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Bilby PLC (LON:BILB) rose 6.3% to 25.5p on Tuesday morning as it said revenues in its second-quarter picked up sharply from the first quarter.
The gas heating, electrical and building services provider said revenues in the July-September quarter were 54% higher than in the preceding quarter, indicating that work is being “deferred not lost due to COVID-19”.
Underlying earnings (EBITDA) in the six months to the end of September fell to £1.92mln from £2.45mln the year before. Adjusted EBITDA – excluding the effect of adopting new accounting standards – was £1.52mln versus £2.06ln the year before.
Hyve Group PLC (LON:HYVE), up 13% at 93.5p, was London’s top riser early doors on the back of well-received full-year results.
The event’s organiser has had a rough time during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic but, in its results statement, it trumpeted the decisive action taken to reduce costs, conserve cash and boost liquidity, to protect and future-proof the business.
Revenue in the year to the end of September slumped to £105.1mln from £220.7mln the year before, leading to a loss of £312.9mln versus a profit the previous year of £8.7mln.
Tern PLC (LON:TERN), meanwhile, initially surged to 7.25p on news of a contract win for one of its portfolio company but ebbed to 6.85p, which was still up 1.5% on the day.
Tern said FundamentalVR has secured a three-year contract worth a minimum of £0.9mln from a new client, which is a global medical device company.
The contract is for the creation of a virtual reality (VR) platform that will be embedded on a VR headset to accompany every installation of the client’s product, to teach and provide assistance to the end-user.
Proactive news headlines:
Bahamas Petroleum Company PLC (LON:BPC) has laid out the plans for its assets in Trinidad and Suriname, targeting a ramp-up that envisages US$35mln of revenue per year by the end of 2021. Driven by a campaign comprising up to 17 new wells the company aims to take production up to at least 2,500 barrels of oil per day (bopd), versus a 2020 goal rate of 500 bopd. Additionally, subject to permitting and rig availability, the company noted that it could further accelerate production growth with an expanded programme of 11 extra wells.
Deltic Energy PLC (LON:DELT) has confirmed the formal award of six licences in the North Sea. The awards come in the UK’s 32nd offshore licensing round and were initially announced in September. Each new licence takes effect from today, Deltic noted.
Frontier IP Group PLC (LON:FIPP) said its portfolio company, Cambridge Raman Imaging Limited, has become part of CRIMSON, a €5mln pan-European project to develop bio-photonic cell and tissue imaging technology to understand the cellular origins of diseases in greater depth. The AIM-listed investment firm said Cambridge Raman, in which it owns a 25.8% stake, is part of a consortium of 10 organisations involved in the project, which is led by the Polytechnical University of Milan. Cambridge Raman will have a project budget of €468,312 and its role will be to commercialise the technology for use in a microscope.
Brickability Group Plc (LON:BRCK) has acquired West Midlands group Bathroom Barn for £645,000 – a deal that is expected to be immediately earnings accretive for the construction materials distributor. A supplier of radiator valves, elements and traditional valves to distributors and retailers, the new business will be integrated into the group’s Towelrads operation. “Bathroom Barn is a perfect partner for our highly successful Towelrads business and adds significantly to our product offering in this area,” said Brickability chief executive, Alan Simpson in a statement.
Westmount Energy Limited (LON:WTE) will become the first exploration and production company to be quoted on both AIM and the OTCQB Market after listing its shares in New York. Trading under the ticker WMELF, it is using the OTC as an international stage for its investments in the fast-emerging Guyana-Suriname Basin. “We are mindful of the substantial Guyanese diaspora living in the United States, and we are hopeful that this cross-trading facility provides an additional opportunity for exposure to exploration drilling outcomes in this prolific basin and the emerging Guyanese exploration success story,” said Westmount chairman Gerard Walsh in a statement.
Scotgold Resources Ltd (LON:SGZ) has poured its first gold from the Cononish mine in Scotland. The company is now focused on completing an accelerated expansion plan to increase production at the mine to 23,500 ounces per year. The current phase of production is targeting an annual rate of ore production of 36,000 tonnes and total gold production of 9,910 ounces for 2021.
