The directors of Parallel Media Group plc (LON:PMG) have warned shareholders of a scam being perpetrated in relation to the company's shares.
The directors have urged shareholders to exercise extreme caution if they receive unsolicited communication regarding their investment in the group, though one would imagine that this is sound advice for all occasions, not just when the company has received a tip-off about a possible scam.
The shares were off by more than 10% this morning, though it is not immediately apparent why this should be.
On to the nitty-gritty of Equiniti Group PLC (LON:EQN), currently the hottest small cap story on a well-known stock market news site.
The specialist technology outsourcer's maiden results showed strong growth in revenues – up 26.2% year-on-year – and underlying earnings (EBITDA) excluding exceptional items – up 23.1%.
Some of that top-line growth was bought in, but the group said it achieved 7% growth under its own steam.
Leverage – that's pronounced with a long E on the first syllable here in the UK, people, or we could just call it gearing – reduced to 2.8 times underlying EBITDA as net debt tumbled to £246mln from £458.2mln at the end of 2014.
I have no pronunciation tips to offer on Giesse, the Italian manufacturer of hardware for aluminium windows and doors that has just been acquired by Tyman PLC (LON:TYMN), though I could hazard a guess.
Tyman said it would add Giesse to its Schlegel [rhymes with bagel?) International division, with the company providing Tyman with a local presence for the first time in markets including Argentina, France, Greece, India, Portugal, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates as well as a hardware offer in Brazil, a North American commercial offer and a factory in mainland China.
In other words, the acquisition is a door-opener.
Sweett Group PLC (LON:CSG), the provider of professional services for the construction and management of building and infrastructure projects, is having a disagreement with Currie & Brown, the asset management and construction consultancy that agreed back in October to buy Sweett's Asia-Pacific and India businesses.
Currie & Brown wants to reduce the consideration by £1.8mln to reflect foreign exchange movements since then, which represents a sizeable chunk of the £9.3mln sale price.
Sweett's advisers have indicated that an adjustment of £540,000 would be nearer the mark, and this dispute could end up going to arbitration unless the two parties can reach agreement.
Shares in Audioboom Group PLC (LON:BOOM), the leading spoken word audio on-demand platform, have taken a bit of a shoeing this morning after the company's full-year results.
Encouragingly, revenue increased to £192,000 from £51,000 the year before, but that's still a modest figure for a company valued at just over £16mln.
Small wonder that the company said the focus in 2016 would be “firmly on revenue generation”
The group said its key performance indicators have evolved to reflect the strategic shift in the business model from its early focus on the consumer app to a more scalable advertising/distribution model.
“Content partners and listens are the most accurate indicators of potential revenue - quality content drives listens, which ultimately generates advertising revenue,” the company said.
While that company waits for the audio boom, RapidCloud International PLC (LON:RCI) saw its shares head skywards this morning on the back of news of a new partnership with Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.com.
The new strategic partnership with AliCloud, Alibaba Group’s international business and cloud computing arm, opens up RapidCloud to a larger customer base.
Finally, Beales Ltd (LON:BAE), the department store that has the stock exchange ticker that BAE Systems PLC (LON:BA.) would give its eye-teeth for, is seeking a rent reduction from landlords of 14 of its shops to avoid closure.
The company has entered into a “company voluntary arrangement” and its restructuring adviser, KPMG has identified 14 stores from its 35-strong chain where the rents were obviously set in a time when people actually shopped on the High Street.
As Mark Brumby at Langton Capital has observed, BHS is considering doing much the same thing as Beales.
“BHS has warned that it could collapse owing £1.3bn. Not sure that was meant to happen,” Brumby said in a newsletter this morning.
“KPMG warns ‘if the CVA proposal is not approved at the relevant meetings, or is otherwise not implemented, it is very likely that BHS Limited will no longer be able to trade as a going concern, which would result in the appointment of administrators,” Brumby added.