After big falls last week, Mayan Energy Ltd saw its shares bounce back in late afternoon trading today, jumping 14% higher to 1.2p after giving another update on the Shoats Creek project in Louisiana.
Mayan said results from the testing of the 2,900 formation at Shoats Creek had proved inconclusive although it noted that they did offer support to the results that had been indicated by earlier analysts.
The AIM-listed firm said that, having now dealt with minor down-hole problems that set progress back a few days, it is proceeding to perforate at the 710 foot level, with results expected during the course of this week.
There was also good news today for walkie-takie maker Sepura PLC (LON:SEPU), which added 17.5% at 18.5p as another obstacle to its agreed £74mln takeover by Hytera Communications was removed.
Following further discussions with the German authorities, the parties said they have concluded that the ‘national security’ notification from the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy, announced on May 5, will not have implications for the timing of completion of the acquisition.
With the UK government happy to wave the acquisition through, the takeover will now proceed as planned and should complete on the close of business on 24 May.
And explorer Blenheim Natural Resources PLC (LON:BNR) gained 11% at 0.7p after its full-year results were mostly unchanged from the previous year and chairman Chris Ells said a number of potential investments are being considered, including the Dieba exploration permit in Southern Mali.
But on the downside, Hardide Plc dropped 11% to 1.5p after surface coatings maker reported a pre-tax loss of £684,000 for the half year to the end of March, up from a loss of £624,000 reported the year before, although revenue rose to £1.5mln, up from £949,000.
12.20pm: K3 Business Technology slumps as it warns on full year results
K3 Business Technology Group PLC (LON:KBT) was the market’s biggest casualty at lunchtime, slumping by almost 40% to 151.5p as the SME software provider warned its full year results will be "significantly below current market expectations".
In a trading update, the AIM-listed firm said that while it has "seen some major deals close", ultimately "certain large Enterprise contracts have not been secured as expected".
Another big AIM faller was Water Intelligence PLC (LON:WATR), which shed 10% at 120p after the leak detection services provider said it has opted not to pay a dividend despite executing a share reorganisation to give it flexibility to do so.
The revelation came as the group reported a fall in full-year adjusted pre-tax profit to US$772,471, down from US$972,440 a year earlier, although revenue rose to US$12.2mln from US$8.mln.
The firm said because of the opportunities it sees for growth, it will not pay a dividend and instead will reinvest its resources in the near-term.
And FTSE 250-listed healthcare specialists BTG PLC (LON:BTG) was also a big faller, losing 9.5% at 653p after it reported a drop in full-year pre-tax profit to £31.6mln, down from £57.5mln a year earlier.
The profit fall came as a 27% rise in revenue to £570.5mln was offset by an increase in operating costs, higher amortisation, and £25.2mln in hedging losses as a result of the weakness of sterling.
However, BTG still said it expects to deliver further growth in its year ahead.
10.30am: Water blue chips blighted by Deutsche Bank downgrades
UK water blue chips Severn Trent PLC (LON:SVT) and United Utilities PLC (LON:UU) featured among the biggest FTSE 100 fallers by mid morning after Deutsche Bank downgraded its ratings for both in a sector review today.
UU shares dropped 1.5% to 1,011p and Severn Trent lost 1.3% at 2,398p as the German bank cut its stance on both to ‘hold’ from ‘buy’ and reduced target prices.
In a note to clients, Deutsche’s analysts said: “The UK water stocks have built on almost a decade long bull run with further rises in share prices this year.
“Based on current returns the three UK waters still look attractive. However, we believe that cuts at the 2019 price review will come into focus by the end of the year.”
They added: “Our analysis suggests that Severn Trent & United Utilities now look fair value and we downgrade to Hold. Pennon remains a Buy partly because we believe there may be scope for it to reassure on the performance of Viridor at its results.”
FTSE 250-listed Pennon Group plc (LON:PNN) still followed its bigger peers lower, losing 0.5% at 869p.
9.30am: Solid gain for Silence Therapeutics on patent protection moves
Silence Therapeutics PLC (LON:SLN) was a good early gainer this morning, adding 4.4% at 89.75p after the firm revealed that it has filed for more patent protection for its RNA therapeutics/gene silencing technology and intends to seek payment for a number of drugs already in late-stage development.
