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Nakama warns the impact of the coronavirus on its Hong Kong and Singapore businesses was immediate

Last updated: 15:15 11 Feb 2020 GMT, First published: 09:16 11 Feb 2020 GMT

Zenith Energy Ltd -

Recruitment consultancy Nakama Group plc (LON:NAK), down 32% at 0.575p, is London's second-biggest faller after it played the coronavirus card.

In a trading update, it said trading to date in the year to the end of March has been “broadly in line” with management's expectations but alerted the market to a number of challenges it has faced in 2020, including the impact of the coronavirus on its businesses in Hong Kong and Singapore.

As a result of the curbs on movement of people imposed by regional governments, firms are currently choosing to delay, in some cases indefinitely, the start dates of new recruits until the full impact of the virus has been determined, Nakama said.

1.45pm: Arena Events on a surge despite a soft London events market

Interim results from Arena Events Group PLC (LON:ARE) proved to be a crowd-pleaser, with the shares rising 9.2% to 26.75p.

The temporary event equipment provider said revenue in the second half of 2019 rose 16% year-on-year to £92.7mln, while adjusted underlying earnings (EBITDA) jumped 56% to £13.4mln.

“The London events market remains soft, but it is pleasing to note that major Tier 1 events continue to grow with robust attendance levels in all regions,” said Greg Lawless, the chief executive officer of Arena Events.

12.30pm: Intu Properties sunk by missing Link

Heavily indebted shopping centres owner Intu Properties PLC (LON:INTU) plunged 21% to 13.7p after a potential backer pulled out of a planned recapitalisation.

Yesterday, the Lakeside shopping centre owner said it was talking to (among others) Link Real Estate Investment Trust about a planned fundraising to take some of the pressure off its creaking balance sheet.

Today, the company responded to press speculation and confirmed that Link no longer wishes to participate in a recapitalisation of Intu.

11.30am: Hemogenyx lifted by patent approval for Hu-PHEC technology

HemoGenyx Pharmaceuticals PLC (LON:HEMO) perked up, rising 10% to 2.2p after it was granted a US patent.

The patent application was entitled “Post-Natal Hemogenic Endothelial Cells [Hu-PHECs] and their isolation”; the patent will be issued on 25 February.

If fully and successfully developed, the Hu-PHEC technology would provide a new form of blood stem cell replacement therapy and potentially eliminate the principal problems that arise from the existing forms of treatment, Hemogenyx said.

10.30am: Could've been worse for TUI

Lowered profit guidance did not stop investors from piling into shares of travel firm TUI AG (LON:TUI), pushing the shares up 11% to 946.2p.

The company lowered its range for profits in 2020 due to the possibility that Boeing's 737 Max aircraft might not return to service by April as initially expected.

The FTSE 100-listed travel operator now forecasts full-year underlying earnings (EBIT) will be between €850mln-1.05bn as opposed to previous guidance of €950mln-1.05bn.

9.30am: Zenith on the rise

Zenith Energy Ltd (LON:ZEN) was up 12% at 1.625p in early trade on Tuesday after reporting progress in the Republic of Congo.

Management expressed a belief that significant progress has been made towards the renewal of the licence for the Tilapia oilfield.

“We are actively seeking to enrich our portfolio with the acquisition of AAOG Congo which we believe has the potential to deliver transformational value via successful drilling activities in the Mengo and Djeno horizons. Recent progress has been very encouraging, and I look forward to updating shareholders further in due course,” said Andrea Cattaneo, the chief executive officer of Zenith.

Meanwhile, Proteome Sciences PLC (LON:PRM) advanced 7% to 3.7p on the back of stronger than expected sales of its TMT and TMTpro products.

Sales of both reagents topped expectations in the final quarter of 2019, which has triggered a milestone payment from Thermo Scientific of around £750,000.

Group revenues for 2019 are now expected to be around £4.7mln, up from £3.0mln the year before. As a result, the company expects a profit after tax of around £200,000, compared to a post-tax loss in 2018 of £1.3mln.

