CNIC) is paying $36m for the Codewise businesses, which provide monetisation services and online marketing tools. This fits with Team Internet and will be significantly earnings enhancing from day one. A placing raised £30m at 75p a share.
Synairgen (SNG) has published interim data for its SNG001 treatment that suggests that it could be effective for COVID-19 patients, particularly those suffering with more severe symptoms.
Belvoir Group (BLV) weathered the COVID-19 lockdown well. Financial services increased their contribution in the first half and lettings income held up. Underlying pre-tax profit improved by 7% to £3.16m, helped by the Lovelle acquisition. Earnings per share were 16% higher at 7.3p. The interim dividend is 3.4p and a further 2p is payable in lieu of the final dividend that was not paid. The former boss sold shares at 150p each.
The Property Franchise Group (TPFG) reported an unchanged interim pre-tax profit of £2m and an interim dividend of 2.1p a share is being paid. Cash has risen to £6.1m. Lettings income held up and trading was strong in June. The core business and online operation EweMove both performed strongly in July.
Arden has initiated research on Dekel Agri-Vision (DKL) and it believes that the palm oil and cashew nut processer is worth 7.6p a share. The broker believes that Dekel could make an operating profit next year. Profit should build up over the next few years as cashew nuts processing activities grow.
Concrete levelling equipment supplier Somero Enterprises (SOM) is resuming dividends and paying a deferred final dividend of 20.7 cents a share as well as an interim of 4 cents a share. That will cost $14m. North American interim sales held up best with European sales falling by one-quarter. Pre-tax profit is still expected to fall from $28m to $17.6m, but net cash should be $20m at the end of 2020.
Digital invoicing services provider Tungsten Corporation (TUNG) is on course to move into profit in the current financial year. The loss per share was reduced from 3.5p to 1.4p in the year to April 2020 and there was cash generated from operations.
Irrigation products supplier Amiad Water Systems (AFS) reported a decline in revenues but profit increased as margins improved. Amiad was already reducing its cost base when COVID-19 started to hamper the business. This led Stifel to increase its full year pre-tax profit forecast to $4.5m. Further growth could come from new products and potential acquisitions.
Building and construction products supplier Alumasc (ALU) has realigned its cost base but pre-tax profit was still one-third down at £3.7m as full year revenues declined by 16% to £76m. A 2p a share dividend was declared. Trading has been recovering since the June year end. Further cost saving benefits will help profit to recover this year. finnCap forecasts £6.4m pre-tax profit for 2020-21.
New SIPP business has been slow for STM (STM) but the recurring revenue base means that interim revenues were maintained at £11.8m. Additional personnel costs reduced pre-tax profit by nearly one-third to £1.1m. There is £17.6m in the bank and that enables STM to pay an interim dividend of 0.55p a share, which should be one-third of the total for the year. A full year pre-tax profit of £2.5m is forecast, with a rebound to £4.5m in 2021.
Recruitment firm Hydrogen (HYDG) plans to cancel the AIM quotation. A tender offer of 40p a share provides investors with a way to sell their shares prior to the cancelation.
MAIN MARKET
LED lighting and wiring accessories supplier Luceco (LUCE) has realigned costs so that they are more in line with revenues. In the first half of 2020, revenues fell by 13% to £71.6m, but operating profit was one-quarter higher at £9m. Gross margins continue to increase, and overheads have been kept down. Operating profit margin of 12.3% was higher than ever before.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 20 January 2020
NEX EXCHANGE
NQ Minerals (NQMI) generated gross revenues of A$15.5m and gross profit of A$7.4m from Hellyer gold mine in the fourth quarter. Full year revenues were A$53.9m and operating profit was A$12.2m. The profit grew steadily quarter by quarter. NQ has raised £311,000 at 7p a share. In December, £300,000 was raised at 6.5p a share.
Clean Invest Africa (CIA) says that is subsidiary Coaltech has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Uzbekistan ministry of innovation and development and Uzbekistan Railway. The coal fines project could have an initial value of $16m. A plant would be built to process coal fines into coal pellets. Coal mining is an important industry in Uzbekistan. There will be feasibility studies and the development of a business plan. This deal comes via the joint venture with Creon Investments, which is focused on Russia and former Soviet Union countries.
Ganapati (GANP) says that its Malta-based subsidiary has signed a two-year endorsement agreement with Welljam, which owns the rights to Usain Bolt’s services and image rights. Ganapati has is launching the first official Usain Bolt online slot game when the Tokyo Olympics are held during the summer. Usain Bolt will be attending the ICE London iGaming event in February. There are initial licence payments for image rights during the development of the slot game and a share of future revenues.
