Trans-Siberian Gold PLC (LON:TSG) glistened after giving a fourth-quarter production update for the Asacha gold mine and providing production guidance for 2019.
The shares rose 6.7% to 40p as the company hailed record quarterly production of 13,069 ounces, up from 11,698 ounces in the third quarter.
The company saw a 77% year-on-year increased in estimated revenue at US$20.6mln.
Trans-Siberian (TSG) is guiding to gold production in 2019 of 40,000 – 44,000 ounces, compared to output in 2018 of 42,128 ounces (which was also a record).
"We are pleased once again to announce new quarterly and annual gold production records. The success of the ongoing improvement measures that have been implemented by our operational team in Kamchatka gives us a strong basis for higher levels of gold production and value creation in 2019,” said Alexander Dorogov, the chief executive officer of TSG.
2.00pm: IGas Energy and Egdon rise after exploration well at Misson Springs is spudded
IGas Energy Plc (LON:IGAS) surged 6.8p to 86.8p after announcing the spud of the Springs Road-1 exploration well at Misson Springs, in North Nottinghamshire.
This exploratory well is a vertical well targeting the Bowland Shale geological formation, IGas said.
It is the second well that forms part of an integrated exploration and appraisal programme to better define the basin and is located in the central basin area, it added.
Egdon Resources Plc (LON:EDR) rose 5% to 8.45p in sympathy. It aims a 14.5% interest in the licence area, which forms a core part of its shale portfolio in the Gainsborough Trough of around 82,000 acres.
“This well targeting the centre of the play is the first which will provide modern data on shale and tight gas targets in this play,” reported VSA Capital Research, a broker specialising in the resource sector.
“This is the second well in IGAS’s current Gainsborough trough exploration programme, although the first in which EDR has held an interest. Although only a vertical exploration well positive results could potentially open up the wider play,” VSA said.
Commencement of drilling operations at play opening Springs Road well #shale #uk https://t.co/j4e3yqrLzp pic.twitter.com/Ja5xaIduR3
— Egdon Resources Plc (@EgdonResources) January 22, 2019
12.45pm: Mobile Streams preparing to launch mobile gaming site in Indonesia
The share price of Mobile Streams PLC (LON:MOS) took a hammering last year but the mobile content retailer had good news for shareholders today.
The company is planning to launch its mobile games services in Indonesia and has engaged an experienced local consultant to represent its mobilegaming.com services in what is, in terms of revenue, the largest market for games in South-east Asia, according to Newzoo.com.
The Indonesian market shares a number of similarities with India, where Mobile Streams established a foothold late last year.
READ Mobile Streams signs new direct billing deal with Indian telecoms giant
Indonesia is the sixth largest country in terms of smartphone users, according to Newzoo.com yet smartphone penetration is very low, at around 27%, Mobile Streams noted.
Also, while India's mobile gaming market is the fastest growing in terms of average spend per user, Indonesia's is only just behind (starting from a higher base), it added.
Shares in Mobile Streams rose 10% to 0.55p on the news but are down from 2.75p at the end of 2017.
11.30am: Superyacht group GYG finished 2018 with a wet sail
Super-yacht maintenance group GYG PLC (LON:GYG) was buoyed by an upbeat full-year trading update.
The shares rose by around a sixth after the company said performance improved in the final two months of the year, as a result of which full-year revenue is expected to be marginally ahead of current market expectations.
Revenue is expected to be at least €44.7mln while the adjusted underlying loss (LBITDA) will be no deeper than €950,000.
The group admitted that 2018 had been a disappointing year but the increase in the order book has greatly improved two-year forward visibility, which management claim is due in large part to the New Build strategy adopted in 2018.
The order book at 21 January stood at €44.9mln, up from €21.0mln a year earlier. More than half of the current order book - €25.3mln – is for the current year.
We are pleased to announce our Full Year Results Trading Update this morning where we expect revenue to be marginally ahead of expectations. The Order Book for 2019 is currently €25.3m which is a 54% increase when compared to 2018.
Read here: https://t.co/q1CJkzB0GO
— GYG PLC (@GY_Group) January 22, 2019
10.30am: Dillistone goes doolally
Dillistone Group PLC (LON:DSG), the software group focused on the recruitment industry, has bagged its largest ever contract.
Technically, it is a contract renewal, covering a three-year period but the important thing is that it is the most lucrative contract in the company’s history.
The shares were up 45% at 61.44p on the news.
Meanwhile, there was more good news in the form of a better-than-expected performance by its GatedTalent division.
The division has seen a continuing acceleration in revenue in the last three months as member services have come on line. A lot more of this revenue is subscription based – generally regarded as good for recurring revenues – than the board had anticipated.
While the board still expects the division to make a loss in 2019 as a whole, it now expects that the business will make a contribution and become cash generative in the final quarter of 2019.
