AIM-listed Quixant plc (LON:QXT) saw its share price add more than 15% on Thursday after it said strong trading in the second half of the year will see it beat expectations.
The company – which provides innovative technology products, mainly to the gaming industry – told investors that total revenue for the year to end December would be no less than US$86mln.
“We have had a very strong second half to the year with demand for our computer platforms building through the period,” said chief executive Nick Jarmany.
Progress has accelerated in the second half of 2016 so far Quixant said, with the firm’s gaming division in particular showing strong year-on-year growth.
Like investors, finnCap was also impressed with the group’s performance after it initially forecast revenue of US$82.5mln for the year.
As a result of today’s update, it expects full year adjusted profit before tax to be US$13.7mln on revenues of US$86mln.
The City broker has also been impressed by the Densitron acquisition, which Quixant bought out this time last year.
11.45am...Weatherly shines as its copper mines take a turn for the better
Copper miner Weatherly International plc (LON:WTI) was the biggest riser in London on Thursday morning after an update on its two main projects was warmly received by investors.
It revealed that nameplate production – the intended full-load sustained output – at its Tschudi mine in Namibia had been re-attained two months earlier than expected, following a troublesome couple of months.
Excessive groundwater going into the pit hit output in the June and September quarters, but it moved back to its 1,417 tonnes per month capacity in October.
On top of this, Weatherly reckons Tschudi has capacity to process many more tonnes – potentially 20,000 tonnes per annum – at a “significantly” reduced cost.
At the miner’s Otjihase underground deposit, where nothing is currently being mined, Weatherly said it has identified a low-risk and potentially cash-generative opportunity to start work again.
This could potentially lead to a small-scale operation, achieving between 10,000 to 12,000 tonnes per annum of copper concentrate at costs of less than US$2 per pound.
Making it a hat-trick, Weatherly also revealed that it has struck a cooperation agreement with the holder of the Ongombo license – a prospective copper deposit close to Otjihase.
Shares were up over 20% to 1.05p on Thursday morning.
Elsewhere, UK investment manager Charles Stanley Group PLC (LON:CAY) gained more than 15% after posting a decent set of interims.
It wasn’t as enjoyable a morning for Pets at Home Group PLC (LON:PETS). Despite posting increased revenues of £441.3mln for the six months to October and beating expecations in the process, investors seemed put off by the cwarning of "softer trading" so far in the second half.
9.25am...Strat Aero takes flight as it secure short-term loan
Every dog has its day and Strat Aero PLC (LON:AERO), down 92% year-to-date, was flying high this morning.
The aerial drone specialist’s shares soared 36% to 0.475p, as it said its two core divisions are performing in line with expectations, while it is seeing continued profitable growth at its Geocurve subsidiary.
All well and good, but the catalyst for the share price is most likely the £300,000 six-month loan facility it has secured with Farina Investments, albeit at an eye-watering interest rate of 25% over six months.
Not surprisingly, the company is looking to refinance the loan as soon as possible.
“The board intends to consider options to refinance this facility and with this in mind will be calling a general meeting in the near term to increase available headroom to issue ordinary shares, which will provide flexibility with regards to both repaying the loan and providing for future working capital needs,” the company said.
- Weatherly International plc (LON:WTI) rose 18% after project development updates covering its Tschudi and Otjihase assets.
- Estate agent Countrywide PLC (LON:CWD) lost close to 10% of its value after a downbeat trading update. It now expects transaction volumes for 2016 to be 6% down on 2015 and most probably the level of market transactions in 2017 will be lower than 2016, it said.