Norges Bank revealed it has a 3.47% stake in potash project developer Sirius Minerals PLC (LON:SXX).
The stake consists of 2.41% of the issued share capital plus another 1.06% that it controls through financial instruments.
Shares in Sirius were down 3.7% at 15.18p.
3.15pm: Distil suffers New Year hangover
The phasing out of promotional activities in the first quarter of 2019 was blamed for a slump in revenues and volumes at Distil PLC (LON:DIS).
The owner of overpriced (aka “premium”) drinks brands, such as Blackwoods Gin and Vodka, and RedLeg Spiced Rum, said revenues were down 33% year-on-year, in line with expectations.
The group had enjoyed a strong final quarter to 2018 and this may have raised expectations somewhat, as a result of which the shares were down 7% at 1.95p.
2.30pm: No new progress at Cambay
Shares in dual-listed Oilex Ltd (LON:OEX, ASX:OEX) tumbled after the company drew attention to a recent article in the India Times.
The article refers to the planned activities detailed in the field development plan (FDP) as prepared by Oilex in late 2017 pursuant to its application for an extension of the Cambay production sharing contract.
The appearance of the article does not correspond to any new event and the application for the environmental clearance referenced in the article is a pre-requisite to implementation of the FDP activities, Cambay said.
Oilex shares were down 7.7% at 0.18p in London.
1.45pm: Wheels in motion on the Challenger share register
Challenger Acquisitions Limited (LON:CHAL), which is looking for a new direction after a patchy record backing giant observation wheels, was a hot stock on Tuesday.
The shares shot up 40% to 0.21p after it was revealed that Knowe Properties has a 13.7% stake in the company.
Challenger is actively searching for an appropriate acquisition candidate in order to create long-term value for its shareholders, having recovered a portion of its loan to Star Sanctum and sold its investment in the Dallas wheel project back to its developers.
12.30pm: Thomas Cook lifted by Lufthansa interest in Condor airline
Shares in troubled travel firm Thomas Cook Group PLC (LON:TCG) were flying high after German airline Lufthansa offered it a lifeline.
Lufthansa's boss, Carsten Spohr, said the company would offer to buy Thomas Cook's German airline and was interested in acquiring other Thomas Cook airlines, subject to monopolies clearance from the authorities.
READ Thomas Cook confirms talks with lenders amid reports it is looking to secure £400mln
Thomas Cook shares were trading at 24.2p, up 11.6%.
Lufthansa eyes Thomas Cook’s Condor with buyout offer https://t.co/YCS7FTKxDA #Business #Germany
— 24matins.uk (@24matins_uk) May 7, 2019
11.30am: Koovs says its troubles are behind it
Indian online fashion retailer Koovs PLC (LON:KOOV) has largely surrendered earlier gains it made on the back of an upbeat trading statement.
"The external factors that disrupted our business are now firmly behind us,” declared Mary Turner, the chief executive officer of Koovs, as the company reported an improved trading margin to 18% in the year to the end of March from 14% the year before.
Web traffic in the financial year just ended was up 50% year-on-year at 75.9mln.
Shares in Koovs, which had reached as high a 10p at one point in morning trading, were up 1.2% at 8.75p.
2 of the Koovs ads featured in Top 10 Most Watched Indian Ads on Youtube.#top10 #indian #ads #youtube #koovshttps://t.co/QiwFObJKEP
— Punit Chahar (@PunitChahar) May 7, 2019
10.30am: Business is booming at business recovery consultancy Begbies
Is it a worrying sign for the economy when a business recovery consultancy such as Begbies Traynor Group PLC (LON:BEG) is doing well.
The company's shares were up 12% at 67p on Tuesday morning in the wake of full-year results that saw management raise revenue and profit expectations.
The group said it performed strongly in the final quarter while cash collection in 2019 was significantly ahead of management's expectations.
Begbies Traynor expects performance to top market expectations following strong Q4
"Insolvency - hmm, businesses continue to deteriorate then as economy worsens?"https://t.co/xBahFLK97L
— CrossingtheRubicon (@CrossingtheRub2) May 7, 2019
9.30am: Domino's performance a bit spotty; cracks appear at Purplebricks
The first quarter trading update from pizza delivery outfit Domino’s Pizza Group PLC (LON:DOM) could not be described as “topping”.