"The increasing conversion of GatedTalent from a platform generating revenue largely from recruiter transactions to one increasingly generating revenue from member subscriptions has proven highly successful. With member subscriptions growing rapidly, the platform is giving us increasing options in how we position our FileFinder executive recruiting CRMs," said Jason Starr, the chief executive officer of Dillistone.
9.30am: Connect and Non-Standard Finance find the market hard to please
The share price of logistics company Connect Group PLC (LON:CNCT) faltered on Tuesday after it issued an in-line trading statement.
In an update covering the 19 weeks to 12 January, the group said it is making good early progress with its strategy for a sustainable recovery, based on rebuilding the strengths of its core businesses, underpinned by a disciplined approach to capital management.
The shares dipped 3.7% to 42p as the company predicted that the ratio of debt to underlying earnings (EBITDA) will peak at around 2.0 at the halfway point of the company’s fiscal year, which runs to the end of August.
Total group continuing revenue of £516.7mln in the first 19 weeks of the current fiscal year was down 4% from £538.1m) in the same period a year earlier.
Continuing revenue in Smiths News and Dawson Media Direct (DMD) was £458.5mln (2018: £474.2mln), down by 3.3%; revenue in the Tuffnells business was £58.2mln (2018: £63.9mln), down by 8.8%.
The company formerly known as Smith News said the decline in revenue at Smiths News and DMD was “a consequence of well-established trends in the newspaper and magazine markets”.
The decline in Tuffnells' revenue arose from the continuation of service performance and trading challenges experienced in the second half of last year, which are being actively addressed. The group is targeting a return to profitability for Tuffnells in the second half of the financial year.
Connect Group Plc: Trading and Strategy Update - there could be life in the old dog yet ????. Wish I had the courage / foresight to have bought that 20p line of stock I was offered at the nadir of the profit warning but still early days in recovery. ???? https://t.co/3SVS0qPjkP
— Simon Hedger (@vodkaquickstep) January 22, 2019
The year-end trading update from lender Non-Standard Finance PLC (LON:NSF) also failed to set the heather on fire.
Earnings for 2018 are expected to be in line with market expectations.
The core of the business is the Everyday Loans brand, and its net loan book (before fair value adjustments) ended the year at £181.8mln, up 24.8% year-on-year, which means growth slowed in the second half of the year, as at the halfway point the book was up 28% on a like-for-like basis.
The shares were down 2.6% at 59.2p.
Proactive news headlines:
ECSC Group PLC (LON:ECSC) has reported revenue growth of 30% for the 2018 fiscal year, helped by record levels of trading in the fourth quarter.
The optimisation study for the Parys Mountain copper, zinc, lead, gold and silver project on the island of Anglesey is progressing well, according to Anglesey Mining plc (LON:AYM).
Sirius Minerals PLC (LON:SXX) told investors it is making progress with the US$3bn debt financing that’s needed to deliver the group’s Yorkshire fertiliser mining project.
Learning Technologies Group PLC (LON:LTG) said adjusted underlying earnings (EBIT) for the year just ended will be significantly ahead of expectations.
Marketing automation firm Dotdigital Group plc (LON:DOTD) remains on track to hit profit forecasts despite the well-documented high street troubles taking its toll on a few of its retail clients.
Instem Plc (LON:INS), which creates and sells software used by drug developers, said orders for its SEND platform grew 500% year-on-year as it told investors 2018 trading had been in line with forecasts.
Blockchain and cryptocurrency investor KR1 Plc (LON:KR1) has invested a total of US$250,000 into new ventures comprising a data collaboration framework and a decentralised exchange platform.
Shefa Yamim (ATM) Ltd. (LON:SEFA) has two of its prospecting permits renewed, covering a total of 44,045 hectares, by the Ministry of Energy, Natural Resources Administration, Israel.
Shield Therapeutics PLC (LON:STX) has appointed James Karis as its new non-exec chairman. Karis has been on the board for three years already and chairs the remuneration committee.
Custodian REIT PLC (LON:CREI), the UK property investment company, has extended its revolving credit facility with Lloyds Bank.
SIMEC Atlantis Energy Limited (LON:SAE) announced that it has appointed Ian Wakelin as an independent non-executive director and chairman of its Audit Committee with immediate effect, with Ian Macdonald, who has acted in those roles since 2014 having stepped down from the board. SIMEC Atlantis is also announced the appointment of JPMorgan Cazenove has as adviser and joint broker to the group with immediate effect.
Kibo Energy PLC (LON:KIBO), the multi-asset, Africa focused energy company, announced that it will be hosting an investor event on 30 January 2018 from 7.00pm at a venue in the City of London, presenting the opportunity for investors to meet with the company's management.