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Quoted Micro 24 November 2025
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Kasei Digital Assets (KASH) plans a return of cash to shareholders. There should be £3.4m in cash after selling assets and this should be returned to shareholders. A subscription of £200,000 at 1p/share will provide an additional £100,000 for distribution. The new investors include new executive chairman Kwasi Kwarteng, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, new non-exec Paul Withers, Daniel Howe and Sam Daughtry, plus existing directors Jai Patel, who will become chief executive, and Brendan Kearns. Bryan Coyne, Steven Davis and Jane Thomason will resign from the board. The unsuccessful digital assets strategy will be adapted with a greater focus on Bitcoin, and more cash raised.
WeCap (WCAP) owns 11.8% of WeShop Holdings (NASDAQ: WSHP), which has joined Nasdaq, There are 806,022 shares owned directly and 2.08 million shares via a 23.5% holding in Community Social Investments Limited (CSIL). The share price was well above $200 at one point last week and ended at $113.40, which means that the stake is worth $31m. Peel Hunt has cut its shareholding in WeCap from 18.4% to below 10%.
Hot Rock Investments (HRIP) has a portfolio of shares, including 150,000 shares in WeShop. The stake is valued at $17m.
Music agent All Things Considered (ATC) is moving to AIM and raising £8.6m at 125p/share. The expected admission date is 17 December, which is four years after joining Aquis at 153p/share. Trading is second half weighted and is currently in line.
Ajax Resources (AJAX) says the terms of the conditional acquisition of the Paguanta zinc, silver and lead project have been revised. It will acquire a company with a 74.81% stake in the project for $37,500 in cash and $37,500 in shares. The seller will retain a 1% net smelter royalty capped at $500,000. The Environmental Impact Assessment has been submitted for the Eureka project and the company issued formal notices to relevant communities. The Environmental Impact Declaration should be issued in early December.
Online consumer loans provider Amazing AI (AAI) is exploring the options of quotations on the Mauritius Stock Exchange and/or the US OTCQB Market. This follows the decision not to go ahead with spinning off 80% of its subsidiary based in Mauritius and retaining the minority stake. Existing company shareholders will receive shares on a pro rata basis.
Evrima (EVA) investee company Eastport Ventures Inc has joined the TSX Venture Exchange. Evima owns 3.83% of the Botswana-focused critical minerals explorer and also holds warrants.
Wishbone Gold (WSBN) is holding a general meeting on 28 November to gain shareholder approval for a 100-for-one share consolidation.
Dominic White has stepped down as a director of technology-based financial services company Eight Capital Partners (ECP).
Energy transition engineering Time To ACT (TTA) says the main subsidiary Diffusion Alloys is likely to be profitable in 2025-26 and 2026-27, although this depends on timing. The order book of large project work is worth more than £4m and most of this will be recognised during 2026. There is enough cash for at least 12 months, but it appears it will not last as long as previously expected. Oberon Capital has been appointed joint broker. The general meeting was postponed.
Financial media company Lift Global Ventures (LFT) intends to change its name to Yorkshire AI and focus on AI investments. It will work with Yorkshire AI Labs (YAIL), where its new executive chairman David Richards is a partner. YAIL has bought a 0.45% stake in IntelliAM. In the year to June 2025, revenues declined from £477,000 to £281,000, but lower costs and a fair value gain rather than loss mean that the loss was reduced from £976,000 to £27,000. Cash was £196,000 at the end of June 2025.
TechFinancials (TECH) has not received placing proceeds of £250,000. Gathoni Muchai Investments has money in the bank, and it is still awaiting regulatory clearance. A further £100,000 will no longer be accepted.
Ethtry (ETHY) has appointed Patrick Chopard as chief executive and David Levis will become a non-executive to devote attention to the battery storage investments.
BWA Group (BWAP) used £980,000 of cash in operations and investment last year. There was £20,000 in cash at the end of June 2025.
Asia Wealth Group (AWLP) reported interim revenues falling from $504,000 to $395,000. Pre-tax profit fell from $13,000 to $8,000. There was cash of $977,000 at the end of August 2025.
AI company Astrid Intelligence (ASTR) has appointed Mark Creaser as chief executive.
NYCE International (NYCE) has appointed Alex Crockford as chief commercial officer.
The Smarter Web Company (SWC) has raised another £141,000 at 61p/share.
Valereum (VLRM) has completed a subscription to raise raised £600,000 at 5p/share. Chairman James Bannon and chief executive Gary Cottle contributed £225,000 each and they will each receive 2.5 million warrants exercisable at 50p each and 2.5 million warrants exercisable at 100p each. The rest comes from another investor, which will also receive warrants. A further £50,000 has been raised by the exercising of warrants at 4p each.
Mendell Helium (MDH) raised £200,00 at 3p/share. This is a direct investment by an existing shareholder.
B HODL (LON: HODL) has taken its Bitcoin holding to 155.039 and the total cost was £13.1m.
Shepherd Neame (SHEP) non-executive director Marion Sears bought 4,000 shares at 466p each.
JP JENKINS
JP Jenkins has been awarded a PISCES (Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System) operator licence by the Financial Conduct Authority. This will be called the JP Jenkins Private Market, and the JP Jenkins Matched Bargain Facility will continue.
Bespoke kitchens designer and installer John Lewis of Hungerford (JLH), which left AIM on 29 June 2023, joined JP Jenkins on 18 November.
London and Associated Properties (LAS) left the Main Market on 19 November and joined JP Jenkins. The property investor expects to make annual savings of £350,000. There has been a lack of liquidity in the shares.
AIM
CML Microsystems (CML) interims wee hit by supply problems but they should reflect the base from which the semiconductors designer can grow. Interim revenues wee 27% lower at £9.2m and there was a loss. Net cash was £10.7m at the end of September 2025. The interim dividend is unchanged at 5p/share. CML has received £4m of the £7m proceeds of the sale of land. There are no forecasts, but a better second half is expected, and this could enable a full year profit. A major £30m plus contract over 12 years has been won from a satellite systems company.
Telecoms testing instrumentation supplier Calnex Solutions (CLX) improved interim revenues despite the telecoms market remaining weak. Demand for datacentres and defence is providing growth opportunities. In the six months to September 2025, revenues were 9% higher at £8m. The loss was reduced from £1.3m to £1m. Telecoms is a minority contributor to revenues. Additional sales personnel have been hired to develop the other markets. Full year revenues are forecast to rise from £18.4m to £20.3m and the pre-tax profit will edge up to £700,000. That is before any recovery in the telecoms market, which probably will not happen until next year.
NWF (NWF) says its businesses have had a mixed first half performance. Heating oil volumes have been lower than normal and the winter increase in demand is not likely to make up for this. Commercial fuels demand has also been lower, and this is higher margin. This has led to pricing pressures as the company rolls out a new regional operating model. The food distribution and feeds businesses are doing well, with the former picking up new contracts.
Cloud-based digital media services provider Zoo Digital (ZOO) has significantly reduced its cost base and generated $549,000 in cash from operations in the six months to September 2025. Interim revenues fell 19% to $22.4m, but this was an increase on the second half revenues from last year. Zoo Digital has launched its Fast Track service that can provide a premium service for streaming programming that can turn around dubbing and subtitling in hours rather than days. Zoo Digital is still expected to report an underlying operating loss of $2m in 2025-26, but it will continue to generate cash from operations.
Transport software and services provider Tracsis (TRCS) says full year revenues improved from £81m to £81.9m, although like-for-like growth was 3%. Underlying pre-tax profit edged up to £10.2m. Recurring licence revenues were £23.2m. Net cash was £23.4m at the end of July 2025. The dividend was raised to 2.72p/share. The business has been reorganised and there were £2.4m of exceptional provisions with around £1m of the cash outflow expected next year. A major geointelligence contract has been won with DEFRA. This is worth up to £9m over ten years. Singer forecasts a 2025-26 pre-tax profit of £11.1m.
