Savannah Resources Plc (LON:SAV) surged on Wednesday after the junior explorer was issued with environmental permits for its Mahab 4 and Maqail South copper deposits in Oman.
Savannah is a 65% shareholder in Omani company Al Fairuz Mining, the holder of the Block 5 licence, which includes the two high-grade copper deposits.
Chief executive David Archer said the awards were a “major breakthrough” for the projects, with the positive rulings expected to be factored positively into the approval process of the remaining ministries”.
Savannah said "positive discussions" are continuing for the remaining ministries for the two projects, with final approvals expected to all be received in the fourth quarter.
Shares jumped 10.1% to 5.36p on Wednesday
Premier Foods whets investors’ appetites as it swings to interim profit
Premier Foods PLC (LON:PFD) was looking tasty to investors after the Mr Kipling owner swung to a profit in the first half of the year.
The “strong performance” was aided by a new range of Super Noodle pots and a deal to produce Cadbury cakes.
Both of those helped the bakes goods and ingredients group to post a profit of £300,000 in the six months through September, compared to a stonking £55.6mln loss last year.
Revenues grew 1.5% to £353.5mln, boosted by partnerships with Cadbury owner Mondelez International Inc (NASDAQ:MDLZ) and Japanese noodles maker Nissin. Shares gained 7.5% to 39.25p.
12.45pm...Fenner rides out storm to post “significantly improved” full-year results; simultaneously upgrades guidance for current year
Conveyor belt maker Fenner PLC (LON:PLC) jumped on Wednesday as it upgraded its forecasts for the current year alongside a “significantly improved” set of numbers from the 12 months just gone.
Starting with the past first: in the 12 months ended 31 August the company saw underlying pre-tax profits almost double to £45.3mln (2016: £23.2mln) on higher sales of £655.4mln (2016: £572.5mln).
Fenner has endured a rough couple of years with “difficult trading conditions” in many of its key markets, but said it is now starting to see the benefits from its action plans to combat those issues.
The company highlighted the “significant macro-economic uncertainties around the world” but thinks it is well-positioned with the outlook strengthening.
“Overall, given the structural growth opportunities that the group has created, the board anticipates that the [full-year] outcome will be above its previous expectations."
Shares are currently up 7.9% to 363.5p.
9.30am...Investors tear strips off of Walker Greenbank
It seems luxury wallpaper maker Walker Greenbank PLC (LON:WGB) spoke a little too soon when it commented on its outlook in last month’s interim results statement.
Back then, the company said order intake was growing ahead of last year and was “on an improving trend” in the run-up to its key autumn selling period.
However since that announcement, order intake has not been sustained, with brand sales in the UK having “weakened significantly” against management expectations.
Given that this is supposed to be a prime time for the company, Walker now expects full-year profits to be 10% lower than previously forecast.
Shares have plunged 24.1% to 159.8p.
Investors hang up on Talktalk
Talktalk Telecom Group PLC (LON:TALK) shares tumbled as it swung to a half-year loss and said full year profits will be at the lower end of its guidance range as it ramped up investment to attract more customers.
The company reported a statutory pre-tax loss of £75mln for the six months to the end of September, compared to a £30mln pre-tax profit last year.
Revenue fell 5% to £828mln with declines across on-net, off-net and corporate products.
TalkTalk said its core earnings for the year would be towards the bottom of its expected range of £270-300mln as it restructures the business in an effort to increase its share of the market in the second half of the year.
Shares dropped 10.2% to 170.1p in early trading.
Proactive news headlines
Film production underwriter FFI Holdings PLC (LON:FFI) has completed the acquisition of digital post-editing group Cineworks Digital Studios, its first since listing on AIM in June.
Bezant Resources PLC (LON:BZT) has moved to the next phase in the ramp-up of production at the Choco alluvial mine in Colombia after successful grade verification work.
Metal Tiger PLC (LON:MTR) has slammed the board of Aussie miner Kinsgate Consolidated and called a meeting to replace all but one of the directors.
Shares in Kin Group PLC (LON:KIN) resumed trading on AIM this morning, having been suspended since the middle of July while the company shored up its finances.
Diagnostics specialist Akers Biosciences Inc (LON:AKR, NASDAQ:AKER) said its third quarter revenues grew 10% to US$675,831, buoyed by sales of its breathalyser products and its rapid cholesterol tests. It also said the commercial performance of its core product, used to spot allergic reactions to the blood thinner heparin, was “robust”.
Energy developer Oracle Power PLC (LON:ORCP) has submitted a power plant proposal to the regulator of Pakistan's power industry.
Avacta Group PLC (LON:AVCT) said a partner company will be presenting data on Avacta’s Affimer technology at a leading industry conference in Barcelona, which kicks off Wednesday.
Clinical stage biopharmaceutical company Motif Bio PLC (LON:MTFB) has entered into an agreement for up to US$20mln in debt financing with Hercules Capital Inc. The funds will be used to support pre-commercialisation activities and other corporate activities in preparation for the anticipated US launch of iclaprim in 2019.
Savannah Petroleum PLC (LON:SAVP) has shed more light on its proposed acquisition in Nigeria, where it is picking up major stakes in a series of assets. A new ‘lock-up’ agreement has been signed in respect of the proposed deal, setting out the terms for the acquisition of specific assets held by Seven Energy International.
Savannah Resources PLC (LON:SAV) said the environmental operating permits for the Mahab 4 and Maqail South mining licence applications in Oman have been issued by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs.
ADES International Holding Ltd (LON:ADES) has launched a new venture in Egypt where it is partnering with Vantage Drilling International to provide deepwater oil and gas services in the Mediterranean basin. It will see ADES generating additional revenues without the outlay of capital that would’ve been required to start-up deepwater services otherwise.
Eland Oil & Gas PLC (LON:ELA) has confirmed that the Opuama-7 has started production, with the well coming online at a rate of 7,500 barrels of oil per day. The company highlighted that the Opuama field production is now seen as “strong” as it is yielding some 19,000 bopd from three wells.
Mosman Oil And Gas Limited (LON:MSMN) is taking more time to make a decision on the Arkoma project in Oklahoma. The company has moved its first option to acquire Arkoma to February 28 from November 15 but the second option deadline is still in March.
Mobile payments specialist Bango PLC (LON:BGO) said its platform is now being used by Nigerian mobile network operator 9mobile to enable purchases through Google Play. Through the 9mobile 9pay wallet customers in Nigeria can pay for media, games, apps and digital content in Google Play with one-click, without the need to own a credit card or bank account.
Full-services marketing agency The Marketing Group said its network is “now gelling together well”, unlocking looked-for synergies.The third quarter saw turnover of €7.04mln, taking turnover for the first nine months of the year up to €19.59mln.