PhotonStar LED Group PLC (LON:PSL) shares have continued to jump following Friday’s surge after telling investors that it has received a letter of intent setting out a proposed roll-out of the group’s internet-of-things (IoT) platforms in UK-based student accommodation.
Shares soared 64.71% to 21.80p in afternoon trade.
In a statement on Friday, the AIM-listed company said its halcyonPRO2 and CloudBMS systems, which operate intelligent lighting and building controls, has been trialled by a UK based student accommodation group for nine months (from July 2016) across a total of 167 rooms at one site.
Chief executive, Dr James McKenzie, told Proactive Investors the student accommodation firm – which he declined to name – has around 125-130 sites, located across 24 UK cities and it will be evaluating other possible uses for the IoT platforms.
READ: PhotonStar LED's boss “excited” by application opportunities for its internet-of-things platforms
Capital Drilling also held onto gains from earlier in the session, with shares up 19% to 59.50p, following its best quarterly results since 2013.
Baron Oil rose 22.67% to 0.460p after saying drilling plans on Block Z-34 in Peru would go ahead despite a despite with Union Oil & Gas Group.
On the downside, Premier Veterinary Group was a top faller with shares down 24.24% to 182.12p as it completed the sale of its buying group to Animal Healthcare Services for £6.3mln in cash to pay down debt.
Ortac Resources declined 13.60% to 3.24p after announcing a £2mln fundraising.
2.16pm... Trinity on the front foot as it narrows annual loss
Trinity Exploration & Production PLC (LON:TRIN) saw its shares increase 14.81% to 15.50p after narrowing its full year loss as it worked to transform the business.
The company reported a net loss (after tax and exceptional items) of US$7mln, down from a US$58.6mln loss the year before, helped by a 29% reduction in operating expenditure and a 61% cut in general and administrative costs.
It recorded US$35.3mln of revenue in the year, down from US$48.2mln in the preceding twelve months.
The group said it was a “transformational period” in which it “re-established itself as a robust entity”. Trinity highlighted that the main focus was on maintaining production, rebasing costs and returning to profitability.
Motif Bio Plc (LON:MTFB) is sitting 6.14% lower to 35.90p as it widened its annual net loss to US$40.3mln from US$8.5mln the previous year as research and development costs and administrative expenses rose.
The group also confirmed top line data from REVIVE-2, a second major study of its new antibiotic iclaprim, will be available in the second half of 2017.
Shares have surged recently after strong results from REVIVE-1, a separate phase 3 topline that has the same protocol as REVIVE-2 but is taking place at different centres.
11.18am....PureCircle's shares fall as it warns on revenue
PureCircle Limited’s (LON:PURE) shares have dropped 7.95% to 303.75p after saying it expects revenue for the year to 30 June 2017 will be “materially below market expectations” due to problems with orders.
The producer of stevia sweeteners said shipments were withheld to the US during an investigation by the US Customs and Border Protection.
While shipments to the US have resumed, the rebuilding of trade to previous levels has been slower than the group had anticipated.
Chief executive, Magomet Malsagov, said: "I am of course, very disappointed that the growth of PureCircle has been adversely affected this year by the CBP Withhold Release Order, which was beyond our control. Nevertheless, we remain highly confident in the future growth of both PureCircle and the stevia market. We have continued to develop our newer and more innovative varieties of stevia sweeteners and we have not lost time in intensifying our stevia research and development and broadening our patent protection, alongside our capacity expansion."
On the upside, Sphere Medical Holding PLC's (LON:SPHR) shares jumped 20.81% to 7.40p as it said it has received orders from six hospitals in three countries so far for its latest version of the Proxima gas analyser.
That hit rate is from 14 hospitals that carried out evaluations on patients while 30 have had a product demonstration.
Proxima 4 was launched into the European market in December 2016 and follow-up discussions are underway with the other hospitals which have conducted evaluations, said Sphere.
09.40am...Captial Drilling races higher
Shares in Capital Drilling Ltd (LON:CAPD) shot 17% higher to 58.50p after reporting its best quarterly results since 2013.
Revenue in the quarter to March rose by almost 14% on the previous three months to US$31.6mln and by 65% on a year earlier.