Eyewear supplier Inspecs (SPEC) says trading improved in October with order books 10% higher than one year ago. US tariff disruption will affect the timing of shipments. Full year revenues of £191m and EBITDA of £17.7m are expected. Safilo Group made an approach to Inspecs to acquire the Eschenbach and BoD businesses. It made two non-binding cash offers, and they we rejected by Inspecs.
Musical instruments retailer Gear4Music (G4M) has bounced back from a troubled couple of years. It is set for its best year since the Covid-boosted 2020-21. In the six months to September 2025, revenues jumped from £61.7m to £80.7m, while a loss of £1.25m was turned into a pre-tax profit of £2.72m. Gear4Music was helped by smaller rivals going out of business. This helped grow revenues and also enabled the retailer to pick up stock at attractive prices that boosted margins. Net debt was £16m at the end of September 2025 as cash generated was invested in stock. There is an upgrade to full year pre-tax profit from £5.5m to £6.7m.
Bigblu Broadband (BBB) is in talks with the buyer of Skymesh about the post-acquisition performance of the business and whether there is going to be any deferred consideration. Bigblu Broadband may have to compensate the buyer for debtors that have not been collected. Bigblu Broadband plans to ask for shareholder permission to leave AIM at a general meeting on 8 December. It could leave on 18 December. Management will seek to realise value form the remaining assets.
Floorcoverings distributor Likewise (LIKE) has reported 8.9% growth in revenues in the first ten months of the year. Zeus raised expectations for 2025 revenues, but the pre-tax profit forecast has been cut. Higher than expected cost increase have led to a one-quarter reduction in the 2025 pre-tax profit forecast to £3m. Capital investment will increase annual capacity to £250m.
Whisky supplier Artisanal Spirits Company (ART) has been hit by the US government shutdown, having already been hampered by tariffs. It is taking more than six weeks to gain approval from the US authorities for new product labels. This means that $3.2m of shipments will not clear customs this year. This will reduce EBITDA by £2m. The US strategy is being changed and the contract with the current distributor will end in March 2026. There will be a stock provision of more than £1.5m. Full year underlying revenues ae expected to be flat, excluding the one-offs.
Battery technology developer Ilika (IKA) says interim revenues will be £600,000 and are mainly from grants. Initial Stereax battery deliveries could be before the end of 2025 with commercial revenues possible in this financial year. The interims will be published on 22 January 2025.
Northern Bear (NTBR) interims exceeded expectations. The building services provider increased revenues from £37.6m to £49.4m, while pre-tax profit jumped from £1.54m to £4m. The pre-tax profit included a £1.3m one-off gain. Underlying full year pre-tax profit has been upgraded to £3.9m.
Empyrean Energy (EME) says Conrad Asia Energy has signed an agreement with PT Nations Natuna Barat for farming into the Mako gas field in the Duyung production sharing contract and the new partner will pay 100% of project development costs for a 75% non-operated participating interest in the Duyung PSC. The deal could be completed by the third quarter of 2026. Empyrean Energy is in dispute with Conrad Asia Energy about its interest in the Duyung PSC.
Industrial equipment distributor HC Slingsby (SLNG) is asking for shareholder approval to leave AIM. The shares are illiquid and the cost of being on AIM adds to the company’s loss, which was £237,000 in the nine months to September 2025. Net debt was £340,000. There is already support from shareholders owning 73.2% of the shares. HC Slingsby transferred from the Main Market to AIM on 24 May 2005. It has been on the London Stock Exchange for many decades. The cancellation could be on 23 December. No matched bargain facility is planned.
Defence consultancy RC Fornax (RCFX) raised £2.25m in a placing at 6p/share and raised £70,000 out of the £500,000 retail offer. The cash will fund development of the Procure X Marketplace to connect small companies with defence buyers and provide working capital. Directors and management are investing £156,800 in new shares. This includes Paul Reeves and Daniel Clark who raised £1m in the flotation back in February, when the company raised £5.2m at 32.5p/share. Cavendish has increased its 2025-26 forecast loss to £2m and expects a lower loss next year.
Great Western Mining Corporation (GWMO) has completed 6,158 feet of drilling at the West Huntoon copper project and the Rhyolite Dome prospect. This includes an extra hole at West Huntoon. Assay results are expected within eight weeks. Exploration is being accelerated at other sites.
Sabien Technology (SNT) says Korea-based partner City Oil Field has commissioned its first regenerated green oil production plant. The partnership is being progressed to a strategic agreement. Sabien Technology will acquire a 1.12% stake in City Oil Field for £600,000 in shares, and the UK sales agreement has been extended for ten years and will be expanded to other countries. There will also be a deal to sell products from the new plant. City Oil Field will own 15.9% of Sabien Technology.
Litigation finance provider Manolete Partners (MANO) says interim figures were hit by slower than expected revenues and cash generation, partly due to the lower average settlement values. There have also been delays in collecting money owed. Settlement values have increased in the second half, and it should be a stronger period. Even so, Canaccord Genuity has cut its 2025-26 pre-tax profit estimate from £2.8m to £1.5m.
Circulating tumour cells diagnostic device developer CellBxHealth (CLBX) has entered a non-exclusive deal with QIAGEN Manchester, which will offer the Parsortix platform to its pharmaceutical customers alongside its own molecular analysis tools. There could be joint development of products combining technologies.
MAIN MARKET
US cybersecurity company Narf Industries (NARF) reported a 74% increase in interim revenues to $2.05m and the loss fell from $1.87m to $555,000. There was cash of $224,512 at the end of September 2025 and the chief executive loan has been extended.
Trading in New Frontier Minerals (NFM) shares has been halted on the ASX ahead of a fundraising. The company has entered a binding commercial framework with Metallium Ltd to create a “western heavy rare earth pathway for Harts Range raw ore that will target US magnetic and defence customers”. This is an exclusive processing contract lasting ten years. There are plans to produce concentrate samples for potential customers in 2026.
Nanoco (NANO) has agreed a $5m settlement with LG relating to the dispute over quantum dot technology. There have been $600,000 of costs incurred last year. An underlying pre-tax profit of £700,00 was reported for the year to July 2025. The cash position will be boosted to enable further investment in technology.
J Smart (SMJ) continues to lose money on construction activities, but revenues from investment properties and the valuation surplus rising from £994,000 to £5.82m, helped pre-tax profit rise from £2.37m to £5.11m. So, there was an overall loss before the valuation surplus. The total dividend is 3.25p/share.
Andrew Hore
Quoted Micro 25 November 2024
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Cooks Coffee (COOK) moved back into profit in the six months to September 2024. Revenues were 27% higher at NZ$2.74m with growth coming from new openings and existing sites. This income comes from fees from franchisees. Like-for-like growth in the UK was 6% and 3% in Ireland. Sales growth has accelerated in the second half with record sales per store in October. There were 83 coffee shops at the end of September 2024, and this could rise to 90 by next March. The company is moving domicile to the UK.
In the year to September 2024, Time to ACT (TTA) increased revenues from £958,000 to £1.67m. There was an underlying operating profit. There was a cash outflow from operating activities of £784,000 because of working capital movements. There was £1.17m in cash.
Global Connectivity (GCON) has had its stake in Rural Broadband Solutions diluted to £9.5m. The valuation of the stake has been reduced from £13.6m to £11.7m, which is equivalent to 3.2p/share. There is an agreement in principle for an investment in a new business.
