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Quoted Micro 7 October 2024
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Prize draw operator Good Life Plus (GDLF) has increased the number of paying subscribers by 90% to more than 40,000 in less than a year. Management says that it might exceed expectations for the current financial year. Good Life Plus is raising £2m at 2.5p/share. Earlier this year, £2m was raised at 2.25p/share. The cash will finance customer acquisition and signing up new partners.
Brewer Shepherd Neame (SHEP) grew full year revenues by 4% to £172.3m and underlying pre-tax profit improved from £7.6m to £7.9m. NAV is 1217p/share, while net debt is £80m. Like-for-like retail sales were 4.9% ahead with the growth dominated by drinks offsetting a fall in accommodation income. Beer volumes declined 12% with own-brewed volume 17% lower. Brand refreshes are planned. Beer volumes continue to decline, while like-for-like retail sales for the initial 13 weeks of the new year are 3.8% higher.
Consumer brands company Silverwood Brands (SLWD) increased interim revenues from £5.85m to £7.08m and it moved into profit, but that was mainly due to exceptional gains.
CRUSHMETRIC Group (CUSH) increased interim revenues from HK$1.04m to HK$2.94m, although the loss was similar at HK$3.7m.
Talks with potential investors in Quantum Exponential Group (QBIT) have been terminated. The documentation has not been signed and the potential investor did not pay the £200,000 towards costs that it promised. Trading in the shares will end on 30 October.
Voyager Life (VOY), which has an option to acquire M3 Helium, has changed its name to Mendell Helium. The admission document is being prepared and the option should be exercised by the end of January. The company had £163,000 in the bank at the end of March.
Aquaculture technology developer OTAQ (OTAQ) reported a 16% decline in interim revenues to £1.5m because of a delay to a £350,000 order. The company continues to lose money. A forecast full year loss of £1.3m is similar to 2023, including a £150,000 benefit from cost reductions, and it could be halved in 2025 as the full benefit of cost savings show through.
KR1 (KR1) had net assets of 57.27p/share at the end of August 2024. The income in the month was £590,000.
Investment Evolution Credit (IEC), which provides loans under the Mr Amazing Loans brand, is holding a general meeting to gain approval to raise up to £2.5m from share issues. Paul Mathieson is being replaced as chief executive by Marc Howells. Former director Sam Prasad is loaning £200,000 to the company, which replaces a previous £100,000 loan.
Recycling services provider Majestic Corporation (MCJ) narly doubled interim revenues from $13m to $25m and pre-tax profit was one-third higher at $900,000. The company has received Enterprise Investment Scheme status.
RentGuarantor (RGG) has increased third quarter revenues by 62% and average revenues per tenant by 8% to £606.
Gains on investments enabled Hot Rock Investments (HRIP) to move into profit in the year to March 2024. Net assets increased to £512,000.
An undertaking of EPE Special Opportunities (EO.P) has provided additional funding of £2m to the Rayware Group. There is also a £1m contingent guarantee provided to third party lenders. EPE Special Opportunities still has £16m in cash.
ProBiotix Health (PBX) has a commercial partnership with Deutsch-Pharm. It will use two of the company’s products (for cholesterol lowering and vascular health) under its own brand in the Ukraine. Commercialisation is anticipated in the first quarter of 2025.
One Health Group (OHGR) has appointed Panmure Liberum as corporate adviser and broker.
Hydro Hotel Eastbourne (HYDP) has declared an interim dividend of 13p/share.
AIM
AO World (AO.) is acquiring musicMagpie (MMAG) for 9.07p/share, which values the pre-owned products supplier at just under £10m. There are irrevocable undertakings and letters of intent totalling 54% to accept the offer. AO World believes that the two companies have complementary online models, and a technology trade-in service will enhance its product offering. AO World says that the musicMagpie disc media and books business should not require significant investment.
EMV Capital (EMVC) director Jonathan Robinson bought 25,000 shares at 52p each following the interim results announcement of the company that was previously known as NetScientific. Total assets under management reached £106.7m following the addition of the Martlet Capital portfolio. Net assets edged up from £17.1m to £18.5m. Nasdaq-listed investee company PDS Biotech announced a 36-month survival rate of 84.4% in locally advanced cervical cancer patients treated with the company’s lead target drug Versamune HPV and Chemoradiation.
Tavistock Investments (TAVI) is raising up to £37.75m from disposals, which is more than treble the market capitalisation before the sale, with nearly £11m payable on completion and a further £11m from discharge of intragroup debt. The rest is payable based on performance. The two businesses made a pre-tax profit of £1.5m in the year to March 2023. The cash will be used for working capital and acquisitions. There could also be share buy backs. Chief executive Brian Raven bought 830,000 shares at 3.55p each.
Good Energy (GOOD) has acquired Lincolnshire-based solar installer Amelio Solar for an initial £5.5m. The focus of the business is the education and public sector. In 2023, revenues were £7m and pre-tax profit is £1.4m. However, there have been lower levels of activity in Good Energy’s existing installation business.
Packaging equipment and automation provider Mpac Group (MPAC) is making its second acquisition in recent weeks and this is by far the larger. Mpac is acquiring CSi Palletising for £47m, including £4.16m in shares, and the deal should be completed by the end of the year. CSi Palletising designs, manufactures and installs end-of-line packaging automation and robotics equipment and will enhance the geographic coverage. In 2023, CSi Palletising generated revenues of €71.5m and EBITDA of €7.3m. The latest interims show revenues of €44.4m and EBITDA of €6.8m. There is an order book worth €64.3m. A placing raised £29m at 400p/share and a retail offer to existing shareholders could add up to £1m to the figure.
Digital media publisher Digitalbox (DBOX) has commenced a strategic review, which could involve a sale of the company. This follows representations from a major shareholder disappointed about the level of the share price. Progress should be reported in November. Interim revenues were better than expected, but July and August were weak. Net cash is £2.2m, which is more than 50% of market capitalisation. A capital restructuring is underway to create positive distributable reserves.
Agricultural products supplier Wynnstay Group (WYN) says the second half has been hit by wet weather and weaker farmgate prices in part due to government policy uncertainty. Shore has reduced its 2023-24 pre-tax profit forecast by 35% to £7.5m and this will have a knock-on effect in the year to October 2025 where the profit forecast has been cut by 29% to £8.5m. Wynnstay should still have net cash, and the NAV is estimated at around 600p/share.
Payments technology company Bango (BGO) is making some progress towards regaining investor confidence and it is on course to make a full year profit. Interim revenues grew 19% to $24.1m. Annualised recurring revenues are 130% ahead at $12.9m. Net revenue retention is 159%.
Ceramic disc brake technology developer Surface Transforms (SCE) increased interim revenues by 58%, but growth is still not meeting expectations even though there is further growth in third quarter revenues. There are delays to installing additional capacity. Full year revenues are expected to be £11m, compared with previous expectations of £17.5m. There was £5m in cash at the end of June 2024. Odd Asset Management reduced its stake from 5.13% to 2.58%.
Graphene technology developer Versarien (VRS) has signed an agreement with Balfour Beatty to develop 3D-printable mortars for civil construction. It will formulate three types of mortar. This follows the disposal of AAC Cryoma for £550,000 payable in 15 instalments.
Oil and gas company Prospex Energy (PXEN) is applying for exploration licences in Poland. The licence awards should happen in the first quarter of 2025. Initial results from the Vlura-1B development well in Northern Spain are positive. Drilling intercepted significant gas shows and that confirmed the high quality reservoir. This well will be connected up and first production should be by November.
Battery and electronic components supplier Solid State (SOLI) is acquiring Gateway Electronic Components, which manufactures ferrite and magnetic components for £1.4m. These are used by electromechanical and Industrial Internet of Things businesses. The run rate pre-tax profit is £200,000, so the multiple is less than ten.
Surplus consumer products retailer Huddled (HUD) generated interim revenues of £5.3m and they continue to grow organically and via acquisition. Third quarter revenues will be around £3.5m. Management is investing in inventory and marketing. Warehouse functions are being centralised.
MAIN MARKET
Motor dealer software provider Pinewood Technologies (PINE) published its first results following the sale of the motor dealer business. In the six months to July 2024, revenues were 11% ahead at £16.1m. Major shareholder Lithia is taking up new licences in the UK. The US roll out is being planned.
