Laura Ashley Holdings plc (LON:ALY) is under the cosh after saying it expects full year pre-tax profits to be “materially below” market forecasts.
The textile design company said profits were hit by a £2.8mln impairment charge due to the revaluation of freehold property it owns.
Trading continues have also continued to be demanding, the firm added.
Earlier this year the group said half year profits fell to £7.6mln from £11.0mln the previous six months, hit by currency headwinds and the new minimum wage. As a result, the group said, “net pre-tax profit for the year will fall below market expectations”.
Shares fell 18.08% to 8.99p.
In contrast, Silence Therapeutics shares were higher after saying it expects the grant of two more US patents on its technology soon.
The US Patent and Trade Mark Office has issued a notice of allowance for the applications the company made to protect its intellectual property in RNA therapeutics.
Silence believes a number of medicines may use technology it pioneered that are currently undergoing clinical trials and would therefore require a licence from Silence.
Shares increased 7.61% to 145p.
2.15pm: Revolution Bars shares gain after turning down merger offer
Shares in Revolution Bars Group plc (LON:RBG) danced higher after the nightclubs operator rejected an offer to merge with rival Deltic Group.
Deltic, formed out of the remnants of failed late night bars operator Luminar, is dismayed at the prospect of Revolution falling into the hands of the Stonegate Pub Company.
Last month Revolution received a conditional takeover proposal of 200p per share from Stonegate, the owner of Yates and Walkabout pubs.
Deltic said Stonegate’s bid was “opportunistic” and would be a “disappointing outcome” for Revolution as it approached the company to discuss an alternative all-share merger.
Revolution turned down Deltic’s offer so Deltic has gone public with its proposal in an effort to put pressure on the board to reconsider.
Shares rose 7/92% to 674.50p.
Frontier Developments edged up 5.6% to 660p after the creator of video games said its Planet Coaster game has achieved 1 million cumulative franchise units since launching in November.
Cumulative franchise units for Elite Dangerous, which launched in December 2014, have exceeded 2.75 million.
1.10pm: Zenith Energy egdes up on underlying quarterly improvement
Zenith Energy Ltd (LON:ZEN) shares rose after the Azerbaijan-focused oil and gas group reported an increase in quarterly revenue.
Revenue rose to C$1.7mln in the three months to the end of June from C$249,000 a year earlier.
Profit before tax fell to C$691,000 from C$617.4mln last year when results were boosted by a C$618.1mln gain related to the Muradhanli block in Azerbaijan, which did not repeat in the most recent quarter. Excluding the gain, Zenith would swung to a pre-tax profit from a C$726,000 loss.
The company sold 23,390 barrels of oil from its assets in Azerbaija, 4.79bn cubic feet of natural gas from its Italian production assets and 2,522 megawatt hours of electricity from its Italian generation assets.
Shares gained 6.9% to 7.75p.
12.30pm: Inspirit Energy slides, Petro Matad climbs
Inspirit Energy Holdings PLC (LON:INSP) shares dropped 16.67% to 0.125p after saying it raised £300,000 through a discounted placing and share subscription.
The developer of micro combined heat and power boilers said it would place about 208.3 million new shares at 0.12p. Chief executive John Gunn will also subscribe for a further 41.7 million shares at the same price, reducing his stake in the company to 31% from 34%.
Proceeds will be used to finalise its product accreditation, accelerate its 'design for manufacture' process and provide working capital.
Petro Matad Limited (LON:MATD) rallied as new amendments to a funding deal were announced, revealing that shareholder dilution will be reduced.
A funding arrangement with Bergen Global Opportunity Fund was announced back in May, and now that deal has been amended by mutual consent – it means that a monthly schedule of equity tranches will be postponed until October 15.
Shares rose 11.97% to 9.66p.
11.35am: H&T Group and Marshall Motor Holdings rise after first half results
H&T GROUP PLC (LON:HAT) shares received a boost after the pawnbroker reported a 62.2% increase in first half pre-tax profit to £6.0mln, supported by the higher gold price.
