logo-loader

Safestyle UK rallies as it signals intention to buy back shares

Published: 14:58 21 Sep 2017 BST

PVC door

Safestyle UK PLC (LON:SFE) has lost around a third of its value over the last three months but clawed back some losses today.

The replacement windows specialist has been hit by the slow-down in the housing market, but half-year results were not as grim as feared.

Revenue was broadly flat year-on-year while profit before tax declined 7.4% to £8.8mln from £9.5mln.

Sentiment was lifted by the board signalling it is going to start buying back shares as it has more cash than it needs.

The shares were up 9.7%.

Platinum refiner Johnson Matthey PLC (LON:JMAT) advanced today after it revealed it will invest an initial £200mln in expanding its battery material technology business from 2018, allaying fears that the rise of the electric vehicle market will affect its reliance on the making of catalytic convertors for cars.

The speciality chemicals company said it aims to “build capacity to drive growth in a market which could be more than US$30bn sales when battery electric vehicle penetration increases to around 10%.”

“Thematic investors are diving into any sub-sector of the stock market that could benefit from electric vehicles (EVs). Johnson Matthey has now positioned itself within the EV space through lithium batteries,” observed Jasper Lawler, head of research at spread betting outfit LCG.

Heavy trading activity in Canadian Overseas Petroleum 

The top riser in London over the lunchtime session was Canadian Overseas Petroleum Limited (LON:COPL,CVE:XOP), up 49% for reasons unknown.

Today’s rise follows on from yesterday’s surge to 0.72p from Tuesday’s closing level of 0.625p.

Trading volumes yesterday were almost twice the average for the last 24 trading days, so there is clearly a lot of interest in the stock.

It’s entirely possible that said interest was sparked by this article on Proactive Investors.

Stock market information provider ADVFN PLC (LON:ADVFN) was another stock on the move, rising 21% to 37.5p, also for reasons unknown.

The stock ended last month at 22.5p so it has had a good run, but unlike COPL, the share price advance is not supported by strong trading volumes.

88 Energy feels the chill in Alaska

Shares in Alaskan oil exploration company 88 Energy Ltd (LON:88E) plunged as it revealed it has shut-in the Icewine-2 well for the winter.

The company expects to start a new programme starting in April or May 2018.

According to the company, the decision to hibernate the programme was based on logistical reasons associated with testing in Arctic conditions – namely the freezing of borehole fluid (predominantly fresh water from the frack) due to the low rate of fluid flow.

The shares – volatile at the best of times – fell 0.76p to 1.2p.

In comparison, the 22% fall in Baron Oil PLC (LON:BOIL) on the back of its interim results looks relatively mild.

Baron, which is primarily focused on Latin America and South-East Asia, made an operating loss of £1.43mln, versus a loss in the same period of last year of £240,000, due to a £1.56mln impairment charge relating to the collapse of a farm-in agreement in Peru.

The directors, who have taken a 30% cut in salaries as the company moves into cash conservation mode, are looking forward to putting the farm-in dispute behind them and “working together on the farm out of the drilling on the Cuy Prospect to fulfil our commitment to Perupetro”.

Frontera hits the front and Driver Group moves into the driving seat

Frontera Resources Corporation (LON:FRR) was making the early running on Thursday after a positive update on its work-over operations on the Ud-2 well in Georgia.

That’s Georgia, the Republic of, and not Georgia, the state of.

The workover operation at Ud-2 well is progressing as planned. The packer has been successfully retrieved and the well has been cleaned to the depth of 3327m. All three target gas bearing intervals are now accessible for testing, the company said.

The shares raced 29% higher to 0.34p on the news.

Investors were also piling into Driver Group PLC (LON:DRV), which motored 9p higher to 60p following a trading update.

The group, which provides professional services consultancy to the construction and engineering industries, raised full-year profit guidance.

The performance of the business in the UK has been particularly strong, as it has been this year in the United Arab Emirates and in Qatar, the company said.