The two board representatives of Kelso Group (KLSO) on AIM-quoted The Works.co.uk (WRKS) have stepped down. This will make it easier to sell its 6.3% stake if it wishes to. The average cost was 32p/share and the current price is 25.2p.
Andrew Hore
Quoted Micro 4 December 2023
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Valereum (VLRM) shares resumed trading on 27 November. The Gibraltar Stock Exchange acquisition is not going ahead. The convertible loan note funding facility has been terminated. Warrants will be cancelled, and the company will seek to ensure that the shareholder register is accurate. Accounting records will be audited. Karl Moss has been appointed finance director.
Guanajuato Silver (GSVR) is withdrawing from the Aquis Stock Exchange at the end of 2023. It does not believe it can justify the cost of this quotation, which was gained on 25 October 2022, and the TSX Venture Exchange listing. The share price fell 13.5% to 16p. A deal has been signed to terminate the obligation to make contingency payments of $2m to Great Panther in return for offsetting a working capital adjustment owed to the company.
MBH Corporation (M8H) has decided to drop its Aquis quotation on 4 January when it will have been on the market for less than 10 months and concentrate on its Frankfurt quotation. The majority of days there has been no trading on Aquis.
Semper Fortis Esports (SEMP) plans to acquire GL Membership, which trades as Good Life+ and offers prize draws. There are more than 21,000 subscribing members, plus 500,000 email subscribers. A ten-for-one share consolidation will be undertaken and then 500 million shares issued for the acquisition at a price of 2p each. Additional assets are being bought from Chadd Media. A subscription will raise £1.4m at 2p/share. Investors include the family office of Sportingbet founder Mark Blandford.
Marula Mining (MARU) has commenced phase one exploration at the Nyorinyori and NyoriGreen graphite projects in Tanzania. The focus is the high-grade and jumbo flake graphite mineralisation, which is thought into extend in the NyoriGreen licence. The initial findings should be reported in January. Ore commissioning at the new ore sorter at the Blesberg lithium and tantalum project in South Africa should be completed at the end of January. The expanded processing plant should be commissioned in the first quarter of 2024.
Coffee shop owner Cooks Coffee Company (COOK) reported flat continuing revenues of NZ$2.04m and it has gone from a pre-tax profit of NZ$125,000 to NZ$319,000. There was a NZ$5.27m loss on discontinued operations. In October, there were record sales per store. A regional developer has been appointed to increase the number of stores in southwest England. By March, Cooks Coffee expects to have up to 80 Esquires outlets in the UK and Ireland by March. Oberon Capital has been appointed corporate adviser.
Helium Ventures (HEV) plans to change its investment strategy to focus on technology businesses. The name will be changed to Eastwood Capital.
VSA Capital (VSA) says that the owners of a 19.8% stake in Lush Cosmetics and Lush Cosmetic Warriors who agreed to sell the stake to Aquis-quoted Silverwood Brands are asking the broker to help unwind the transaction. Lush blocked the transfer of the shares. The original owners of the stake are threatening legal action if VSA Capital does not comply with the request and return the commission it earned on the transaction. VSA Capital says the claim has no merit.
Quantum Exponential Group (QBIT) investee company Oxford Quantum Circuits is raising $100m and launching OQC Toshiko, the first enterprise ready quantum computing platform. A Japanese venture capital fund. Quantum Exponential currently holds a 0.34% stake, and it will not participate in the fundraising.
Coinsilium Group Ltd (COIN) has signed heads of agreement with Indorse for a strategic share acquisition transaction for an additional 14.76% stake, taking the total stake in Indorse to 24.9%. Coinsilium will issue 65 million new shares for the additional stake.
Vulcan Industries (VULC) has finally published its accounts for the year to March 2023. The loss was £1.02m, although there was also an extraordinary profit of £1.59m on discontinued activities. The loss-making businesses have been sold. The company is moving into renewables.
Pharma C Investments (PCIL) is asking shareholders to agree to a new investing policy covering technology, fintech and AI.
IamFire (FIRE) is changing its name to WeCap and the discounted capital bonds held by Hawk Investment are being extended to 24 November 2024.
Voyager Life (VOY) says some of its CBD-based pet care products are being stocked by Pets at Home.
Aquis Exchange (AQX) says that the Aquis Stock Exchange has become the first recognised investment exchange to run on a cloud-based engine, which determines trades.
DXS International (DXSP) has secured grant funding of £409,000 jointly with Health Innovation East for research and development for AI prescribing system ExpertCare.
KR1 (KR1) had an NAV of 56.14p/share at the end of the November 2023. The digital assets generated income of £395,437.
TruSpine Technologies (TSP) says its working capital position remains weak.
Clean Invest Africa (CIA) has raised £210,000 from a placing at 0.35p/share.
Oscillate (MUSH) says all directors will receive their salaries in shares from the beginning of 2024. They will be issued at the mid-price on the day before the payment. Executive director Steven Xerri bought 6.29 million shares at 0.42p each, taking his stake to 7.8%.
AIM
Safety and regulatory compliance services provider Marlowe (MRL) achieved organic growth of 6% in the first half, but this did not show through in underlying earnings, which fell 15% to 18.9p/share. A strategic review is underway and non-core businesses could be sold. Full year earnings have been downgraded by 7% to 44.3p/share.
Wynnstay Group (WYN) says second half trading conditions are tough. Farm gate prices are weaker and wet weather has also hampered progress. That hit arable and feed business, while the merchanting division also suffered lower volumes. Shore has reduced its full year pre-tax profit forecast from £10.7m to £9.4m.
Siemens has sold its entire 11.2% stake in Sondrel (SND) for £589,000. The placing price was 6p. The semiconductors designer raised £17.5m at 55p/share when it joined AIM in October 2022. Project delays have hit revenues and knocked the share price. Siemens has been a long-term partner and was granted the status of preferred supplier of electronic design automation software for a 36-month period at the time of the flotation.
Film and video services provider Zoo Digital (ZOO) had already warned that interims would be poor with the EBITDA loss of $7.1m, but the ending of the actors’ strike in the US means that the outlook is more positive. Film and TV programme production can get going again providing a flow of work. EBITDA breakeven should be achieved in the fourth quarter and new clients have been won. A pre-tax profit of $1.4m is forecast for 2024-25 as work returns to normal levels and new business comes on stream.
Forward Partners (FWD) has agreed an all-share bid from fellow technology investment company Molten Ventures (GROW), valuing it at £42.1m. Molten Ventures is offering one share for every nine Forward Partners shares, which is equivalent to 31p/share when the bid was announced. At the end of September 2023, Molten Ventures had a NAV of 735p/share, while at the end of June 2023 Forward Partners had a NAV of 67p/share.
Mind Gym (MIND) says clients are delaying hires and related spending. The interim revenues fell from £26.8m to £20.9m and the human resources training and education company fell into loss. Annualised costs have been cut by £8m, with £3m showing through in the second half. A full year pre-tax loss of £2.5m is forecast and Mind Gym may have a small net debt position at the year end in March 2024. The company should return to profit next year as revenues recover and the cost savings kick-in.
Interims from Supreme (SUP) reported record interim revenues of £105.1m and the growth came from all divisions. Branded distribution and vaping were the strongest divisions. Interim underlying pre-tax profit doubled to £12.6m. Investment in stocks meant that net cash became net debt of £4.8m. Full year pre-tax profit of £28.4m is forecast by Zeus.
The second and third diamond drill holes at the Pitfield project owned by Empire Metals (EEE) provided more positive news with the highest grades of titanium so far. The results suggest that the resource is much greater than previously thought. The focus becomes identifying high grades at shallower depth. The additional drilling will lead to mineral resource studies.
Healthcare services provider Totally (TLY) is restructuring its business after a tough first half. Revenues were one-fifth lower at £55.8m due to lower urgent care business levels. Annualised cost savings of £3m have been made and there could be more to come. Share buying by directors has not stopped the share price decline. New chair Simon Stilwell bought one million shares at 6.1p each, while non-exec Michael Rogers acquired 40,000 shares at 5.333p each.
Tintra (TNT) intends to cancel its AIM quotation. A general meeting will be held on 4 January to gain shareholder approval. Management bemoans that the share price is too low and believes that direct costs can be reduced by £505,000 – which is ridiculously high for a company of this size – by leaving AIM. It is strange that the management has let them get out of control. That is before any indirect costs. A Middle East investor may become a partner and one of the conditions of the deal is the AIM cancellation. There is talk of a potential Middle East listing. JP Jenkins will provide a matched bargain facility, although the minimum bid price is apparently going to be set at 150p/share for the first nine months.