Ali Mortazavi, Silence's chief executive, said “We believe that several third party late-stage clinical RNAi candidates, including lipid nanoparticle and GalNAc based products, require licences under our patent portfolio.”
WATCH: Silence Therapeutics 'honour-bound' to attack and defend their patents, says CEO
Meanwhile, shares in Greatland Gold PLC (LON:GGP) shot over 15% higher to 0.37p after it signed a deal with US giant Newmont Mining Corp (NYSE:NEM), which it said could “accelerate the realisation of the potential value” of the Ernest Giles Project in Western Australia.
New York-listed Newmont has been granted exclusive access to the tenements and exploration database for six months and has the right of first refusal should Greatland opt to sell or joint venture the asset in that period.
WATCH: 'A great day for Greatland Gold', says CEO
Elsewhere among the small caps, Tharisa PLC (LON:THS) was a good gainer, up 5.8% to 118p as it reported more than doubled revenues to US$175mln in the half year to March 31, while underlying earnings (EBITDA) rose by more than 451% to US$81mln.
And India and Finland focused junior miner Lionsgold Limited (LON:LION) took on 4.3% at 1.23p as it told investors that IndexGold, the company’s financial technology app, has now been released.
Proactive news headlines:
Shares in Greatland Gold PLC (LON:GGP) shot up 12% after it signed a deal with giant Newmont Mining Corp (NYSE:NEM), which it said could “accelerate the realisation of the potential value” of the Ernest Giles Project in Western Australia. The New York-listed group has been granted exclusive access to the tenements and exploration database for six months and has the right of first refusal should the Greatland opt to sell or joint venture the asset in that period.
Portfolio analytics software developer StatPro Group PLC (LON:SOG) has handed over the first wodge of cash relating to its purchase of UBS Delta. An initial payment of €8.7mln has been made; in total, the company will pay around €13mln over three years.
An improvement in US sales of its PIFA Heparin PF/4 rapid assay products leaves Akers Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:AKER LON:AKR) poised for growth in 2017. Domestic US sales of PIFA Heparin PF/4 rapid assay products were up 2.3% quarter-on-quarter at US$560,921. BP was March 2017.
Life sciences group OptiBiotix Health plc (LON:OPTI) has told investors that its health supplements were a massive hit when they were launched at the Vitafoods Europe tradeshow in Geneva last week. Opti said it has already received draft contracts from several companies at the fair which are interested in selling its CholBiome, CardioBiome and SlimBiome products.
India and Finland focussed junior miner Lionsgold Limited (LON:LION) has told investors that IndexGold, the company’s financial technology app, has now been released. IndexGold is an online platform that allows investors to take direct ownership of physical gold and silver. Parry highlighted that the launch of the app gives the group a revenue generating fintech gold division.
Oilfield drilling equipment renter Plexus Holdings PLC (LON:POS) is still being affected by new wells being postponed due to the weak oil price. Trading remains challenging with discussions over contracts taking longer than expected to conclude it said, though Plexus still anticipates order under negotiation will come through next year, to June 2018.
Union Jack Oil PLC (LON:UJO) executive chairman David Bramhill, in its financial results statement, described 2016 as “one of solid progress”. The onshore UK oil company noted operational highlights such as the competent persons report which estimated 14.8mln barrels of oil equivalent at UJO’s (now) 15% owned Wressle field.
Silence Therapeutics PLC (LON:SLN) has filed for more patent protection for its RNA therapeutics/gene silencing technology and intends to seek payment for a number of drugs already in late-stage development.
“We believe this patented technology is relevant to third party medicines in ongoing clinical trials for conditions including, but not exclusively limited to, Hypercholesterolemia, TTR-mediated Amyloidosis, Haemophilia and Acute Hepatic Porphyrias.”
Tharisa PLC (LON:THS) more than doubled revenues to US$175 mln in the half year to March 31st 2017, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization rose by more than 451% to US$81 mln. The strong performance came as the company mined nearly 4% more ore from its chrome and platinum mines in South Africa, and boosted recoveries significantly such that platinum group metals concentrate produce rose by 15.2% and chrome concentrate by 5.4%.