Metals Exploration Plc shares (LON:MTL) fell 10% to 1.35p in Thursday afternoon trade after the company issued an update on the impact of Typhoon Rosita when the storm made landfall in the Philippines this week.
The AIM-quoted company said Rosita passed directly over its Runruno project in the province of Nueva Vizcaya, depositing 354mm of water over the mine. Processing operations are expected to restart within 24 hours following clean-up and the repair of water ingress into some electrical equipment, it said. Metals Exploration said its mine has been re-established but will not start operations until further diesel supplies are available. No injuries were reported.
On the plus side, Ascential PLC (LON:ASCL) shares picked up 7.8% to 406.20p after the tech firm said it’s expanding in the US with the US$60mln cash acquisition of Flywheel Digital, which offers managed services to consumer product companies trading on Amazon.
The FTSE 250-listed specialist information company said the Flywheel deal should add to its earnings in the current financial year. Flywheel's revenue in the year ended December 2017 surged 150% and it delivered unaudited profit before tax of $4.8mln, said Ascential.
READ: Ascential splashes out US$60mln in cash to acquire Flywheel Digital
Biome Technologies PLC (LON:BIOM) traded 3.2% higher at 650.00p as the maker of natural plastics and radio frequency systems posted a more than 50% rise in revenue.
Biome said group revenues in the nine months to 30 September were £7mln, up 56% on the same period a year ago, aided by “exceptional” demand for fibre optic furnaces.
READ: Biome Technologies says year-to-date revenues surpass those for whole of 2017
12.45pm: Tower Resources rises after reserves report
Tower Resources PLC shares (LON:TRP) leapt 17% to 1.67p in Thursday afternoon trade as the oil and gas explorer released a reserves report for its Thali licence, offshore Cameroon.
The AIM-listed company said, among other things, that it has identified gross mean contingent resources of 18mln barrels (MMbbl) of oil across the proven Njonji-1 and Njonji-2 fault block. Tower also said it received a financing offer from an industry partner for the Thali licence.
READ: Tower Resources surges as it releases reserves report for Thali licence
Meanwhile, BT Group PLC (LON:BT.A) shares bounced up 6.9% as the telecommunications company said it expects full-year earnings to reach the top end of its guidance range.
The FTSE 100 company’s outlook comes after first-half profit rose 24%, supported by cost savings and the sale of high-end smartphones.
READ: BT expects full year earnings to hit top end of guidance after first-half profits rise
But shares of Rose Petroleum PLC (LON:ROSE) were off 4.6% at 2.91p even as the O&G driller said it received a final permit to start drilling at Paradox acreage in Utah.
Rose said drilling at the GV 22-1 well should begin “as soon as possible” after being given the green light by US authorities.
READ: Rose Petroleum receives final permit to start drilling at Paradox acreage in Utah
11.45am: Earthport shares decline on restatement plan
Earthport PLC (LON:EPO) shares flopped 8.7% lower to 7.00p after the payments network operator said it will restate some fair adjustment values.
The AIM-listed company said a review of accounting for forward foreign exchange transactions at its EPFX Limited subsidiary revealed a number of reporting errors. Earthport said prior-year adjustments do not affect Earthport’s current cash position but they do reduce the group's previously reported retained earnings at 30 June 2017 by £6.3 mln to a loss of £158.3mln.
But moving higher was Catenae Innovation PLC (LON:CTEA), with its shares up 33% to 0.10p after the digital media and technology company said it is raising funds through a placing with a large institutional investor at a premium to last night's closing price.
The AIM-listed firm said it will issue 500mln new ordinary shares at a price of 0.12p each, which will raise £524,945 in cash. The company said it welcomed the support of the large UK-based institutional investor that specialises in tech companies, by taking a significant stake in its business.
At the same time, Just Eat PLC (LON:PLC) shares were up 3% at 625.60p as the online food takeaway platform posted a surge in third-quarter revenue.
READ: Just Eat’s investment in its delivery fleet expected to dent full-year profits
Quarterly revenue at the FTSE 100-listed company jumped 41% to £195.3mln, aided by the inclusion of its Hungryhouse acquisition. But its £60bn bet on its new delivery service may leave 2018 underlying earnings at the lower of its forecast.
10.05am: Kore Potash shares soar on study update
Kore Potash PLC (LON:KP2) shares added 7.8% at 3.825p after the group confirmed that further to its announcement on 30 October, the French Consortium of Engineering Companies has delivered the final volume of the Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) documentation for the Sintoukola Potash Project (Kola) in the Republic of Congo.
The company said it therefore now has a complete set of DFS documents and has commenced its review of this study, adding that it will update shareholders further when this is complete and the DFS is finalised.
And MySQUAR Limited (LON:MYSQ) rose 16.9% to 0.38p after the Myanmar-language social media, entertainment and payments platform revealed that on 30th October 2018, MyPay Limited disposed of its remaining holding and so is no longer a shareholder in the company.
9.00am: Elektron Tech leaps on upbeat outlook
Elektron Technology PLC (LON:EKT) shares soared 17% to 42.00p in early Wednesday trade as the AIM-listed group posted a rise in third-quarter profit.
The company said sales of its Bulgin range of electronic components climbed 13% to a record £8.8mln from a year ago, and that Bulgin sales for the full year should be “significantly ahead” of Elektron’s expectations. Total revenue at Elektron was £9.9mln, up from £8.5mln a year earlier.