Proactive news headlines:

ANGLE PLC (LON:AGL) said researchers in Western Australia using the Parsortix liquid biopsy system have found another use for the cancer detection device. A team at Edith Cowan University in Perth deployed the technology to monitor people with melanoma and were able to sort them into high risk and low-risk groups.

S & U PLC (LON:SUS), the specialist motor finance and property bridging lender has said performance in the financial year just ended was in line with expectations. The company noted that trading since its last update, just before the General Election, has seen an improvement in transactions in both parts of its business (motor finance and bridging loans). The used car market in which Advantage exclusively operates remains in robust health, S & U said.

Supermarket Income REIT plc (LON:SUPR) has confirmed it is in talks with a large institutional investor to acquire a minority stake in a portfolio of 26 supermarkets let to Sainsbury's. Terms have not been agreed and a deal might not be concluded added the trust.

Advanced Oncotherapy PLC (LON:AVO) said it has selected The London Clinic to staff and run a second state-of-the art proton beam facility. The two companies have signed an outline deal called a memorandum of understanding under which AVO will lease part of The London Clinic's premises to install the treatment room. A profit-sharing agreement has been put in place, although full commercial details were not revealed.

Ali Mortazavi, the former chief executive of Silence Therapeutics, is to take over at e-Therapeutics PLC (LON:ETX) as executive chairman following wholesale board changes, with the firm also launching a £1.6mln refinancing. Current e-Therapeutics chairman Iain Ross is standing down, alongside chief executive Ray Barlow and chief financial officer Steve Medlicott. The placing will be at 3p per share, a 24% discount to last night’s close.

Gaming Realms PLC (LON:GMR) has predicted that revenues for its current year will be “mostly ahead” of its expectations, as it also revealed that its chief executive will be stepping down with immediate effect. The developer of mobile gambling games said its performance had been driven by its content licensing business, which had added eight new agreements during the year, while the improved revenues and cost control meant it now expects to report an adjusted (EBITDA) loss for the year of £500,000.

OPG Power Ventures PLC (LONOPG) has boasted “another strong operational performance” as it updated investors on trading across the first nine months of its financial year. In a stock market statement, the Indian power firm said it generated some 2.09bn units of total generation in the period ended 31 December, compared to 2.15bn in the same period a year earlier.

Alien Metals Ltd (LON:UFO) has now commissioned its IP survey at the Donovan 2 copper-gold project in Mexico. The purpose of the survey is to generate high-priority drill targets, and the results are expected during the current quarter.

Walls & Futures REIT Plc (LON:WAFR), the ethical housing investor and developer, saw its net asset value (NAV) per share surge by 15% last year. The real estate investment trust (REIT) said that following completion of its Didcot property in December 2019, and the annual valuation of the company's residential property portfolio, the NAV per share was 106p, up from 92p a year earlier.

Anglo Pacific Group PLC (LON:APF) (TSX:APY) said it has agreed to provide a six-month extension to the warrants previously granted to Investec Bank PLC on 10 February 2017 which were due to expire on 10 February 2020. It added the extension was granted as a result of the holder being restricted from exercising its warrants for a period of time over the past twelve months, as a result of being in possession of inside information in relation to potential transactions being contemplated by the company. The group said there are no changes to the term of the warrants and as such the 294,695 warrants are exercisable at a subscription price of 158.00p until 10 August 2020.

Diversified Gas and Oil PLC (LON:DGOC), the U.S. based owner and operator of natural gas, natural gas liquids, and oil wells and midstream assets, said its senior management will participate in the Credit Suisse 25th Annual Energy Summit on Tuesday, 3 March 2020, to be held at the Grand Hyatt Vail in Vail, Colorado.

FastForward Innovations Ltd (LON:FFWD), the AIM-quoted company focused on investing in fast-growing, industry-leading businesses, said it has prepared an updated Key Information Document which can now be viewed on FastForward's website via the following link: https://bit.ly/37gpFLv

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