Tekcapital PLC (LON:TEK) shares edged higher as the intellectual property investment group said its portfolio company, Salarius Ltd, has appointed Victor H. Manzanilla as its chief executive (CEO).
Manzanilla previously served as marketing director for Office Depot (NASDAQ:ODP) and spent 12 years at Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) in several positions including home care marketing innovation manager and brand manager for global new business development for Febreze.
More recently, he served as the CEO of his own consulting firm VHM Global Research.
Manzanilla has purchased 2.5% of Salarius’ shares through his consulting firm for US$50,000, taking its own stake to 97.5%.
Shares rose 21% to 12.75p.
Shearwater Group plc (LON:SWG) shares dropped 9% to 5p after the cyber security firm posted a wider annual loss despite recording its first revenue.
The pre-tax loss came to £2.9mln in the year ended March, compared to £1.6mln a year ago, on revenue of £6.2mln. Revenue included almost a year’s contribution from recently acquired SecurEnjoy and eight months from Xcina Consulting.
The group, which changed its name from Aurum Mining last year to reflect its move from mining into cyber security, added that current trading was in line with expectations.
Pearson, Hammerson, Rightmove and Rentokil under the cosh after broker changes
Educational publisher Pearson plc (LON:PSON) shed 2.3% at 903.8p as cut Citigroup its recommendation to ‘neutral’ from ‘buy’ following recent results saying "it may be 12 months until we get a clear line of sight on 2019E (estimates), a critical year in confirming our positive LT (long-term) view".
Meanwhile, Hammerson PLC (LON:HMSO) fell 2.1% to 511p as Jefferies International reduced its rating for the real estate group - which earlier this year rejected a £5bln takeover bid from French rival Klepierre - to ‘underperform’ from ‘hold’.
Property website Rightmove PLC (LON:RMV also took a knock as German broker Berenberg downgraded its stance to ‘sell’ from ‘hold’ after reducing its target price to 4,100p from 4,150p, with the FTSE 100-listed stock down 3% at 4,724p.
And Rentokil Initial PLC (LON:RTO) suffered as Stifel cut its rating to ‘hold’ following Tuesday’s results from the pest control to hygiene services group, losing 3.3% at 328p.
The US broker believes Rentokil’s share price now fully incorporates any upside potential from continued strong strategic delivery, limiting the scope for further material outperformance.
Filtronic shares jump on contract win, BBA Aviation slumps on lower margins
Filtronic PLC (LON:FTC) shares jumped after announcing it has received initial production orders from an unnamed major European original equipment manufacturer for its massive MIMO (mMIMO) antennas.
The company, which makes antennas, filters and mmWave products for the wireless telecoms and communications sectors, said the orders are valued at US$2mln.
It expects to fulfil the contract in the first half of this financial year and predicts further production orders will follow.
“The announcement on 30 July 2018 by T-Mobile and Nokia stating that Nokia will supply T-Mobile with US$3.5bn of early stage 5G Network Equipment as part of T-Mobile's first US nationwide 5G rollout underpins our confidence in our decision to focus considerable energy and resources over the past year on our mMIMO developments,” said chief executive Rob Smith.
“mMIMO is a key technology for mobile telecommunications networks as it uses licensed spectrum far more efficiently, thereby increasing existing network capacity. It enables the use of beamforming techniques which will be an essential requirement of 5G networks."
Shares shot up 15% to 11.6p.
BBA Aviation PLC (LON:BBA) shares are under pressures after reporting a drop in operating margins in the first half and saying growth in the US business and general aviation market grew less than expected.
Underlying operating margins from continuing operations fell to 16.3% in the first months of the year from 18.4% a year earlier.
The business and general aviation market grew 2.3% during the first five months of the year, missing an expected 3% growth. About 88% of BBA’s revenue is derived from this market.
The group reported an 11.2% drop in pre-tax profit from continuing operations to US$76.2mln due to higher charges.
Shares plunged 13% to 301.8p.
Mosman Oil And Gas gains on successful completion of Texas well
Mosman Oil And Gas Limited (LON:MSMN) rallied as it said the Stanley Development well in Texas had been successfully completed.
