By 
Premier Oil PLC (LON:PMO) fell 8.9% to 19.1p after it revealed the imminent departure of a non-executive director.
Barbara Jeremiah, an independent non-executive director and the chair of Premier’s Remuneration Committee, has notified the company of her intention to step down from the board at the close of 30 November 2020.
12.50pm: Mirada lifted by incorporation of Disney+ into its flagship product
Mirada PLC (LON:MIRA) hardened 13% to 85p after the TV set-top box software specialist said Disney+ has been integrated into its Iris multiscreen product.
The upgraded version of the product has been deployed across Televisa’s izzi pay-TV platform, Mirada said.
Customers of izzi’s recently launched izzitv smart service can now access Disney+ directly through izzi’s TV platform and without the need for a separate subscription.
11.45am: Royal Mail eyeing break-even this year
Royal Mail PLC (LON:RMG) saw its shares rise 6.6% to 305p after delivering a half-year report that was not as terrible as feared.
The letters and parcels deiverer saw its profits plunge by 90% in the first half of its financial year despite a rise in revenue as booming parcel sales overtake letters for the first time as more people shopped online during coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdowns.
Nevertheless, having recently said it expected to make a “material loss” for the full year, the FTSE 250 constituent said it could now break even if revenues keep on their elevated course.
10.50am: Somero joins the crowd on day of raised guidance
Somero Enterprise Inc (LON:SOM), up 15% at 265p, emerged from the doghouse after it upgraded full-year guidance.
Just over two years ago, the cement levelling machinery maker was trading at around 422p but it was hit hard by troubles in the US construction activity; judging by today’s trading statement, it is emerging from the woods.
In September, the company reinstated full-year guidance, indicating that it expected to make underlying earnings (EBITDA) of around US$19mln on revenue of US$75mln or thereabouts; it now expects adjusted EBITDA of around US$21mln on revenues of about US$80mln.
9.55am: Another company (accesso) raises guidance
Accesso Technology Group PLC (LON:ACSO) had investors queueing to buy is stock after its said revenues for 2020 should be comfortably ahead of previous guidance.
The ticketing and virtual queuing group had previously indicated that full-year revenues would be at least US$48mln.
The second half of the year has seen the company continue to benefit from increased activity through late summer and early autumn at customer venues, albeit with reduced capacity at many venues.
9.00am: Headlam raises guidance
Headlam Group PLC (LON:HEAD), up 16% at 378p in early trade on Thursday, wiped the floor with all but one share in London after it raised full-year profit guidance.
The stock was the second-best performer on Thursday morning after the floor coverings specialist said it now expects to report underlying profit before tax for the year materially ahead of current market expectations of a breakeven performance.
Trading to-date in the second half of 2020 has seen a strong and sustained recovery to 2019 levels, the group said, with revenue in the four months to the end of October down just 1.2% year-on-year while November’s revenue is currently running ahead of last year.
Meanwhile, Naked Wines Plc (LON:WINE) rose 3.6% to 517p after it upgraded its sales forecasts.
The online wine retailer had a stellar first half in which revenues were up by 80% year-on-year.
The company is raising its ‘central case’ growth assumptions to 55%-65% for the 12 months to the end of next March.
Proactive news headlines:
Naked Wines Plc (LON:WINE) has said it is upgrading its sales forecasts after a stellar first half in which revenues were up by 80%. The online retailer is raising its ‘central case’ growth assumptions to 55%-65% for the 12 months to the end of next March. “The positive trading momentum has been sustained into the start of the second half of the year, although we are mindful of significant levels of political and economic uncertainty,” the company said in the outlook statement with its half-year results. First-half revenues were GBP157mln with the repeat contribution growing by 89% to GBP36.2mln. The repeat customer profit margin increased by 3.5 percentage points to 29%.
SDX Energy PLC (LON:SDX) highlighted a strong period of production and cash generation as it reported results for the first three quarters of 2020. The company stated an average entitlement production rate of 6,646 barrels oil equivalent per day (boepd) for the period, representing a 90% gain on the comparative nine months in 2019. Production growth was driven by the South Disouq asset which, after coming online in late 2019, became established during the period producing some 48.6mln cubic feet of gas and 467 barrels of oil per day, equating to 4,710 boepd net to SDX.
Accesso Technology Group PLC (LON:ACSO), the ticketing and virtual queuing group has said revenues for the whole of 2020 should be comfortably ahead of previous guidance. The company had previously indicated that full-year revenues would be at least US$48mln. The second half of the year has seen the company continue to benefit from increased activity through late summer and early autumn at customer venues, albeit with reduced capacity at many venues. The group said in a full-year trading statement that it will enter 2021 with “a resilient financial position and strong, durable customer relationships”.
CMC Markets PLC (LON:CMCX) has confirmed it had an exceptional first half in its current financial year as it whacked up the interim dividend by 222%. In its results statement covering the six months to the end of September 2020, the trading platform operator said that the second half of its financial year had started strongly and there are encouraging signs regarding the staying power of recently signed-up clients. The FTSE 250-listed firm’s net operating income in the first half was GBP230.9mln, up 126% from the GBP102.3mln posted in the corresponding period of 2019 and the group said it is confident that net operating income for the full-year will top GBP370mln.
Sativa Wellness Group Inc (LON:SWEL) said it has launched a private coronavirus (COVID-19) testing clinic inside its Goodbody Wellness store in Bath. The Aquis-listed firm said that the clinic, which opened on Thursday, will provide polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing for travel and work, antigen testing providing results in 15 minutes as well as antibody testing for those who want to find out if they have had COVID-19.
