Maintel Holdings PLC (LON:MAI) rose 7.9% to 410p said revenues and underlying profits for 2020 are expected to be in line with recent guidance.
This is despite the second national lock-down which was unforeseen at the time the company issued the guidance in mid-September.
Cash generation in 2020 was strong and the group ended the year with net debt of £22.3mln, which was better than our expectations.
3.25pm: Market welcomes Anpario's non-exec appointment
Anpario PLC (LON:ANP) moved 11% higher to 610p after it announced the appointment of Kate Allum as a non-executive director.
Allum will join the animal feed additives firm at the beginning of next month.
Her previous executive roles include head of European Supply Chain at McDonald's Restaurants and chief executive of First Milk, the British farmer-owned dairy co-operative. She is currently a non-executive director of Cranswick and Origin Enterprises.
2.30pm: H&T shines after lifting guidance
H&T Group Plc (LON:HAT) leapt 7.4% to 290.03p after it raised profits guidance.
Retail jewellery sales were good throughout the half-year but especially strong in December, said the AIM-listed pawnbroker, while the high gold price boosted scrappage returns.
It noted that foreign currency business dropped to 65% of the level seen twelve months earlier, though Western Union transaction volumes were more than three times higher.
1.35pm: Borders & Southern dives as Pershing's stake goes below 10%
Borders & Southern Petroleum PLC (LON:BOR) lost around a third of its value at 1.69p after Pershing Nominees revealed its stake in the company had reduced.
The fund management firm said its stake is now 9.58%, down from 11.49% previously.
12.40pm: Filta had its chips? Not a bit of it.
Filta Group Holdings PLC (LON:FLTA) improved 12% to 105p after it revealed it fared better during last year’s lockdowns than might have been expected.
The company, which provides services to commercial kitchens, said it delivered a much stronger performance in the second half of last year and is encouraged by its pipeline of new sales.
The fryer management specialist managed to slash its debt in 2020 by 42% to around £500,000 despite the restaurant trade being rocked by coronavirus lockdowns.
11.45am: Groundhog Day for One Heritage
One Heritage Group PPLC (LON:OHG) shares shot up 28% to 62.5p today and the board is as mystified now as it was last week when the shares also rocketed.
A week ago today the he UK-based residential developer focused on the North West of England issued a statement noting the recent rise in the company's share price and said it was not aware of any specific reason for this significant increase.
Today, it put out another statement that was almost a word-for-word replica of the initial statement.
READ One Heritage knows of no reason for share price surge
The company only floated on December 23 after 9.3mln new shares were placed at 10p a pop.
10.50am: Proton Power Systems surges after securing another order with unnamed aerospace group
Proton Power Systems PLC (LON:PPS) revved 22% higher to 114.5p after it announced it had won a new order, with the prospect of more to follow.
The designer, developer and producer of fuel cells and fuel cell electric hybrid systems with a zero-carbon footprint said had won its third order from a large international engineering and aerospace group for four Proton Motor S8 fuel cell systems for the autonomous provision of energy and heat.
The customer has indicated that there may be further follow up orders to come in the pipeline.
9.55am: Zephyr flying after lastest data from drilling in the Paradox Basin
Zephyr Energy PLC (LIN:ZPHR) said it was thrilled with data from the State 16-2 well and shareholders were too after the shares soared 22% to 2.225p.
The explorer noted that it has secured 113 feet of continuous core from the Cane Creek reservoir in the Paradox Basin, Utah. Overall some 31 sidewall cores were also gathered from 11 overlying secondary reservoirs, which is more than the pre-drilling goal of 20 samples from seven reservoirs. Well logs were also taken across most of the Paradox formation.
Initial indications from the data suggest the presence of hydrocarbons in multiple reservoir intervals, Zephyr said. It is expected that initial results will be announced on January 29.
9.00am: Journey and Synairgen travel higher
Journeo PLC (LON:JNEO) headed north in early trade on Monday, rising 25% to 71.5p after it secured a one-year contract extension with First Bus UK.
The extension, which will continue to March 2022 (unless further extended) is expected to generate £1.8mln in revenues and includes the provision of systems and services for new and existing vehicles along with a further 800 connections into Journeo's Software as a Service application (SaaS).
Journeo has been a provider of closed-circuit television and related onboard and depot-based information technology sub-systems to First Bus through a series of framework agreements since 2010.
Synairgen PLC (LON:SNG) climbed 8.8% higher to 185p after its inhaled interferon beta-1a respiratory treatment was included in a US government-sponsored coronavirus (COVID-19) clinical trial.
The drug discovery and development specialist said researchers will assess SNG001’s potential to help COVID-19 patients not yet requiring hospitalisation.
The ACTIV-2 study, sponsored by America’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is part of the US National Institutes of Health and is being used to accelerate the development of the most promising treatment candidates.