Gold purchasing profits increased to £1.8mln from £1.5mln the previous year, on the back of increased volumes of gold scrapped, up 47.7% to £6.5mln from £4.4mln.
Revenue rose to £49.05mln from £42.39mln in the corresponding period of 2016, with growth seen in all key segments.
Shares rose 6.37% to 291.20p.
Marshall Motor Holdings PLC shares revved higher after the car dealer posted a 54% jump in pre-tax profits to £18.6mln in the first half as strong used car sales lifted revenues.
Revenue for the six months to June 30 increased to £1.18bn from £826.4mln the same period a year ago.
The firm said its profit was supported by the acquisition of Ridgeway Garages (Newbury) Ltd, which contributed £5.4mln in the period.
Shares increased 7.04% to 152p.
10.45am: Mears Group shares under pressure as Grenfell Tower tradegy delays works
Mears Group PLC (LON:MER) shares edged lower after the social housing and care support services firm warned that the tragic blaze at London’s Grenfell Tower in June will delay planned works this year.
The company cut its 2017 revenue forecast for its housing division to £800mln from a previous estimate of £830mln.
“The recent tragic events at Grenfell Tower will impact the Housing division later this year as clients review the commissioning and safety practices at their properties,”
“These unexpected events will inevitably impact the timing of our planned workloads as clients' attentions have naturally been diverted towards ensuring their housing portfolios are safe and fully compliant.”
Shares fell 7.89% to 446.75p.
Challenger Acquisitions Limited (LON:CHAL) shares reversed yesterday’s gains, boosted by reports that a new contractor had been found to finish the New York observation wheel.
AIM-listed Challenger has a US$3mln equity stake in the NY Wheel and took a hit a month ago when the design contractor Mammoet-Starneth was fired over a payment dispute.
That had led to fears the US$580mln project would not be finished, but things took a turn for the better over the weekend when the NY Wheel company confirmed it was close to appointing American Bridge to take over and finish the project.
Shares snapped back 25.36% to 1.775p today.
In a statement today, Challenger said it noted the large movement in its share price and high trading volumes in yesterday’s trading session.
“Challenger looks forward to updating the market when a new contractor is formally appointed and a new date is set for the completion of the New York Wheel.”
09.45am: CAP-XX rises on largest-ever order for supercapacitors
CAP-XX Limited (LON:CPX) shares gained after announcing that it received its largest-ever order for mass produced Thinline supercapacitors.
A US customer has ordered the supercapacitors for an 'Internet of Things' (IoT) wearable device for the fitness and health markets.
An initial US$0.4mln order is for delivery of units starting in late 2017 and continuing into early 2018. CAP-XX expects to secure a follow-on order for more than US$1.0mln in the first half of 2018.
"We are delighted to have secured our first high-volume order for Thinline supercapacitors for an IoT application,” said chief executive Anthony Kongats.
“Additionally, we remain confident that our partnerships with Murata and AVX will provide significant additional momentum to the adoption of CAP-XX supercapacitors in numerous very high volume applications across the globe.”
Shares jumped 21.90% to 13.25p.
Thalassa Holdings Ltd (LON:THAL) shares rose 20.88% to 84.01p after saying it has agreed initial terms for the sale of its marine geophysical services business WGP Group Ltd.
The company said an “interested third party” has proposed buying WGP for US$30mln. The bidder also wants to invest US$2mln to buy a 20% stake in GO Science Group, the parent company of Autonomous Robotics, which develops autonomous sub-sea products for the energy and defence industries.
Management Resource Solutions PLC (LON:MRS) shares dropped 27%.34% to 3.09p after warning that its full year loss will be higher than market forecasts.
The company, which provides plant hire, equipment repair, road construction, mine rehabilitation and other support services, said its full year operational performance was below expectations due to a lack of working capital.
Proactive news headlines:
Challenger Acquisitions Limited (LON:CHAL) has noted yesterday’s share price spike on US reports over the weekend that a new contractor had been found to finish the New York observation wheel but provided no confirmation that an appointment is imminent. In a statement, the AIM-listed firm simply said: “Challenger looks forward to updating the market when a new contractor is formally appointed and a new date is set for the completion of the New York Wheel.”
