Gooch & Housego PLC (LON:GHH), the specialist manufacturer of optical components and systems, has been awarded a five-year contract by OrganOx.
The contract is for the manufacture of metra, an innovative medical device that allows livers for transplant to be stored and transported at body temperature.
Shares in Gooch & Housego were up 4.2% at 1,250p.
12.30pm: Modern Water higher on contract warn
Investors raised a glass to Modern Water PLC (LON:MWG) after the firm announced it had won a contract to supply a brine concentration plant.
Market makers decided that buying the shares at the old price was a “no briner” and marked them up 0.55p to 6.75p.
The wastewater treatment outfit said the unnamed purchaser was one of the world’s leading producers of crop protection products, speciality chemicals and other industrial chemicals.
11.00am: Puzzling reaction to partnership deal announced by Dev Clever
Software development company Dev Clever Holdings PLC (LON:DEV) probably did not get the share price reaction it was expecting after its latest announcement.
The shares tumbled 9.4% to 10.875p after the company announced a three-year commercial partnership agreement with Eagle Eye Solutions, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) technology company that creates digital connections enabling personalised, real-time marketing through coupons, loyalty, apps, subscriptions and gift services.
The commercial partnership agreement enables Dev Clever's gamification products to deliver rewards that can be redeemed at the point of sale and be measured in real-time using Eagle Eye's AIR platform.
10.15am: Winx-1 well disappointment hammers Red Emperor, 88 Energy and Pantheon Resources
Shares in Red Emperor Resources NL (LON:RMP) crashed on Wednesday morning following an operational update from the Winx-1 well in Alaska.
Final results from the Winx-1 well have disappointed investors as multiple zones that were seen to have oil potential have not warranted further testing.
Shares in Red Emperor plummeted 84% while those of the operator, 88 Energy Limited (LON:88E) plunged by slightly more than a third.
They are going to plug and seal the well.
Sorry but it's a duster. https://t.co/pb4xGJQ8sl
It goes on to say
Winx-1 will now be plugged and abandoned
— Weald oilers (@WealdOilers) March 13, 2019
Pantheon Resources PLC (LON:PANR), which has a 10% carried interest with an additional 10% back-in right, saw its shares dive to 21.45p from 28.17p overnight.
9.30am: Basalt - a best a Manx can get
Investment firm Basalt Infrastructure Partners has launched an agreed takeover for Manx Telecom PLC (LON:MANX), the broadcom and telecommunications firm based on the Isle of Man.
Basalt is offering 215p in cash for each Manx share, prompting the stock to shoot up 14%, to just below the offer price at 214p.
The offer terms place a value of just under £256mln on Manx Telecom.
Anyone else remember the sound that would usually accompany this GIF? #WorldWideWeb #30YearsOld pic.twitter.com/QgV0kqYUZV
— Manx Telecom (@manxtelecom) March 12, 2019
Burford Capital Limited (LON:BUR) was up 9.5% at 1,990p in a falling market after its full-year results found favour.
The investment management firm focused on law saw a 23% increase in operating profit in 2019 to US$354mln from US$289mln in 2018.
Profit before tax rose to US$315.5mln from US$264.7mln the year before.
The company said there was consistently high demand for its capital, which was reflected in new investment commitments of US$1.3bn in 2018, “showing that 2017's similar commitment level - which more than tripled the prior year's performance - was not a one-off event”.
Assets under management in Burford's investment management business increased to US$2.5bn (2017: $1.7bn).
Proactive news headlines:
Tlou Energy Limited (LON:TLOU) told investors it has received confirmation that the technical stage of the Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Development of CBM fuelled power plants in Botswana has been passed. It means that the Botswana Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board (PPADB) has now approved a request to open the financial proposal in relation to Tlou’s gas to power tender, as well as the rival proposal from Sekaname.
Cloud-based provider of portfolio analytics provider StatPro Group PLC (LON:SOG) saw strong growth in annualised recurring revenue for its flagship Revolution product in 2019.
Multi-brand franchisor, Franchise Brands PLC (LON:FRAN), is looking forward to the year with confidence after making a strong start to the year.
Erris Resources PLC (LON:ERIS) has announced positive results from preliminary metallurgical test work at the Abbeytown mine project in County Sligo, Ireland, showing straightforward standard flotation process can be utilised for the recovery of concentrates. The company said that the results demonstrated excellent recoveries including 96.2% lead and 95.8% zinc.
Oriole Resources PLC (LON:ORR) said it is “encouraged” by a recent increase in the price of gold and several sector developments as it concluded a transformative 12 months that saw its operating losses cut by more than 60%.
Oilfield services group Plexus Holdings PLC (LON:POS) is to pay out a £1mln interim dividend following the sale of its jack-up rig wellhead rental business. The balance sheet is also being restructured so that it can make additional payments in future.
ECSC Group PLC (LON:ECSC) increased annual revenues by 35% as rising demand for cyber-security meant a big jump in the number of consultancy customers. Turnover in 2018 at the cyber-security specialist rose to £5.4mln from £4mln, with underlying losses reduced to £0.6mln from £2.9mln.
Stobart Group Limited (LON:STOB) is to ramp up investment at its London Southend Airport as it looks to make good on its ambitious long-term target of flying ten million passengers a year.
Ironridge Resources PLC (LON:IRR) reduced interim losses to A$2.46mln (A$4mln) even though it ramped up exploration across its portfolio of assets in Ghana, Chad, Ivory Coast and Australia. Cash equivalents at the end of December were A$12.1mln (£6.5mln).
88 Energy Ltd (LON:88E) has revealed final results from the Winx-1 well, which will disappoint investors as multiple zones that were seen to have oil potential have not warranted further testing. The explorer, in a statement, said that it had successfully completed a programme of wireline logging and it had started a full petrophysical analysis and review.
Columbus Energy Resources PLC (LON:CERP) told investors that it is expecting the second quarter start to gas injections for the pilot project with Predator Oil & Gas and Heritage Petroleum at the Inniss-Trinity IPSC area. The pilot project aims to inject carbon dioxide into wells as part of an enhanced oil recovery project.
Coinsilium Group Limited (LON:COIN) has established a new entity in Gibraltar as part of its efforts to relocate to the territory.
Block Energy PLC (LON:BLOE) has confirmed the issue of 9.55mln new shares to partner Georgian Oil and Gas Limited as part of the recently announced transaction that sees the AIM-quoted firm acquire 71% of the West Rustavi – giving it 100% of the project.
IXICO PLC (LON:IXI) announced that it received notification on 12 March 2019 that its chief executive officer, Giulio Cerroni, acquired 53,300 ordinary shares at a price of 28p each. Following this purchase, the group added, Cerroni is interested in 84,850 ordinary shares, representing 0.2% of the current issued share capital of the company.
Providence Resources PLC (LON:PVR) said it was informed by Goldman Sachs Group on 12 March 2019 that, with effect from 5 March 2019, it now holds 42,047,730 ordinary shares in the company, representing 7.03% of its issued share capital.