Proactive news headlines:
Synairgen PLC (LON:SNG) has said its inhaled interferon beta-1a respiratory treatment has been included in a US government-sponsored coronavirus (COVID-19) clinical trial. The drug discovery and development specialist said researchers will assess SNG001’s potential to help COVID-19 patients not yet requiring hospitalisation. The ACTIV-2 study, sponsored by America’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is part of the US National Institutes of Health and is being used to accelerate the development of the most promising treatment candidates.
Zephyr Energy PLC (LON:ZPHR) told investors it has successfully plugged the State 16-2 well for future re-entry and horizontal follow-up, whilst well data is analysed. The explorer noted that it has secured 113 feet of continuous core from the Cane Creek reservoir. Overall some 31 sidewall cores were also gathered from 11 overlying secondary reservoirs, which is more than the pre-drill goal of 20 samples from 7 reservoirs. Well logs were also taken across most of the Paradox formation. Initial indications from the data suggest the presence of hydrocarbons in multiple reservoir intervals, Zephyr said. It is expected that initial results will be announced on January 29.
Filta Group Holdings PLC (LON:FLTA), which provides services to commercial kitchens, has said it delivered a much stronger performance in the second half of last year and is encouraged by its pipeline of new sales. The fryer management specialist managed to slash its debt in 2020 by 42% to around £500,000 despite the restaurant trade being rocked by coronavirus lockdowns. Cash and cash equivalents at the year-end totalled £4.2mln, up 45% from £2.9mln at the end of 2019.
H&T Group Plc (LON:HAT) has said trading in November and December was better than expected and profits for 2020 will be ahead of forecasts as a result. Retail jewellery sales were good throughout the half-year but especially strong in December, said the AIM-listed pawnbroker, while the high gold price boosted scrappage returns. It noted that foreign currency business dropped to 65% of the level seen twelve months earlier, though Western Union transaction volumes were more than three times higher.
Gaming Realms PLC (LON:GMR) said it has signed a direct-integration agreement with sports betting and online gaming operator BetMGM to increase its presence in the US market. The AIM-listed developer of mobile bingo games said that under the terms of the three-year agreement its Slingo content will be integrated into BetMGM Casino in Pennsylvania and Michigan during the first half of 2021, while also facilitating its access to additional US markets in the future.
AdEPT Technology Group PLC (LON:ADT) has highlighted the part it is playing in enabling schoolchildren to carry on learning during the coronavirus lockdown. The company said it has passed a milestone in its partnership with Google's G Suite for Education and Microsoft's Office 365 Education with more than 500 schools now being set up with a digital education platform. The company said it is well-placed to win more business through its partnership with Google and Microsoft. Rolling out digital education platforms offers the company the chance to sell additional services to its customers.
Norman Broadbent (LON:NBB), the recruitment and professional services firm, said it stayed in profit in 2020 despite the adverse impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The AIM-listed group said actions taken at the start of the pandemic had enabled it largely to offset a drop in group net fee income of 18% to £6.2mln in the year to end December 2020. Gross margins increased to 79% (2019: 66%), with cost-cutting measures introduced at the start of the lockdowns in March meaning positive underlying profits [EBITDA] for the full year.
Eckoh PLC (LON:ECK) has launched an upgraded version of CallGuard, its patented payment card industry data security standard compliant secure payment solution. Eckoh said the new advanced features will improve the functionality and user experience for contact centre agents and managers. Currently, organisations across all sectors use CallGuard to secure their customers' payment data and mitigate against fraud, many of which were instrumental in shaping the new features in this upgrade.
Minds + Machines Group Limited (LON:MMX) said it has made its interim chief executive appointment permanent while also reporting that its revenues for its 2020 financial year have been “largely in line” with those from 2019. The internet domain name specialist said Tony Farrow, who re-joined the company at the end of October as interim CEO has been appointed to the position formally and will join the board following the completion of due diligence. Meanwhile, in an update on its trading, the company said renewal revenues have remained consistent in 2020 at 68%, while new standard registration revenue increased to 24% with reduced dependency on premium domains. In a separate announcement, Minds + Machines said it has entered a settlement agreement with the vendors of ICM Registry, including its former majority shareholder Stuart Lawley, under recent alleged warranty claims over an acquisition agreement entered into between Minds + Machines and ICM on May 3, 2018.
Supermarket Income REIT PLC (LON:SUPR) has announced the exchange of contracts for the acquisition of a Sainsbury's supermarket in Melksham, Wiltshire, and a Waitrose supermarket in Winchester, Hampshire, from LaSalle Investment Management for £64.8mln, representing a combined net initial yield of 4.4%. The real estate investment trust, which provides secure, inflation-protected, long income from grocery property in the UK, said the acquisitions are expected to complete in the coming weeks upon the completion of property-related due diligence.
