Russia-focused oil and gas company Zoltav Resources Inc (AIM: ZOL) has seen its shares flare up after reducing full year losses.
Revenues rose 2% and its operating loss fell by 69%, compared to the 2019 results which were hit by impairment charges.
Operating costs rose due to increases in staff costs as it strengthened its management team.
Its Western gas plant continued production throughout the pandemic apart from one planned shutdown for works.
A drilling programme at its West Borovoy field and a feasibilty study on East Bortovoy also took place during the year.
Non-executive chairman Lea Verny said: "We are pleased to report that production for sale at the Bortovoy Licence grew by 8% in 2020. The growth of production is due to the successful implementation of geological and technical measures including the continuation of a substantial development drilling programme on West Bortovoy..
"During 2020, the company also completed a substantial feasibility study on the East Bortovoy fields. A substantial amount of planning work has been undertaken on the project, for which a final investment decision remains subject to finance.
"I would like to thank our major shareholder ARA Capital Holdings for its continued financial support of the company by way of a loan facility which has enabled the company to advance its strategy of continued development of the West Bortovoy fields while progressing a potential future development of the East Bortovoy fields."
Zoltav's shares are up 16.07% or 4.5p at 32.5p.
2.29pm: Hutchmed moves higher after Hong Kong listing
Hutchmed (China) Ltd (LON:HCM) is on the way up after completing a share offering and listing in Hong Kong.
The biopharmaceutical company formerly known as Chi-Med raised US$540mln from the share sale, which was split into an international offer and Hong Kong public offer.
The final offer price was set at 370p a share.
On the London market the company's shares have climbed 16.63% or 79p to 554p.
The proceeds of the offer will be used - among other things - to advance late stage clinical trials for a number of products, expand its product portfolio and fund potential strategic acquistions.
12.03pm: Adverting group beats expectations and adds new clients including Tik Tok and Tinder
M&C Saatchi PLC (LON:SAA) performed better than expected despite the pandemic, and is optimistic about the outlook.
The advertising and marketing group said headline pretax profits dropped 51.5% last year to £8.3mln, but this was ahead of forecasts. It managed to retain key clients as well as winning new business.
Trading for the first five months of the new year is also better than anticipated, with half year headline profits expected to exceed £10mln and full year results set to be ahead of concensus.
The company has simplified its business, including reducing the number of operating units by 34% from 2019.
It has also won new business from the likes of Tik Tok, Lexus, HM Government and Tinder.
The news has lifted its shares by 11.82% or 17.5p to 1655.5p.
11.10am: Rambler rises after boosting balance sheet
Rambler Metals and Mining PLC LON:RMM) has moved higher after announcing a US$50mln refinancing.
The copper and gold miner has agreed a combinatin of a loan and a convertible note, which should fund the completion of its underground development and mine remediation .
The loan is worth up to US$20mln and is with Newgen Resource Lending, an institutional investor based in Canada.
Th convertible note of up to US$30mln is with Riverfort Global Opportunities, an investment company headquartered in London and YA II PN Ltd
Ramble said the package would significantly improve its liquidity and provide flexibility.
Chief executive Toby Bradbury said: " We are pleased to have signed the binding term sheets for the secured debt and convertible note facilities. These funds will enable us to continue the underground development in the lower footwall zone of the Ming Mine that provides the necessary flexibility in mine production sources going forward.
"I want to take this opportunity to re-emphasise the value in the Ming Mine mineral resources. What is being delivered is a strategy to provide sustainable underground mine production over the medium and long term from an asset that has been under-capitalised and run down in recent years. This is not an instant turn around and our focus is to achieve a developed state that will enable full utilisation of the mill at 1,350 tonnes per day at ~2% copper grade by the end of 2021. The Ming Mine asset will serve as the base for further growth for the Company. We retain our commitment to this objective."
He said the programme suffered a setback earlier this year but the new financing means that if production is delayed for any reason, the essential development and remedial work could continue.
Ramber shares have risen 7.76% or 2.25p to 31.25p.
10am: BrandShield boosted by pharmaceutical contract
BrandShield Systems PLC (LON:BRSD) has keyed up a good rise after winning new business in the pharmaceutical industry.
