Arrow Global expects to resume dividend payments sooner than expected

Arrow Global Group PLC (LON:ARW) was 12% higher at 213.56p after it said the final quarter of 2020 had been an encouraging one.

“Arrow expects to have traded ahead of management expectations in Q4 2020, building on the strong return to profitability registered in Q3,” said Lee Rochford, the chief executive officer of the debt purchasing group.

“Continued strong trading in the first weeks of 2021 means that we are increasingly confident of reducing leverage significantly by the end of the year. As a result, the Group now expects to be in a position to resume dividend payments ahead of plan at year-end 2021,” Rochford said.

2.30pm: Two substantial stakeholders emerge at Ridgecrest

Ridgecrest PLC (LON:RDGC) saw its shares soar 55% to 2.55p after investors climbed onboard after two significant shareholders appeared on the share register.

John Mahtani revealed a 4.67% stake and Ashok Patel a 3.2% holding.

The shareholding announcements follow yesterday’s share placing by the AIM cash shell, formerly known as Nakama, in which one-third of a billion shares were placed at 0.6p to raise £2mln.

1.35pm: Sage comes up with the right numbers

Sage Group PLC (LON:SGE) shares jumped 3.7% to 594.4p as the software firm reiterated its guidance following growth in recurring revenues in its first quarter.

In a trading update for the three months to December 31, 2020, the FTSE 100 company reported that recurring revenues had risen by 4.7% to £408mln, offsetting a 24% decline in other revenues to £39mln. This in turn boosted total organic revenues by 1.4% in the period to £447mln.

Sage said it had performed “in line with expectations” in the quarter, with its recurring revenue growth supported by an 11.3% rise in subscriptions to £303mln.

12.40am: City takes dim view of IG Group‘s US$1bn punt on US online broker

IG Group PLC’s (LON:IGG) US$1bn punt on Tastytrade, a US online brokerage platform, got a lukewarm reception from the City, with the shares off 1.9% at 887p.

The shares fell despite the spread betting firm reporting profit before tax more than doubled in the six months to the end of November.

Headquartered in Chicago, Tastytrade has 105,000 active accounts trading mostly options but also futures and equities, and another 800,000 that watch its live online streaming of market commentary and trading strategies.

IG Group Proposes $1 Billion Acquisition of Tastytrade: The broker announced to pay the total amount through $300 million in cash and $700 million worth of IG shares.… https://t.co/lQGHhmHmO3 | https://t.co/FHLhKCQA7o | https://t.co/FHLhKCQA7o #cryptocurrency #Bitcoin #Forex

— CryptoGator.co | Crypto and Forex News Aggregator (@eBargainsToday) January 21, 2021

11.45am: Versarien crumbles as half-year losses double

Versarien PLC (LON:VRS) reversed 12% to 57p after its interim results failed to find favour.

The advanced engineering materials group said revenues in the six months to the end of September fell to £3.12mln from £4.38mln the year before, reflecting the impact of the pandemic on the group’s more mature businesses.

The underlying loss (LBITDA) doubled to £1.13mln from £570,000 the previous year while the reported loss before tax ballooned to £4.34mln from £2.14mln the year before.

10.40am: Eve Sleep falls out of bed as it warns of possible raw material shortages

Eve Sleep PLC (LON:EVE) lost 16%at 4.85p after it raised a red flag about the availability of raw materials and component supplies.

The self-described “sleep wellness” firm (i.e. mattress manufacturer) said shortages remain an industry issue and a potential limiting factor on near term growth.

The company said has not yet experienced any material cost/duty increases as a direct result of Brexit, though there has been some slowing of the pace of deliveries to Ireland and Northern Ireland resulting from courier related issues.

9.45am: Corcel slides as it issues shares to pay a service provider

Corcel PLC (LON:CRCL) shares tumbled 7.8% to 1.175p after the mining exploration and development company lobbed out 2.88mln shares to pay off a service provider.

The company now has 294.5mln shares in issue.

The newly issued shares represent just under 1% of the share capital of the company.

9.00am: Image Scan flying high after winning first contract with the RAF; Quadrise boosted by partnership with shipping company

Image Scan Holdings PLC (LON:IGE) jumped 20% higher to 3.06p in early trade on Thursday morning on the back of news of a contract win.