Custodian REIT PLC (LON:CREI) said cash collection in the first half of its financial year had been better than expected, considering the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic impact. Adjusted for contractual rent deferrals, Custodian said 88% of rent due was collected in the six months to the end of September 2020. The cash collection rate allowed a 2p interim dividend to be announced at the end of October, which is one-third above the minimum level of 1.5p announced by the real estate investment trust (REIT) in April 2020 before the full impact of the national lockdown could be ascertained.
DeepVerge PLC (LON:DVRG), the scientific research and artificial intelligence specialist, has reiterated guidance for revenues of £4mln in 2020. In a brief update, the group pointed out that the figure excludes the contribution from Modern Water, which was acquired on November 9. With Modern Water’s revenues included, the top line is expected to rise well above £4mln.
Oracle Power PLC (LON:ORCP), the power project developer, has decided not to pull the trigger on the development of an iron ore asset in Guinea. Oracle said its partner, The Office of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum, was on board with the decision; the sheikh’s private office holds the exploration licence for the iron ore asset. The two parties will now jointly focus on additional opportunities within the natural resources sector in Africa.
Karelian Diamond Resources PLC (LON:KDR) turned in a loss of €447,000 for the year ended May 2020. During the period the company was granted additional reservations, adjacent to already held and known kimberlite bodies in Finland. A formal right of way was also granted giving vehicular access to the Lahtojoki diamond deposit and surrounding areas.
Conroy Gold and Natural Resources PLC (LON:CGNR) posted a loss of €677,000 for the year to May 31, 2020. During the period the company continued with development work on its extensive gold exploration ground in Ireland, and, after the period end, it signed a joint venture heads of terms agreement with Anglo Asian Mining (LOM:AAZ). “Work continued throughout the year on the 65-kilometre district-scale gold trend which the company has discovered,” said chairman Professor Richard Conroy in the group’s final results statement released after the London market close on Monday.
OPG Power Ventures PLC (LON:OPG) boosted profit before tax from continuing operations by 32% to £12.8mln in the six months ended September 30, 2020. Diluted earnings per share increased by 48.2% to 2.92p, although power generation at the group’s Chennai plant fell, in line with a drop in demand caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19). “I am proud to say that OPG is coming out from the COVID-19 pandemic as a stronger and more resilient company,” said chairman Arvid Gupta in the results statement.
San Leon Energy PLC (LON:SLE) has said it is closer to seeing the monetisation of its historic investments in the Barryroe project, offshore Ireland, as Providence Resources PLC (LON:PVR) and Lansdowne Oil & Gas PLC (LON:LOGP) sealed a farm-out transaction. The new farm-out deal with Norway’s SpotOn Energy – which is, in turn, teamed up with service providers Schlumberger, Aker Solutions, AGR, Maersk Drilling, Keppel FELS, Aibel – sets the project up for development. It comes after a prior transaction with a Chinese investor failed to close. SpotOn will own 50% of the Barryroe field whilst Providence and Lansdowne hold 40% and 10% respectively. San Leon, meanwhile, retains a 4.5% net profit interest over Barryroe.
Honye Financial Services Limited (LON:HOYE), a London-listed special acquisition company (SPAC), said it is optimistic it will find a fintech investment opportunity but is being cautious due to coronavirus (COVID-19) and Brexit. “The company has been actively searching for and analysing potential acquisitions but has not, so far, found one which satisfies our criteria. Honye will continue to explore other possibilities and as news of our area of focus has become more widely known, potential opportunities are being brought to the company’s attention,” it said alongside its annual results for the year to end July 2020. The loss for the year was £427,385, which reflected day-to-day administrative expenses and due diligence into prospective targets.
Genel Energy PLC (LON:GENL) has confirmed the latest batch of oil payments from the Kurdistan Regional Government. In a statement, Genel noted that the Tawke partners received US$32.8mln gross for oil sales made in October which sees the company’s net share at US$8.1mln. The Taq Taq field partners received US$4mln, giving Genel US$2.2mln net.
EQTEC PLC (LON:EQT) said it has appointed Jeff Vander Linden to its board as chief operating officer and strategy & operations director with immediate effect. The gasification technology company said the newly defined role will see Vander Linden focus on establishing project execution and business management disciplines, growing EQTEC’s partner ecosystem and strengthening the firm’s operational platform to scale its business through 2021 and beyond.