Antibody discovery and supply company Fusion Antibodies (FAB) is collaborating with the US-based National Cancer Institute in the use of its OptiMAL technology for the discovery of antibodies for specific cancer targets. Fusion Antibodies will not have to commit significant resources to the collaboration.
RUA Life Sciences (RUA) took advantage of last week’s share price surge to raise £4m at 11p/share. There is also a retail offer that closes on 7 December. That could raise up to £750,000.
Vela Technologies (VELA) has exercised the put option to sell the interest in AZD1656, which relates to a Covid application, to Conduit Pharmaceuticals for £3.75m in shares. In September, Conduit Pharmaceuticals completed its IPO on Nasdaq.
MAIN MARKET
Ondo InsureTech (ONDO) has raised £1.08m at 20.5p/share. This will finance working capital for recent contract wins by the claims prevention technology company.
Kelso Group Holdings (KLSO) has taken a 3% stake in AIM-quoted Angling Direct (ANG) at an average price of 35.1p/share. THG (THG) boss Matthew Moulding has bought a 3.2% stake in Kelso, which owns 0.6% of THG.
Cardiff Property (CDFF) improved its net assets to £28.44/share. That includes cash and deposits of £10.8m, which is more than one-third of the total.
Creightons (CRL) says that managing director Bernard Johnson’s employment has been terminated and he has left the board.
Andrew Hore
Quoted Micro 21 November 2022
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
EDX Medical (EDX) completed its reversal into shell TECC Capital in a deal valued at £12m and £1.2m was raised at 6p a share. The share price returned from suspension and increased by 64.1% to 5.25p, but it is still below the placing price. EDX Medical develops digital diagnostic products and service for cancer, heart disease, neurology and infectious diseases.
Non-fungible token platform developer Looking Glass Labs Ltd (NFTX) has been introduced to the Access segment of Aquis on 14 November. Web 3.0 Holdings Ltd was acquired prior to the flotation. This is a Web3 technology company that owns a retail technology platform. The company’s brand House of Kibaa has designed a next generation metaverse for 3D assets. This enables functional art and collectibles to exist across different NFT blockchains. Sales of digital assets have totalled C$6.2m and there is a 5% royalty stream on secondary sales. There were early deals at 17p a share and the share price has fallen to 13.5p.
Oscillate (MUSH) is planning to acquire Hi55 Ventures Ltd, a fintech platform designed to help companies with payroll flexibility. Trading in the shares was suspended at 0.75p each. The share-based deal values Hi55 at £28m at a notional share price of 1.29p. Existing Oscillate shareholders will be given a warrant exercisable at 1.29p for each share they own. Hi55 allows employees to access their salary as they earn it. This finance can be delivered in partnership with MasterCard.
Vulcan Industries (VULC) has not been able to conclude the proposed agreement to acquire Peregrine X Ltd. Discussion continue so a different structure to the deal might be possible. Vulcan Industries continues to sell its other interests. Components manufacturer Tim Rainham has been sold for £1. The business had net liabilities. Earlier this month, raised £157,000 in a placing at 8.2p a share.
Quetzal Capital (QTZ) says that proposed acquisition target Tap Global has no direct exposure to the defunct cryptocurrency company FTX.
Watchstone Group (WTG) has agreed settlement terms with former auditor KPMG. The final payment is £4.95m. Net assets were £11.4m at the end of June 2022, which was mainly cash. The share price increased by 11.5% to 29p, which values Watchstone at £12m.
Tectonic Gold (TTAU) has recommenced drilling at the Specimen Hill project in Queensland. This is drilling below a previous mine and one result was 8.17g/t gold over one metre in distal veins. A shortage of drilling rigs delayed the restart. The drilling should be completed in a fortnight.
Wishbone Gold (WSBN) has exercised its option to acquire the Anketell gold-copper project in Western Australia. This cost £320,000 in shares at 14.75p a share and £50,000 in cash.
Web3 gaming and infrastructure company Pioneer Media Holdings Inc (PNER) has closed the first tranche of the previously announced placing, and this raised C$580,000 at C$0.10 a unit – one share and 0.5 of a warrant exercisable at C$0.25. This is a huge discount to the market price. The share price slumped 14.3% to 30p. This cash will finance technology development and working capital. Olivia Edwards has been appointed to the board.
Diesel additives supplier SulNOx Group (SNOX) has secured an order in South Africa and a repeat order in Costa Rica. Agriculture has proved to be a large customer base.
Aquaculture and geotracking technology developer OTAQ (OTAQ) increased interim revenues by 11% to £2.03m and the reported loss fell from £881,000 to £538,000. The cash raised when OTAQ moved to Aquis will finance further technology investment. Management says that there will be a period of adjustment. Nigel Wray increased his stake from 15.8% to 19.35%.
IamFire (FIRE) is raising £3.5m at 2.5p a share.
BWA Group (BWA) has £7,367 of cash and net liabilities of £168,000. It is seeking to raise more cash.
Marula Mining (MARU) has increased its fundraising to £519,500 at 2p a share. Richard Lloyd withdrew himself from re-election as a director.
AIM
Totally (TLY) reported further progress in its latest interims with trading generally back to pre-lockdown levels. Demand for insourcing of operations has grown significantly and used up more working capital. Revenues grew but underlying pre-tax profit was flat at £2m. However, earnings fell because of a higher tax charge. Contracts worth £37m were extended. Underlying full year pre-tax profit is expected to improve from £3.7m to £5.7m, helped by insourcing demand as the NHS tries to reduce waiting lists.
Delays in commencing manufacturing and building up sales of Stereax small battery cells have knocked the Ilika (IKA) share price, which slumped 34.7% to 32p. The commercial prototypes will not be available until the end of 2023. It is also taking longer than anticipated for the larger Goliath batteries to reach the position where they have equivalence with lithium-ion cells. Forecast group revenues have been cut for this year and next year, while the 2024-25 forecast has been slashed from £18.1m to £2.7m by Berenberg. That indicates the length of the delays. That would put Ilika into a net debt position.
Wynnstay Group (WYN) is acquiring Cornwall-based feed supplier Tamar Milling for an initial £1.4m. This is immediately earnings enhancing. In 2020-21, Tamar Milling revenues were £6.4m and pre-tax profit of £420,000. Wynnstay says that its 2021-22 results will be better than expected. Grain, seed and fertiliser revenues have been strong and joint venture businesses will make a higher than expected profit contribution. There is also a boost in the figures from the accounting treatment of the hedging of wheat contracts.
Chain and transmission equipment manufacturer Renold (RNO) continues to trade well in tough times. Interim revenues were 22% ahead at £116.3m, while underlying pre-tax profit was two-fifths higher at £7.3m. The acquisition of Industrias YUK in Spain meant that net debt increased to £34m, but management is still confident that it can finance further acquisitions when they are identified. Higher interest rates have helped to reduce the net pension deficit by one-quarter to £56.6m. The order book is worth £99m, which is a record.
Digital coupons and loyalty technology provider Eagle Eye (EYE) is acquiring France-based Untie Nots, which provides promotion and gamification SaaS products to retailers. The deal will cost up to €38.8m. The initial payment is €9.1m in cash and €5.9m in shares at 555p each. A placing will raise £7m at 555p a share and the rest of the cash will come from existing net cash of £3.6m. The deferred payments of up to €23.8m will depend on achieving revenue targets in 2022, 2023 and 2024, which equate to annual growth of 60%, as well as achievement of a minimum EBITDA margin.
Harland & Wolff (HARL) is involved in Team Resolute, a consortium that is preferred bidder for a £1.6bn contract to build Royal Navy support vessels. This will require significant investment in the Belfast shipyard. The Appledore shipyard in Devon will also be involved.
Poolbeg Pharma (POLB) and consortium partners have been awarded a €2.3m grant by an Irish government fund to develop an oral vaccine candidate from pre-clinical to phase I readiness. The aim is to induce mucosal immunity. The week before Poolbeg identified multiple novel drug targets for the treatment of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) through it s collaboration with OneThree Biotech.
N4 Pharma (N4P) is raising £1m at 2p a share. A broker offer could raise up to £1m more. The share price slumped by 30.5% to 2.05p. The cash will be used for the development work relating to loading SiRNA onto delivery vehicle Nuvec, plus for funding the investigation of possible acquisitions.
