Bikes maker Tandem Group plc (LON:TND) sprinted higher on Thursday after revealing net profit for 2017 is likely to be significantly higher year-on-year.
The expected increase in profits is despite a small reduction in turnover of 4% from the year before to £36.8mln.
The cost control measures taken to streamline bicycle operations brought about an expected reduction in turnover but this also had a positive impact on profitability.
The start of 2018 has been more challenging for the group; however, the group, which also makes toys, has secured many new licences, including Hatchimals, Jo Jo Siwa, LOL Surprise, Rusty Rivets, Super Wings, Nella the Princess Knight and Jurassic World.
“We expect a strong year from Kickmaster in light of the forthcoming World Cup in Russia and we anticipate a better performance from Ben Sayers following exciting new developments to the product range for 2018,” the group said.
The shares were up 18% at 115p in late afternoon trading.
A Tern for the worse for IoT companies backer but Tekcapital is 'appy
Tern PLC (LON:TERN) has coughed up US$360,581 to its portfolio company, Device Authority, as per its convertible secured loan agreement with the cyber-security firm.
Tern, which backs technology companies operating in the field of the “Internet of Things” (IoT) said its total convertible loan note position with Device Authority (DA) is US$871,913.
The shares were down 8.3% at 2.75p on the news.
"As a significant investor, we have long been persuaded of the quality of the Device Authority management team and product suite, evidenced by our decision to participate in this convertible loan note. DA is helping its customers achieve their strategic objectives in IoT and to increase the pace of adoption as companies continue to migrate to cloud first technologies and recognise the need to protect identities and data, wherever it is accessed," said Al Sisto, the chief executive officer of Tern.
Tekcapital PLC (LON:TEK), which, like Tern, backs technology companies, got a better response from the market to its news release today.
The UK intellectual property (IP) investment group focused on creating marketplace value from university technology, said that its portfolio company Lucyd received roughly US$6.1mln in contributions from its blockchain token generation event (TGE).
READ Tekcapital's augmented reality company Lucyd to close token sale next month
Lucyd was established by Tekcapital in September 2017 to develop ergonomic, augmented reality (AR) smart-glasses and a block-chain app store to power them.
The proceeds from the TGE will be used to advance Lucyd's business plan and provide it with additional working capital.
Shares in Tekcapital were up 5.4%.
Carpetright's balance sheet showing signs of wear and tear
There were fears that (to misquote David Bowie) the wall-to-wall may be calling for floor coverings retailer Carpetright PLC (LON:CPR).
Britain's biggest floor coverings retailer expects to report a small underlying pre-tax loss for the full-year and said trading conditions have remained difficult, characterised by continued weak consumer confidence.
What probably prompted market makers to wipe a quarter of the company’s market value off at a single stroke, however, was the statement that it is “proactively engaged in constructive discussions with its bank lenders in order to ensure it continues to comply with the terms of its prevailing bank facilities”.
Would you believe that Carpetright has issued yet another profit warning? Yup, it now expects a small loss for y/e April and is in talks with its banks about how to prop up the balance sheet...
— Nick Bubb (@NickBubb1) March 1, 2018
“It’s been quite a climb-down from just a few months ago,” observed Neil Wilson at ETX Capital.
“In December it issued a profits warning, guiding underlying profit before tax for the year to be at the lower end of the previous range of £13.8mln to £16.7mln. As we noted at the time, profits warnings have a nasty habit of not coming alone and that guidance appeared to be wishful thinking.
“In January management slashed this to a range of £2m-£6m. Horrendous post-Christmas sales were to blame then but the trend is not improving.
“Now, a small loss is expected as trading remains very difficult. That loss may not remain small if Easter doesn’t go well. Like-for-like sales are negative and below management expectations,” Wilson added.
Warming to his theme, Wilson said: “Weaker consumer sentiment for big ticket items is a factor, as well [as] tougher competition from a more diverse marketplace. Meanwhile, the slowdown in the property market means people are moving less often and therefore upgrading soft furnishings less often. The less often people move, the less often they purchase a new carpet.