Ananda Developments (ANA) says that its investee company iCAN Israel-Cannabis has raised money via a convertible that places a pre-money valuation of $20m on the company. Ananda invested $200,000 in a convertible loan in August 2018 and $100,000 of the loan has been converted into 120 shares worth $200,000 at the latest valuation. DJT Plants, which is 50%-owned by Ananda, has received planning permission for the construction of a facility for cannabis plant breeding and propagation.
Property investor Ace Liberty and Stone (ALSP) reported a dip in pre-tax profit from £334,000 to £306,000 in the six months to October 2019. The NAV improved from £21.2m to £21.9m over the six month period, even though £349,000 was paid in dividends.
Imperial X (IMPP) has switched its investing strategy back from medicinal cannabis to energy-related businesses. The focus is building a royalty stream from oil and gas interests.
Mark Leigh is taking over from Claire Spencer as finance director of Newbury Racecourse (NYR).
Broadband-focused shell SAPO (SAPO) has raised £27,500 at 2.75p a share.
Diverse Income Trust has reduced its stake in TechFinancials (TECH) to below 3%.
Lawyer Gateley (GTLY) generated organic growth of 10.5% in the first half and it is on course to meet analyst expectations for the full year. The main first half growth was in the corporate and pensions businesses. The most recent acquisition will take annualised non-legal revenues to 12% of the group total. A full year pre-tax profit of £21.3m is forecast.
Regional legal business Knights Group (KGH) increased interim revenues by one-third to £32m through a combination of acquired and organic growth. Underlying earnings were 9% ahead at 5.95p a share. Net debt was £17.1m at the end of October 2019. The interim dividend was raised by 83% to 1.1p a share, although Knights was not quoted for all the comparative period. Two Birmingham-based firms have been acquired since the period end.
Legal firm Ince Group (INCE) raised £12m at 45p a share. The share price has more than halved since the beginning of the year. The January 2019 placing was at 140p a share. There are plans to raise £2m by a one-for-8.398 open offer and £2m via an offer to staff. The cash will enable the working capital facility to be reduced and finance investment in building up staff numbers. Net debt was £10.4m at the end of September 2019.
Pharmaceutical services provider Ergomed (ERGO) has acquired Ashfield Pharmacovigilance Inc for $10m and this will be earnings enhancing in 2020. The deal boosts Ergomed’s position in pharmacovigilance services and gives it a stronger position in the US. Ashfield has annual revenues of $11.6m and contracted future revenues of $9.8m.
Dekel Agri-Vision (DKL) has established a 50/50 renewable energy joint venture with Green Enesys that will operate a 36MW hybrid power (solar and biomass) project in Ivory Coast. This should reduce costs at the palm oil project in Ayenouan. There could be other potential power projects in the region. Dekel is benefiting from the recovery in the crude palm oil price. It produced 37,649 tonnes of crude palm oil in 2019, even though poor weather led to disappointing fourth quarter production. Later this year processing of cashew nuts should commence.
Biopesticides developer Eden Research (EDEN) generated revenues of £2m in 2019, down from £2.8m, and an operating loss of £1.4m. Product revenues grew even though the summer weather restricted usage of Botrytis.
Lettings agency The Property Franchise Group (TPFG) is setting up a financial services division. Acquisitions are planned and the first is a 72.25% stake in Auxilium Partnership, which is the business of newly appointed financial services director Mark Graves. This has been a source of growth for rival Belvoir (BLV).
D4T4 Solutions (D4T4) has confirmed that its second half trading is much stronger than the first half thanks to the contracts won by the Celebrus data analysis software business. The financials sector has been a productive customer base for Celebrus. D4T4 is increasingly winning SaaS business and this could hold back short-term growth, which could lead to the trimming of 2019-20 forecasts.
Instem (INS) continues to increase its recurring revenues. The pharma software company generated organic revenues growth of 12% in 2019. Pre-tax profit is expected to be £3.3m. Net cash was £5.9m. A jump in profit to £4.7m is forecast for 2020.
Estate agency Winkworth (WINK) says 2019 profit was modestly ahead of expectations and a total dividend of 7.8p a share is proposed, which is higher than forecast.
Telit Communications (TCM) did better than expected in 2019 and excluding the former automotive activities revenues grew by 8%. The internet of things technology developer is forecast to make a 2020 pre-tax profit of £20.1m.
Pharma data analytics firm Diaceutics (DXRX) generated more cash tan expected last year and made a small profit. Thee was cash of £11.7m at the end of 2019. The 2020 pre-tax profit could be £800,000.