The specialist in the field of X-ray imaging for the security and industrial inspection markets has been awarded a contract to supply three portable X-ray scanning systems to the Royal Air Force (RAF).

The award is the company’s first contract with the RAF.

Quadrise Fuels International PLC (LON:QFI) soared 51% to 3.19p after it said the group’s MSAR fuel would be tried out by a subsidiary of MSC Mediterranean Shipping company with its fleet of commercial container vessels.

It is envisaged that the partnership will capitalise on Quadrise’s skills in emulsion fuel application and its use in large diesel engines along with MSC’s vast shipping industry experience.

The trial will begin in 2021 and the first phase of the plan is for Quadrise’s MSAR fuel to be used to power a large MAN ME and/or a Wärtsilä/WinGD Flex 2-stroke engine, to obtain ‘letter of no objection’ from the respective engine manufacturers.

Proactive news headlines:

Quadrise Fuels International PLC (LON:QFI) has inked a partnership deal with a subsidiary of MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, for a trial of the group’s MSAR fuel with its fleet of commercial container vessels. It is envisaged that the partnership will capitalise on Quadrise’s skills in emulsion fuel application and its use in large diesel engines along with MSC’s vast shipping industry experience. The trial will begin in 2021 and it is envisaged that in Phase 1 the company’s MSAR fuel will be used to power a large MAN ME and/or a Wärtsilä/WinGD Flex 2-stroke engine, in order to obtain ‘letter of no objection’ from the respective engine manufacturers.

Canadian Overseas Petroleum Ltd (LON:COPL) said it has inked a term sheet for US$65mln of debt financing that will facilitate its acquisition of US onshore producer Atomic Oil and Gas LLC. The arrangement, for a senior credit facility, is with a US-based global investment firm. It will have a four-year duration and COPL described the terms as competitive whilst noting that it is subject to typical lending conditions. It has a US$45mln base plus a further US$20mln accordion facility that can fund future development initiatives, at the discretion of the lender.

Cobra Resources PLC (LON:COBR) has revealed high-grade gold results from drilling at the Wudinna project in South Australia. Highlight assay results from the Barns and White Tank deposits included 3.25 grams per tonne (g/t) gold over 13 metres, within which was 1 metre at up to 33.6 g/t along with 7.25 g/t silver and 1.71% copper. Another hole encountered 8 g/t gold over 3 metres, with the peak reading of 23.1 g/t and 20 g/t silver over 1 metre.

Evgen Pharma PLC (LONEVG) chief executive Dr Huw Jones has said he is excited by “compelling new data” for lead compound SFX-01 in pre-clinical models of glioma and glioblastoma. Work carried out in collaboration with an unnamed but prominent European university showed tumour shrinkage and significantly extended survival times. SFX-01 was also found to substantially increase the therapeutic effect of radiotherapy in these models.

TomCo Energy PLC (LON:TOM) has told investors it is very pleased with operations and initial production at Greenfield Energy’s POSP project in Utah. The company confirmed that the Petroteq oil sands plant (POSP) at Asphalt Ridge is operating and producing oil at the anticipated volumes and quality, with no issues to date. As of January 19, 2021, the plant had produced over 100 barrels of oil. TomCo noted that the intention is to increase test production to approximately 250 barrels of oil per 12-hour shift over the next few weeks.

Alien Metals Ltd (LON:UFO) has said the maiden drilling programme on the company’s Hancock Iron Ore Project in Western Australia is off and running. The company is planning to complete at least 3,000 metres of grid-based shallow reverse circulation drilling across priority targets on the Hancock project, which is part of the Hamersley Iron Ore Project. The programme will test four main targets that have been defined from historic and recent work, namely two high-grade east-west ridges of outcropping high-grade iron ore in the central and north-central parts of the tenement recently identified by Alien in field mapping and sampling and the historically defined Kalgan and Sirius Extension prospects.

Clipper Logistics PLC (LON:CLG) said it has signed an agreement with Farfetch, a global platform that sells products from 1,300 luxury fashion boutiques and brands, to provide pan-European e-fulfilment and returns management services from a new facility in Venray in the Netherlands. The firm said the new contract will see it support all of Farfetch’s European activities and will begin in April for an initial term of five years. Clipper expects to employ 600 personnel at the site, which will have a stockholding capacity of over 2mln units of high-end apparel.