Aquaculture technology developer OTAQ (OTAQ) has sent out the circular seeking shareholder approval to leave Aquis. The general meeting will be held on 10 December. Delays in orders mean that 2024 Dowgate forecasts a drop in revenues from £4.4m to £3.1m (previously £4.2m) this year and a £1.8m loss, up from £1.2m in 2023. There should be net cash of £100,000 by the end of the year. Convertible loan note interest can be capitalised with up to 75% of proceeds from the sale of certain inventory will be used to pay back the holders.
Lift Global Ventures (LFT) core financial information business Miriad made a positive contribution despite the tough financial markets. It generated £127,000 in cash. There was £163,000 in cash at the end of June 2024.
Invinity Energy Systems (IES) has sent a circular to shareholders to gain approval to move the domicile from Jersey to the UK.
Tap Global Group (TAP) has cancelled its long-term incentive plan and granted options to directors with most of the options vesting when there are increases in the share price. Peter Wall has been formally appointed as chairman.
Marula Mining (MARU) has appointed Morre Kingston Smith as auditor. Results from metallurgical testing work on ore from the Kinusi copper mine should be available in the first quarter of 2025. Further test shipments will happen before the end of the year. Sampling work of high-grade tungsten deposits at the Northern Cape lithium and tungsten project in South Africa is continuing. Tungsten concentrate could be produced next year.
Oscilate (MUSH) has identified areas to start hydrogen operations in Minnesota. Work is under budget.
Valereum (VLRM) has been admitted to the Apex segment of the Aquis Stock Exchange.
Vinanz Ltd (BTC) has added another 21 bitcoin miners to its site in Nebraska, taking the total to 56.
RentGuarantor Holdings (RGG) has launched an offer of £500,000 10% convertible loan notes lasting two years. This will fund an expansion of the workforce. The Renters’ Rights bill will increase demand for rent guarantor services.
SuperSeed Capital (WWW) reported a NAV of 111p/share at the end of September 2024.
Capital for Colleagues (CFCP) has disposed of more shares in investee company Computer Application Services and raised £299,000. It still owns 24.4%. Pipes and valves distributor TPS shares were sold raising £901,000. The remaining TPS stake is 16%. The cash raised will be invested in other businesses.
WeCap (WCAP) investment WeShop has appointed a US investment bank ahead of a flotation. Audited accounts for 2022 and 2023 have been signed off.
AIM
Rail optimisation software and services provider Tracsis (TRCS) had a tough year, but strong recurring revenues helped. One-off revenues the previous year meant that revenues were 1% lower at £81m. Underlying pre-tax profit fell from £14.1m to £10.4m. Total dividend is 2.4p/share. There should eventually be further investment in the rail industry, which will be good news for Tracsis. The timing of the spending is uncertain. There are already potential deals in the pipeline, though. The business has been rationalised so that management can focus on core operations and further acquisitions. There is £19.8m in cash that can be spent on acquisitions that will enhance earnings.
Telecoms enterprise software supplier Cerillion (CER) continues to beat expectations. Full year pre-tax profit was 18% ahead at £19.8m. There were record new orders of £38.1m. The technology helps telecoms companies to operate more efficiently. Growth is set to continue.
It was no surprise that telecoms testing equipment supplier Calnex Solutions (CLX) had a tough first half. Revenues dipped from £7.8m to £7.4m and the loss more than doubled to £1.3m. Even so, the interim dividend has been maintained at 0.31p/share. Cash was reduced to £8.6m. New partners are starting to sell group products, and they are replacing Spirent. Second half revenues should be better than the particularly weak comparatives. This should enable a return to profit for the full year.
Semiconductors developer CML Microsystems (CML) improved interim revenues, but that was down to the Microwave Technologies business not being included in the comparatives. Like-for-like revenues were similar to the second half of last year. Pre-tax profit slumped from £1.9m to £800,000. The interim dividend is maintained at 5p/share. Net cash is £15m. There are potential property sales that will boost the balance sheet. The proposed move of Microwave Technologies to a new site will reduce the cost base. Existing and new products have good long-term prospects.
Frontier IP (FIPP) is raising £3m via a placing and subscription at 28p/share. A retail offer via Primary Bid could raise up to £1m. Minimum subscription is £250. The offer closes at 5pm on 25 November. Frontier IP made unrealised gains of £1.3m in the year to June 2024, but there was an overall loss of £1.3m. NAV is 79.7p/share. Despite that, there is a shortage of cash in the balance sheet and the additional cash should last 12 months as the company tries to generate some additional cash from investment realisations.
Helix Exploration (HEX) drilling at Clink#1 in Montana has been successful. There was 2.5% helium encountered in the Flathead formation, which was higher than expected, and 55% hydrogen in drilling mud. Testing is ongoing and there should be further news in the near future. The well could go into production next year.
Tavistock Investments (TAVI) is acquiring Alpha Beta Partners, which is an asset manager with £3bn under management. The business is focused on retail investors, and this will scale up the existing business of offering asset management services to third party advisers. Operating profit was more than £500,000 on revenues of £4m in the year to September 2024. The initial payment is £6m, with the maximum consideration of up to £18m. Two disposals have been completed and the initial payment of £22m will be received in early December. They could eventually generate £37.75m.
Iron treatment provider Shield Therapeutics (STX) says it will hit the 2024 target revenues of $31.5m, up from $13.1m, as revenue peer prescription has increased. Recruitment has been completed for an Accrufer phase III study in China. The proposed $10m investment by AOP Health still requires shareholder approval. Costs are being lowered by 10%. Cash flow breakeven should be hit by the end of 2025, if the sales growth momentum continues.
Chain and transmission equipment Renold (RNO) reported flat interim revenues of £123.4m and pre-tax profit of £11.3m. Spending on acquisitions increased net debt to £42.2m. There was a dip in chain revenues and transmission revenues were slightly higher with improved margins. North America should recover in the second half and destocking is ending in Europe. The Valencia factory being hit by flooding has hurt sentiment. There will be additional short-term costs of £4.8m because of this with insurance payments potentially coming through in 2025-26.
Webis (WEB) has decided to leave AIM. The US-focused gaming company will seek shareholder approval on 18 December. This will help to reduce costs. The operations remain loss making.
Churchill China (CHH) had a tougher second half than expected with a lack of seasonal uplift in the fourth quarter. This means that 2024 pre-tax profit will be well below expectations. Next year is expected to continue to be weak with hospitality businesses hit by higher National Insurance costs. There will also be a hit for Churchill China and costs are being reduced, but 2025 expectations are also downgraded. The balance sheet remains strong.
Scientific instruments supplier Judges Scientific (JDG) says order intake has reduced if the large Geotek contract is excluded. China is particularly weak, but other markets are also tough, and orders have been deferred. Zeus has cut its 2024 pre-tax profit forecast by 19% to £25m. Next year’s forecast has also been trimmed.
Ilika (IKA) has reached the D6 milestone through the testing of 10Ah cells in its Goliath solid state batteries for electric vehicles. These larger cells have been shown to be safe and the D7 version should be available to potential customers in the second quarter of 2025. This moves the company nearer to finding a partner for the Goliath battery.
Property fund adviser and investor First Property (FPO) had a good first half with one-off profits from the trading of properties by a fund, where the company has an investment. There was also the early receipt of fees from disposal of properties in another fund. There was a swing from a loss of £650,000 to a pre-tax profit of £1.16m. Net debt was £18.7m.
Cannabis-based medicines developer Celadon Pharmaceuticals (CEL) has received a further £200,000 drawdown from the committed credit facility and the lender is committed to providing the remaining £500,000. However, it has to sell an investment to provide the cash. There is still £400,000 outstanding from a share subscription. Celadon Pharmaceuticals has enough cash to get it to January. Talks with another lender continue.