Barkby Group (BARK) has exchanged contracts on a development site in Huntingdon, which has a gross development value of £10.7m.
Risk management software developer KRM22 (KRM) says 2019 revenues were slightly lower than expected at £4m. Delayed contracts are expected to be signed soon.
Telematics firm Quartix (QTX) managed to maintain revenues at £25.6m in 2019 and a small increase is expected in 2020. The mix of revenues has changed with fleet generating 80%, up from 73%, thanks to growth in the US and France. Insurance revenues fell as expected as low margin business was shed. Pre-tax profit is still expected to decline from £8.2m to £6.6m in 2019, with a further fall to £6.3m forecast for 2020. The dividend is expected to be reduced from 12.4p a share to 12.1p a share, although it will not be fully covered by earnings.
Base Resources (BSE) has increased production guidance for the Kwale mine with midpoints of 78,000t for rutile, 345,000t for ilmenite and 30,500t for zircon. There is a lack of supply of rutile and ilmenite, so this is good news. This should provide a strong boost to profit.
Pressure Technologies (PRES) has been fined £700,000 and will have to pay prosecution costs of £169,000 following the guilty verdict relating to a fatal accident at one of its sites in 2015. The first instalment of £215,000 is due in April with a further six equal instalments payable every six months between July 2020 and January 2023.
Oil and gas explorer and producer Empyrean Energy (EME) is raising £420,000 at 9p a share and chief executive Tom Kelly has contributed £200,000 of that cash. The placing was at a 9% premium to the market price. The cash will be spent on drilling offshore of Indonesia. There is a potential resource upgrade for the Mako gas discovery in Indonesia.
Mereo BioPharma (MPH) says that there have been positive results from the phase 2b study of Setrusumab in adults with osteogenesis imperfecta. They show that it is helping to build bone. A study with children is planned. A meeting with the FDA is due in the coming weeks. Earlier this year, Mereo signed a licence agreement for the use of Navicixizumab in ovarian cancer with Oncologie Inc. An upfront payment of $4m is due.
Nutrition provider Science in Sport (SIS) expects to report 2019 sales of £50.5m with underlying growth of nearly one-quarter. The fastest growth is outside of the UK. River and Mercantile has taken a 5.5% stake.
MAIN MARKET
Shareholders in AIM-quoted Anglo African Oil and Gas (AAOG) have agreed to the sale of 80% of its Congo subsidiary to Zenith Energy (ZEN) and it is waiting for government approval. There is a put and call option over the other 20%. If the call option is exercised Zenith will pay £1m in shares. If the production at the Tilapia oilfield averages at least 4,000 barrels of oil per day for 30 consecutive days, the put option can be exercised and Zenith would pay £2.5m in shares.
Endeavour Mining Corporation has ended its merger discussions with gold miner Centamin (CEY) blaming a lack of information. Endeavour still believes that a combination would be positive. Centamin is raising its final dividend to 6 cents a share, taking the 2019 total to 10 cents a share, up from 5.5 cents a share. Net cash was $348m at the end of 2019. The higher gold price will further boost cash generation. A new chief executive still has to be appointed.
Standard list cash shell Trident Resources (TRR) has £3.29m in cash at the end of October 2019, which is similar to NAV. Management is assessing a few mining project acquisition opportunities.
Stevia sweeteners producer PureCircle Ltd (PURE) says that shareholders owning more than 10% of the share capital have put forward three proposed directors to be voted on at the AGM on 10 February. The company is happy for Sridhar Krishnan, Lai Hock Meng, a former PureCircle director, and Oliver Maes, who was previously a PureCircle director, to be appointed to the board.
Books publisher Quarto (QRT) is raising £13.9m at 68p each. The open offer is underwritten and it will help to reduce the debt burden.
Menswear retailer and hirer Moss Bros (MOSB) Total sales were 3% lower in the 24 weeks to 11 January, but gross margin improved. Hire revenues fell by 17.7%. Cash is £12m.
OTHER MARKETS
Pallets manufacturer RM2 International (RM2) intends to move from AIM to matched bargains market Asset Match (www.assetmatch.com).
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 5 August 2019
NEX EXCHANGE
Netalogue Technologies (NTLP) increased its revenues by 26% to £1.35m in the year to March 2019. Pre-tax profit jumped from £82,000 to £300,000 thanks to the ecommerce technology provider keeping overheads flat. There is £770,000 in the bank. Netalogue will consider paying a dividend when it reports its interim results. Netalogue focuses on the B2B market and it continues to win new customers.
