Walcom Group Ltd (LON:WALG) share headed south after saying it has kicked off legal proceedings to recover money owed from its largest customer.
The agriculture and animal husbandry research and development firm said the unnamed customer owes it £483,000 and the delays to the payment has affected its cash position.
"If the full amount outstanding from the customer is not received, the company might, in the absence of obtaining alternative funds, be in a position where it is unable to settle its liabilities as and when they fall due," Walcom said.
Shares are down 16% to 0.62p.
Rockfire Resources Plc (LON:ROCK) shares gained 25% to 1.8p as it said a ground magnetic survey at the Marengo exploration project in Queensland, Australia, returned a pleasing semi-circular pattern that is thought to be an iron-rich alteration.
These geological anomalies are often in close proximity to the so-called intrusion-related gold and copper deposits.
"Initially, our team was expecting more linear patterns to reflect the prevailing geological northwest trend,” said chief executive David Price of the magnetic survey.
“When the semi-circular pattern started to form in the magnetic data, our team began to realise that what they were seeing is likely to represent an alteration zone around the mapped intrusion at One Mile Mountain.”
Volex Group PLC (LON:VLX) rallied as it said trading in the first quarter was ahead of its expectations with higher profits and revenues.
In a trading update, the manufacturer of premium power cord and harness assemblies said profitability has improved in the first quarter on the back of revenue growth “in excess of 7%” and lower operating expenses.
“Our revenue has increased across all of our major geographies in the first quarter. We are seeing growth from both our established customers and building on our successes in winning new customers,” said chairman Nat Rothschild.
He added: “The cost pressure that we were experiencing in the second half of last year has lessened, with the price of copper reducing and the dollar strengthening against our main functional currencies.”
After the company took action to reduce costs and focus on more profitable businesses, Rothchild said he is “confident in Volex's ability to continue to make revenue progress and deliver further value to our shareholders over the coming year”.
Shares rose 17% to 84p.
Just Eat PLC (LON:JE.) shares were in the red after reporting a drop in first half pre-tax profit on higher costs.
Profit before tax fell 3% to £48.1mln from £45.9mln the previous year, reflecting costs associated with the acquisition of rival Hungryhouse.
Revenue rose 45% to £358.4mln from £246.6mln the previous year, as the number of orders processed rose 30% to 104.4mln from 80.4mln.
Neil Wilson at Markets.com said “costs are rising and the question marks over the pivot towards offering delivery remain”.
“It is becoming a difficult task in managing growth and building out scale without eroding margins. Heavy investment in its own delivery network may not be the right option but management is sticking to its guns and will invest more heavily in delivery,” Wilson said.
Shares dropped 6% to 794p.
Infrastructure India shares rocket higher, GoCompare.com under the cosh
Infrastructure India PLC (LON:IIP) shares rocketed up 105% to 3.7p after the company agreed a conditional proposed financing with PSA International and Gateway Partners of up to US$125mln.
The AIM-listed company, which invests in Indian infrastructure projects, said the financing will provide sufficient capital for its largest asset, Distribution Logistics Infrastructure Private Limited (DLI), to complete, commission and ramp up all of its terminal facilities.
It will also help the company repay debt and provide working capital for both DLI and the group.
GoCompare.com Group PLC (LON:GOGO) was under the cosh as it reported an increase in adjusted operating profits in the first half but flat revenues.
The insurance comparison provider said revenues were broadly unchanged at £75.8mln and adjusted operating profits rose 20% to £15.9mln, driven by an expansion in marketing margins in its price comparison division.
The group saw a 12.9% decline in customer interaction in its price comparison division, although the average revenue per customer increased to £4.80 from £4.43 at the same time last year.
Shares fell 7.8% to 121.6p.
Travis Perkins and IDE Group slump while Provident Financial and Greggs surge
Travis Perkins PLC (LON:TPK) was on the back foot after warning that 2018 operating profit would be in the lower end of market forecasts after a decline in the first half.
The parent company of Wickes said adjusted profit before tax in the six months to June 30 fell 4.6% to £167mln and adjusted operating profit dropped 5.8% to £179mln.
The group said the lower profit reflected a £246mln impairment for its Wickes fascia, which has been hit by challenging trading conditions.
Revenue, however, rose 4.4% to £3.4bn and like-for-like sales increased 4.2%.
IDE Group Holdings PLC (LON:IDE) shares slumped as cloud and IT managed services provider announced a fundraising of up to £5.5mln to pay down debt.
The fundraising includes a firm subscription for gross proceeds of £0.5mln, a conditional subscription for gross proceeds of £2.7mln, the issue of £1.8mln convertible loan notes and an open offer for up to £0.5mln.
The fundraising will be used to help pay down existing loans and meet working capital requirements.
Shares fell 42.8% to 3.50p.
Going the other way, Provident Financial PLC (LON:PFG) shares surged as it announced the appointment of a new chairman and vowed to restore its dividend.
The lender said Patrick Snowball would take over as chairman on September 21 and interim chairman Stuart Sinclair would step down.
The group also reiterated its intention to resume dividends for the year even as it reported a 24% drop in first half pre-tax profit to £74.9mln due to a weaker-than-expected performance in its struggling home credit business.
The dividend was suspended last year after a botched reorganisation of the company’s home credit business led to two profit warnings. In an effort to turnaround the home credit unit, the group is moving from two UK home credit divisions to four units and employing more staff.
Shares rose 12.6% to 695p.
Greggs PLC (LON:GRG) shares also jumped as the bakery chain reported an increase in first half profits and sales despite challenging market conditions.
Total sales increased 5.2% to £476mln and like-for-likes grew 1.5%.