MAIN MARKET
Construction equipment hire company Speedy Hire (SDY) made a small profit in the first half with a recovery expected in the second half. Interim revenues fell 2% to £204m with flat hire revenues and lower fuel sales. Volumes are not being chased so that profit can be maximised. Pre-tax profit was £300,000 because of operational gearing, higher interest charges and a lower joint venture contribution. The Amey contract starts in the second half. Net debt is £112m.
J Smart and Co (Contractors) (SMJ) improved its full year pre-tax profit from £105,000 to £2.37m despite a higher loss on construction activities. The investment property business made a larger contribution. Investment properties are worth £70m and there is £7.5m of net cash. NAV is £126.3m. The total dividend is 3.23p/share.
Media Concierge has approached publisher National World (NWOR) about a possible offer of 21p/share. Media Concierge claims to have the backing of 72.2% of the share capital. Media Concierge wants the offer to be recommended by the board and to be able to complete due diligence. National World claims that entities affiliated with Media Concierge owe it £4.4m.
Technology consolidator Sealand Capital Galaxy (SCGL) is making its maiden AI investment. After evaluating suitable opportunities, the company has decided on EVOO AI (www.evoo.ai), which is a data platform with AI learning models incorporated. It provides insights to the luxury goods sector, such as market trends and consumer behaviour. The main product is Olive, a luxury e-commerce marketplace that offers personalised shopping. The company was incorporated on 15 December 2023. On 14 March 2024, EVOO AI had net assets of £848,000, including fixed asset investments of £800,000 and £1 in cash. The plan is for Sealand Capital Galaxy to invest in a convertible loan note. The first tranche is £200,000 and the second trance will be £100,000. The annual interest rate is 12% and the term is 18 months. Interest is payable on maturity. There will be a fee of one million warrants exercisable at €0.06/share. If the company floats at a lower share price the exercise price will match that price.
Andrew Hore
Quoted Micro 20 November 2023
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Marula Mining (MARU) has completed the phase 1 drilling programme at the Blesberg lithium and tantalum mine. The 21 holes were finished ahead of schedule and assay results are awaited. Phase 2 drilling has started and 15 out of 21 holes have been completed. Financial forecasts for the planned open pit hard rock mining plan.
Valereum (VLRM) says that the Gibraltar Stock Exchange is surrendering its licence and closing its markets. Valereum still wants to acquire the Gibraltar Stock Exchange and holds a fixed charge over a 50% stake. The plan would be to apply for a new licence. Alan Gravitz has left the board.
Ananda Developments (ANA) subsidiary MRX Medical has signed a drug supply agreement with the University of Edinburgh and the Lothian Health Board. The MRX1 cannabidiol oil formulation will be used in a trial for the treatment of chemotherapy induced neuropathic pain.
Gunsynd (GUN) has paid the first tranche of £250,000 for a farm-in agreement with Metals One. Gunsynd will hold Finnaust Mining Northern. Gunsynd has sold 1.24 million shares in Charger Metals for £257,000. It retains 1.3 million shares.
Vinanz Ltd (BTC) has already spent some of the money raised at the beginning of November to acquire 171 bitcoin miners in North America. The plan is to buy a total of 250 bitcoin miners. Vinanz currently holds 9.1 bitcoin.
Cadence Minerals (KDNC) says its subsidiary has issued a request for consultations and negotiations to the Mexican government concerning the possible revocation of the mining concessions for the Sonora lithium project. These concessions are held by joint venture companies, where Cadence Minerals has 30% stakes.
Quantum Exponential (QBIT) has converted its £450,000 investment in Universal Quantum in exchange for 84 million shares at 5319.47p each. A one-for-1,000 share split will happen after the share issue. This means that the subsequent 84,000 shares will be 0.51% of buildable quantum computers developer Universal Quantum.
Wishbone Gold (WSBN) says initial mineralised results from the first half of the Cottesloe project in Western Australia. The company expects full results during next January.
Oberon Investments (OBE) has switched from the Access to Apex segment of the Aquis Stock Exchange.
SuperSeed Capital (WWW) has adjusted its NAV figure for the end of June 2023. It has been reduced from 1.184p/share to 1.121p/share.
Wheelsure Holdings has received potential financing and acquisition approaches, but nothing has been finalised and it is running short of cash. The shares have been suspended and the quotation cancelled on 15 November. Talks continue.
Tunch Kashif reduced his stake in ChallengerX (CXS) from 21.6% to 17.9%. Mark Horrocks has increased his shareholding in Lift Global Ventures (LFT) from 13.3% to 14.99%.
AIM
Hotel Chocolat (HOTC) is recommending a 375p/share bid from Mars, which values the chocolate company at £534m. Mars is keen to help Hotel Chocolat expand into new regions. The track record of the current management when it comes to international expansion has been mixed and it will help to have a larger company with greater resources backing the expansion. Shareholders can accept an alternative offer of one rollover share in the bid vehicle for each share. The value of these shares will be dependent on the performance of the business, and this would be taking a risk.
Verici Dx (VRCI) has entered into an exclusive licence agreement with Thermo Fisher for its pre-transplant prognostics. This will generate staged payments of $5m over the next 12 months, plus future royalties of per test. That means that Verici Dx will have enough cash until the end of 2024. Thermo Fisher has the commercial expertise to roll out the technology and it will further develop the product.
City Pub Group (CPC) is also the subject of an agreed bid. Young & Co’s Brewery (LON: YNGA) is offering 108.75p in cash and 0.032658 of an A share for each City Pub Group share, valuing it at 145p/share or £162m. The share price jumped 52.5% to 136.5p. Young’s has been seeking to grow its managed pubs business and believes it is rare to have the opportunity to acquire such an attractive portfolio of pubs. The deal will increase the number of pubs owned by 50 to 279. A significant amount of City Pub Group’s central overheads of £5.6m could be saved by the combined group and there could be other savings. Young’s shares rose 1.86% to 1095p.
AMTE Power (AMTE) has secured a short-term financing. The battery technology developer will receive £2.5m from a subscription by Pinnacle International Venture Capital at 1.7p/share and it is also providing a £200,000 convertible loan facility. A placing will raise a further £400,000 at 0.5p/share. A general meeting is required to approve the subscription.
Jarvis Securities (JIM) has confirmed it is not paying a fourth quarter dividend. The FCA is planning a further review into the company’s operations, including the approach to uninvested cash and interest retention. This report has to be delivered by the end of February 2024.The voluntary restrictions on the business are continuing and another review is required before they can be lifted. The reviews have cost more than £1.3m this year.
AFC Energy (AFC) is purchasing Octopus Hydrogen’s UK mobile hydrogen storage and distribution assets. These assets can be used to provide a hydrogen fuelling service for H-Power generator units rented by new partner Speedy Hydrogen Solutions and other future users of hydrogen powered equipment.
Celadon Pharmaceuticals (CEL) has secured a new sales contract with a European medicinal cannabis company that could generate up to £26m over a three-year period. The first delivery will be in the second half of 2024. The cannabis grower and drug developer will supply pharmaceutical-grade cannabis. There are other interested buyers.
Autonomous vehicles developer Aurrigo International (AURR) has launched a placing to raise at least £3.5m at 100p/share and there will also be a retail offer at the same price. Coventry-based Aurrigo International won the best newcomer title at the 2023 AIM awards, having floated AIM on 15 September 2022 at 48p/share. Aurrigo International had cash of £2.8m at the end of June 2023 after a £1.9m outflow from operations in the first half. There will be £1.5m spent on customer roll out and £400,000 for additional staff.