Open Orphan PLC (LON:ORPH) has drawn investors’ attention to an article in ‘Drug Discovery Today’ written by a director at its hVIVO subsidiary. The print and online trade magazine with an emphasis on the science that underpins drug discovery and development has published an editorial entitled “Modelling the World – can deliberately infecting healthy volunteers really tell us much about what happens outside the clinic during an epidemic or pandemic?” The article was written by Adrian Wildfire, director of Scientific and Business Strategy at hVIVO, which is part of Open Orphan.

Chaarat Gold Holdings Ltd (LON:CGH) said it has exceeded production guidance for the full year at its Kapan Mine in Armenia as well as making “good progress” in business development despite the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, cross-border hostilities in Armenia and protests in the Kyrgyz Republic. Reporting its production and operation results for the year to December 31, the AIM-listed miner said it had produced 58.2 kilo ounces (koz) of gold equivalent from Kapan, exceeding guidance of 55 koz, while also surpassing its third party ore target of 50 kilo tonnes (kt) with 67.8 kt processed.

W Resources PLC (LON:WRES) said it saw production rise sharply at the La Parrilla project in Spain in the fourth quarter of 2020. A total of 261,841 tonnes (t) of run of mine (ROM) ore was fed to the La Parrilla plant in the quarter, up 53% on a like for like basis and up 15% on a pro-rata basis compared to the preceding quarter (adjusting for days worked). Total tungsten and tin concentrate production weighed in at 133.4t, up 72% on a like for like basis and up 29% on a pro-rata basis compared to the third quarter (Q3).

88 Energy PLC (LON:88E) has released a quarterly activities update, for the three months ended December 31, 2020, highlighting its progress at Project Icewine and Project Peregrine. The Alaska-focused explorer noted the updated evaluation of Project Icewine, integrating the full findings of the Charlie-1 well, along with the start of a new farm-out process aimed at securing an exploration drilling campaign for 2022. An in-house study was meanwhile launched to consider gas monetisation options. The company also absorbed back interests in the “Area A” portion of Icewine, to again retain 100% of the asset.

Directa Plus PLC (LON:DCTA), a leading producer and supplier of graphene nanoplatelets based products for use in consumer and industrial markets, has announced that Marco Ferrari, its chief financial officer, has tendered his resignation from the company in order to pursue another business opportunity. The group said Ferrari will step down from the board and leave the company at the end of March 2021. In the interim, he will continue to run, with his team, the finance function of Directa Plus to ensure an orderly handover.

Sensyne Health PLC (LON:SENS) has made a “strong start to the new year and is well placed to build on this momentum in 2021”, according to its chief executive, Lord Drayson. His comments ran alongside the company’s interim results, which outlined the “significant commercial progress” made in recent months. In the company’s financial first half, Sensyne said its anonymised NHS patient dataset has grown to 6.8mln records to achieve its IPO target. It struck four key new strategic research tie-ups.

Tissue Regenix PLC (LON:TRX), the regenerative medical devices company, announced that it has appointed David Cocke as its chief financial officer (CFO) and director to the board with immediate effect. The company noted that Cocke has over 29 years of experience in the medical device industry holding senior finance and operations positions. In 1997, he founded NuPak Medical, an ISO-certified contract manufacturer of sterile disposable medical devices, with the company turning cash flow positive in two years and growing the production volume from 50,000 to 3mln over time.

Tharisa PLC (LON:THS) has announced that Ms Shelley Wai Man Lo will be appointed to its board as a non-executive director with effect from the conclusion of the group’s AGM to be held on February 10, 2021. The company noted that Lo, a Chinese national, represents NWS Holdings Limited, a company whose shares are listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and a subsidiary of which holds 15.10% of Tharisa’s issued share capital with voting rights as at December 30, 2020. She has more than 20 years’ experience in accounting, project investment and management in the infrastructure business in Hong Kong and mainland China. Lo is an Assistant Director: Roads of NWS Infrastructure Management Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of NWS. Before joining the NWS group, she worked in the audit department of Deloitte, Hong Kong. Tharisa also said that Ms Vaneese Wing Ye Chu has been withdrawn from consideration as a director of the company at the upcoming AGM as she is no longer available for election. She will therefore retire by rotation with effect from the conclusion of the AGM.