MAIN MARKET
Standard listed BSF Enterprise (BSFA) says that its subsidiary 3d Bio-Tissues has produced three small prototype fillets of cultivated meat, which is a step towards a full-scale cultivated meat fillet. This comes at a time when the US FDA has given approval to a cultivated meat product for the first time. The cultivated meat fillets were 30mm in height and 15mm in diameter and weighed 5 grammes. They were some of the first 100% cultivated meat fillets produced in the world. The comparisons with conventional meat were described as “comprehensively positive”. The first full-scale cultivated meat fillet should be showcased early next year.
Braemar (BMS) increased interim revenues by 46% to £69.4m, helped by the strength of the dollar. Underlying pre-tax profit more than doubled to £10.5m and Braemar moved into a net cash position of £1.8m. The interim dividend was doubled to 4p a share.
Trading continues to improve at Castings (CGS) and interim revenues were 23% higher at £85.6m, while pre-tax profit recovered 38% to £7.5m. Price increases offset cost rises. There is strong demand for HGVs and short-term component order books remain strong. The interim dividend is 3.84p. Net cash is £25.6m and that should rise significantly in the second half.
J Smart Contractors (SMJ) is paying a final dividend of 2.27p a share. In the year to July 2022, revenues fell from £10.4m to £7.43m as construction activity declined. Thanks to a £6.06m profit on the sale of investment properties a pre-tax profit of £8.19m was reported. That is down from £14.9m the previous year, although that included a revaluation surplus of £12.1m. NAV is £124.7m, including net cash of £20.7m.
Standard list Rockpool Acquisitions (ROC) announced heads of terms for the purchase of Amcouri Group, which is a holding company for nine engineering and manufacturing businesses. The potential cost is £22.3m in ordinary shares based on the forecast profit forma EBITDA of £5.4m.
Net Zero Infrastructure (NZI) has terminated acquisition talks with Taylor Construction because it could not raise the cash required for the deal. NAV is £650,000.
Andrew Hore
Quoted Micro 22 August 2022
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Invinity Energy Systems (IES) has signed a memorandum of understanding with US Vanadium to create a US-based 50/50 joint venture to build and sell vanadium flow batteries. Arkansas-based US Vanadium produces high-purity vanadium pentoxide and electrolyte for vanadium flow batteries. Invinity Energy Systems has also delivered and installed a 1.8MWh VS3 flow battery system at the European Marine Energy Centre hydrogen R&D facility in the Orkney Islands.
Valereum (VLRM) is swapping its 20 bitcoin miners in the US for a 24% stake in new company Vinanz, which is conditional on the company listing on a recognised stock exchange. The final stake will depend on the money raised at the time of the listing. This will enable Valereum to concentrate on the Gibraltar Stock Exchange when the deal gets regulatory approval.
CBD and hemp products supplier Voyager Life (VOY) generated revenues of £178,000 in the period to March 2022. There is £1.43m in the bank.
DXS International (DXSP) has entered a licence and services agreement with Deontics, which is a clinical AI company. The technology will be integrated into the DXS clinical software.
Shares in TECC Capital (TEC) remain suspended ahead of a readmission document for the proposed EDX Medical acquisition. There was £1.03m in the bank at the end of March 2022.
Goodbody Healthcare (GDBY) increased revenues by £2.55m to £7.4m in the first half of 2022. This was driven by revenues from the testing clinics. The loss grew from £1.27m to £1.41m. There is cash in the bank of £3.74m.
Psych Capital (PSY) investee company Awakn Life Sciences, where Psych Capital owns 426,000 shares, has entered the US addiction treatment and relapse prevention market through a licensing partnership with Revitalist Lifestyle and Wellness Ltd, a ketamine wellness clinic chain. Awakn has a treatment that was validated in a phase II a/b trial, which delivered 86% abstinence for six months after treatment versus 2% before the trial. Revitalist will pay an annual fee and a revenue share per treatment.
Ingraine (KING) says AZD1656, which is being developed as a treatment for people with diabetes suffering from Covid-19, has shown evidence that it activates T-regs that might suppress the inflammation that is the prime cause of tissue damage in autoimmune disease. LANCET eClinicalMedicine is publishing the results of the phase II clinical trial. Ingraine owns 2% of Excalibur Medicines Ltd, which has exclusive rights to AZD1656.
Wishbone Gold (WSBN) has a second drill rig is on site at the Red Setter gold copper project in the Patersons Range area in Western Australia. The drilling has shown the intersection of multiple zones of quartz veining, carbonate and chalcopyrite and pyrrhotite.
Premium Nickel Resources Ltd, where Evrima (EVA) owns 1.11 million shares, has been readmitted to TSX-V after the reverse takeover of North American Nickel Inc. The first assay results from the Selebi nickel copper cobalt sulphide mine in Botswana have been published. There was a positive update for the Molopo Farms complex project in Botswana, where Evrima has an 8.93% project-level interest.
Hydrogen Utopia International (HUI) is starting a US roadshow from 22 August, following the start of trading of the shares on OTCQB Venture Market. Recent US legislation could increase investor interest in the clean energy market.
Altona Rare Earths (ANR) is raising £1.1m at 8p a share ahead of the planned move to the Main Market at the end of September.
Chris Akers has increased his stake in Oscillate (MUSH) from 13.1% to 14.25%. The share price fell 11%.
AIM
Fashion brand Joules (LON: JOUL) was the worst performer of the week, falling by more than one-third. Trading has deteriorated in recent weeks, although wholesale sales are higher. This means that it will not make a profit this year, even if second half trading improves. Peel Hunt has downgraded its forecast for 20222-23 from a profit of £4m to a loss of £4.2m. Jonathan Brown becomes Joules chief executive at the end of September. Talks with NEXT about a cash injection continue.
Agricultural products supplier and retailer Wynnstay Group (WYN) raised £10.5m in a placing at 560p a share, which was above the minimum price indicated of 550p a share. The plan is to redevelop the Calne feeds site that came with an acquisition earlier this year. This can be developed into a feed mill with a 185,000 metric tonne capacity that produces poultry and ruminant feed. There are also opportunities for further acquisitions.
Online fashion retailer boohoo (BOO) has made a strategic investment in cosmetics supplier Revolution Beauty (REVB), which recently announced a profit warning. boohoo has bought a 7.13% shareholding. Revolution Beauty products are sold through several of boohoo’s websites.
Frasers Group (FRAS) has bid 2p a share for MySale Group (MYSL), which values the retailer at £13.6m. The bid is not recommended.
Newcrest Mining is not taking up the option to acquire a further 5% stake in the Havieron asset, so Greatland Gold (GGP) will retain a 30% stake. The price for the 5% stake had been set at $60m and much of that cash was earmarked to pay off loans from Newcrest. Greatland Gold management says that it is happy to retain the larger stake. The latest mineral resource for the Havieron deposit announced by Newcrest is 5.5 million ounces of gold and 223,000 tonnes of copper.
AI product revenues at Intelligent Ultrasound (IUG) reached £300,000 in the first half. There were royalties from the GE deal and direct product sales. Full year revenues are expected to be £600,000. In the six months to June 2022, group revenues grew 62% to £5.9m, although that includes £1.4m of one-off ultrasound simulation orders from an NHS training initiative. There was a 13% decline in US revenues to £1.1m, but they should recover in the second half. The group remains loss-making and there is cash of £3.5m, which is expected to decline to £1.8m by the end of 2022.
MTI Wireless Edge (MWE) has been winning contracts that should benefit the second half. In the six months to June 2022, revenues improved from $21.3m to $22.7m, while pre-tax profit barely changed from $2.05m to $2.04m, due to a higher interest charge and amortisation related to the recent acquisition of communication and monitoring systems developer PSK WIND Technologies. Russia accounted for 6% of revenues and 5% of profit in 2021.
Full year revenues of digital services provider Made Tech Group (MTEC) were 120% higher at £29.3m and it moved into profit. There was cash of £12.3m at the end of May 2022. The contracted order book is worth £38.2m.
Flexible electrical connectors manufacturer Strip Tinning (STG) shocked the market when it revealed that a Croatian customer wants to terminate a contract from 1 October. This contract for cell management systems for electric vehicles was supposed to be worth €2m a year once peak volumes were hit in a couple of years.
Fishing equipment retailer Angling Direct (ANG) increased interim revenues by 1% to £38.9m, but they weakened in the second quarter and management says that full year revenues will be lower than previous guidance of £82m. That will lead to a sharp reduction in expected EBITDA to between £3m and £3.4m.
