One needs not look very far past Mortgage Advice Bureau (Holdings) PLC’s name to understand why shares in the AIM-quoted firm fell sharply this week.
The group plummeted 30% on Thursday after revealing the impact of Kwasi Kwarteng’s calamitous min-budget, which in October sent UK borrowing rates soaring.
Business activity throughout October and November was 50% lower than expected for the home loan broker, the advisor and intermediary told investors. With mortgage approvals and lending rates taking a nosedive since the Kwarteng crashed the market, MAB now expects profit activity to be “considerably impacted” in 2023.
The shares fell over 21% at one point, dropping to a low of 497p before a small rally on Friday.
Elsewhere, another small-cap also wagged a finger in the direction of Westminster as IT contractor Triad Group PLC claimed that paralysis in government procurement was at least partly to blame for its profit warning on Thursday.
Triad’s interim results disclosed declining revenues, tightening profit margins and diminished cash reserves.
“Although the results for the first half are obviously disappointing, I must emphasise that they are entirely due to external factors beyond our control,” said Triad's executive chairman Dr John Rigg.
Despite the poor financials, the AIM-quoted group announced a 2p dividend in line with 2021 payouts. At a flat 100p on Friday, Triad shares have dropped nearly a quarter since the start of the week.
Across the market, the AIM All-Share Index rounded the week half a percentage point higher after an up-and-down week. After peaking at 851, the index hit a weekly low of 845 come Wednesday, compressed by a number of notable losses.
AIM-quoted designer bag maker Mulberry Group (AIM:MUL) is another firm evidently ailing amidst worsening economic conditions this year, with its interims on Wednesday showing the impact of lower consumer interest in non-essential goods.
Shares fell 15% to 240p as it reported a revenue dip of 1% in the first half. UK retail sales were down 1% to £34.1mln, whilst China retail sales actually increased by 6% despite harsher COVID-19 restrictions in the People’s Republic.
Borders & Southern Petroleum (AIM:BOR) shares slumped nearly 40% on Wednesday after the company unveiled a dilutive and discounted £2.5mln equity raise.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom across AIM, however, there were some headline rallies too.
C4X Discovery Holdings PLC (AIM:C4XD) shares soared more than 25% higher on Monday after announcing it had signed an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement with AstraZeneca worth up to US$402mln. The deal anticipates the development and commercialisation of the firm’s NRF2 Activator programme.
AstraZeneca intends to work on an oral therapy treating inflammatory and respiratory diseases, with a lead focus on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
In the energy space, Aminex PLC (LSE:AEX) shares advanced close to 20% in Monday morning’s deals, to trade at 1.2p, after the Tanzanian authorities detailed a new addendum to agreements for gas projects.
Long-suffering investors have waited years for meaningful progress in the field, after the explorer found gas in Tanzania’s Ruvuma basin and began seeking a partner to help fund development - more recently corporate box-ticking and regulatory greenlights have been the hold-up.
Nevertheless, investors welcomed the latest statement from Aminex in which it espoused the benefits of new government commitments to “the development of gas resources as soon as possible”. It is expected to include support for infrastructure which it said could be built in the coming six-to-nine months.
The week’s early winner was Windar Photonics PLC (AIM:WPHO), which rocketed 121% higher to 17.4p after its shares resumed trading after its suspension last month, amid a delay to the publication of its full-year and interim results.
Vehicle hiring company Facilities by ADF PLC (AIM:ADF) rallied over 13% on Thursday following the acquisition of location supplies provider Location One Limited.
Shares in Invinity Energy Systems PLC (AIM:IES), a leading global manufacturer of utility-grade energy storage, skyrocketed on Thursday following the signing of a reseller agreement with Everdura Technology Company, an industrial technology company based in Taiwan.