British chemicals business Synthomer PLC (LON:SYNT) has told investors it expects full-year results for 2016 to come in ahead of expectations.
The group now expects to deliver a pre-tax profit of £120mln for 2016, well above the market expectation of £98.3mln.
Synthomer cited strong trading throughout the year as one of the reasons for its forecast-busting profits, although the weak pound had a positive effect – to the tune of around £12mln.
Shares were up more than 11% on Friday afternoon to trade at £4.20.
At the other end of the spectrum, Fitbug Holdings PLC (LON:FITB) continued to ease lower following its monstrous surge earlier this week.
The stock shot up more than 500% in a few hours on Wednesday following news of a contract win with a global financial services group, although it subsequently fell lower when it was revealed on Thursday that the order was only worth around £60,000.
That downtrend continued into Friday, with the stock trading more than 8% lower than Thursday’s close at 0.33p.
12.30pm...Golden Saint Resources shines on latest diamond inventory estimates
Shares in AIM-listed explorer Golden Saint Resources Ltd (LON:GSR) doubled late on this morning after it released some dazzling provisional diamond and gold inventory estimates for its Baja and Tongo licences in Sierra Leone.
A report compiled by Rock Forage suggested that the possible carat inventory at both sites could total 525,000 carats of diamonds with a further 105kg of possible gold inventory.
The figures aren’t enough to constitute any type of resource under AIM rules Golden Saint said, but investors were buoyed nonetheless by the upbeat estimates.
Also on a bit of rampage this morning was Brainjuicer Group PLC (LON:BJU) after the market research group said strong demand across the pond helped drive profits higher in 2016.
Gross profits for the year to 31 December were up 27% year-on-year to £25.6mln, which was also helped by a better-than-expected recovery in European trading as well as the weak pound.
It wasn’t sunshine and blue skies for everyone on AIM though. Poor old The People’s Operator PLC (LON:TPOP) got a kicking even though it hasn’t had much news flow so far this year.
Even with Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales at the helm, the stock has been unable to stop the rot in the past year and was down a further 28% early this afternoon.
The share price slide comes on the back of a horrendous 2016 for the company, during which it shed more than 90% of its value.
9.15am...Licensing deal sends Abzena shares into orbit
Perhaps it is a general mood of optimism over the new US president, but there were some substantial small cap risers on trading updates today.
AIM–listed biopharma Abzena PLC (AIM:ABZA) topped the list as it unveiled a US$300mln licence agreement for its ThioBridge technology.
That figure includes possible licence fees and milestone payments, but Abzena would also receive a royalty on sales of approved drugs incorporating its technology.
"Abzena and the US biopharmaceutical company has enjoyed an ongoing collaborative research programme to evaluate ThioBridge up until now,” said Abzena chief, John Burt.
ThioBridge is an antibody drug conjugate linker, which in layman’s terms means it attaches antibodies and other proteins to drugs.
The deal with an unnamed company based in San Diego covers 10 potential antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) across a wide range of illnesses and diseases.
Shares rose 77% to 63.5p.
Elecosoft (LON:ELCO) was another strong gainer as it notched up record sales in 2016 due to booming demand for its software for architects and engineering firms.
Sterling’s weakness post-Brexit had also given it a boost. Shares rose 18% to 35.5p, easily their best for more than a year.
Conversely, toy maker Character Group PLC (LON:CCT) has been a victim of the pound’s drop.
In one of the few downbeat statements today it said UK gross margin had been adversely affected by the devaluation of sterling.
The group’s portfolio includes Peppa Pig, Teletubbies and Scooby Doo toys and demand overseas for these and other TV stalwarts should still enable it to hit market forecasts for the year, the statement said.
Shares fell 9% to 472p even so.