In-game advertising services provider Bidstack Group (BIDS) has extended its contract with Sports Interactive, which created the Football Manager game. This is a multi-year renewal of a contract that initially began in 2017.
Specialist recruitment firm Gattaca (GATC) says net fee income grew by 4% to £44m in the year to July 2022. There was an increase in permanent recruitment income offsetting a decline in contract income. There is good demand but a shortage of candidates for the roles.
Frontier IP Group (FIPP) has sold 391,200 ADSs in Exscientia at an average price of $11.97 each. This raised £3.88m. That is £1.85m below book value. Frontier IP still holds 782,400 shares in Exscientia. So far, sales have raised £9.96m compared with a cash cost of less than £2,000.
Property services provider Kinovo (KINO) nearly doubled its operating profit in the year to March 2022. Net debt was reduced to £340,000. First quarter revenues have risen by 28% to £14m and Kinovo has moved into a net cash position. The latest estimate for the liability for DCB, which has gone into administration, is that it will cost £4m plus expenses to complete work, which is lower than previous estimates.
Sustainable energy projects developer SIMEC Atlantis Energy (SAE) finance boss Andrew Dagley was voted off the board at the AGM on Thursday. There were 53.5% of the votes against his re-election. There were also 45% of votes against the audited financial statements for 2021 and 27% against the directors’ remuneration report.
MAIN MARKET
Private equity firm Thoma Bravo LP has made a preliminary approach to artificial intelligence (AI)-based cybersecurity services provider Darktrace (DARK) concerning a possible cash bid. Discussions are at an early stage.
Plant hire company Vp (VP.) has ended its formal sales process after the board unanimously decided to conclude the process.
Flavouring ingredients supplier Treatt (TET) says that profit will be below expectations in the year to September 2022. Restrictions in China have hampered progress, while costs have increased, and sales of iced and leaf tea in the US have been lower than expected. Currency movements have made things worse. The order book is ahead of this time last year.
Mears (MER) has acquired IRT Surveys, which provides data-led services focused on addressing fuel poverty and energy efficiency, for up to £4.1m. The initial payment is £3m, with the rest payable depending on performance over a two-year period. There should be a £200,000 profit contribution this 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 5 July 2021
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Voyager Life (VOY) is an early-stage company offering CBD-based products – including chewable sweets, bath products, oils and skincare products. The company has been in existence for around eight months and revenues are small. The first high street shop will be opened in St Andrews during July. Voyager Life raised £400,000 at 58p a share, but by the end of the first week of trading the share price has fallen to 40.5p (39p/42p) – possibly because of trading by crowdfunders that bought at 31p a share. Proforma cash appears to be around £2.4m, but there will have been expenses since the end of March. Greencare Capital (GRE) invested £100,000 and it is currently worth around £107,000.
Samarkand (SMK) reported 2020-21 revenues of £20.6m, including exceptional revenues of £5.8m, up from £6.8m. This enabled the ecommerce technology provider to make a positive EBITDA. There was £14.6m in the bank at the end of March 2021. A Tokyo office was opened in June. The full year results will be published before the end of July.
Revenues fell by more than two-thirds at pubs and brewery operator Daniel Thwaites (THW) and they were £32.2m in the year to March 2021. There was a swing from profit to loss. Net debt increased to £78.8m with monthly cash burn running at £1.5m during lockdown. There were £11.2m of additional bank facilities available and there have been subsequent disposals of non-core properties.
Polygon Global Partners has taken its stake in Watchstone Group (WTG) to above 30% and it is making a mandatory bid at 34p a share, valuing the company at £15.7m.
KR1 (KR1) increased its NAV from 5.72p a share to 28.97p a share at the end of 2020. Non-exec director Rhys Davies has exercised options over 767,236 shares at 19.55p each, which raised £150,000 for the company.
In 2020, Coinsilium Group (COIN) made a pre-tax profit of £310,000, compared with a loss of £259,000. That was mainly due to unrealised gains. The cash outflow from operating activities increased from £496,000 to £788,000. There was £173,000 in the bank.
NFT Investments (NFT) has conserved its cash despite declines in cryptocurrency values. It made a $440,000 gain on crypto token investments but has exited the market for the time being. There is still £34.1m of cash and stable coin, which is deemed to be less volatile because their value tends to be linked to the dollar, in the balance sheet, compared with a market value of £25.6m at 2.55p. How that figure is split between cash and stable coin is not stated.
In the nine months to December 2020, British Honey (BHC) generated revenues of £1.5m. Union Distillers was acquired in February 2021. There was cash of £2.95m at the end of March 2021.
Rogue Baron (SHNJ) has opened a second bar in Washington DC, called De Rhum Shot, and it is three times the size of the existing bar. Rogue Baron is investing £90,000 for a 51% stake and it is committed to a further payment of £20,000. Sales of Shinju whisky should reach 5,000 cases in 2021.
Secured Property Developments (SPD) had cash of £457,000 at the end of 2020 and net assets were £175,000. Management is seeking investment opportunities.
Chris Akers has taken a 3.09% stake in DiscovOre (ORE).
Valereum Blockchain (VLRM) completed the £1m placing at 70p a share.
AIM
Wynnstay (WYN) has gained market share in the animal feed market and the milk price remains at a level that provides confidence to farmers helping the retail operations to grow. In the six months to April 2021, revenues rose from £229.3m to £249.7m. Raw material prices have increased but Wynnstay has been able to pass them on and improve gross profit from £31.5m to £33.3m, which is the important measure. Underlying pre-tax profit improved from £4.5m to £5.5m. The interim dividend was raised by 9% to 5p a share.
The restructuring of Huricane Energy (HUR) has been rejected by the courts and that effectively means that the company has defaulted on the planned convertible bond repayments. The non-exec directors have resigned, and two directors appointed to replace them.
Digital marketing services and technology provider Silver Bullet Data Services (SBDS) raised £9.5m at 257p a share when it floated. This will be spent on further development of its 4D technology that helps brands to target advertising. 4D has been developed as an alternative to cookies that remains in line with current and likely regulations.
Specialist cleaning company React Group (REAT) increased interim revenues from £2.09m to £2.51m, while underlying pre-tax profit improved from £50,000 to £74,000. Fidelis was acquired too late in the period to make a significant contribution. Full year pre-tax profit is expected to increase from £188,000 to £784,000.
MAIN MARKET
Bermele (BERM) has agreed the acquisition of premium mixers supplier East Imperial Pte for £24.45m and it will be changing its name to East Imperial and raising £3m at 10p a share.
In 2020, Lookers (LOOK) increased its underlying pre-tax profit from £4m to £14.1m. The motor dealer is making annualised savings of £50m.
Highway Capital (HWC) says that it has whittled down potential acquisitions to a small number and is in discussions with one target. There is £41,000 in cash and net liabilities of £1.13m.
Wildcat Petroleum (WCAT) is focusing on Angola and Namibia in its search for oil and gas assets.
Media Tech SPAC is raising cash via Primary Bid ahead of a standard listing later this summer. The company wants to raise up to £6m at 10p a share. Areas of interest include digital technology, cyber security, social media, content distribution, virtual reality, gaming and interactive entertainment. Media Tech SPAC has previously raised £415,000 at 1p a share and £1.64m at 4p a share.
Ross Group (RGP) lost £1.46m in 2020. Net liabilities are £5m. Ross has acquired an aquaculture business, but it is yet to benefit from the investment put into this business.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 4 January 2021
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
BWA (BWAP) has been unable to sell Kings of The North Corp (KOTN) back to St Georges Eco-Mining and there are problems with the title to claims held by KOTN. It appears that two licences had not been renewed by St Georges. Three more licence areas are being reviewed. St Georges has claimed C$200,000 for work it is claimed that has not been done. There is already a claim for cash from a KOTN director and there could be further claims against directors of KOTN and St Georges.
Gunsynd (GUN) says trading in investee company Empress Royalty commenced on the TSX Venture Exchange. Gunsynd invested £146,000 in October and owns 1.4% of Empress.
MiLOC Group Ltd (ML.P) has terminated its endorsement agreement with BrandKing Worldwide and First Strong Workshop for AKFS+ haircare products and also ended the commission agreement with CN Workshop. In the recent interims, inventories increased in part due to AKFS+ haircare products.
