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Shares in Enwell Energy PLC (LON:ENW) shrank 5.3% to 25.7p in late-afternoon trading after the oil and gas group reported production declines from its gas wells in Ukraine.
In an update for the fourth quarter to December 31, the company reported that overall production volumes had declined by 7% year-on-year, which it attributed to natural falls in field production.
The firm also said that a decline in production rates from its VAS-10 well in the latter part of 2019 had impacted overall production at the field in 2020, however it added that a workover of the well is planned in the first quarter of the current year to access an alternate reservoir horizon and boost production.
In the risers, drug developer Synairgen PLC (LON:SNG) was a breath of fresh air, rising 12.5% to 173.3p as it said the first patient has been dosed with its inhaled formulation of interferon beta-1a as part of a global phase III trial in people hospitalised with coronavirus (COVID-19).
The company said dosing with SNG001 had so far only taken place in the UK with work expected to get underway in the US and EU shortly.
1.00pm: TP Group flows higher as it mulls sale of maritime engineering arm
TP Group PLC (LON:TPG) shares flowed 6.1% higher to 6.5p in lunchtime trading as the maker of navigation systems said it has appointed advisors to review opportunities for a potential sale of its maritime engineering business.
The company said it has received “expressions of interest” for the business and it will consider its strategic options.
The firm added that there was no certainty an agreement will be reached but any disposal will be in line with its strategy of focusing on “delivering consulting, digital solutions, advanced-technology, and bespoke engineering to critical programmes in the global defence, space and energy sectors”.
Elsewhere, hay fever vaccine specialist Allergy Therapeutics PLC (LON:AGY) was lifted 8.1% to 20p as the company said it can fund two crucial upcoming clinical trials from its own resources after closing out 2020 with a record cash position.
In a trading update ahead of its interim results, the company noted that sales were robust during the half-year to end December 2020, with revenues rising by 7% to £54mln.
Germany, Austria, The Netherlands and Switzerland all saw good sales with core products Pollinex Quattro and Pollinex both making progress, Allergy added.
11.00am: Falanx flies higher as it expands cybersecurity service
Shares in Flanx Group Ltd (LON:FLX) surged 32.4% higher to 1.3p in late-morning trading as the firm announced a “significant expansion” of its cybersecurity service offering with the launch of Triarii.
Triarii is a managed detection and response (MDR) service and Falanx said the product has been “well received” following its launch with a pipeline of sales opportunities.
The company added that the service had also been successfully piloted on Microsoft’s Azure Sentinel platform, which it said will allow it to target “a major global market segment” in the form of managed service providers and their customers that are heavily invested in the Azure platform.
In the fallers, online clothing retailer Sosandar PLC (LON:SOS) slumped 13.8% to 15.9p as despite posting a record quarter in the final months of 2020 the company continued to be loss making.
The online retailer’s revenue rose by 6% to £4mln in the three months to December 31, when it also cut quarterly underlying losses by 60%. The period ended with £3.9mln in the bank.
The performance was delivered despite a 66% reduction in marketing spend, as the AIM-listed firm switched from customer acquisition between September and November to the preservation of cash and trading the database during December.
The good numbers were attributed to the expansion of the product range throughout the year, with loungewear, knitwear, denim and outerwear trading particularly well.
8.40am: Bango bounces as revenues surge ahead of forecasts
Bango PLC (LON:BGO) saw its shares bounce 7.1% higher to 178.4p in early deals on Wednesday after the data and e-commerce specialist said its full-year revenues for 2020 have come in ahead of expectations.
In a trading update for the year to December 31, 2020, the company reported revenues of £12.2mln, up 70% year-on-year, while its adjusted (EBITDA) earnings are expected to exceed £4mln compared to £0.45mln in 2019.
Chief executive Paul Larbey said global lockdowns during the year had “driven more users online and accelerated the adoption of digital payments by merchants and consumers”, which in turn drove more demand for the company’s products. Bango also said new customers won in the year will underpin “continued strong growth” in 2021.
Meanwhile, detection specialist Kromek Group PLC (LON:KMK) jumped 2.6% to 13.9p after it said it has begun a £1.25mln programme funded by Innovate UK to customise its biological threat-detection solution to automatically detect airborne viruses, including coronavirus (COVID-19).
The company said the solution is designed to be deployed in high footfall locations such as airports, hospitals, retail outlets and entertainment venues, with the initial focus of the programme being to develop a system to rapidly test for the presence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
Kromek added that the ability to detect the virus in real-time will also “enable earlier identification of potential infection exposure to help reduce transmission.”
