Personal Group suffers collateral damage from salary sacrifice review
Prospect Japan gets offer from manager
Serica Energy soars on production update
CloudCall revenues surge ahead
It is time for an update on the day’s big share price movers, and this time it’s Personal.
As in Personal Group Holdings plc (LON:PGH), the employee benefits specialist.
The shares were off more than 4% in late afternoon trading, as the company raised a red flag over the performance of its Lets Connect business in 2016, and it is laying the blame at the door of the tax-man.
Her Majesty’s Revenues and Customs (HMRC) undertook a review of salary sacrifice schemes during 2016 and published its outcome towards the end of the year.
Personal Group would rather it had published earlier, as apparently a number of potential customers held off signing contracts until they had seen the HMRC’s verdict.
Personal Group said it still expects 2017 will be a year in which the group as a whole will grow profits, but sales and profits will most likely not be as high as previously expected.
The news more than offset the revelation that underlying earnings for the year just ended will be marginally ahead of expectations, despite the top line not quite rising as high as the market had anticipated.
On the other side of the profit guidance coin was independent cinema group Everyman Media Group PLC (LON:EMAN), which added more than a tenth to its market capitalisation after it said trading in 2016 had been above market expectations.
Some of its new cinemas had performed ahead of expectations; it must have been all of those Star Wars fans checking out the company’s latest five screen cinema in the county town of Essex, Chelmsford.
Noon ... Offer in prospect for Prospect Japan
Prospect Japan Fund Limited (LON:PJF) was a major mover today as its investment manager Prospect launched an offer at a substantial premium.
Japan-listed Prospect is offering 2.5 of its shares for each PJF share implying a value of approximately US$133.2mln or about a 53% premium to the price at close yesterday.
The offer is also 14% higher than the fund's last stated net asset value.
Prospect sees synergistic benefits and cost savings from the deal. PJF shares jumped 22% to 1.15c.
Serica Energy PLC (LON:SQZ) jumped 22% to 19.65p as it reported strong production from the North Sea Erskine field.
December’s production averaged 3,800 barrels per day, revenues from which will boost its cash pile to US$20mln.
Tony Craven Walker, chairman said: "A strong second half operational performance from the Erskine field, boosted by much improved commodity prices and favourable exchange rate movements, has helped Serica following the six-month Erskine shut-in earlier in the year.”
K3 Business Technology Group PLC (LON:KBT) tumbled as it warned December sales were soft, which will mean underlying profits coming in £3.5mln less than expected. Shares in the manufacturing and retail software specialist fell 22% to 240p.
9.00 am...CloudCall impresses after strong update
A bullish trading update from consumer facing software group CloudCall PLC (LON:CALL) sent its shares up by a fifth.
Revenues were up by 50% year-on-year to £4.9mln in 2016 with recurring revenue 63% higher.
Recurring sales growth picked up in the second half, while churn levels fell to a record low.
Simon Cleaver, chief executive, said: "The strategy of focussing on key partners and mid-market customers is clearly delivering results and we are seeing significant growth in sales activity as our relationship with Bullhorn and other key partners strengthens.”
Bullhorn is becoming a key Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform partner he added, with CloudCall seeing increased traction with Bullhorn's end users.
Shares rose 23% to 79.6p.
News on a US$1mln loan from 9.5% shareholder Mr Jia Bang Wang for Central Rand Gold Limited (LON:CRND) sent its shares climbing.
The money should be sufficient to get a concentrator circuit at its sites in South Africa.
This will allow it upgrade the gold grade of the Mine Waste Dumps materials before further metallurgical processing.
The Concentrator Circuit will contain centrifugal concentrators, scrubber, de-watering screens, water/slurry pumps and other ancillary equipment.
Installation is anticipated by the second quarter of 2017.
In addition, Lola Trollip’s role as acting chief executive has now been made permanent while Simon Charles from law firm Marriott Harrison has joined as non-executive chairman.
Shares rose 18% to 1.27p.
One of the heaviest fallers was Roxi Petroleum Plc (LON:RXP) on a failure to bring Deep Well A6 into production.
The A6 well, part of the BNG project in Kazakhstan, was drilled to a depth of 4,528 metres and was believed to have a 130 metres of oil bearing intervals.
A 54 metre interval was supposed to be opened up, however, the company says early indications suggest that the targeted area will need to be re-perforated because the original perforations failed.
Shares fell 13% to 9.24p.