World High Life PLC (LON:LIFE) said it has appointed Robert Payment, its current chief financial officer, as acting chairman and chief executive. The company noted that David Stadnyk has stepped down as its chairman and CEO with immediate effect to devote time to other business interests having successfully established and floated World High Life on the London stock exchange. The group said it will be looking to appoint a non-executive chairman and a full-time CEO in the near future.
NQ Minerals PLC (AQSE:NQMI) (OTCQB:NQMLF) said it has signed a US$55mln loan facility with ING. The funds from the ING Facility are being used to retire all project debt maturing in 2020. This debt was secured over the assets of, and shares in, Hellyer, the company’s tailings reprocessing project in Tasmania, Australia. At the same time, Hellyer has signed life-of-mine marketing agreements with Traxys Europe S.A. for the purchase of all the metal concentrates to be produced from its tailings reprocessing activities.
Tower Resources PLC (LON:TRP announced that Dr Mark Enfield has agreed to join its board as an independent non-executive director with immediate effect. It noted that Dr Enfield is CEO of Geoscience at EPI Group and has been an advisor to the Company’s board for more than five years, first through P.D.F. Ltd, which he founded in 1994, and more recently through EPI Geoscience, which was created through the acquisition of P.D.F. Ltd by EPI in 2016. The company also announced an issue of warrants in lieu of fees to Dr Enfield, amounting to 896,379 5-year warrants at a strike price of 0.375p, being the most recent closing price of the company’s shares, in lieu of director fees for the month of December 2020. The company is also making a further issue of 4,033,704 warrants to Duncan Rushworth, who has agreed to work with the company as an ad hoc strategic advisor to the company’s board. Rushworth has recently stepped down as the VP Business Development for Svenska Petroleum Exploration AB, where he has worked since 2007 across Svenska’s portfolio of assets in West Africa and Europe. The company also announced that non-executive director Peter Taylor will be stepping down from the board with effect from December 31, 2020. Taylor is one of the founders of the company, together with Peter Blakey who left the board in 2016, having contributed the original Neptune Petroleum Ltd assets in Namibia and Uganda in an RTO that established Tower Resources plc as an exploration company in January 2006, so he is now approaching his fifteenth anniversary on the company’s board. Jeremy Asher, Tower’s chairman and CEO, commented: “We are delighted to welcome Mark to the board, both for his technical expertise and also for his entrepreneurial experience in our sector. We also hope that Duncan will bring us a fresh perspective on our existing assets and perhaps more. While I wish that Peter could have stayed on Tower’s board forever, that is neither possible nor appropriate for a non-executive; however, I hope and believe we will continue to be able to draw on Peter’s counsel in the future.”
Alien Metals Limited (LON:UFO), a minerals exploration and development company, announced that, following the receipt of exercise notices, it has issued 1,050,000 ordinary shares of no par value in the capital of the company at an issue price of 0.25p per share.
Base Resources Limited (LON:BSE) (ASX:BSE), the African mineral sands producer, has said the latest company presentation, which was given on Tuesday at the Informa Mineral Sands Conference that is being held virtually, is available from the company’s website: www.baseresources.com.au.
Tiziana Life Sciences PLC (NASDAQ:TLSA) (LON:TILS), a biotechnology company focused on innovative therapeutics for oncology, inflammation and infectious diseases, has announced that its CEO and CSO Dr Kunwar Shailubhai will host a conference call on Wednesday, December 2, 2020, at 4.15pm ET to provide updates on the company. It said Shailubhai will provide updates on the company’s proposed move from AIM to the Standard Segment of the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange, ongoing clinical trials, as well as other recent developments in Tiziana Life Sciences. Live Call: details: +1-877-425-9470 (U.S. Toll-Free) or +1-201-389-0878 (International); Webcast: http://public.viavid.com/index.php?id=142634. For interested individuals unable to join the conference call, a dial-in replay of the call will be available until December 16, 2020, and can be accessed by dialing +1-844-512-2921 (US Toll Free) or +1-412-317-6671 (International) and entering replay pin number: 13713850.
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