Chain and transmission equipment Renold (RNO) reported strong interims with revenues 8% ahead at £125.3m and pre-tax profit 55% higher at £11.3m. The revenues and margins of the transmission business have jumped as the new MoD contract builds up. The chain division also grew revenues and margins. Order intake has slowed, but that is at least partly down to there being more confidence in the supply chain.
Freight and parcel delivery company DX (DX.) is recommending a 47.5p/share bid from HIG European Capital Partners, which values the company at £315m. The shares have gone ex-dividend, and the final dividend of 1p/share will be paid on 7 December. That reduced the level of the bid.
DP Poland (DPP) says third quarter like-for-like sales in Poland were 14.1% higher and they were 34.8% ahead in October. The Croatian business is growing even faster. Singer believes the pizza retailer could move into profit in 2024.
Initial results from drilling at the Wedding Bell and Radium Mountain owned by Thor Energy (THR) confirm the potential of the US uranium projects. More than 50% of the 25-hole drill programme has been completed. The initial results come from downhole gamma logs and handheld pXRF devices to determine anomalous levels of uranium and these will be sent to laboratories for final analysis.
Blue Star Capital (BLU) investee company SatoshiPay has appointed Benchmark International to value the business and seek potential acquirers. Blue Star Capital owns 27.9% of SatoshiPay.
Saietta Group (SED) says that its 49.5% owned Indian joint venture has secured an order for complete eDrives from its main client for a second of its light commercial vehicles. The initial order is worth £106,000 over three months and the first full year of production could generate £12.7m. This is the first significant order for the new radial flux technology.
MAIN MARKET
Data integrity and banking integration software provider Gresham Technologies (GHT) is losing business with ANZ its biggest customer. The company will no longer provide sub-contracting services, but ANZ will still use its Clareti software. This was lower margin work, and the focus is on software.
J Smart (Contractors) (SMJ) reported a higher loss on contracting and did not have any disposal gains in its investment activities. That meant that pre-tax profit fell £8/19m to £105,000. There was an operating loss offset by interest income. A 2.27p/share dividend is payable on 29 January.
Andrew Hore
Quoted Micro 24 April 2023
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Valereum (VLRM) has sold Bitcoin mining assets to Aquis new entrant Vinanz (BTC) in return for 27.3 million shares at 3p each. This gives Valereum a 23.5% stake in Vinanz, which plans to become a Bitcoin mining company with facilities operated by third parties in the US and Canada. The company will also consider mining other cryptocurrencies. The Vinanz share price ended the week at 3.5p. There was one trade of 30,000 shares at 3.26p a share.
E-commerce technology provider Samarkand (SMK) says 2022-23 revenues will be around £17m and the loss has been reduced. VSA forecasts a small positive EBITDA in 2023-24.
SulNOx Group (SNOX) says 2022-23 revenues more than quintupled to £203,000. There was £525,000 in cash at the end of March 2023.
Equipmake Holdings (EQIP) has agreed a partnership with H55 to develop electric aircraft technology. Switzerland-based H55 will use the company’s electric motors in its two-seater electric trainer for pilot training.
In the first three months of 2023, Guanajuato Silver (GSVR) reported record quarterly silver production of 938,000 ounces equivalent. VSA forecasts full year production of 4.7 million ounces of silver equivalent.
Goodbody Health Inc (GDBY) has decided to leave Aquis and the share price slumped 44.6% to 0.9p. It also reported a fall in full year revenues from £17.1m to £10m and an increased loss of £4.9m.
Tap Global Group (TAP) has increased revenues and users since reversing into an Aquis shell earlier this year. First quarter revenues were £1.2m, compared with £250,000 in the corresponding period last year. The regulated cryptocurrency app company increased users by 30% to 144,305.
Coinsilium Group (COIN) has raised £258,000 at 1.5p a share, with warrants attached that have an exercise price of 3p.
Chris Akers has raised his stake in Semper Fortis Esports (SEMP) from 4.57% to 19.5%. The share price jumped by one-fifth to 0.15p. The April 2021 floatation price was 1p. Chapel Down Group (CDGP) finance director Rob Smith bought 407,462 shares at an average price of 34.7p, taking his stake to two million shares. Hadron Capital, which was founded by Fenikso (FNK) non-exec director Marco D’Attanasio, has acquired 1.2 million shares at 0.6p each in Fenikso.
AIM
Sureserve (SUR) is recommending a bid from Cap10 4NetZero Bidco, which is a vehicle for private equity company Cap10 Partners. The 125p a share bid values Sureserve at £214m and that is the highest share price since the company floated as Lakehouse in 2015. Cap10 believes that taking the compliance and energy services provider company private will make it easier to focus on long-term goals.
Proton therapy cancer treatment developer Advanced Oncotherapy (AVO) announced a strategic review. A Nasdaq listing is being considered, which could involve selling the business to an existing Nasdaq company. There are no current discussions and cash is running out. Management hopes to obtain additional working capital by issuing more loan notes. That could extend the company’s cash until the end of May.
Pizza restaurants franchiser DP Poland (DPP) increased first quarter like-for-like sales in Poland by 19% and in Croatia by 16%. There are signs that food inflation is easing. However, additional investment in TV marketing will mean that the company will continue to lose money in 2023.
Business process outsourcing firm iEnergizer (IBPO) plans to cancel is AIM quotation and a general meeting will be held on 16 May to gain shareholder approval. As EICR (Cyprus) owns 82.7% that is a formality. The lack of free float has hampered liquidity and the costs of the quotation outweigh any benefits. Management expects to leave AIM on 26 May. There are plans for a matched bargain facility.
Unikmind has increased its bid for cyber security software provider Kape Technologies (KAPE) from 285p to 290p ($3.60) a share and some of the vendors of past acquisitions have agreed to accept.
Property bridging loans provider Vector Capital (VCAP) reported a slightly better than expected pre-tax profit for 2022. Management, though, is being cautious about lending this year. There was a £200,000 provision for doubtful debts, but the pre-tax profit was still £100,000 better than forecast at £2.8m. The total dividend is 2.53p a share. The average loan book was 27% higher than the previous year. This year the loan book could fall because of higher standards for new lending.
Woodbois (WBI) says that the lender to its Denmark-based Woodgroup timber trading subsidiary has given notice on a $6m lending facility. The facility provided by Sydbank is fully drawn, but there is also $3.1m in cash deposits with Sydbank, which wants a refinance plan by the end of May. Premier Miton subsequently sold its 9.96% stake.
Environmental and life sciences technology company DeepVerge (DVRG) says that revenues have been incorrectly recognised. That means that the 2022 figure will be 45%-50% lower than the £17.2m previously flagged. Some of the expected revenues have been delayed while others will not be recognised. The order book is more than £10m and this will be recognised in 2023 and 2024. There is £1m in the bank and more funding will be required.
Xeros Technology (XSG) is winning new business, but cash is declining. The 2022 figures were in line with expectations and cash was £6.5m. finnCap believes that the cash should last until the second quarter of 2024. That is despite the 2023 loss forecast being increased to £4.8m. The progress of the launch of a domestic washing machine using Xeros filtration technology by a partner has been slower than hoped. Breakeven could still be achieved late in 2024.
Dekel Agri-Vision (DKL) says that the quantity and quality of raw cashew nuts acquired for its new facility are in line with expectations and the pricing is better than anticipated. Average production rates have increased to 10 tonnes/day.
Tertiary Minerals (TYM) has commenced its latest exploration programme for the Lubuila copper project in Zambia following the ending of seasonal rains.
MAIN MARKET
Interim revenues at J Smart (Contractors) (SMJ) slumped from £5.16m to £2.12m, while pre-tax profit dived from £6.33m to £260,000, although the corresponding period included a £6.06m disposal gain. The interim dividend is 0.96p. Net assets are £123.7m, but this would have been lower if there had been a property revaluation at the end of the period.