The shares lost a tenth of their value after what Liberum Capital Markets termed “a poor update”.
“Guidance that International will now not be break-even will lead to consensus downgrades of c.5%. LFL's [like-for-like sales] in the UK are being massively supported by price which is unsustainable yet they continue to decline. LFL orders were -2.7% and as a food distribution business this could lead to negative operational leverage in the group’s DC [distribution centre] network especially in a year when there will be inefficiencies in the Warrington facility,” the broker said.
UK LFL sales in the 13 weeks to 31 March were up 3.1% year-on-year but this reflects a slowdown from the previous quarter's growth rate of 4.5%.
Group system sales grew by 4.5% organically, compared to a 5.8% growth rate in the preceding quarter.
Another former glamour stock going through a rough patch is Purplebricks Group PLC (LON:PUPR), the hybrid online-bricks & mortar estate agent, which might account for why the founder and chief executive officer, Michael Bruce, is stepping down.
Vic Darvey, previously the group's chief operation officer, has been appointed as his successor.
The group also announced it has decided to pull out of the Australian market and cut back on marketing in the US market.
“Importantly, we are very conscious that the group's performance has been disappointing over the last 12 months and we sincerely apologise to shareholders for that. With hindsight, our rate of geographic expansion was too rapid and as a result the quality of execution has suffered. We have also made sub-optimal decisions in allocating capital. We will learn from these errors and will not make them again," pledged Paul Pindar, the group's non-executive chairman.
Shares in Purplebricks fell 7.3%.
Proactive news headlines:
A Spanish foods giant has signed a licensing agreement to use OptiBiotix Health PLC’s (LON:OPTI) cholesterol and blood pressure-reducing LPLDL strain in some of its products.
Ariana Resources PLC (LON:AAU) has revealed latest drill results from the Kiziltepe mine, in the Arzu North area, and, they show potential for a large-tonnage system. Highlight results include grades up to 1.5 grams per tonne gold and 17.5 grams per tonne silver.
Motif Bio PLC (LON:MTFB, NASDAQ:MTFB) is expected to be able to chart a “path forward” for its lead drug iclaprim in the next month after a meeting with the US regulator went ahead as planned.
Kromek Group PLC (LON:KMK) is expecting to hit its targets for the latest full year and said it was “well-placed” to capitalise on opportunities going forward.
ITM Power PLC (LON:ITM) has extended its contract with Shell for the company’s hydrogen-based vehicle refueling collaboration. A new agreement replaces a 2015 deal and extends the contract out to 2024.
ImmuPharma PLC (LON:IMM) has confirmed it remains in negotiations with potential corporate partners for its lead drug Lupuzor, which has been developed to treat the auto-immune disease lupus.
Live Company Group Plc (LON:LVCG) together with its German partner AWC, has attended the Touring Exhibitions Meeting in Berlin. BP Mar
Premier African Minerals PLC (LON:PREM) has signed an agreement with Zimbabwe’s indigenisation agency [NIEFF] that will see the RHA tungsten mine re-open without any additional funding from the miner.
Faron Pharmaceuticals Ltd (LON:FARN) boss Markku Jalkanen has told investors “there is definitely a future” for the company’s Traumakine treatment.
ADES International Holding PLC (LON:ADES) told investors it has expanded its credit facilities with Alinma Bank, a Saudi Arabia based financial institution.
Rockfire Resources PLC (LON:ROCK) has added another 1km to the length of the potential gold strike at Double Event in Queensland, Australia.
Graphene specialist Directa Plus PLC (LON:DCTA) and clothing group Alfredo Grassi have extended their exclusive relationship for up to a further three years.
Arecor Limited has dosed the first patient in a trial of its ultra-rapid acting insulin product, AT247.
Early-stage research has shown that Allergy Therapeutics PLC’s (LON:AGY) adjuvant technology could potentially be used in the fight against cancer.
Thor Mining PLC (LON:THR)(ASX:THR) has revealed further interim exploration results from drilling at the Bonya tungsten deposits, adjacent Molyhil, in the Northern Territory of Australia. Interim results for the Samarkand prospect obtained via portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) determination show highlights of 15 metres grading 0.44% tungsten trioxide (WO₃), 8 metres at 0.36% WO₃, and 11 metres at 0.61% WO₃.