“Carpetright is also a business that probably hasn’t quite adapted to the changing retail landscape quite as fast as it might – out of town retail parks just aren’t the place to be these days. The question is whether Carpetright is just on the wrong end of a cyclical slowdown, or whether there is a deeper structural problem facing this business: the answer is probably some of both,” he concluded.
Liberum Capital Markets said the disappointing update was another indication of a structural shift in the retail landscape.
“As commented in many previous notes the disparity in performance between the winners and losers is widening and following difficulties reported in the press at House of Fraser, Maplin, Toys R Us, Prezzo and Jamie’s Italian, today's update from Carpetright will serve as yet again another reminder of the structural shifts at play,” the broker said.
Laird on the recovery trail but it opts to take an offer too good to refuse
Advent International has made a recommended cash acquisition for Laird PLC (LON:LRD), almost a year to the day since it launched a rescue cash call.
Laird shareholders will receive 200p in cash for each of their shares, valuing the business at around £1bn, or at £1.2bn including debt. The deal represents a 73% premium on Laird’s closing price of 115.9p on Wednesday.
READ: Laird shares soar as agrees £1bn takeover by Advent and swings to full-year profit
The shares soared 86.5p to 202.4p on the news.
Laird, which makes wireless communication equipment and technology for automated systems, said it considers the terms of the deal to be “fair and reasonable” and directors plan to recommend the deal to shareholders.
Alongside the announcement, Laird reported pre-tax profit of £57mln in 2017, compared to a £122.4mln loss in 2016 as it made progress with its restructuring and implementing cost savings.
Revenue grew 17% to £936.6mln with growth across all its three operating divisions including, connected vehicle solutions, wireless-and-thermal systems and performance materials.
As such, it seems a slightly odd time to be giving up its independence, and the offer is over a quid below the level at which the shares were trading before its October 2016 profit warning.
Proactive news headlines:
Asiamet Resources Ltd (LON:ARS) shares advanced 6.5% as it kicked off a new drill programme at the Beutong copper-gold project, in Indonesia. The explorer has a 40% stake in the project, though it is in the process of increasing that to 80%, and the new programme aims to test the deposit at depth as well as investigate potential extensions to the deposit.
Tekcapital PLC (LON:TEK) told investors that the Lucyd blockchain venture has received US$6.1mln in contributions through its “token generation event” or TGE. Lucyd, established by Tekcapital last year, was setup to develop ergonomic, augmented reality (AR) smartglasses and a blockchain-based app store tied to the device.
Plastics products group Plastics Capital PLC (LON:PLA) had mixed news for shareholders, reporting continued strong sales growth, albeit lower than expected in its Industrial Division. Sales growth in the Films Division has been exceptional, the company said, while growth in the Industrial Division has improved in the second half of the financial year (which runs to the end of March), but not as much as expected when the group reported its interims in December.
Haydale Graphene Industries PLC (LON:HAYD) expects revenues over the next 12 months to rise following a period of investment and expansion. Ray Gibbs, chief executive, said: “The next six to twelve months should be an exciting time for the group, which we believe now has the customer engagement, geographic reach, engineering solutions capability and product know how to create material change in the group's future revenues."
Shares in Ceres Power Holdings PLC (LON:CWR) provided some cheer in a chilly market on Thursday with news of more progress with its SteelCell technology. The company unveiled a new 5kW (kilowatt) stack platform and the latest advancements of its SteelCell V5 at the Fuel Cell Expo in Japan.
Alliance Pharma PLC (LON:APH) has unveiled the succession of its deputy CEO to CEO, the current CEO's transition to a non-executive role, and the appointment of a new chairman. In a statement, the AIM-listed specialty pharmaceutical group said Peter Butterfield, currently deputy CEO, will take over from John Dawson as CEO on 1 May 2018.