Proactive news headlines:
Kromek Group PLC (LON:KMK) said it has begun a £1.25mln programme funded by Innovate UK to customise its biological threat-detection solution to automatically detect airborne viruses, including coronavirus (COVID-19). The detection technology specialist said the solution is designed to be deployed in high footfall locations such as airports, hospitals, retail outlets and entertainment venues, with the initial focus of the programme being to develop a system to rapidly test for the presence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. In a separate announcement reporting its results for the six months to October 31, 2020, Kromek said it is expecting “significant revenue growth” in the second half of the year thanks to “increased trading and improved visibility” as commercial activity rebounded. For the first half, the company reported an adjusted (EBITDA) loss of £0.9mln compared to a £0.6mln loss in the prior year, while revenues moved to £4.6mln from £5.3mln.
Sunrise Resources PLC (LON:SRES) told investors it has hit the ground running in 2021, as work continues across its portfolio. The company, in a project update, highlighted progress at the CS Pozzolan-Perlite and Sundance Gold projects in Nevada, and Baker’s Gold project in Western Australia. “We anticipate a high level of activity now that our CS Project is permitted for production and as we continue the exploration of our precious metals projects in Nevada and Australia,” said Patrick Cheetham, Sunrise executive chairman in the statement.
Tiziana Life Sciences PLC (NASDAQ:TLSA) (LON:TILS) said it has hired an industry veteran with experience of successfully developing blockbuster monoclonal antibody products as its chief medical officer. At Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: REGN) Dr Neil Graham was “instrumental” in bringing to market Dupixent, a blockbuster monoclonal antibody product for eczema and asthma, taking it from phase I to launch. During his tenure, he also led the product development for Kevzara, an IL-6R antibody for rheumatoid arthritis, which is now also being used to fight coronavirus (COVID-19) symptoms.
SkinBioTherapeutics PLC (LON:SBTX), a life science company focused on skin health, announced that AxisBiotix Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company, has commenced enrolment for its food supplement consumer study. Further to research exploring the relationship between the gut and the skin and the scientific evidence pointing to a link between gut dysfunction, stress-induced alterations to the gut microbiome and skin inflammation, the company noted that it has been working with Winclove Probiotics B.V. for the development of a blend of bacterial strains as a food supplement. A proprietary blend of bacterial strains has been specifically designed to balance the gut microbiome to address the overproduction of new skin cells often seen in aggressive skin conditions such as psoriasis.
Synairgen PLC (LON:SNG) has said the first patient has been dosed with its inhaled formulation of interferon beta-1a as part of its global phase III trial in people hospitalised coronavirus (COVID-19). The respiratory drug discovery and development company said dosing with SNG001 had so far only taken place in the UK with work expected to get underway in the US and EU shortly. In all, the randomised placebo-controlled study will be conducted in around 20 countries, enrolling 610 COVID-19 patients who require supplemental oxygen.
Argo Blockchain PLC (LON:ARB) said it has received approval to begin trading on the OTCQB venture market in the US from Wednesday under the ticker ‘ARBKF’. The cryptocurrency mining firm said its listing on the OTCQB will have no impact on its existing shares on the London Stock Exchange and that it will continue to rely on announcements made through the LSE and will have no SEC reporting requirements.
Bango PLC (LON:BGO) has reported record revenues and a big profit uptick as new contracts with blue-chip organisations combined with surging online demand during the coronavirus lockdown. Revenues in the twelve months to end December 2020 rose by 70% to £12.2mln, the e-commerce platform owner said in a trading update. Underlying profits – adjusted EBITDA – jumped to more than £4mln from £450,000, while end-user spend, another key metric, rose to £1.9bn from £1.1bn. Separately, AIM-listed Bango said it had also appointed Liberum as its nomad and broker.
Allergy Therapeutics PLC (LON:AGY) has said it can fund two crucial upcoming clinical trials from its own resources after closing out 2020 with a record cash position. In a trading update ahead of its interim results, the hay fever vaccine specialist noted that sales were robust during the half-year to end December 2020, with revenues rising by 7% to £54mln. Cash at the end of December amounted to £48.3mln, which Allergy says is sufficient to pay for both the Grass MATA MPL Phase III trial as well as the peanut allergy vaccine candidate Phase I trial.
Induction Healthcare Group PLC (LON:INDC), a leading healthcare technology company that helps digitally transform hospitals, has announced a contract with the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust (RFL). The group’s Induction Zesty unit, a leading provider of patient portals to NHS Hospitals, has delivered the My RFL Care patient portal as the first phase of an ambitious roadmap for RFL’s digital patient services in the next two years. The My RFL Care portal launched in August 2020 and has had significant traction with over 50,000 patients registering and using the service in the first few months. 250,000 patients are expected to adopt the service in the first year.