As a result, guidance for the full year has been raised to revenues of between US$120-130mln, from a previous estimate of US$105-112mln.
Baron Oil plc (LON:BOIL) advanced 26.67% to 0.475p as it said agreed with the Union Oil & Gas Group to go ahead with drilling plans on Block Z-34 in Peru despite a dispute.
The company said its row with Union Oil over the US$2mln owed to Baron's Peruvian subsidiary, Gold Oil Peru SAC, will not disrupt the progress of drilling. Gold Oil will resume day-to-day supervision of activities on Block Z-34 and Union Oil will help ensure that work on the Cuy Prospect well planning and permitting continues as rapidly as possible.
On the back foot, Premier Veterinary Group plc (LON:PVG) saw its shares drop 24.10% to 182.44p as it completed the sale of its buying group to Animal Healthcare Services for £6.3mln in cash. Proceeds of the sale of the Premier Buying Group will be used to repay debt of £1.25mln and to fund growth plans for its Premier Pet Care Plan business in the US and Europe.
Ortac Resources Ltd (LON:OTC) shares fell 14.72% to 3.20p as it raised £2mln through the placement of shares to fund its further investment in Casa Mining Limited. The company plans to buy a US$2mln convertible loan note issued by Casa Mining.
Ortac’s chief executive, Vassilios Carellas, said: "Ortac has steadily been building up its stake in Casa, where this significant and new investment, following conversion, would make Ortac, Casa's largest shareholder with an approximate 45% stake in the company.”
Proactive new headlines...
BOS GLOBAL HOLDINGS Limited (LON:BOS) expects 23 May will now be the day it completes the acquisition of a 40% stake in Call Design.
A binding agreement with the directors and owners of Call Design sets out the rights and obligations of each of the parties.
BOS said it expects to execute this new Call Design shareholder deed and settle both the cash and share consideration of £2.8mln on 23 May.
The consideration comprises £280,000 cash and the rest in BOS shares. Trading on Aim n the shares is expected to begin on 24 May.
The positive findings from a phase II clinical trial of Summit Therapeutics PLC’s (LON:SUMM, NADAQ:SMMT) next-generation antibiotic have been published online in a prestigious medical journal.
The Lancet Infectious Diseases carried results from the CoDIFy study, in which the company’s drug candidate ridinilazole stacked up favourably against vancomycin, the gold standard in treatment for people with C. difficile infection (CDI).
A ruling by an Ethiopian Supreme Court has reduced the potential financial impact of legacy legal issue affecting KEFI Minerals (LON:KEFI) to US$600,000 from US$12mln. The claims for damages related to impact of exploration field activities on the Tulu Kapi gold project from 1998 to 2006, which pre-dated the company’s involvement with the property.
Trinity Exploration & Production PLC’s (LON:TRIN) financial results statement, for the twelve months ended December 31, hailed a “transformational period” in which the Trinidad focussed oil firm “re-established itself as a robust entity”.
Rose Petroleum PLC (LON:ROSE) continues to look forward to its planned 3D seismic programme in Utah’s Paradox basin during the second half of this year. The company today updated investors on the ongoing permitting process for the seismic work, following a request for more information by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
Range Resources Ltd (LON:RRL, ASX:RRS) has confirmed it is moving forward with the proposal to acquire drill contractor RRDSL from LandOcean, signing a sale and purchase agreement which sets out the terms of the transaction.
Gold junior ECR Minerals PLC (LON:ECR) has extended the deadline for the receipt of the remainder of subscription money due from Shenyang Xinliaoan Machinery until 16 May in return for a further deposit of £50,000.
Challenger Acquisitions Limited (LON:CHAL) said the ending of its relationship with Starneth has stopped all of its cash obligations to that company while giving the the potential of up to US$6mln if the giant observation wheel project in Jakarta and one elsewhere go ahead.
“The potential receipt of fees from one or two Starneth projects and the closing of a potential new acquisition or corporate transaction should strengthen our company this year,” said Mark Gustafson, chief executive. Losses in 2016 were £6.58mln.
Medical imaging group Feedback plc’s (LON:FDBK) non-executive deputy chairman Tom Charlton is to step down to focus on his his other investment activities.