Also higher, 4imprint Group PLC (LON:FOUR) shares surged 12% to 2,030p as the marketer of promotional products said full-year revenue and underlying profit should come in at the top end of market expectations.
4imprint said its half-year results, released in July, “showed good progress” towards its goal of reaching $1bn in revenue by 2022, reflecting encouraging initial results from a marketing initiative launched in March. The momentum has continued into the second half, said Elektron.
But share-price decliners included Royal Dutch Shell PLC (LON:RDSB), with shares down 2.1% to 2,448p following third-quarter results from the oil and gas heavyweight.
The FTSE 100-listed company’s net income attributable to shareholders based on a current cost of supplies and excluding identified items climbed 37% to US$5.624bn, shy of a consensus estimate of US$5.766bn. Cash flow from operations surged to US$12.1bn.
Proactive news headlines:
Shares in Tower Resources PLC (LON:TRP) jumped after it unveiled a reserves report for its Thali licence, offshore Cameroon. The AIM-listed oiler said the report had identified gross mean contingent resources of 18mln barrels (MMbbl) of oil across the proven Njonji-1 and Njonji-2 fault blocks with low/best/high estimates of 5/15/34 MMbbls respectively and a development contingency probability of 80% on the first phase and 70% on the second phase.
MySQUAR Limited (LON:MYSQ) shares rose after the Myanmar-language social media, entertainment and payments platform revealed that on 30th October 2018, MyPay Limited disposed of its remaining holding and is no longer a shareholder in the company.
Kore Potash PLC (LON:KP2) shares gained after it confirmed that further to its announcement on 30 October, the French Consortium of Engineering Companies have delivered the final volume of the Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) documentation for the Sintoukola Potash Project (Kola), located within the Republic of Congo. The company said it now has a complete set of DFS documents and has commenced its review of this study and will update shareholders further when this is complete and the DFS is finalised.
Stobart Group Ltd (LON:STOB) said its regional airline, Stobart Air, has secured a deal to provide new aircraft, crew, maintenance, and insurance (ACMI) services to BA CityFlyer, the short-haul arm of British Airways.
Rose Petroleum PLC (LON:ROSE) is to drill the GV 22-1 well at its Paradox acreage in Utah “as soon as possible” after being given the green light from US authorities.
NetScientific PLC’s (LON:NSCI) portfolio company, Vortex BioSciences, has secured a global manufacturing agreement with German firm STRATEC Consumables GmbH to scale up production of its VTX-1 liquid biopsy platform.
AFC Energy PLC (LON:AFC) has updated on the progress with its first commercial order. It said it has conducted “initial engineering and supply chain preparedness work” in advance of finalising terms for the delivery of fuel cells to customer Southern Oil’s Gladstone Refinery in Queensland, Australia.
ANGLE PLC (LON:AGL) (OTCQX:ANPCY), a world-leading liquid biopsy company, has announced the appointment of Dr Jan Groen as a non-executive director with immediate effect. The firm noted that Groen has extensive board and executive level experience in cancer diagnostics, and he is currently president and CEO of MDxHealth, a Euronext listed molecular diagnostic company.
Metal Tiger PLC (LON:MTR) said that, further to its announcement on 18 July, it now expects that completion of the sale of the T3 project and the creation of the new exploration joint venture with MOD Resources will occur by mid-November, with the only outstanding condition precedent for completion being the demerger itself. The company also announced the appointment of Strand Hanson as its nominated adviser with immediate effect, and said SI Capital is the company’s sole broker with immediate effect.
Midatech Pharma PLC (LON:MTPH) (NASDAQ:MTP), the R&D company focused on delivering innovative oncology and rare disease products to patients, announced that the proposed sale of Midatech Pharma US Inc to Kanwa Holdings, LP has now completed.
PCF Group PLC (LON:PCF), the parent of specialist bank PCF Bank, announced that its acquisition of Azule Limited, previously announced on 8 October 2018, has now completed following receipt of Financial Conduct Authority approval.
Tharisa PLC (LON:THA), the dual-listed platinum group metals and chrome co-producer, has announced the appointment of Berenberg as the company's joint corporate broker with immediate effect. The group said Berenberg will work alongside the company's existing UK joint corporate brokers, Peel Hunt LLP and BMO Capital Markets.
Active Energy Group PLC (LON:AEG) confirmed that Richard Spinks has now formally stepped down from the firm’s board to focus on his other business interests, including the group's subsidiary business, Timberlands International Ltd. The company noted that its board will now temporarily comprise of only two directors and said, as such, its management team are currently evaluating potential new directors with further announcements to be made in due course.
LIVE Company PLC (LON:LVCG) said it has held discussions with candidates on the appointment of a further independent non-executive director who would add public company experience to the board, with further details to be notified at the appropriate time. The revelation came as the company confirmed the appointments of Trudy Norris-Grey as an independent non-executive director and Simon Horgan as non-executive director with effect from today.
LNS, a shareholder with more than 10% of chrome producer Afarak Group PLC (LON:AFRK), has clarified its position ahead of Afarak’s upcoming extraordinary meeting. LNS has argued for some time that because of liquidity constraints, particularly in the local Helsinki market, where Afarak is based, the company should offer to buy out its shareholders.