European Lithium Ltd (EUR) has secured a A$10m finance facility in the form of convertibles from Winance Investment, which replaces the existing facility. The company is still seeking a strategic investor to help finance the development of the Wolfsburg lithium project.
None of the three Morgan Ashley extra care schemes that Ashley House (ASH) was expecting have closed. They could close over the next couple of months, but Ashley House was hoping to get the cash and it is investigating additional funding.
Trading in the shares of Equatorial Mining and Exploration (EM.P) was restored after the annual report was published. There was a £221,000 loss in 2018 but the business is very different now. A placing has raised £400,000 at 0.01p a share. The date for completing the acquisition of tantalum business Eastinco has been extended until the end of September. This is a part of the strategy to consolidate mining operations in Rwanda. Align Research believes that Equatorial could generate revenues of £1.19m this year, rising to £9.19m in 2020, which would enable it to make a pre-tax profit of £1.77m.
Social impact company Inqo Investments Ltd (INQO) increased its revenues from R23m to R23.8m in the year to February 2019, while additional finance income and fair value adjustments meant that the loss was cut from R5.99m to R2.5m. There was also an increased share of revenue from Bee Sweet Honey in Zambia. Trading is improving at Kuzuko Lodge with room rates and occupancy rising thanks to the weak Rand.
Coinsilium Group (COIN) says that its Gibraltar-based blockchain consultancy has signed a new advisory agreement with IOV Labs Ltd. This involves supporting the RSK Smart Contract Network and RSK Infrastructure Framework blockchain services. These are focused on Asia.
Eight Capital Partners (ECP) has launched a bond to raise up to €5m and it will be traded on the Vienna Stock Exchange. The interest rate is 7% and the redemption date is 26 July 2022.
AIM
Transport services provider Xpediator (XPT) has not performed as well as hoped this year and earnings estimates have been cut by one-quarter. There has also been some additional investment in the business, which will double central costs.
Information management software provider IDOX (IDOX) has raised £7m via a placing at 28.5p a share, which will be used to finance the acquisition of Northern Ireland-based Tascomi for up to £7.15m. Tascomi is a cloud-based software supplier to local authorities.
Beximco Pharmaceuticals (BXP) has launched a fifth product in the US. Blood pressure drug Nadolol is the generic equivalent of Corgard tablets. The market is worth $63m.
Elektron Technology (EKT) is selling its original Bulgin electricals business for £105m, £94m after costs, and intends to return a substantial amount of the cash to shareholders. Net cash will be £95m after the transaction. The company will change its name to Checkit and become a Software-as-a-Service business.
The Property Franchise Group (TPFG) says that its lettings brands grew revenues by 3% in the first half. Online estate agency EweMove increased revenues by 11%. Group revenues were £5.5m in the first half. Net cash was £2.8m at the end of June 2019. Ian Wilson will step down as chief executive at the end of 2020.
Property adviser Fletcher King (FLK) reported an improvement in full year pre-tax profit from £274,000 to £282,000 on slightly lower revenues. Management says that market conditions will make it difficult to maintain profitability, although there are substantial funds available for investment when the uncertainty ends. The total dividend is maintained at 1.75p a share. There is £2m in the bank.
Digitalbox (DBOX) subsidiary Daily Mash will publish video content from NextUp on its site. This will enable the company to generate advertising on the back of the videos.
MAIN MARKET
A US customer has released Nanoco (NANO) from the obligation to pay back £4.25m of capital funding. This relates to the investment in the Runcorn facility where demand for nanomaterials has not come through from the customer. The book value of the facility, after depreciation, is £3.7m and may be written down further, along with the value of some materials. The facility is available if Nanoco can secure demand from customers.
BATM (BVC) has completed the sale of its stake in a new fibre optic network being developed in Israel. This should generate cash of $3.4m and add $3m to profit. Net cash could be $38m bythe end of 2019.
Oil and gas company Zenith Energy (ZEN) has secured the financing it requires for its drilling programme. A placing in Canada has raised the equivalent of £1.2m at C0.04 a share.
Trading in the shares of Associated British Engineering (ASBE) has been suspended because it has not published its accounts. This should happen this week.
Standard list shell Landscape Acquisition Holdings (LAHL) still has more than $496m in cash and it has done well to preserve the cash it raised when it floated at the end of 2017. There is a broad remit, but the main focus is a property-related/backed business in Europe or North America.
Stranger Holdings (STHP) is still seeking to close a reverse takeover after its first deal fell through. The shell is in talks to acquire local government supplier HCS. There is no cash in the bank and Stranger has net liabilities.
Andrew Hore