There could be a storm brewing on Wednesday around the building of the Royal Society of Chemistry in London as shareholders in Hurricane Energy PLC (LON:HUR) gather for the oil explorer’s annual general meeting.
The Science Suite of this imposing Georgian building in Piccadilly will play host to investors in the oil exploration group which has enjoyed huge success in the waters off the Shetland Islands.
Hurricane’s investors are unlikely to be a rowdy bunch, but they who will have plenty of questions for the group’s chief executive Robert Trice, with the firm testing his thesis that the waters around the UK could be host to a completely new oil play hosted in fractured reservoirs.
WATCH: Malcolm Graham-Wood on what to look out for in Hurricane's AGM
The exploration and production play is proven in various locations around the world, notably in Asia, though Hurricane is the first to advance basement projects in the waters around the UK.
Its flagship asset is the Lancaster Field, around 100 miles north of the Shetland mainland, which has flowed commercially viable oil from a number of wells, with that discovery due to be brought into production in less than two years.
Lancaster is expected to be the start of a multi-phase development, with Hurricane’s Halifax well believed to be connected - or indeed the part of the ‘same’ thing – although Lincoln, its third confirmed oil discovery, is distinctly separate, as are other untested areas.
All in all, given Hurricane’s newsflow over the past year, there will be plenty for investors and management to get their teeth into at the meeting.
Recently floated Ramsdens to post maiden finals
Aside from Hurricane, pawnbroking group Ramsdens Holdings PLC (LON:RFX) could also be a feature, as the recently-listed firm unveils its maiden full-year results.
Back on April 11, the group – which is the shirt sponsor for relegated Premier League football team, Middlesborough FC – issued a bullish trading update just two months after its successful flotation.
READ: Ramsdens continues post-float rise boosted by a bullish trading update
The AIM-listed firm said then that a strong performance has continued across the group “resulting in further revenue growth and strengthening gross profit when compared to the prior year”.
“As a result,” it added, ”the Board anticipates reporting adjusted profit before tax for the Period comfortably ahead of management's previous expectations.”
Ramsden’s shares, which started trading on AIM on February 15 after raising £15.6mln through an initial public offering priced at 86p each, were changing hands at 127.5p on Tuesday.
RPC and Workspace to deliver improvements
Among other full-year results due on Wednesday, acquisitive, FTSE 250-listed plastic packaging group RPC Group (LON:RPC) confirmed at the end of March that its full year revenues were expected to be significantly up on last year, with adjusted operating profit also better than previously anticipated by management.
The group made another acquisition in March, buying US plastics group Letica funded by a rights issue, having completed the acquisition of Astrapak Limited last June.
And finals from office space provider Workspace Group plc (LON:WKP) could show a good recovery in the second half after a -1% fall in its net asset value in the first half.
Since its interims in November, Workspace has gained planning consent for two extensions and refurbishments and exercised its option to buy the freehold of a prime office building in central London for £98.5mln..
Significant events on Wednesday 7 June:
AGMs: Hurricane Energy PLC (LON:HUR); Mears Group PLC (LON:MER); WPP group PLC (LON:WPP)
Finals: Grafenia (LON:GRA); Picton Property Income Ltd (LON:PCTN); Ramsdens Holdings PLC (LON:RFX); RPC Group PLC (LON:RPC); Tricorn Group PLC (LON:TCN); SRT Marine Systems PLC (LON:SRT); Sysgroup PLC (LON:SYS); Workspace Group plc (LON:WKP);