Next Fifteen Communications PLC (LON:NFC) has said results this year will exceed both management and market expectations after a strong performance from its B2B businesses. In a trading update, the digital marketing specialist said: “We remain cautiously optimistic about trading as we enter the final quarter of our financial year and will continue to manage our cost base with care in what is still a highly uncertain general economic environment. We anticipate results for the year ending 31 January 2021 will be ahead of current market expectations.”
Guild Esports PLC (LON:GILD) has signed up top-ranked professional gamer ‘Flikk’, Nikolaj Andreas Froslev, as its first player for Fortnite, the hugely popular ‘battle royale’ game. The company noted that Flikk is expected to be the first of several player appointments for Fortnite, which is now the fourth eSports game segment for Guild – alongside FIFA, Rocket League, and Valorant. Guild noted that Flikk, age 17, is ranked as the number 16 professional Fortnite player, with US$100,000 of tournament prize money won to date and is deemed ‘one-to-watch’.
Open Orphan PLC (LON:ORPH) said its hVIVO division has been selected to lead a consortium that has been tasked with generating regulatory style guidelines on the manufacture of human challenge agents for use in controlled human infection studies. In doing so it will collaborate with HIC-Vac, an international network of researchers developing human infection challenge studies to accelerate the development of vaccines against pathogens, and the international medical charity, the Wellcome Trust. hVIVO will help set international standards for challenge agent manufacture and storage, building on the current World Health Organisation guidelines.
Zoetic International PLC (LON:ZOE) has noted a “continued uplift” in online sales of its Chill branded products following what it said was an “overwhelmingly positive response” to the brand following its roll out in the US. In a trading update, the cannabidiol (CBD) specialist noted that Chill’s online orders increased by 190% month-on-month in October, which it said gave “strong credence” to the fact that the brand is starting to gain traction.
Adamas Finance Asia Limited (LON:ADAM) said its portfolio has remained resilient in the face of the headwinds created by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, with underlying valuations being mostly unaffected. In a trading update, the Asia-focused small company financier said its estimated net asset value (NAV) on September 30, 2020, was 73p/ 95 US cents (June 30, 2020: 75p/ 95 US cents). The consolidated unaudited estimated NAV on the same date was US$99.4mln (June 30, 2020: US$100.2mln).
Oriole Resources PLC (LON:ORR) has told investors that the drill rig and equipment for a planned exploration programme at the Bibemi gold project in Cameroon is now being mobilised to site. The rig is expected to arrive in Cameroon in early December, around three weeks later than originally expected as a result of coronavirus (COVID-19) related border restrictions. Nonetheless, Oriole said it still expects to kick-off the drill programme before the end of 2020, as planned.
Zephyr Energy PLC (LON:ZPHR) has announced the start of operational activity at the site of the State 16-2 well, in Utah. The well is being delivered for dual-use – as a collaboration with a state-backed research project and as an exploration venture for Zephyr – and it is on track to spud before the end of 2020. Initial activity at the site sees the start of remediation work on the State 16-2 well pad and access road. This is expected to take less than five days to conclude. Rig mobilisation is anticipated in early December.
Power Metal Resources PLC (LON:POW) says a drilling contract has now been signed for the Haneti Nickel Project in Tanzania. Power Metal holds a 35% ownership interest in Haneti, with Katoro Gold PLC (LON:KAT) owning the rest. All phases of pre-deployment activity, such as liaison and coordination with the Ministry of Mining, have been completed and the drilling rig, supporting personnel and equipment have been fully prepared and are now mobilising to the first drilling location.
Braveheart Investment Group PLC (LON:BRH) has announced that on November 18, 2020, it sold a total of 112,592,405 ordinary shares in Remote Monitored System PLC (LON:RMS) at a weighted average price of approximately 2.6R6p per share, realising gross proceeds of approximately GBP2,998,000. The group said it will consider a variety of options for the use of the net proceeds and will inform shareholders in due course and as appropriate. Following these sales, Braveheart no longer holds any RMS shares.
Conroy Gold and Natural Resources PLC (LON:CGNR), the gold exploration and development company focused on Ireland and Finland, announced that it has received notice to exercise warrants over a total of 325,000 ordinary shares of EUR0.001 each at an exercise price of 16p per ordinary share, for which funds of GBP52,000 have been received by the company. The warrants were issued to Anglo Asian Mining PLC as part of the proposed joint venture announced on July 21, 2020. The group said the proceeds from the exercise of the warrants will be used by the company for general working capital purposes.
Litigation Capital Management Limited (LON::LIT), an alternative asset manager specialising in dispute financing solutions internationally, announced that, at its annual general meeting held in Australia on Thursday, all resolutions were duly passed.
Sareum Holdings PLC (LON:SAR), the specialist drug development company delivering targeted small molecule therapeutics to improve the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases announced that it’s annual general meeting (AGM) will be held at 10.00am on Tuesday, December 15, 2020, at the company’s registered office at 2a Langford Arch, Cambridge CB22 3FX. In response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the AGM will be run as a closed meeting. Shareholders wishing to join the AGM remotely and participate in the Q&A session should register with IMC at: www.investormeetcompany.com/sareum-holdings-plc/register-investor
Enteq Upstream PLC (LON:ETQ) the AIM-listed energy technology provider for directional and geo-steering services, has announced that it will hold a live investor presentation relating to its interim results for the six months ended September 30, 2020, via the Investor Meet Company (IMC) platform on November 25, 2020, at 1.00pm GMT. The online presentation is open to all existing and potential shareholders. Interested parties can register to attend the presentation at: https://www.investormeetcompany.com/enteq-upstream-plc/register-investor
Alien Metals Ltd (LON:UFO), a minerals exploration and development company has announced the launch of its new website. With a fresh look and an active portfolio, the website development reflects the growth and strength of the company going forward and the group said it is well on the road to further positive news and success and hopes to share this with the market as it comes. The website can be accessed via www.alienmetals.uk
Comments