Has the resource sector turned the corner? Investment firm Onzima Ventures PLC (LON:ONZ) seems to think so.
It recently revealed that it has been very active in building up stakes in a number of small cap mining and energy stocks, namely Alecto Minerals PLC (LON:ALO), Bushveld Minerals Limited (LON:BMN), Ferrum Crescent Limited (LON:FCR), Hummingbird Resources Ltd (LON:HUM), Jubilee Platinum PLC (LON:JLP), MX Oil PLC (LON:MXO), Prospex Oil & Gas and Regency Mines (LON:PXOG).
The investments have been parked in its Asset Trading division, which according to a stock market announcement from Onzima this week “has thus far made a number of positive returns on its investments”.
That probably explains why the shares were up almost 50% on the week to around 1.6p, despite the company raising £150,000 through the issue of 15mln shares at a penny a pop.
Another stock going well despite placing shares in the market – normally a trigger for market-makers to mark down a stock – was Ascent Resources PLC (LON:AST), which climbed from last Friday’s closing level of 0.59p to 0.87p by this Friday lunchtime after Henderson Global Investors bought a slug of shares at 0.6p a throw.
The £500,000 raised should meet the oil and gas exploration and production’s company’s current working capital requirements into 2017.
The shares issued to Henderson represent just over 16% of Ascent’s issued ordinary share capital.
Sector peer Oilex Ltd (UK) (LON:OEX) saw its shares soar on Wednesday after it reached a settlement agreement to a legal dispute with a former funding partner.
The India-focussed gas junior had been seeking a commercial resolution with Zeta Resources before legal proceedings began between the parties, and under the terms of the settlement, each party has agreed to no longer pursue claims against the other, with neither party admitting liability.
If the resources sector, and the oil industry in particular, has turned the corner then it would be a welcome relief to Hardide Plc (LON:HDD), the advanced surface coating technology firm.
The company specialises in coating equipment, machinery and components to make them more durable and resistant to the elements, and not surprisingly the oil and gas sector provides a significant proportion of its income.
Also not surprisingly, it announced this week that it had fallen into the red at the half-year stage.
“We are in the midst of the longest and most severe global downturn in our core market of oil and gas and this has led to group revenues falling 46% from the same period last year,” revealed Robert Goddard, chairman of Hardide.
The shares took a bit of a bashing, falling 18%.
The company has been looking to diversify its revenue stream for some time and has high hopes for the aerospace sector, though ironically a revival in the oil price would likely hit this sector just as it benefits the oil producers.
Talking of aerospace, low cost African airline fastjet PLC (LON:FJET) has suffered more than its fair share of turbulence of late, with easyJet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, a major shareholder, loudly voicing concerns about fastjet’s performance and cost structure recently.
It had some good news this week, as it nabbed the boss of one its rivals to become its new chief executive.
Nico Bezuidenhout will take up his new job on 1 August, having been in charge of South African Airways' low cost carrier Mango for the past ten years.
Over that time, Mango has grown from a start-up to a 25% share of the South African domestic market with the lowest unit costs of any carrier operating in the market.
“Weak Link Productions” brings you a clunky transition from airlines to CloudTag Inc (LON:CTAG), the well-being and fitness-focused wearable technology specialist.
Its shares headed skywards this week as it announced it was “closing the gap towards finalising the demands” of the retailers that want to stock the device.
CloudTag added it is also in advanced discussions with Amazon to execute the sales and marketing strategy to support the product's release.
"This will maximise the traffic on the web to support all the retailers and e-tailers," chief executive Amit Ben-Haim told Proactive Investors.
Once concluded, the initial product delivery requirements will be fulfilled by Second Chance which, under the terms of its distribution agreement means they must purchase a minimum US$5.2mln units by 31 December.