New tech battery group Ilika PLC (LON:IKA) has been granted a US patent for solid-state batteries in a joint filing with Japanese car giant Toyota.
It already has similar patents in China, Europe and Britain. They cover Ilika's proprietary vapour deposition processes, which produce solid-state batteries directly from the basic elements.
Shares rose 10% to 46.85p.
Fire safety group Halma PLC (LON:HMA) expects adjusted profit before tax for the year to end March to be in line with market forecasts of between £183.7mln/£199.4mln with a consensus of £191.4mln.
Order intake has remained ahead of revenue, said Halma, while organic constant currency revenue and profit growth has continued in the second half with organic constant currency revenue increases in all major geographic regions.
Property group Public Service Properties Inv Ltd (LON:PSPI) has concluded it is in its best interests to cancel its AIM listing. Shares fell 22% to 350p.
1.45pm...Frontera Resources still gushing higher
There’s been no stopping Frontera Resources Corporation PLC (LON:FRR) over the past few days and it was up strongly again, adding 27% to 0.451p.
That followed a more than 40% rise on Wednesday. It all stems from a conference call on Tuesday, which has sparked a fevered buying surge.
The call outlined the possibility of a future transaction involving a farmout of JV alongside a potential industry partner.
Frontera’s main asset is Block 12 in Georgia and the company has a target of 2,200 barrels per day from pilot production to generate US$3mln per month in revenues.
Ideagen plc (LON:IDEA) got a warm reception for its acquisition of Please Tech for £10mln, which has developed a document review product and 17 of the world’s top pharmas as clients.
A placing at 75p to fund the deal was oversubscribed and the shares today rose above that to 77p, a nine percent gain.
Toople pLC (LON: TOOP) dropped 13% to 3.235p on a warning that competition in the small business broadband market has been increasingly tough.
Interim revenues will rise by 60%, but half-on-half this rate drops to 19%. Going forward, Toople will focus on high margin retail business.
9.00am ...Drone deal sends Intelligent Energy shooting skyward
Intelligent Energy PLC (LON:IEH) rocketed over 130% as it signed a deal to develop long-life fuel cell for flying drones.
The deal is with PINC, a global market leader in the supply of stock movements systems for logistics companies, car manufacturers and so on and will offer fuel-cell powered drones alongside battery powered ones to identify where’s containers are in places such as docks or warehouses. The drones will provide real-time inventory tracking.
Martin Bloom, Intelligent Energy’s chief executive, added: "PINC is based in California, a state that is proactively adopting hydrogen. We see this region as a significant market for Intelligent Energy's range of market-ready fuel cell products."
Shares rose 154% to 14.6p.
Next Plc (LON:NEX) was also in the top risers as investors warmed to its latest annual results even though they showed the first profits downturn in eight years.
Pre-tax profit fell 3.8% to £790.2mln in the year to the end of January, compared to £821.3mln the previous year, but the cash generation was impressive and analysts said this would underpin the share price.
Shares rose 7% to 4,151p.
WYG PLC (LON:WYG) received harsh treatment as it reported some delays in the confirmation of new contracts and green lights for existing contracts.
Underlying operating profit for the year to the end of March is still expected to show an impressive near-25% improvement on the previous year, but will now be less than previously expected at a figure approaching £9mln.
Shares tumbled 20% to 103p.
Proactive news headlines
Healthcare company Futura Medical PLC (LON:FUM) said it has the balance sheet strength to capitalise on its breakthrough erectile dysfunction gel. It ended 2016 with £12.35mln in cash. Net loss for the year narrowed to £3.7mln from £5.1mln the year before.
eSports business Gfinity Plc (LON:GFIN) has signed up technology giant HP Inc (NYSE:HPQQ) as the first official partner of its inaugural Gfinity Elite Series eSports tournament.
Support services and infrastructure firm Stobart Group Limited (LON:STOB) has told investors that its 49%-owned Eddie Stobart Logistics associate company is to float on AIM next month.
The latest results from Mariana Resources PLC’s (LON:MARL) Hot Maden copper-gold joint venture in Turkey were, once again, eye catching. More importantly, they are helping confirm the continuity of the mineralisation and may contribute to expanding the size of the resource.
Sound Energy's (LON:SOU) Badile gas well near Milan has reached the second casing point at 1,407 metres less than a month after work began. The next casing point is at 2,600 metres - more than halfway to the planned target depth of 4,445 metres. Drilling and logging are expected to take 100 days.
Shanta Gold Limited (LON:SHG) has raised its expectations for gold production growth as it announced a revised mine plan that will extend the life of the New Luika gold mine in Tanzania. Shares rose 3.4% to 9.66p in morning trading.