Fourth quarter revenues for kitchenware retailer ProCook Group (PROC) were 10% lower than the same time last year, with high street sales flat – a new store was opened in Kingston-upon-Thames. There was a 65% increase on the previous quarter. Full year revenues were 10% lower at £62.3m and ProCook will breakeven.
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 25 April 2022
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Gunsynd (GUN) had net assets of £5.99m at the end of January 2022. That includes £1.08m in cash. Investee company Low6 is still seeking a listing in Toronto via 1319735 BC Ltd. Mining investee company Charger Metals plans to start its maiden drilling programme at the Coates project in Western Australia. First Tin joined the Main Market after the period end.
Tectonic Gold (TTAU) has appointed Ian Bruce as exploration manager, and he will restart the drilling at Specimen Hill. A permit has been secured in the same area for Taree Fields, which was historically a high-grade copper mine. Deep Blue Minerals, where Tectonic owns 10%, raised $236,000 from diamond sales.
Lombard Capital (LCAP) has agreed in principle the sale of LCP Financial to SBS Group for £4.2m in shares and the repayment of a £370,000 intercompany loan. Lombard Capital will acquire Waste and Recycling Services before the sale is completed. Management will be seeking shareholder approval to leave Aquis.
ChallengerX (CXS) has signed a five-year agreement with The American Arena League for the use of the SaaS-based platform CXSports. This will help to promote the league and generate revenues.
Blockchain and open finance investor Coinsilium (COIN) has agreed to purchase $200,000 of YELLOW tokens for the Yellow Network, which is a cross chain overlay, financial information exchange and distributed infrastructure network.
Adam Pollock, who was previously head of corporate and institutional at WH Ireland, has become a director of Oberon Capital, the broking business of Oberon Investments Group (OBE).
Vulcan Industries (VULC) has raised £48,000 at 1.37p each.
All Star Minerals (ASMO) is changing its name to Marula Mining.
AIM
TV programmes producer Zinc Media (ZIN) lost on £2.61m on revenues of £17.5m in 2021. There is already £13m of booked revenues for 2022 and there is potential further business worth £35m that could be delivered this year. A greater proportion of the work being won is for series, rather than one-off programmes. Zinc Communicate, which produces non-broadcast content and podcasts, is becoming increasingly important. The timing of the orders is uncertain and not all the work will materialise, although £8m is at an advanced stage. This suggests that 2022 revenues should be much higher, and Zinc Media should become profitable and cash generative. Last year, the cash outflow from operations was £245,000. Net cash was £2.18m at the end of 2021.
Churchill China (CHH) is beating its rivals thanks to its capital expenditure and investment in marketing, and it has a better order book than normal for this time of year. In 2021, pre-tax profit bounced back from £800,000 to £6m as revenues recovered from £36.4m to £60.8m. The total dividend is £24p a share, while there is £19m in the bank. Churchill China has taken on more than 200 additional staff in the past year and they still require training. Last autumn, selling prices were raised by 12% and a 5% increase is planned for May. That will help to offset the cost rises. Pre-tax profit is expected to be between £8m and £8.8m this year.
Tungsten West (TUN) is reviewing development options for the Hemerden mine because of rising costs. This will lead to a two-month delay. This could lead to a focus on sodium tungstate production because it is higher value than ammonium paratungstate.
Solid State (SOLI) continues to best expectations. Revenues for the year to March 2022 will be around 6% ahead of previous expectations at £85m, while there is a 11% upgrade in pre-tax profit to £7.4m.
Seeing Machines (LSE: SEE) has secured a collaboration with Magna to develop and demonstration model driver monitoring system (DMS) combining, camera, electronics and interior mirror technology. This should help Seeing Machines win more market share.
Plant-based polymers developer Itaconix (ITX) says volumes continue to increase, particularly in the dishwashing detergent ingredients market.
Coral Products (CRU) is trading ahead of expectations in the year to April 2022 and there is a second interim dividend of 0.4p a share. There could also be a final dividend to add to this year’s total of 0.9p a share.
MAIN MARKET
Nuclear-related business has helped structural steel supplier Severfield (SFR) to enjoy record orders. Logistics, infrastructure and data centres are other areas of high demand. Longer-term, battery manufacturing plants could be another booming area. The current order book is worth £479m. The 2021-22 figures will be in line with expectations with pre-tax profit forecast to improve from £24.3m to £28.1m. This year’s revenues should be better than previously expected, but profit expectations have been maintained because of higher steel costs. The higher steel prices mean that higher working capital is required.
Full year profit of kitchenware retailer ProCook Group (PROC) will be slightly lower than expected at £9.5m. ProCook has grown revenues in a market that is slightly down
J Smart Contractors (SMJ) reported a decline in interim revenues from £5.75m to £5.16m, while pre-tax profit jumped from £890,000 to £6.35m, although that was due to a gain on the sale of investment properties of £6.06m. It is unlikely that full year profit will be higher this year. Net assets are £117.2m, including £76.2m of investment properties and net cash of £27.6m. The interim dividend is 0.96p a share and the ex-dividend date is 5 May.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 26 April 2021
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Shepherd Neame (SHEP) in common with other brewers and pub companies has been hard hit by the closure of pubs. Monthly cash burn during pub closures is £1.5m-£2m. Unsurprisingly, interim revenues slumped from £79m to £55.3m, while an underlying pre-tax profit of £4.88m was turned into an underlying loss of £4.81m. Bottled beer sales were one-quarter higher as people bought the bottles for home consumption. Net debt was £92.4m at the end of December 2020 and had reached £96.5m by the end of March. More than 200 pubs with gardens have reopened and all 316 will be open by 17 May.
Revenues fell by one-third to £50.7m at brewer Adnams (ADB) in 2020. Online sales were 245% higher. This led to a loss of £4.3m. Beer volumes fell by 23% and spirits volumes by 31%. There is no dividend and reduced investment meant that net debt was reduced.
Gunsynd (GUN) has invested £50,000 in the unquoted Media Tech SPAC at 4p a share. The SPAC raised £1.64m and it plans to float in the second half of 2021. Riverfort Global Capital and Sure Valley Ventures are involved in the SPAC, which is focused on media and technology investments, and the latter might want to reverse one of its investments into the company. The sale of shares in Empress Royalty and Eagle Mountain raised £218,000 for Gunsynd.
John Mahtani, who is chief executive of Media Tech SPAC, has increased his stake in Quetzal Capital (QTZ) to 6.08%, while Chris Akers has raised his stake to 15%.
NFT Investments (NFT) has made its first investment. A $1m investment has been made in AEON International, which develops technology for the luxury fashion industry. Hong Kong-based AEON has a customer base that includes Gucci and Louis Vuitton. The AUTHENTIQUE subsidiary offers NFT-based verification technology in order to combat counterfeit goods. A product is being developed that would use unique fashion NFTs and smart contracts to enable fashion brands to earn royalties when a product is resold. NFT is paying its board and management in cryptocurrency.
NQ Minerals (NQMI) says the Hellyer mine generated gross revenues of $17.9m and net profit of $4.8m in the first quarter of 2021.
Interim sales of Wheelsure Holdings (WHLP) more than halved from £116,000 to £56,000, although management expects the second half to be stronger. The interim loss increased from £75,000 to £117,000. Since the end of the interim period, a further £50,000 has been raised and a government loan of the same amount secured. Management is seeking new markets for its rail safety equipment.
Chapel Down Group (CDGP) has completed the disposal of Curious Drinks and each of the minority shareholders will receive 1.57 Chapel Down shares for each Curious share they owned. This has resulted in 1.26 million additional shares being issued.