Vulcan Industries (VULC) generated revenues of £5.74m and lost £2.96m in the period between 24 October 2018 and March 2020. This was before Vulcan raised £2.2m. The subsequent quarter trading was poor, but the second quarter was ahead of expectations. Further acquisitions have been identified.
TruSpine Technologies (TSP) lost £448,000 in the six months to September 2020. There was £567,000 in the bank.
Evrima (EVA) has sold a commercial property in Leeds for £200,000, which after costs is slightly below its purchase price in 2017. The cash will be reinvested in Kalahari Key Mineral Exploration.
AIM
Small business finance provider Vector Capital (VCAP) joined AIM on 29 December. It raised £3.1m at 38p a share and ended the week at 39.5p. In the six months to June 2020, revenues increased from £1.59m to £2.13m, while pre-tax profit jumped from £954,000 to £1.26m, even though new loans were not issued in the second quarter. The business has been profitable for the past four years. The loan book was worth £34.7m at the end of September 2020. The Jain family owns 80.85% of Vector Capital. Prior to flotation the original shareholders received a total dividend of £400,000.
Xpediator (XPD) has sold its online shopping logistics business in order to concentrate on the core freight business. EshopWedrop Holdings was losing money and the total consideration is £300,000 paid in equal instalments over three years. The book value was £700,000. Xpediator will achieve annual cost savings of £350,000 following the disposal.
MJ Hudson (MJH) is acquiring fund performance analytics business PERACS and this will widen the services it can provide to the asset management sector. The initial payment is 586,016 shares and there is deferred consideration in cash and shares over a three-year period.
Shareholders voted against the reappointment of Ian Visagie as a director of Goldplat (GDP).
Cyber security services provider Shearwater Group (SWG) says that October and November revenues were 39% ahead of the same period last year and the momentum continued into December.
UFG Asset Management has a total shareholding in Trans-Siberian Gold (TSG) of 54.9%.
DBAY Advisers has sold more of its stake in Wynnstay Group (WYN) and it has fallen to 3.7%.
MAIN MARKET
National World (NWOR) is paying £10.2m for the former Johnstone Press group of newspapers. No debt is being taken on. JPI Media Publishing is the third largest local news group in the UK and includes titles, such as Yorkshire Post, Portsmouth News and the Scotsman. JPI is estimated to have generated revenues of £85m and EBITDA of £6m in the past year. National World will use the assets to build a local online news publishing model. There is an initial cash payment of £5.2m with two further instalments. National World is issuing £8.425m of 10% loan notes and plans to issue more. Trading in the shares remains suspended until a prospectus is published and it may not resume until April.
Oil-focused shell Wildcat Petroleum (WCAT) joined the standard list on 30 December. It raised £600,000 at 0.1p a share and was capitalised at £2.4m.
Argo Blockchain (ARB) is investing $100,000 in hashrate management platform Luxor Technologies. The technology can help cryptocurrency miners to increase their returns.
Standard list shell Rockpool Acquisitions (ROC) is still talking to Greenview Gas in its attempt to find a Northern Ireland-based acquisition. Greenview has downgraded its 2020-21 pre-tax profit expectation from £1.4m to £1m. Rockpool had loaned more than £1m, including interest, to Greenview. The initial loan agreement was three years ago. In November, this was repaid out of new borrowings.
Marwyn Acquisition Co I Ltd (MAC1), one of three shells floated by Marwyn during December, has appointed Vin Murria as chairman. She has built up two software companies on AIM and then sold them. The appointment means that the focus of this shell will be the software sector, with the first acquisition likely to be worth more than £100m. Last month, Vin Murria joined the board of AIM shell Summerway Capital (SWC) and it is also seeking software and digital acquisitions, but it is likely to be assessing smaller acquisitions.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 30 November 2020
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Healthcare IT supplier DXS International (DXSP) had £1.2m in cash at the end of October 2020. Net cash was £584,000, following the capitalisation of £568,000 of development spending. Interim revenues improved by 3% to £1.72m but progress was held back by Covid-19. Pre-tax profit jumped from £90,000 to £151,000 due to lower admin costs.
Imperial X (IMPP) is continuing its due diligence on previously announced acquisitions of mining and royalty interests and the plan is to apply for a standard listing when the acquisitions are completed.
TechFinancials Inc (TECH) has invested $148,000 in RenewSenses, which has developed a wearable device for the visually impaired. The cash will help to complete the development of the A.I. Cane product, which is a camera attached to a handheld device and this enables obstacles to be identified.
S-Ventures (SVEN) has invested a further £75,000 in a convertible loan note issued by vitamin-fortified juices and smoothies Coldpress Foods. The annual interest rate is 15%. S-Ventures has a 3.3% stake in Coldpress.
Primorus Investments (PRIM) has terminated options over 17.8 million shares held by three individuals and has paid a total of £140,000 in compensation. These options could have been exercised at 6p a share or 8p a share and were equivalent to 11.3% of the potentially enlarged share capital. Primorus has decided to drop the Aquis quotation on 24 December and keep the AIM quote. This and a reduction in director pay will reduce costs by more than £200,000 a year.
Formation Group (FRM) is withdrawing from the Aquis Stock Exchange on 31 December.
Good Energy (GOOD) has appointed Canaccord Genuity as joint broker.
Vulcan Industries (VULC) has raised a further £335,000 at 5p a share and 5.5p a share.
Aquis Stock Exchange has launched a market maker incentive scheme. The market makers will offer two-way prices for 505 of stocks on the Apex segment with a maximum spread of 5%. There should be 25 companies on the Apex segment. Market makers will receive warrants for shares in the Aquis Stock Exchange with the best performers gaining the largest percentage. They could earn up to 19.9% of the market over a three year period. Early adopters include Canaccord Genuity, Liberum, Peel Hunt, Shore Capital, Stifel and Winterflood.
Liberum Capital and Zeus Capital have been approved as corporate advisers for the Aquis Stock Exchange.
AIM
Kistos (KIST) began trading on AIM on 25 November. The investment company raised £30.2m after expenses and the market capitalisation was £40.3m. The plan is to seek acquisitions in the oil and gas sector. The team behind Kist is the same as for RockRose Energy. The share price has risen from 100p to 118.2p.
Cyber security software and services provider Shearwater (SWG) reported a slump in revenues, but the decline was in lower margin products. There were also overhead reductions. That meant that there was a profit before amortisation of acquired intangibles. Orders were delayed but there was still a £1.7m cash inflow from operations. Net cash was £3m at the end of September 2020. Two-fifths of revenues are recurring, and the long-term outlook is good.
Circle Property (CRC) reported a 2p a share decline in NAV to 283p a share at the end of September 2020. Loan to value is 42% and there is £37.7m of a loan facility still undrawn. New lettings have been secured since March and rent collections have been strong. The interim dividend is 2.5p a share.
Telecoms testing instrumentation supplier Calnex Solutions (CLX) has made an impressive start to its time on AIM with interim figures that show near-doubled underlying pre-tax profit of £2.3m. This has led to an upgrade of the full year profit expectations to £2.9m. The cash being generated is enabling additional development spending.
IG Design (IGR) benefitted from a full contribution from the CSS acquisition, which has also reduced the seasonality of the group. Even so, continuing operations sales held up well. There is still scope for additional demand for Christmas wrapping and gift products, but time is running out for any significant improvement. Full year pre-tax profit is expected to be flat at $35m, although shares issued to fund the CSS acquisition mean that there would be a one-fifth decline in earnings per share to 25.5 cents. There should be a significant improvement next year.
First Property (FPO) has significantly reduced its debt following the sale of a property in Poland. This puts it in a good position to take advantage of any opportunities over the next year or so. Short-term income has declined and there were no performance fees. NAV is 54.3p a share. The interim dividend is maintained at 0.45p a share.
Appreciate (APP) has reinstated its dividend and it proposes an interim of 0.4p a share. Interim revenues were 18% lower at £27.4m. There is always a first half loss and it increased from £1.2m to £4.6m, although that does not include the restructuring costs. The Christmas savings business held up and the corporate incentives operations were boosted by additional business due to free school meals vouchers. More business is being done digitally and there continues to be a monthly improvement in trading.
D4T4 (D4T4) is continuing its development into a business focused on recurring revenues. The data collection and analysis software provider lost money in the first half, but management remains confident that D4T4 will achieve the full year pre-tax profit forecast of £3.2m, down from £5m. Net cash is expected to be £14m. The interim dividend was raised by 5% to 0.81p a share.