It has been a difficult 12 months or so for PCG Entertainment Plc (LON:PCGE), but the Asia-Pacific online gaming and media group is more upbeat on its future as it looks to bring itself “back from the abyss”. For the 15 months ended 31 March (PCG is moving its year-end), the company – which is still in the pre-revenues stage – recorded a total comprehensive loss of US$14.2mln (2016: US$2mln).
The higher gold price gave a turbo boost to a business that was already motoring at pawnbroker H & T Group PLC (LON:HAT). Profit before tax in the first half of 2017 rose 62.2% to £6.0mln from £3.7mln the year before.
Akers Biosciences Inc (LON:AKR, NASDAQ:AKER) said it believes China will be a significant market for its rapid test for an allergy to the blood thinner heparin as it gave an upbeat assessment of prospects alongside interim results. “We continue to believe that, once additional regulatory hurdles in China are complete, China will become a very significant non-US revenue stream for PIFA Heparin/PF4 Rapid Assay products,” investors were told.
Regenerative medicines specialist WideCells Group PLC (LON:WDC) has raised £750,000 through a share placing as it looks to further its penetration of the rapidly growing stem cell market. The London-listed company has issued 5.35mln shares at 14p apiece to both new and existing shareholders, as well as several members of the board.
Emerging markets income trust APQ Global Limited (LON:APQ) has raised just over £20mln through a convertible loan issue backed by major shareholder Old Mutual. Some £20.1mln CULS have been issued with a coupon of 3.5% and a conversion price of about 105.4p, a 10% premium to the book value of 95.8p.
The process of protecting its intellectual property continues at Silence Therapeutics PLC (LON:SLN) with the grant of two more US patents on its technology expected soon. It said the US Patent and Trade Mark Office has issued what’s called a notice of allowance for the applications it made.
Lionsgold Limited (LON:LION) has revealed feasibility numbers for the Jonigiri gold project in India, which it has an interest in through 21.15%-owned Geomysore Services. Jonigiri looks economically robust and is likely to produce at all-in costs of US$753 per ounce and have a mine life of seven years.
Asiamet Resources Limited (LON:ARS) has filed a technical report confirming the previously announced resource at the Beruang Kanan Main zone as 49.2 million tonnes at 0.70% copper. This equates to containing 711.3 mln pounds or 322,600 tonnes of copper at a 0.2% copper cut-off grade.
Merchandising software and technology group ATTRAQT Group plc (LON:ATQT) told investors it has appointed Eric Dodd as its new chief financial officer. Dodd joins the company from Iptor Supply Chain Systems UK Limited, a private equity backed software business, and he is slated to start on September 1. He replaces Mark Johnson who is retiring and stepping down from the board.
Sound Energy PLC (LON:SOU) investors can start looking forward to new catalysts at the group’s Moroccan operations, as the company is now gearing up for new programmes. The explorer, via Twitter, told investors that equipment for a planned seismic exploration campaign has now arrived in the country.
Seeing Machines Limited (LON:SEE), the driver monitoring technology firm, has announced a deal with fleet telematics solutions provider Geotab. Geotab has added Seeing Machines’ fleet Guardian solution to the Geotab marketplace, which serves more than 14,000 Geotab customers. The marketplace features a plethora of applications, plug-ins and add-on modules aimed at fleet managers.
Action Hotels PLC (LON:ACHG) said its non-executive chairman, Sheikh Mubarak A. M. Al-Sabah, has purchased another 66,700 ordinary shares in the company, at a price of 40.25p each, taking his holding in the group to 97,305,616 shares, representing approximately 65.91% of the hotels operator issued share capital.
Orosur Mining Limited’s (LON:OMI CVE:OMI) recent funding has given an opportunity for it to become a substantial gold producer, according to house broker Cantor Fitzgerald. The Uruguay-based junior raised C$4mln (24.1c or 14.7p) through an oversubscribed placing, while warrants exercisable at 20.4p before 2020 may bring in a further £1.7mln.