Watchstone Group (WTG) is seeking to switch from AIM to the Apex segment of Aquis. This should happen on 30 April. Watchstone is classified as a cash shell and trading in the shares would be suspended on AIM on 4 May if no acquisition had been made. The board is pursuing litigation relating to past businesses. This could result in cash being returned to shareholders. Watchstone is also seeking new investments.
Valereum Blockchain (VLRM) has purchased bitcoin mining hardware and they should be up and running in the US within one month. The plan is to have mining operations in a range of geographies.
Indorse, in which Coinsilium (COIN) has a 10% stake, has released a digital analysis tool, which scans the data on NFTs and their underlying assets. Coinsilium also owns 14.12% of the IND tokens in circulation.
Wishbone Gold (WSBN) has filed its drilling plans for the Red Setter project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. There could be up to 30,000 metres of drilling over four years.
Tyndall Investment Management has taken a 6.85% stake Oncology treatments developer Incanthera (INC) and directors and employees have also added to their stakes at process between 13p a share and 13.5p a share.
Arbuthnot Banking (ARBB) has generated £3m from the sale of shares in Secure Trust Bank (STB) at £12 a share. The stake has been reduced to 4.4%.
Veni Vidi Vici (VVV) has raised £220,000 at 50p a share. Vulcan Industries (VULC) has raised an additional £30,000 at 3.9p a share. A subscription at 85p a share has provided Startup Giants (SUG) with £190,000.
SulNOx Group (SNOX) has moved to the Apex segment of the market.
AIM
Grease management services provider Filta (FLTA) has been hit by the closure of restaurants and venues, particularly in the US. Revenues fell by one-third last year and the company fell into loss. Trading levels are moving back to previous levels, but the progress depends on the reopening of some of the larger US venues and stadia. There should be a return to profit this year, but it will take until 2022 for a profit to exceed past levels.
The was another positive trading statement from telecoms billing and customer relationship management software provider Cerillion (CER) following a first half of record orders.
Nu-Oil and Gas (NUOG) will lose its AIM-quotation on 5 May because it has not completed a takeover. There is a proposed acquisition of Guardian Barriers IP and Guardian Maritime, but if this goes ahead the plan is to obtain a standard listing. Guardian has developed a product that can be retrofitted to ships in order to prevent pirates from boarding vessels.
Churchill China (CHH) was still profitable in 2020, but pre-tax profit slumped from £11.2m to £800,000. There was £1.8m of cash generated from operations and net cash was £14m at the end of 2020. There is no dividend. Sales of hospitality ceramics halved during the year.
Cora Gold Ltd (CORA) has announced results from its latest drilling campaign at the Sanankoro gold project in southern Mali. The initial results suggest that there could be a significant increase in the DCF valuation of the project, which was £37.8m. The drilling should be completed by the end of July and there will be continuing news flow over the coming months.
MobilityOne (MBO) is not going ahead with the proposed acquisition of Tanjung Pinang Resources.
Team (TEAM) has decided not to make an offer for Tavistock Investments (TAVI).
MAIN MARKET
MGC Pharmaceuticals (MXC) is acquiring Israeli clinical research company MediCaNL in shares for up to A$6m and it will be used to run the company’s clinical trials. That will reduce costs and lead times. Three clinical trials are planned for cannabis-based treatments in 2021.
Town Centre Securities (TOWN) has collected or deferred 92% of the due rent of £5.1m in the latest quarter. The deferred element is £600,000. The other £400,000 remains due and discussions with tenants are ongoing. Since last March, there is £1.8m of rents that remain due. The company has sold the Thornton’s Chambers property in Leeds.
Interim revenues of J Smart Contractors (SMJ) declined from £9.25m to £5.75m, but costs declined at a higher rate so pre-tax profit improved from £265,000 to £890,000. Net cash was £11.1m at the end of January 2021. The interim dividend is unchanged at 0.95p a share. Building materials costs are rising and a lull in contracting work will hit profit. Management believes that property assets should have retained their value even though a valuation will not take place until the end of the year. NAV is £99.6m, while the market capitalisation is £52m.
Standard list shell Marwyn Acquisition Company III (MAC3) has raised £12m from an issue of A shares and is considering a £200m fundraising.
Tirupati Graphite (TGR) has opened its second mine at the Vatomina project in Madagascar. The processing plant will be commissioned in the second quarter of 2021. Last week. £10m in and oversubscribed placing at 90p a share. That is double last year’s flotation price.
Wildcat Petroleum (WCAT) has signed two memoranda of understanding. The first is with Crown Energy for its participation in a future initial coin operation by Wildcat. A model to monetise hydrocarbon blocks based on blockchain technology. Crown has blocks in Madagascar, South Africa and Iraq. Nabirm Global has a Namibian exploration licence and the deal is the same as with Crown.
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 27 April 2020
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Cannabis products-focused company Sativa (SATI) has received a bid approach from StillCana Inc, which has built two high volume CBD extraction facilities in Europe. StillCana is Europe’s largest producer of CBD distillate and isolate. StillCana plans to offer 0.33651 of one share for each Sativa share. Sativa shareholders would own 65% of the enlarged business. If StillCana does not go through with the bid it may be required to pay Sativa £1m as a break fee. Trading in Sativa shares has been suspended. Peterhouse has been appointed as corporate adviser.
In the six months to December 2019, there was a £224,000 cash outflow at Imperial X (IMPP) as it assessed the way forward. The new investing strategy is focused on acquiring royalties in the oil and gas sector. There was £179,000 in the bank at the end of 2019. Imperial X has subsequently raised £27,700 at 2.5p a share.
Primorus Investments (PRIM) had net assets of £4.76m at the end of 2019. One of the successes has been the investment in Greatland Gold (GGP) and TruSpine Technologies is moving towards a flotation.
Cadence Minerals (KDNC) owns 16% of AIM-quoted European Metal Holdings (EMH) whose shareholders have approved the £25.8m investment for a 51% stake in the holder of the Cinovec licences in the Czech Republic.
NQ Minerals (NQMI) says that the resource at the Barnes Hill nickel project to 25Mt at 0.6% nickel and 0.05% cobalt on a 0.25% nickel cut-off grade.
Arbuthnot Banking (ARBB) n on-executive director Nigel Boardman has acquired an initial 5,020 shares in two amounts (1,500 shares at 960p each and 3,520 shares at 1010p each).
Altona Energy (ANR) has extended the closing date of its open offer until 12 May and it may consider a further extension if the market uncertainty continues.
AIM
Cyber security services provider Shearwater (SWG) has raised £3.75m at 240p a share. Directors David Williams and Phil Higgins are each investing £125,000. A new £4m, 3-year bank facility has been negotiated. In the year to March 2020, Shearwater generated revenues of £33m and underlying EBITDA was £3.2m. There has been a move towards higher margin business. Management believes that COVID-19 will provide opportunities to expand the business. There are acquisition opportunities with revenues of between £2m and £20m.
Musical instruments retailer Gear4Music (G4M) has confirmed that profit for 2019-20 was better than expected and gross margins improved from 22.8% to 25.9%.
Last year was tough for transport and logistics firm Xpediator (XPD) and this year won’t be easy, but it has a good base and the new Southampton warehouse will come on stream early in 2021. In 2019, revenues grew but lower freight forwarding margins and higher overheads hit pre-tax profit and it fell to £5.2m. Xpediator should still be profitable in 2020 and the second quarter tends to be a weaker period. A scrip dividend of 1.05p a share has been declared.
Health monitoring equipment supplier LiDCO (LID) had a strong start to its new financial year thanks to strong demand from the NHS. Since January 195 monitors have been sold, which is nearly as many as last year. The pre-tax loss is expected to continue to reduce and LiDCO has started to generate cash from operations.