Stanley-1’s primary reservoir was host to gross pay (an oil-bearing section) 19 metres thick with a porosity of around 18%. Porosity defines the capacity of the reservoir rock to hold oil.
Mosman said drill log data was better than expected and sees no reason to change pre-drill forecast for an initial flow rate of around 150 barrels a day.
Shares rose 11% to 0.75p.
Aggreko PLC (LON:AGK) shares gained 11% to 831p after the temporary generator specialist said it was on track to meet full-year earnings expectations after an “encouraging” first-half performance.
The company reported a 7% drop in pre-tax profit to £59mln for the six months ended June 30. However, excluding rising fuel costs, underlying growth was 8%.
Revenues were £857mln, up 14% on an underlying basis, driven by a strong performance in the rental solutions business.
Capita PLC (LON:CPI) shares slumped as the outsourcer cut its full-year profit guidance and warned that its turnaround plan would take time to deliver benefits.
For the 2018 financial year, it now expects underlying profits to be between £250mln-£275mln, compared to the £270mln-£300mln it estimated earlier this year.
It reported a 59% drop in underlying pre-tax profit to £80.5mln for the six months ended June 30, while underlying revenue fell 4% to £1.9bn.
Shares dropped 8.6% to 147p.
GetBusy PLC (LON:GETB) shares edged down 6.3% to 51.50p after reporting a 25% drop in first-half earnings.
The document management software business said adjusted earnings (EBITDA) fell to £492,000 in the first half from £395,000 last year, reflecting a £383,000 charge following its demerger from Reckon Limited and initial public offering last August.
Revenue fell 14% to £5.2bn, boosted by recurring revenue growth as a result of a strategic shift from traditional upfront licence and consulting contracts to pure subscription models.
Other Proactive news headlines:
Haydale Graphene Industries PLC (LON:HAYD) has supplied graphene-enhanced prepreg material for the world’s first graphene skinned aircraft. The AIM-listed nanomaterials developer said the material had been applied to Juno, a three-metre wide graphene-enhanced composite skinned aircraft, that was revealed as part of the Futures Day at the Farnborough Air Show 2018.
Arc Minerals Limited (LON:ARCM) has noted visible signs of copper and cobalt from early-stage drilling at Kabala in Zambia. Kalaba is part of the company’s Zamsort project. Arc is drilling to produce both ore for a pilot plant and a maiden resource estimate for the deposit.
Portfolio analytics platform provider StatPro Group PLC (LON:SOG) is trading in line with expectations in 2018 after a first half of solid revenue growth.
Anglesey Mining PLC (LON:AYM) is looking to beef up the projected mine life of its Parys Mountain project in Wales. A scoping study last year by consultant Micon indicated Parys Mountain could be mined at the rate of 1,000 tonnes per day.
Cradle Arc (LON:CRA) has thrashed out a deal to redeem £1.28mln of its convertible loan notes at a cost of £1.59mln. Holders of the notes have waived their conversion rights.
Tekcapital PLC (LON:TEK) said its portfolio company, Salarius Ltd, has appointed Victor H. Manzanilla as its chief executive (CEO).
Savannah Resources PLC (LON:SAV), the AIM-quoted resource development company, announced that further to the recent placing, the company's major shareholder, Al Marjan Ltd has now subscribed for 11,111,111 new ordinary shares at a price of 9p each, raising cash proceeds of £1mln. It added that, following the subscription, Al Marjan’s holding in the company will be 24.18% of the issued share capital.
Eurasia Mining PLC (LON:EUA) has announced it has received a conversion notice from Sanderson Capital Partners (SCP), regarding the outstanding amount of £250,000 which was due for repayment in September of this year. It said SCP has chosen to convert all of the principal amount into Eurasia Mining ordinary shares at an agreed fixed price of 0.475p each, Accordingly, the company has today issued SCP with 52,631,579 new ordinary shares. The group added that SCP has voluntarily agreed an orderly disposal agreement and intends to remain a supportive shareholder in Eurasia.