LoopUp (LOOP) has not achieved the annual run rate than it expected, and it will fall short of 2020 expectations. The remote meetings technology provider has been generating less revenue from international calls, which has hit overall revenues. Trimming the 2020 revenues forecast from £54.8m to £50.1m leads to a one-fifth reduction in pre-tax profit to £8.4m. The lower run rate means that 2021 forecast revenues have been slashed from £56m to £35.2m, which leads to a small loss for the year.
Outsourcing Inc has sent out the document for the takeover of CPL Resources (CPS). It is offering Euro11.25 a share, which values the Ireland-based recruitment company at Euro317.8m.
Digital advertising technology developer Miriad Advertising (MIRI) has raised £23m via a placing at 40p a share. A further £3m could be raised via an open offer. In July 2019, £16m was raised at 15p a share. The first half cash outflow was more than £4.6m. The cash will be spent on growing US revenues and further technology development.
Ilika (IKA) has decided to manufacture its Stearex batteries itself rather than outsourcing the process. This is the quickest route to production and operating margins will improve. Full scale manufacturing will start by early 2022.
ReNeuron (RENE) is raising up to £17.5m at a heavily discounted share price of 70p. This cash will enable the company to complete the current clinical trial for the retinitis pigmentosa treatment and design a phase III trial.
The share price rise of Wynnstay Group (WYN) has led to DBAY Advisors reducing its stake from 6.12% to 5.33%.
Urban Exposure (UEX) plans a tender offer of up to £65m at 75p a share. There is cash in the bank of £81m.
Second half trading was always going to be weak for Tracsis (TRCS) because of its exposure to events in the traffic and data division. Recurring revenues from the rail technology division have helped limit the pre-tax profit decline from £9.5m to £8.3m. This year is also likely to be tough, although it will depend on trading next summer. The main recovery is likely in 2021-22.
Serinus Energy (SENX) has raised $21m and this will pay off the debt of $16.5m. The lender will also receive a 9.9% stake. The rest of the cash will be invested in increasing oil and gas production.
Digital financial services and products provider Tungsten (TUNG) says profit will be lower than expected this year. Transaction volumes have declined, and revenues will be flat. Winning new business has become more difficult. Annualised savings of £4m are being made.
Michelmersh Brick (MBH) says that 2020 revenues and profit will exceed expectations. Government support of £500,000 will be repaid. There will still be net cash at the end of 2020. A final dividend of 2.25p a share will be paid.
Benchmark (BMK) has completed its restructuring and is on course to benefit from the investment it has made in products and capacity. The BMK08+CleanTreat treatment should be launched by next summer and this could help the aquaculture company to move into profit. In 2019-20, revenues fell from £124m to £105.6m, but lower costs meant that the loss was reduced. Genetics was the best performing division due to initial sales of salmon eggs from Salten. Net debt was £37.6m at the end of September 2020.
MAIN MARKET
Jlen Environmental (JLEN) is paying a second quarterly dividend of 1.69p a share, the same as the first quarter. There has been a small reduction in NAV from 97.5p a share to 96.1p a share because long-term expectations for electricity and gas prices have fallen. The portfolio is 34% wind power, 27% anaerobic digestion, 22% solar power, 15% waste and wastewater and 2% hydro and battery. A decline in waste volumes hampered the Bio Collectors business and other feedstocks are being sourced. There is £127.6m available to finance further acquisitions.
CML Microsystems (CML) had a mixed interim period with total revenues holding up at £12.9m. Storage technology revenues were one-quarter higher, but communications revenues fell by one-fifth and are no longer the largest contributor. However, the development activities have been broadened through acquisitions and there is a bigger addressable market. Pre-tax profit fell from £907,000 to £771,000 and the interim dividend is unchanged at 2p a share. The second half should be better than the first half and a rebalancing of resources should make the business more efficient.
Ingredients supplier Treatt (TET) improved pre-tax profit from £14m to £15.8m, although there was a small dip in revenues to £109m. The total dividend is 6.2p a share. Demand is likely to remain weaker than normal. The move to the new UK premises should happen in the middle of 2021.
J Smart Contractors (SMJ) reported halved underlying full year pre-tax profit of £1.28m. There was a surplus on investment property revaluations of £3.18m. There is net cash of £12m. A final dividend of 2.27p a share has been declared and the total for the year has edged up from 3.19p a share to 3.22p a share. The completion of building contracts has been delayed due to Covid-19 restrictions. Contracting work remains below the level of the previous year and private housing sales will be limited in the year to July 2021. NAV is £99.3m, which is double the market capitalisation.
Triad (LSE: TRD) revenues declined from £9m to £8.7m, but the IT consultancy did move from loss to profit due to lower costs. Utilisation rates for IT consultants is relatively high and cash covers around three-fifths of the market capitalisation.
Gulf Marine Services (GMS) has suspended chief executive Tim Summers, who was no longer a member of the board, due to an investigation into a severance payment of £429,000 on 10 November. Hassan Heikal was appointed a director at the general meeting on 25 November.
Cardiff Property (CDFF) increased its NAV from 2285p a share to 2436p a share at the end of September 2020, against a share price of 1725p. This reflects an uplift in the valuation of JV Campmoss due to an increase in value of Clivemount House in Maidenhead which has been sold since the year end. The dividend increased by 3% to 17.6p a share. There is cash of £5.5m and no debt.
Affordable housing services provider Aquila Services Group (AQSG) reported a decline in revenues from £3.89m to £3.51m, although there was a small improvement in operating profit prior to restructuring costs of £175,000. The dividend has been halved to 0.15p a share. Cash has increased to £1.4m.
OTAQ (OTAQ) increased interim revenues by 16% to £2.03m and it is on course for full year revenues of £4m. The growth has come from the aquaculture operations. Furlough claims reduced the loss.
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 23 November 2020
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Daniel Thwaites (THW) had a strong eleven months in the year to March 2020, but the final month was unsurprisingly poor for the brewer and pubs operator. Full year revenues edged up from £96.9m to £98.1m, while pre-tax profit fell from £4.5m to £3.6m. Net debt was reduced from £69.7m to £65.4m, helped by property disposals. No dividends are planned in the near future.
EPE Special Opportunities (ESO) has taken advantage of the strong Luceco (LUCE) share price and sold four million shares for total proceeds of £10m. EPE still owns a 24.9% stake.
KR1 (KR1) has participated in token generation by four platforms. There was a follow-on participation in a Plasm Network distribution event, while KR1 has also received tokens from ChainX, Edgeware and Phala Network. The Phala Network tokens have been sold for nearly $124,000.
BWA (BWAP) has given St George’s Eco-Mining Corp until 27 November to repurchase the company’s investment in Kings of the North Corp.
Tectonic Gold (TTAU) says that the first hole drilled at the Specimen Hill prospect in Queensland has signs of gold bearing mineralisation. A second hole is underway.
Evrima (EVA) and partner Power Metal Resources (POW) have published a drilling update for the Molopo Farms complex in Botswana. The first hole has been completed at the nickel sulphide and platinum project. This confirmed that it is a feeder zone. Samples will be tested. There is a four-hole drilling programme.
Cadence Minerals (KDNC) owns 30% of mining and exploration leases that form part of the Yangibana rare earth deposit. Drilling has confirmed that recent drilling results show an economic mineralised corridor 8km long.
Gledhow Investments (GDH) has taken a 4.82% stake in IamFire (FIRE).
NQ Minerals (NQMI) has raised £835,000 at 5.5p a share, which is below the 7p a share that a UK institutional investor paid last month. Early Equity (EEQP) raised £105,000 at 0.5p a share.
AIM
Trackwise Designs (TWD) is raising a further £11m at 200p in order to finance a new Improved Harness Technology (IHT) manufacturing site to quadruple capacity. That is a large discount to the market price of 320p. A further £1m could be raised via an open offer. Back in March, there was a £5.87m fundraising at 80p a share. That was at the time of the purchase of Stevenage Circuits for up to £2.457m. The rest of that cash was earmarked for capacity expansion. The subsequent orders received by Trackwise mean that further investment in capacity is required. The funding dilutes short-term earnings per share.
Agricultural supplies group Wynnstay (WYN) had a strong end to its financial year, particularly September and October. Feed sales were better than expected. There will be one-off costs for closing three sites. Shore Capital has upgraded its underlying pre-tax profit forecast from £6.7m to £8.1m. The dividend is likely to be maintained at 14p a share.