After-hours on Friday, Supermarket Income REIT also announced that it had arranged a new revolving credit facility (RCF) of £80.0mln with Barclays and Royal Bank of Canada. The secured, interest-only RCF, has a 5-year term (comprising an initial three-year term and two further one-year extension options) and a margin of 150 basis points over SONIA, representing a total cost of debt of 1.55%. The RCF also includes a £70mln uncommitted accordion option which is exercisable at any time over the term of the facility. Ben Green, Director of Atrato Capital Limited, the investment adviser to Supermarket Income REIT, said: "The new RCF facility, secured with two new lenders to Supermarket Income REIT, Barclays and Royal Bank of Canada, provides us with further diversification of competitively priced funding to support the Company's growth."
Sirius Real Estate PLC (LON:SRE) the Germany-focused business park owner, said its joint venture with insurance group AXA’s fund management arm has acquired the Sigma Technopark in Augsburg. Titanium, the name of the joint venture, is acquiring the 113,000 square metre park for €80mln. The deal boosts the size of its portfolio to €317mln, almost double that when it launched in 2019. The joint venture now has seven business parks, which are operated by Sirius, with the latest acquisition carried out through AXA IM Alts' Real Assets platform.
NQ Minerals PLC (AQSE:NQMI) (USOTCQB:NQMLF) has been granted permission to undertake more than two kilometres of surface trenching at the Beaconsfield gold mine in northern Tasmania, Australia. The aim of the work will be to identify near-surface gold deposits to add to Beaconsfield's estimated 483,000 ounces resources. "This approval marks an important milestone in bringing this historic gold-rich property back on stream,” said NQ’s chairman David Lenigas in a statement.
BlueRock Diamonds PLC (LON:BRD) has announced the sale of a 14.8 carat stone for US$167,000, equating to a price per carat of US$11,300. The stone’s discovery and recovery from the Kareevlei mine in South Africa was reported on December 21, 2020. A 8.7 carat stone, which was found at the same time, was sold for US$37,000, or US$4,300 per carat.
Condor Gold (LON:CNR) (TSE:COG) has completed a ground investigation program of 23 geotechnical drill holes and 58 test pits on the tailings storage facility (TSF), water retention and attenuation reservoir and processing plant site at La India project, Nicaragua. Condor is accelerating La India project from a pre-feasibility level of design to final engineering designs on key infrastructure, in preparation for construction. The project is fully-permitted. The final TSF design will be fully compliant with internal and external legislation.
RM Secured Direct Lending PLC (LON:RMDL) said it has received an increased allocation from the British Business Bank under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS). The investment trust, which specialised in secured debt investments, said its debt fund was initially granted an allocation of HM Government Guarantee capacity in August 2020 which has now been fully deployed into businesses in RM Funds' focus areas, representing around 11% of the company's net asset value (NAV) as at December 31, 2020.
Newmark Security PLC's (LON:NWT) chairman said the company has performed better than anticipated in its first half despite the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which he said has allowed the company’s investment activities to “continue with only slight delays experienced”. In a statement accompanying results for the six months to October 31, 2020, Maurice Dwek also said the company has entered the second half with “far more optimism than at the start of the year” and as a result expects a revenue reduction which is “materially less” than that experienced in the first half.
Panthera Resources PLC (LON:PAT) has provided an update regarding ongoing work across its West African portfolio, as well as on projects owned by associated company Moydow Holdings. The group said preliminary results at Bassala in Mali suggest a large gold exploration target with over eight kilometres of strike potential. Meanwhile, first-pass drilling at Paimasa in Nigeria has also been completed, with initial assay results expected in the current quarter.
Bahamas Petroleum Company PLC (LON:BPC) said it has been allowed to be added as a primary respondent in the pending legal challenge by environmentalists seeking to impede oil and gas operations offshore Bahamas. The company noted that the Honourable Justice Petra Hanna-Adderley had exercised discretion to add BPC as a respondent to the application which is seeking a judicial review of various decisions taken by the Government in relation to Bahamas Petroleum's licences and the drilling of the Perseverance #1 well. As a result, Bahamas Petroleum will be entitled to request that the applicants provide security for costs, for which purpose a hearing has been scheduled for February 17, 2021.
Shanta Gold Ltd (LON:SHG) said it produced 20,622 ounces of gold from its New Luika mine in Tanzania during the fourth quarter of 2020, up from the 19,973 produced in the third quarter. Cash costs per ounce produced were US$559. At the end of the period, the company had cash and available liquidity of US$53.5mln, and net cash of US$37.3mln, following a recent placing.
88 Energy Ltd (LON:88E) has told investors that its enquiries with US authorities have been escalated over the weekend, and positive progress has been made. The explorer late last week announced it was seeking clarification on a recently announced 60-day suspension of authority for the US Department Bureaus and Offices in relation to the issuance of new drilling permits on Federal land. Its application for a drill permit was submitted on January 12, 2021, and was expected to be approved within a standard 30-day timeframe - that would be due by February 12.
Power Metal Resources PLC (LON:POW) the AIM-listed metals exploration and development company said on Friday it has received notices to exercise warrants over 12,631,578 new ordinary shares of 0.1p each at an exercise price of 0.75p per ordinary share. Subscription monies of £94,737 have been received by Power Metal in respect of these exercises.