Greatland Gold PLC (LON:GGP) has noted an announcement from its joint venture partner Newcrest Mining Ltd saying it has approved A$146mln (£82mln) in funding for the construction of the box cut, exploration decline and associated surface infrastructure at the Havieron project in Western Australia following the receipt of regulatory approvals in December. The AIM-listed firm, which owns Havieron through its JV with Newcrest, also said that a US$50mln (£36.5mln) loan agreement announced on November 30, 2020, will be used to fund its share of early works and growth drilling activities up to the completion of a pre-feasibility study (PFS) and, thereafter, its joint venture expenditure requirements towards the completion of a feasibility study. The PFS is expected to be complete by late 2021.
Oracle Power PLC (LON:ORCP) has told investors it is strongly encouraged by findings from the interpretation of magnetic and IP (Induced Polarisation) geophysical data for the Northern Zone gold project. The company noted the completion of processing and interpretation of the data for Northern Zone, which is located in the east of Kalgoorlie area of Western Australia. It said the data highlighted that the findings supports a model of the geology as “a sequence of mafic and ultramafic volcanic rocks, with interbedded sediments and felsic volcanics, that have been intruded by granitic and porphyry intrusions.”
United Oil & Gas PLC (LON:UOG) has highlighted a continued strong production performance from its 22%-owned Abu Sennan project in Egypt. The company, in a quarterly production update, told investors that net production from Abu Sennan averaged 2,340 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) over the second half of 2020, versus guidance of 2,300 boepd. In the fourth quarter specifically net production averaged 2,243 boepd, comprising 1,960 barrels of oil and 283 boe of gas.
Alien Metals Ltd (LON:UFO) has said its Canadian partner Capstone Mining (TSX:CS) is to start a 2,500-metre drill program at the Donovan 2 Copper-Gold project in Mexico. Capstone has an agreement whereby it can acquire a 65% interest in Donovan 2 through US$3.9mln of exploration work and take its stake up to 80% if it pays for a pre-feasibility study. An Induced Polarisation (IP) geophysical survey across the majority of the tenement was completed by Capstone in December 2020 with the final reporting and interpretation now underway to identify drill locations. The IP survey was completed for 27.3 line kilometres and the data capture took 24 days.
IronRidge Resources Limited (LON:IRR) told investors it has defined multiple new pegmatite targets in auger drilling results from the Ewoyaa Lithium Project (ELP), in Ghana. The company said that seven high-priority pegmatite target zones have been defined. Individual pegmatites are seen with up to 460 metres length and 30 metres of apparent width. All the targets occur within 500 metres to 1.5 kilometres of the current Ewoyaa lithium project resource footprint – the project’s current JORC amounts to 14.5mln tonnes at 1.31% lithium (Li2O).
Keywords Studios PLC (LON:KWS) said it has completed its acquisition of heavy Iron Studios Inc following its initial announcement of the purchase in September. The video game services group said previously that it will acquire the group for US$13.3mln which will consist of US$4mln of cash upfront, US$500,000 on the first anniversary of the deal, and up to US$8.8mln of contingent payments tied to performance targets across the first two years under the Keywords’ banner.
Adamas Finance Asia Limited (LON:ADAM), the AIM-quoted investment company focused on providing shareholders with attractive uncorrelated, risk-adjusted returns from a diversified portfolio of pan-Asian assets, has completed its name change to Jade Road Investments Limited (LON:JADE). The company noted that its portfolio has undergone a transformation over the last few years and is seeking to establish an identity which more fully represents its pan-Asian small and medium-sized enterprise focus. The company noted that the new name reflects the spirit of connecting investors and capital from the West, across the Middle East and into the markets of the Far East.
Advanced Oncotherapy PLC (LON:AVO), the developer of next-generation proton therapy systems for cancer treatment, announced that it has received a warrant exercise notice in respect of 300,000 new ordinary shares of 25p in the company with an exercise price of 25p per share. Proceeds of £75,000 have been received by the company in respect of the warrant exercise.
Power Metal Resources PLC (LON:POW) the AIM-listed metals exploration and development company said it has received notices to exercise warrants over 7,995,600 new ordinary shares of 0.1p each in the company at an exercise price of 1.0p per ordinary share. Subscription monies of £79,956 have been received by Power Metal in respect of these exercises.
SourceBio International PLC (LON:SBI), an international provider of integrated state-of-the-art laboratory services and products, has announced that it will present at the Shares Investor Evening Webinar, providing an overview of the business and progress being made by the company. Jay LeCoque, SourceBio executive chairman, will present online at the Shares Spotlight webinar on Wednesday, January 20, 2021. The event starts at 6.00pm and LeCoque will start presenting promptly at approximately 7.20pm. No new material information will be disclosed at the event and the presentation will be made available on the company website shortly after the events here: https://sourcebiointernational.com/corporate-presentation-confirmation/
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