“The Singapore office has enjoyed a sizeable increase in activity levels, whilst action has been taken to improve the future prospects of both Hong Kong and Australia. These factors, together with the strategic initiatives underway, including the disposal of the South African subsidiary already accomplished and announced, are expected to see a strong close to the year as a whole and the group better placed for the future,” it said.

We’ll find out just how good those profit numbers are on or around 12 December when the company releases its results for the year to the end of September.

Proactive news headlines:

Active Energy Group PLC (LON:AEG) is to build eight manufacturing plants across Asia in a landmark agreement for its CoalSwitch product. California-based renewable energy group Lumino Capital will partner Advanced Biomass Solutions (ABS), AEG’s biomass affiliate, on the project and source the biomass feedstock as well as providing finance.

88 Energy Ltd (LON:88E, ASX:88E) has shut-in the Icewine-2 well for the winter, anticipating a new programme starting in April or May 2018. The company, in a statement, noted that the well had continued to flow at similar level to those reported in its most recent update – around two thousand cubic feet of gas per day – though it said some ‘encouraging trends’ were observed.

The orphan disease specialist Amryt Pharma PLC (LON:AMYT) said it is raising €15mln in an oversubscribed share placing – cash that will be used to fund the pre-launch costs of a drug for a rare skin condition. Stock is being issued at 20p, just over a 20% discount to last night’s close, with management taking part in the offering.

ImmuPharma PLC (LON:IMM) said 52 patients have now completed the year-long course of treatment with its lead drug candidate, Lupuzor, for the life-threatening auto-immune disease. They are among 200 sufferers taking part in the Phase III study.

Collagen Solutions PLC (LON:COS) is putting together the results of a retrospective, eight-year study of its ‘scaffold’ product that helps fix cartilage defects in the knee. The 15 patients whose results are being analysed took part in a 2009/10 trial. The original magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) results have been assessed and “full clinical and quantitative MRI data analysis ongoing”, Collagen said.

In the company's interim results, Hurricane Energy PLC (LON:HUR) boss Dr Robert Trice described the group’s recent US$547mln funding as a “significant endorsement” as he highlighted another successful period for the West of Shetland oil firm.

Chaarat Gold Holdings Ltd (LON:CGH) told investors it has secured full local permitting in the Kyrgyz Republic for the Tulkubash project. The company, in a statement, said that the licence agreement has been signed by the government confirming approval for the plan to take stage one and two of the Chaarat project into production.

IronRidge Resources Ltd (LON:IRR) nudged higher after reporting it had found multiple high-grade intersections at the Dorothe gold project in Chad.

South America-focused gold producer Orosur Mining Inc (LON:OMI, TSE:OMI) said it is on track to meet its fiscal full-year (FY18) production guidance.

Increased sales of copper concentrate partially offset reduced sales of gold bullion in the first half of 2017 at Anglo Asian Mining (LON:AAZ).

Bakery products group Real Good Food PLC (LON:RGD) has agreed a £4mln short-term loan with three key shareholders to tide it over in the run-up to Christmas. NB Ingredients, Omnicane International and fund manager Downing have provided the loan to relieve pressure on cash availability as the autumn stock-build increases and to cover its ongoing capital investment programme.

BB Healthcare Trust PLC (LON:BBH)  announced that it has successfully raised gross proceeds of £64mln from its recent placing, offer for subscription and intermediaries offer of around 57.224 mln ordinary shares at a price of 112.1p each . It said the net proceeds of the issue are expected to be approximately £63.2mln.

Caledonia Mining tackles 2023 challenges with optimism for 2024 as it...

Caledonia Mining Corporation PLC (AIM:CMCL, NYSE-A:CMCL) chief executive Mark Learmonth tells Proactive's Stephen Gunnion the company faced a challenging 2023, primarily due to poor production in the first half of the year at its core asset, the Blanket Mine in Zimbabwe, and an underperformance...

1 hour, 30 minutes ago