Anglo Asian Mining PLC (LON:AAZ) has updated investors on the status of three restored contract areas located in Nagorno Karabakh and other formerly occupied territories following the end of a military conflict over the enclave between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The AIM-listed gold, copper and silver producer said three contract areas have been restored, Soutely in the Kalbajar district and Vejnaly in the Zangilan district of the formerly occupied territories, and Kyzlbulag in Nagorno Karabakh. Kalbajar and Zangilan are currently under the control of the government of Azerbaijan, while Russian peacekeepers are present at the Kyzlbulag site.

Oriole Resources PLC (LON: ORR), the AIM-quoted exploration company focussed on West Africa announces that, said that following an exercise of warrants at a price of 0.68p each it has issued 8,581,176 new ordinary shares in the company. Following this exercise, a total of 314,649,103 warrants and 83,192,912 options over ordinary shares (representing approximately 27.1% of the company’s enlarged issued share capital) remain outstanding.

Power Metal Resources PLC (LON:POW) the AIM-listed metals exploration and development company said it has received notices to exercise warrants over 5,404,663 new ordinary shares of 0.1 pence each in the company at an exercise price of 1.0p per ordinary; the exercise of 2,105,263 warrants at an exercise price of 0.75p per ordinary share; and the exercise of 2,500,000 warrants at an exercise price of 0.7p per ordinary share. Subscription monies of £41,283 have been received by Power Metal in respect of these exercises.

Arkle Resources PLC (LON:ARK) has announced that following the receipt of two warrant conversion notices, it has issued 3,000,000 ordinary shares of EUR0.0025 each at the exercise price of 0.50p per share and 5,937,500 ordinary shares at the exercise price of 1.2p per share. The group said the proceeds of the exercise of £86,250 will be used for additional working capital.

Landore Resources Limited (LON:LND) announced that it had received a notice to exercise warrants over a total of 677,196 ordinary shares, for which funds of £135,439.20 have been received by the company.

Newmark Security PLC (LON:NWT), a leading provider of electronic and physical security systems has said it will announce its unaudited results for the six months ended October 31, 2020, on January 25, 2021. The group added that Marie-Claire Dwek (CEO) and Graham Feltham (Group Finance Director) will provide a live presentation relating to the Interim Results via the Investor Meet Company platform on Wednesday, February 10, 2021, at 6.00pm. The presentation is open to all existing and potential shareholders. Questions can be submitted pre-event via the Investor Meet Company dashboard up until 9.00am the day before the meeting or at any time during the live presentation. Investors can sign up to Investor Meet Company for free and add to meet Newmark Security PLC via: https://www.investormeetcompany.com/newmark-security-plc/register-investor

4D pharma PLC (LON:DDDD), a pharmaceutical company leading the development of Live Biotherapeutic products (LBPs) – a novel class of drug derived from the microbiome, has announced its participation in the following: Plenary Session: European Microbiome Leaders Panel Discussion on Thursday, January 28, 2021, at 8.00am GMT (3.00am ET) with Chief Scientific Officer, Dr Alex Stevenson; Clinical Trial Design and Evaluating PK/PD Session: MicroRx and Single Strain Live Biotherapeutics: Proof of Concept Clinical Data and Future Considerations on Thursday, January 28, 2021, at 11.30pm GMT (6.30am ET) with Research Director, Dr Imke Mulder.

Destiny Pharma PLC (LON:DEST), a clinical-stage innovative biotechnology company focused on the development of novel medicines that can prevent life-threatening infections, has announced that Neil Clark and Shaun Claydon will deliver a live presentation introducing the company via the Investor Meet Company platform on January 27, 2021, at 11:00am GMT. The presentation is open to all existing and potential shareholders. Questions can be submitted pre-event via your Investor Meet Company dashboard up until 9.00am the day before the meeting or at any time during the live presentation. Investors can sign up to Investor Meet Company for free and add to meet Destiny Pharma via: https://www.investormeetcompany.com/destiny-pharma-plc/register-investor