Issuing a profit warning just four months after a float is not a good start to a stock market life.
Adgorithms (LON:ADGO) was the guilty party and tumbled 59% as it warned earnings will be “materially below expectations following disruption in the online advertising market".
Liberum handled the float, which raised £27mln, and was suitable humble in its assessment today. “The market will need reassurance that the setback in core activities is a temporary one,” it said.
Other analysts were not so reticent. "Truly horrific" was how one rival described the update.
Adgorithms has an artificial intelligence based ad buying system named ‘Albert’ that can handle many more campaigns than us humans.
The problems relate to a “purge” by larger online ad exchanges designed to address concerns among ad buyers over the quality of placing and click-through.
Apple has also added to the problems with new ‘ad blocking’ features on new iPhone’s and iPads.
Shares “should trade well below net cash”, which equates to 30p said Peel Hunt. Today they were 54p compared to a float price of 133p.
Away from AIM, Footsie had another strong day as the mining revival continued.
FTSE 100 was 76 points higher at 6.404 following more big gains by Glencore (LON:GLEN), which jumped 13% to 137p after cutting zinc output by a third.
Zinc prices immediately responded by rising 8%. Glencore said it will scale back its operations in Australia, South America and Kazakhstan, removing annual production of about 500,000 tonnes or 4% of world supply.
Other miners joined in the fun. Vedanta (LON:VED), another big zinc play, shrugged off worries over its debts to climb 12% to 597p as zinc production in the half year to September in India rose by 24% to 398,000 tonnes. Tom Albanese, chief executive, said lower costs at Copper-Zambia were also helping.
Oil infrastructure engineering firm Petrofac (LON:PFC) was also a big winner as it ended a contract with ZPMC. Usually losing a contract is met with a sell-off in shares, but the loss of the unpopular contract saw it rise to the top of the FTSE 350 table.
Petrofac took the contentious decision to enter the deepwater installation market in 2013 when it agreed to spend US$800mln on the JSD-6000 vessel.
With the collapse of the oil price, concerns have been heightened over the project, which Investec reckons Petrofac has already spent US$300mln on, with another US$100mln in commitments. Shares rose more than 10.5% to 949p.
Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) shrugged of the sale of another chunk of shares by the Government to rise 1,5% to 74.5p. RBS (LON:RBS) also picked up as the Treasury shifted part its stake into ordinary shares, which should make them easier to sell.
Shares in Renewable Energy Generation (LON:WIND) rocketed on an offer for its operating assets.
The offer is worth around 60p per share, a 60% premium to yesterday’s close, but is not an offer to acquire the ordinary share capital of REG just the projects it runs.
Proceeds of the sale will be returned to shareholders and the company will de-list. It recently blamed recent changes to government policy on solar energy for a profit warning.
Troubled video ad tracking firm Blinkx (LON;BLNX) edged higher as it confirmed its latest half year would be no worse than previously indicated.
Interim losses will be around US$7mln, with a possible return to profit in 6-12 months. Hedge fund Toscafund owns 24%. Shares rose 2.7% to 28.8p.
Iodine producer Iofina (LON:IOF) soared 21% to 221.50p as it reported production, from the brine thrown off by onshore oil wells in the US, remains on track to hit this year's guidance.