Immunodiagnostic Systems Holdings (IDH) has broken its record and published interim figures at 6.22pm on Friday. Revenues fell by 27% and the company made a bigger loss.
Staffline (STAF) is selling its apprenticeships business to Babington Business College for a nominal fee. The business was losing money in the first half of 2020, although it was a lower loss than the year before. Staffline will concentrate on recruitment and adult skills training.
Bion (BION) is establishing a biogas consortium with three other companies in Malaysia. The plan is to formalise the partnership so that a special purpose vehicle that would be 55%-owned by Bion will own and operate biogas assets of Bion and Green Lagoon Technology. The new venture would be the largest owner of biogas plants in Malaysia. Shareholders will have to approve the deal if it goes ahead. Bion will work with the other two companies to develop waste-to-energy projects.
Trading is ahead of expectations at Somero Enterprises (SOM) and this should enable a significant supplementary dividend for 2020. The concrete levelling equipment supplier is expected to end the year with net cash of $26m.
Dekel Agri-Vision (DKL) has completed the acquisition of the stake in the Cote d’Ivoire cashew nut processing project that takes its shareholding to 52%. October palm oil production was 1,818 metric tonnes and 1,843 metric tonnes was sold. The average price improved to €636/tonne.
Mirada (MIRA) has integrated Disney+ into its Iris platform for Televisa’s izzi pay TV platform in Mexico.
Invinity Energy Systems (IES) has gained a contract to deliver a 0.5MWh vanadium flow battery system to a site in California. This should generate £480,000in 2021. There is also an order for two smaller battery modules.
Three potential bidders are assessing offers for Telit Communications (TCM) and the latest is u-blox, which is considering an all-share offer worth 250p a share. DBAY Advisors and Lantronix are the other potential bidders.
MAIN MARKET
Packaging supplier Macfarlane (MACF) says that trading in the four months to October 2020 is ahead of the same period in 2019. Full year pre-tax profit is expected to be similar to last year at around £14m. It was previously expected to be more than 10% lower. Arden forecasts a total 2020 dividend of 2.4p a share.
Emmerson (EML) has completed the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment for the Khemisset potash project in northern Morocco.
Petra Diamonds (PDL) has an agreement in principle for a restructuring that involves the raising of money from a loan note issue and the remainder of the loan notes will be converted into shares equivalent to 91% of the enlarged share capital.
Thalassa (THAL) has invested £300,000 in foreign exchange and international payments firm Cornerstone FS for a 3.65% stake. This follows a £3m investment in 8% convertible loan notes in payment systems company Tappit Technologies.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 13 July 2020
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Capital for Colleagues (CFCP) has sold its investment in builder’s merchant Merkko Group for double the original investment. The cash consideration for the redemption of the non-voting stake is £400,000. Capital for Colleagues has reinvested £150,000 for a 10% stake in Merkko. The rest of the cash can be reinvested in other companies.
Coinsilium Group Ltd (COIN) is forming a 50/50 Singapore joint venture with blockchain protocol company IOV Labs, which will finance the venture with a loan. IOV owns 6.94% of Coinsilium. A strategic review is commencing a strategic review because there will be a focus on the new joint venture.
In the second quarter, the Hellyer gold mine owned by NQ Minerals (NQMI) produced 1,223 ounces of gold, 229,947 ounces of silver, 8,762 tonnes of lead concentrate and 4,241 tonnes of zinc concentrate. More gold and lead were produced than in the previous quarter, but less silver and zinc. Investment in plant means production should increase in the third quarter. NQ has raised £917,000 at 6.5p a share and this will help to finance the reopening of the Beaconsfield gold mine in Tasmania.
Cannabis-based products supplier Sativa Group (SATI) achieved record trading in June. This includes sales of the company’s hand sanitiser.
Fellow cannabis-focused company Freyherr International Group (FRYR) is changing its year end to 30 June. The next results will be for 18 months to June 2020. Luka Freyer and Tomaz Frelih have stepped down from the board and Ervin Kovac has joined the board and becomes general manager of the Slovenian operations. The Ljubljana office has been closed as part of overhead reductions. The mortgage on the Koper facility has been extended and the interest rate reduced to 5% a year.
World High Life (LIFE) has issued 12.7 million shares at 9p each to pay director and adviser fees and 3.45 million shares at the same price in lieu of debt repayments. A further 7.18 million shares will be issued on conversion of £666,666 of debentures, plus interest of £46,393. CBD-brand Love Hemp has been awarded ISO certification.
Gunsynd (GUN) has raised £469,000 at 0.65p a share. Every three new shares come with a warrant exercisable at 1.3p a share. MiLOC Group (ML.P) is raising £1.1m at 28.5p a share through a placing with BWB International. Recently floated engineering consolidator Vulcan Industries (VULC) has raised an additional £71,000 at 4.5p a share. The original placing was at 3p a share.
At the end of June 2020, EPE Special Opportunities Ltd (ESO) had a NAV of 265.3p a share.
AIM
Management consultancy Elixirr International (ELIX) joined AIM last week. The share price has fallen from the placing level of 217p to 204.5p. The shares are trading on just over 13 times prospective 2020 earnings. The forecast dividend is 2.2p a share.
Seeing Machines (SEE) is set to be a beneficiary of legislation that will go to the Senate in the US that will make driver monitoring systems (DMS) compulsory in cars and trucks sold in the US from 2024. This is part of a more wide-ranging act relating to vehicle safety. There is similar legislation in Europe, although there will be delays in it coming into force due to COVID-19. That should not have too much of a negative effect on Seeing Machines.
Trading at Tracsis (TRCS) was not as badly affected by COVID-19 as it feared. There will be a £10m reduction in full year revenues to around £46m. The traffic and data services business has been hit by the lack of summer events. The rail software business has traded well and there is a pipeline of potential new contracts. There is still £16m in the bank even after paying an initial £12.5m for smart ticketing firm iBlocks.
DBAY Advisors has bought more shares in in Wynnstay Group (WYN) and the stake is 6.12%.
Energy procurement consultancy Inspired Energy (INSE) is raising up to £35m through a placing and two-for-43 open offer at 15p a share. The purchase of the 60% of Ignite Energy that Inspired does not won will cost £11m with contingent consideration of £19m payable in cash and shares. There are plans for further acquisitions.
e-therapeutics (ETX) has raised just over £11m from a share issue at 12p a share, including £750,000 raised via PrimaryBid. This was a 31% discount to the market price. The cash will be used to develop the company’s informatics platform and RNAi technology. Additional staff will be taken on.
Burford Capital (BUR) has filed a registration statement with the SEC ahead of a US listing. There are no plans for a share issue.
Genedrive (GDR) says that full year revenues were 31m and it had cash of £8.2m at the end of June 2020. The molecular diagnostics company says there are 31m in indicative orders for its COVID-19 test.
MAIN MARKET
Viaro Energy has bid 1850p a share for RockRose Energy (RRE) and acceptances have already reached 36.8%. The bid values RockRose at £247.6m. At the beginning of 2016, RockRose floated at 50p a share intending to acquire oil and gas assets.
Telecoms services provider Toople (TOOP) increased full year revenues by 39% to £1.5m and gross margins improved. The cash outflow from operations was £924,000 and there was £1m in cash at the end of March 2020. This year is important because there will be a full contribution from DMSL plus cost savings that could be more than £1m. Chief executive Andy Hollingworth bought 10.6 million shares at 0.0944p each. He owns 38.8 million shares.
Baskerville Capital (BASK) has increased its stake in Oberon Investments, the owner of fund manager MD Barnard, to 10.13% and expects to buy the company by the end of the third quarter. Oberon has acquired Hanson Asset Management, and this takes assets under management to more than £300m. Baskerville may move to the Aquis Stock Exchange after the deal is completed.
Packaging supplier Macfarlane (MACF) says interim revenues were 3% lower following a tough second quarter when revenues fell 7%. Macfarlane is confident that it will be profitable and cash generative this year. The board hopes to restart dividend payments when the outlook is more certain.
InnovaDerma (IDP) says online sales have replaced lost high street sales. Full year revenues were 2% higher at £13.2m, but profit will be lower due to higher online advertising costs and lower margin sales. Margins could recover this year.
Tex Holdings (TXH) says that the FCA has asked questions about its 2019 audited financial statements. Christian Ross has been appointed as finance director.
Andrew Hore