Reported pre-tax profit, including property profits and exceptional charges, rose to £24.1mln from £19.4mln. The increase refleced a drop in its restructuring costs to £1.9mln from £8.3mln last year.
However underlying operating profits, excluding exceptional items, fell to £25.7mln from £27.6mln.
The group warned underlying profits for the year would be flat but is “confident in the medium and long-term growth potential for the business, supported by customers' response to our initiatives, our strong cash generation and the ongoing strategic investments that we are making”.
Shares rose 9.5% to 1,053p in morning trading.
Proactive news headlines
Sirius Minerals PLC (LON:SXX) has expanded its relationship with Archer Daniels Midland Co (NYSE:ADM), the Fortune 500 US-based agri-business. Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) has agreed to supply Sirius with a starch-based binding agent, used in the POLY4 fertiliser production process, for an initial period of five years from the commencement of production with renewal options written into the arrangement.
Westminster Group PLC (LON:WSG) has made progress on ways to move forward its contract for security equipment at an airport in Iran. The US$24mln contract was put on hold following the US’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear pact in May due to the uncertainty among suppliers over possible sanctions.
Rockfire Resources PLC (LON:ROCK) said a ground magnetic survey at the Merengo exploration project in Queensland, Australia, has returned a “surprising, but very pleasing” semi-circular pattern that is thought to be an iron-rich alteration. These geological anomalies are often in close proximity to what are called intrusion-related gold and copper deposits.
Eland Oil & Gas PLC (LON:ELA) said that a land rig has re-entered the Ubima-1, Nigeria, which was discovered 1963 before being suspended. The plan is to assess four different reservoirs as well as carrying out two drill stem tests and acquiring accurate fluid, pressure and production data for each separate, oil-bearing horizons.
Oil producer Range Resources Limited (LON:RRL) exceeded its target of 800 barrels per day in Trinidad towards the end of its latest quarter. Total output in the quarter to June was 60,376 barrels of oil or 663 per day on average, though production rose to more than 800 barrels per day in the second half of the period.
Challenger Acquisitions Limited (LON:CHAL) has agreed a repayment plan regarding its loan to the owner of the previously cancelled Star Sanctum event. The entertainment and leisure investment group said the owner had agreed to repay the full £100,000 loan commencing with a £35,000 payment on or before 30 September 2018, then quarterly payments with the balance on or before 30 June 2019.
Coinsilium Group Limited (AQSE:COIN) has been appointed to provide advisory services to ElevateHealth, a behavioural healthcare firm, regarding a token generation event (TGE).
Chaarat Gold Holdings Ltd (LON:CGH) has drilled approximately 8,000 metres of its planned 30,000 metre drilling programme at the Tulkubash project in Kyrgyzstan. Eight drill rigs are currently in operation on site. It’s now been confirmed that gold mineralisation continues further along strike northeast of the existing 1mln ounce resource.
Rambler Metals and Mining PLC (CVE:RAB)(LON:RMM) processed a quarterly record volume of 94,589 dry metric tonnes of ore at its Ming copper project in Newfoundland and Labrador in the three months to the end of June. Feed grade during the period averaged 1.10% copper and 0.53 grams per tonne gold. Concentrate recovery improved, and a total of 1,801 tonnes of copper was recovered to concentrate in the first half of 2018, slightly down from the 1,906 tonnes produced in the 2017 first half.
Bluebird Merchant Ventures Ltd (LON:BMV), the resource development group, has completed the report on the feasibility of reopening the Gubong mine in South Korea. The report has been delivered to Bluebird’s partner, Southern Gold, and it means the 50/50 joint venture can now kick-off, with Southern Gold henceforth sharing equally with Bluebird the costs of the mine’s development.
Kore Potash Ltd (LON:KP2) has appointed a third party to refine the definitive feasibility study (DFS) for its Kola potash project in the Republic of Congo. Delivery of the DFS is not scheduled until next month, but Kore has already commissioned an independent review of some aspects of the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) pricing.
The summary of quarterly activities for Metminco LTD (LON:MNC) showcases how busy the company has been. Among the highlights is the ongoing drilling at the Tesorito gold project in Colombia, where the presence of a gold-bearing porphyry has now been confirmed.
European Metals Holdings (LON:EMH) completed roast optimization testwork in July, in which it was established that improved recoveries could deliver increased lithium carbonate production from the Cinovec project in the Czech Republic. The roast/leach tests have reliably achieved lithium extractions in the region of 94% recovery.
Thor Mining PLC (LON:THR) (ASX:THR) said it has received a binding warrant exercise notice for the conversion of 451,643 warrants at a price of 1.25p each, resulting in aggregate gross proceeds being receivable by the company of £5,646.
Tlou Energy Limited (LON:TLOU) said it has released a presentation on the Southern African Power Market, prepared by the company in association with the Mott MacDonald Group. It added that Tlou's executive director Gabaake Gabaake will make a presentation at the 3rd Annual SADC Industrialisation Week being held in Namibia this week, with a copy of the presentation available on the company's website.
Ceres Power Holdings PLC (LON:CWR) announced that Mike Lloyd retires as a non-executive director from today, 31 July, 2018. Following Lloyd's retirement, the company said it is reviewing board composition, is currently seeking a non-executive director replacement and will announce further details in due course.
Directa Plus PLC (LON:DCTA), a producer and supplier of graphene-based products for use in consumer and industrial markets, has announced the appointment of N+1 Singer as the company's joint broker with immediate effect. The group said Cantor Fitzgerald Europe remains its nominated adviser and joint broker.
WYG PLC (LON:WYG), the international project management and technical consultancy, today announced that WH Ireland Limited has ceased to act as the company's joint broker with immediate effect. It said N+1 Singer remains as the company's sole broker.