The cybersecurity specialist said a European company had signed an annual recurring contract to protect several of its drugs from online threats which have become increasingly prevalent during the COVID-19 crisis. These are threats to standalone websites, social media platforms and ecommerce marketplaces.
The new deal is one of a number of new clients the company has won in June.
Yoav Keren, co-founder and chief executive of BrandShield, said: ""The pharmaceutical industry is probably the most complex category in brand protection and requires inter-disciplinary expertise. Companies operating in the sector are affected from threats across the entire external cyber security spectrum that BrandShield covers, those being phishing, fraud, impersonation, counterfeit sales, social phishing and brand abuse.
"It is critical given the fact that the brand protection risk in the pharmaceutical sector is directly connected to public safety ... BrandShield has proven capabilities to provide a comprehensive solution from the detection of the threats through to their takedown using its state of the art SaaS platform. BrandShield already protects over one hundred different pharmaceutical brands and drugs online. The company believes this growth trend will continue and BrandShield will lead the protection effort in this category, amongst others".
House broker Shore Capital said: "The market for online brand protection and ancillary services is poised for significant structural growth, in our view. To date, BrandShield’s annual recurring revenue growth has been achieved with a relatively modest sales and marketing team. This is undergoing significant expansion in 2021, as BrandShield shifts its emphasis from product development to product promotion .. There is no doubt, to our minds, that BrandShield’s software solutions are likely to experience growing demand given, inter alia, the ompany’s established market credentials, high renewal rates, ‘done it before’ management team and ongoing step up in sales and marketing."
Its shares have climbed 6.31% or 1.02p to 17.28p.
8.40am: Wynnstay harvests record profits, helped by rising feedstock prices
Wynnstay Group PLC (LON:WYN) has seen its shares grow strongly after it turned in record half year profits.
The company, which supplies agricultural equipment and livestock feed, said it benefitted from a number of factors.
These included stronger farm gate prices, greater clarity with the completion of EU settlement and the enactment of the UK agricultural bill. The bill came into law late last year and includes setting out how farmers will be rewarded in the future with public money for environmental responsibility.
Its half year revenues rose 9% to £249.71mln,, with commodity price inflation accounting for around 65% of the rise and a first-time contribution of £5.5mln from two bolt-on acquisitions.
Pretax profit jumped 25% to a record £5.36mln.
Its livestock division did well but the arable business suffered due to a poor planting season and poor harvest.
There was a recovery in hardware sales as farmers returned to investing in their businesses.
There has been much talk of farmers' worries about the impact of various trade deals, notably the Australian agreement.
But the company said trading conditions continued to be strong, with farm gate prices firm and the 2021 harvest on track to revert to more normal yield and tonnage.
Chief executive Gareth Davies said: "These record interim results reflect strong recovery in farmer confidence..
"Prospects for the second half of the financial year are very encouraging, with farmgate prices firm and a good harvest expected. We will continue to invest in the business to increase the group's manufacturing capacity and improve production efficiencies, and will look for further complementary acquisitions. With our strong balance sheet and good cash flows, we view the future with confidence."
Following the update, house broker Shore Capital has upgraded its full year profit forecast by 15.7% to £9.6mln, and its 2022 estimate by 14.9% to £10mln.
Analyst Akhil Patel said: "We continue to remain positive on the group’s long-term prospects in a dynamic market and as such expect the business to expand going forward both organically and acquisitively to deliver shareholder value creation."
The company's shares have climbed 9.78% or 45p to 505p.
Elsewhere KEFI Gold and Copper (LON: KEFI) has climbed 5.63% to 1.93p after a positive update for its annual meeting.
Executive chairman Harry Anagnostaras-Adams said it was ready to proceed in July with documentation for the formal approval of its Tulu Kapi gold project in Ethiopia.
In Saudi Arabia it continues with the potential development of the Hawiah copper-gold-zinc-silver discovery although the Jibal Qutman gold discovery is tangled up in regulatory issues.
He added: "Current metal price provides compelling economics for KEFI's projects and, in my view, gold and copper prices will remain strong. Gold is influenced by low interest rates and monetary expansion globally. Copper's role has also strengthened with the escalating green revolution and the health benefits of its use as highlighted by COVID-19."