Foreign exchange provider Equals (EQLS) increased first quarter revenues by one-third to £8.3m. The majority of this was business to business revenues. There was a sharp decline in travel money business in March.
Dragon Capital Group is offering a purchase facility to minority shareholders in Dragon-Ukrainian Properties and Development (DUPD) as part of the plan to cancel the AIM quotation. The purchase price is 10p a share. Shareholder approval for the departure from AIM will be sought at the general meeting in Kiev on 6 May.
DBAY Advisers is building up a stake in Wynnstay Group (WYN) and it has reach ed 6.47%. It is taking advantage of the decline in the share price, although it has rebounded strongly in the past few weeks. Investec has sold most of its stake. Trading has been subdued in the current financial year.
Dawn Ward and Tracy Lewis have resigned from the board of Staffline (STAF) and the company is seeking replacements. Henry Spain Investment Services has increased its stake in Staffline to 13.6%.
Mark Greenwood has taken his stake in Richland Resources (RLD) to 29.1%.
MAIN MARKET
LED light fittings and wiring accessories supplier Luceco (LUCE) reported 2019 figures in line with expectations. Revenues were %5 ahead at £172.1m and improved margins meant that pre-tax profit jumped from £6.3m to £15.8m. Revenues and profit are expected to fall back this year due to COVID-19 with the major hit coming in the second quarter after modest supply issues in the first quarter. Cash outflow should be limited to £500,000 a month while lockdowns are in force in Europe. There are bank facilities available to the group. Looking further ahead, Luceco is involved in a growth market and there should be acquisition opportunities.
J Smart Contractors (SMJ) reported a decline in interim pre-tax profit from £1.12m to £265,000. Net cash was £13.7m at the end of January 2020. An unchanged interim dividend of 0.95p a share has been announced.
Cathay International Holdings (CTI) has launched a 16.7456-for-one open offer at 1.5p each, plus a subscription to at the same share price. This could raise up to £105m. This will reduce borrowings and provide cash to put into investee companies.
BATM (BVC) has received a $31m order for 1,000 critical care ventilators. One-quarter of the cash has been paid upfront and the rest will be paid when the ventilators are delivered later this year.
A trading statement by fasteners supplier Trifast (TRI) sparked a 6% 2019-20 profit downgrade to £17.2m by finnCap.
Motor dealer Lookers (LOOK) says that sales and margins have fallen so far this year. Operating costs have been reduced. Sales of former sites are helping to reduce net debt, which is £65m. The fraud investigation has led to a £4m non-cash charge and there could be further write-downs.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore Quoted Micro 28 October 2019
NEX EXCHANGE
Ashley House (ASH) is selling its stake in the Morgan Ashley joint venture to its partner for £2m, with £500,000 deferred for 12-months. Delays in the financial closure of projects has led to a shortage of funds at Ashley House and this deal means it does not have to put any more cash into the joint venture. The renewed focus will be modular buildings and the health and wellness buildings sector. Ashley House cannot work in the elderly care housing sector for three years.
Medicinal cannabis company Ananda Developments (ANA) says that 50%-owned DJT Plants has lodged an application to grow >0.2% THC cannabis. Ananda had net assets of £725,000 at the end of July 2019. That included cash of £162,000. In the six months to July 2019, more than two-thirds of expenses related to the licence application to the Home Office.
Clinical support systems supplier DXS International (DXSP) has been awarded a place on the NHS GPIT Futures framework from the beginning of 2020. This replaces the GPSoC2 framework and means that systems and services will be able to be bought centrally rather than with GP funds. DXS is on course to meet approvals for its specific systems and services. Three newly developed products will be placed on the NHS Digital Online buying catalogue.
Equatorial Mining and Exploration (EM.P) is changing its name to Eastinco Mining and consolidating 100 existing shares into one new share. It is also seeking shareholder approval for the ability to issue more shares. The share purchase agreement conditions for the acquisition of Eastinco have been satisfied. Six billion shares (this will be 60 million after consolidation) and £300,000 of nil coupon loan notes June 2025 have been issued. Heavy mining equipment is being transported to the Kuaka project.
Trading in the bonds of Via Developments (VIA1) has been suspended because a new independent non-executive director has yet to be appointed.
Woodford Investment Management has reported that it has cut its stake in proton beam therapy services provider Rutherford Health (RUTH) from 49.28% to 29.78%, but it is not clear who has acquired the shares.
Ace Liberty and Stone (ALSP) has declared an interim dividend of 0.83p a share and that will cost £359,000. The shares go ex-dividend on 7 November.
Panther Minerals (PALM) plans to consolidate 20 existing shares into one new share and shareholders are being asked to vote for the resolution at a general meeting on 14 November. Panther has been granted its first exploration licence in the Northern Territory. The Marrakai project licence is in the Pine Creek Orogen and covers just over 10 km2. There are a series of gold prospects and there has been previous drilling in the area.
AIM
Footwear retailer Shoe Zone (SHOE) has reassured investors that it will be able to achieve the downgraded pre-tax profit of £9.5m. Net cash of £11.3m at the end of September 2019 is better than expected.
Monoclonal antibodies developer Bioventix (BVXP) reported a 6% increase in full year revenues, although the underlying growth was 16% due to the inclusion of back dated royalties in the previous year. Underlying pre-tax profit was 14% ahead at £7.1m. A 47p a share special dividend is proposed on top of the final dividend of 43p a share. Vitamin D antibody sales increased by one-quarter and they account for 46% of group revenues.
D4T4 Solutions (D4T4) says that its first half trading was in line with expectations. Interim revenues of the data analytics and collection company were £8.8m and this should be one-third of the full year total.
Oil and gas producer President Energy (PPC) is acquiring additional acreage in Rio Negro province from the Argentine oil company CGC in return for assuming the liabilities related to the acreage. CGC is also subscribing for $1.825m worth of shares in instalments. The first instalment of $500,000 will be subscribed when the acquisition is completed. The total subscription could be the equivalent of 3% of President, depending on the share prices when the money is invested.
Thor Mining (THR) is raising £510,000 at 0.2p a share. The cash will be invested in the Molyhil and Bonya tungsten and molybdenum projects in the Northern Territory and a copper project in South Australia.
Vianet (VNET) says that its smart machines division is adding to its customer base and the contracts won in August mean that the growth will continue. Overall trading in the first half was in line with expectations.
MAIN MARKET
TNG (TNG) is seeking to join the standard list. The titanium dioxide project owner already has an ASX listing. TNG owns the TIVAN process that enables production of ultra-white titanium dioxide pigment. The Munt Peake project in Australia will be the first to use the technology. The project will also produce vanadium. A final investment decision will be made as early as next summer.
Fasteners supplier Trifast (TRI) has been hit by weakness in its main markets. There have been reduced volumes in the automotive market. The forecast pre-tax profit for the year to March 2019 has been cut from £22m to £20.3m.
Zenith Energy (ZEN) has raised £824,000 at around 3p a share from the placing in Norway.
Standard list shell Rockpool Acquisitions (ROC) has signed heads of terms with a company in Nevada, which will subscribe for £1.6m of shares and convertibles at an issue/conversion price of 12p a share. Rockpool will make a further loan of £750,000 to Greenview Gas, taking the total to £910,000, which will be convertible into 40% of Greenview.
J Smart and Co (Contractors) (SMJ) increased full year revenues from £8.56m to £16m. The pre-tax profit improved from £5.82m to £7.27m, although that was mainly due to the net surplus on property valuations rising from £2.86m to £4.05m. A lull in contracting work means that this year’s profit is unlikely to improve.
Cash shell Baskerville Capital (BASK) still had £1.5m in the bank at the end of June 2019.
Andrew Hore