Ticketing and queue-busting software outfit accesso Technology Group PLC (LON:ACSO) has bagged its first healthcare partnership, with the Henry Ford Health System (HFHS). The long-term agreement will enable HFHS, a six-hospital system, to use TE2, accesso’s digital experience and personalisation platform, to digitise and personalise patients’ interaction with the healthcare provider.
Belvoir Lettings PLC (LON:BLV) has acquired an additional 624 managed properties that its estimates will increase its network income by almost £1mln per annum. The AIM-listed property franchise group said the acquired properties, located within Welwyn Garden City and St Albans, will increase group management service Fees (MSF), Belvoir’s main revenue stream, by £400,000 in the first six years of ownership.
Devon-based tungsten and tin miner Wolf Minerals Limited (LON:WLFE) has topped up its bridge loan facility with major shareholder Resource Capital and restructured its other Senior debts. Wolf has been reliant on funding from Resource Capital to keep going while it sorted out teething problems at the new Drakelands mine near Plymouth, but this improvement programme is now nearly done, said Richard Lucas, interim managing director.
Challenger Acquisitions Limited (LON:CHAL) revealed it has so far secured 11 actors for the upcoming Star Sanctum convention to be held in May 2018. The leisure and entertainment focused company said in an update that a variety of television and film actors have been engaged for the convention, including Benedict Cumberbatch and Chiwetel Ejiofor.
BlueRock Diamonds PLC (LON:BRD) expects to ramp up production at its Kareevlei diamond mine in South Africa this year as it operates from its upgraded plant. The AIM-listed diamond mining company estimates it can achieve an average grade of between 3.5 carats per hundred tonnes (cpht) and 4.5 cpht, indicating total production of between 9,500 and 12,500 carats. Last year the mine, located in the Kimberley region, produced 3,728 carats.
Jubilee Metals Group PLC (LON:JLP) and its joint venture partner for the Kabwe project, BMR Group (LON:BMR), have agreed to extend the fulfilment on all conditions under their agreement from the end of February to the end of March. The decision to extend the long stop date comes after BMR lost its mining right for the Kabwe project in Zambia.
Eco Atlantic Oil & Gas Ltd (LON:ECO, CVE:EOG) is growing confident that its 40%-owned Orinduik exploration project has “world class potential” as Exxon Mobil continues to enjoy prolific success on the neighbouring block. Exxon on Wednesday gave details of its latest discovery offshore Guyana, after news of the oil find emerged.
Chaarat Gold Holdings Ltd (LON:CGH), in a statement after Wednesday’s close, updated investors as it continues to work towards the close of a US$20mln funding launched in December. On December 18, the mine developer announced that it planned to bring in the funds - in a mixture of equity and loan notes – and it has so far received US$11.36mln (US$6.4mln from equity and US$4.95mln of notes).
HemoGenyx Pharmaceuticals PLC (LON:HEMO) saw its shares jump higher after Align Research initiated coverage on the biotech company with a "conviction buy" stance and target price of 1,81p.
Metal Tiger PLC (LON:MTR), the AIM-listed investor in strategic natural resource opportunities, announced that Geoff McIntyre is stepping down from his role of non-executive director. The company also announced the appointment of Neville Keith Bergin as non-executive director effective immediately.
Bushveld Minerals Limited (LON:BMN), the AIM-listed integrated vanadium producer with additional investments in coal, power and tin, has announced the appointment of a new joint broker, Alternative Resource Capital, a trading name of Shard Capital Partners LLP.
Collagen Solutions PLC (LON:COS), the developer and manufacturer of medical grade collagen and tissue components for use in regenerative medicine, confirmed it will be attending two forthcoming conferences in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, between 6-9 March 2018. The group said its CEO, Jamal Rushdy, will present at the Canaccord Genuity Musculoskeletal Conference on 6 March, and the company will exhibit at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) Annual Conference from 7-9 March.
Kibo Mining PLC (LON:KIBO), the multi-asset Africa-focused energy and resource company, announced that its new corporate presentation is now available to view on the group’s website.