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Beowulf Mining takes majority stake in Kosovo group

Last updated: 15:32 01 Mar 2022 GMT, First published: 08:55 01 Mar 2022 GMT

drill

Beowulf Mining PLC (AIM:BEM) is better after it took majority control of Kosovo group Vardar Minerals.

A day after its final results, the company is paying £200,000 to take its stake in Vardar from 49.4% to around 51.4%.

The two sides are in talks about drilling plans, with a budget of up to £1mln, ahead of the expected final approval of Vardar's licence renewal application.

Drilling could start in the next 1-2 months and Beowulf would provide the funding.

A new exploration licence, Shala, has also been approved.

Beowulf chief executive Kurt Budge said: "With plans to drill 3,400 metres, into lead-zinc targets at Wolf Mountain, gold targets at Majdan Peak and a lithium target at Viti, and extensive geophysical surveys over the newly acquired Shala licence, we are looking forward to a busy few months in Kosovo."

Beowulf shares have climbed 4.62% to 13.6p.

2.26pm: Hardide moves higher after delivering coated turbine blades

Hardide PLC (AIM:HDD) has powered higher after a positive update from the surface coating technolog specialist.

The company has delivered the first production set of coated turbine blades for Ansaldo Energia, the European manufacturer of steam and gas turbines.

The blades will be installed in advanced gas turbine engines with high operational flexibility that cut CO2 emissions and operational costs. More orders for this application are expected to be placed during 2022.

Hardide, which is benefiting from investment made in its Longlands Road site in Bicester, said there was significant potential for further business from the gas and steam turbine sector, and it has active developments with five power generation companies in the UK and Europe.

Chief executive Philip Kirkham said: "This is our first production order for power generation turbine blades and we are delighted to be contributing to a new generation of technology which offers clear environmental and operational cost advantages in the power generation market...

"Hardide is looking forward to continuing to work with Ansaldo Energia and others, including EDF Energy, and expects to receive further contracts for the coating of turbine blades this year."

Its shares are up 7.8% at 31.8p.

1.59pm: K3 Capital climbs after agency acquisition

K3 Capital Group PLC (AIM:K3C) has seen its shares climb after unveiling an acquisition.

The company, which provides advisory services to SMEs, has bought Sutton Coldfield professional services marketing agency, Professional Insight Marketing Ltd which trades as JE Consulting.

It is paying an initial £2.32mln in a combination of cash and shares, with maximum earn outs of £2.25mln and an additional 120,000 growth shares.

and adjusted EBITDA of £0.40 million (unaudited and normalised for Director's salaries). JE Consulting had net assets of £0.5 million as at 30 November 2021, of which £0.59 million was cash.

K3 chief executive John Rigby said: "This acquisition strengthens our presence when the professional services sector is expanding, especially in the accountancy space and increases our recurring revenue."

K3 is up 6.03% at 307.5p.

11.47am: Getech upbeat after new contract wins

Getech Group PLC (AIM:GTC) is in demand after unveiling £1.2mln worth of new contracts for its geoscience data and energy software products.

The contracts, which include annual and multi-year licences with new and existing customers, add to Getech's recurring revenue and orderbook.

Getech's chief executive officer Dr Jonathan Copus said: "We are delighted by these contract wins and that our data and energy software products are continuing to demonstrate strong demand...As the pace of progress to net zero accelerates, we see opportunity to deliver significant growth"

Its shares have climbed 9.37% to 29.75p.

11.06am: DeepMatter climbs after signing South Korean collaboration agreement

It's a down day all round for obvious reasons, but there are some bright spots.

DeepMatter Group PLC (AIM:DMTR), the digital chemistry data company, has climbed 8.47% to 0.25p after a new deal in South Korea.

It has signed a licensing and collaboration agreement with Standigm Inc, an artificial intelligence drug discovery company.

The first stage of the agreement is expected to generate revenues of £233,000, and DeepMatter is now working towards broadening the scope of the agreement.

Chief executive Mark Warne said: "This is a strategically important development for us, delivering the first step in what we anticipate will be a productive and long-term partnership.  This is also the first major contract for our integrated platform which provides a combination of proprietary data, algorithms and laboratory hardware integration.

"We are delighted that Standigm, as a leading AI-driven drug discovery company, will be our first partner in East Asia, one of the world's largest Pharma markets."  

Hanjo Kim, a senior vice president at Standigm, said : "We have tested a number of products in the market... and have chosen DeepMatter as they have the best performing products for our needs."

9.26am: Software group essensys says full year trading falls below expectations

Software group essensys PLC (AIM:ESYS) has slumped after it warned trading was worse than expected.

The company, which specialises in software-as-a-service platforms and on-demand cloud services to the flexible workspace industry, said half year revenues rose by 3% to £10.9mln, with its US business growing by 20%.

But it said its expansion has been delayed by continued uncertainty related to COVID-19, with lower than expected booking in the year to date.

As a results its trading for the full year would be below current consensus market expectations.

Chief executive Mark Furness said: "Whilst COVID-19 has undoubtedly had an impact on our recent sales performance, our pipeline for 2023 and 2024 remains strong, supported by positive market dynamics, existing customers returning to growth and exciting opportunities that are already underway."

But its shares are down 39.8% at 147.5p.

8.55am: FD Technologies heads higher after unveiling partnership with Microsoft

As war in Ukraine intensifies, elsewhere corporate life goes on.

FD Technologies PLC (AIM:FDP) has seen its shares soar after it announced a tie-up with Microsoft.

The company has unveiled a strategic partnership which will see its KX Insights streaming data analytics platform embedded on the Microsoft Azure platform, with KX generating revenue based on consumption. Secondly, KX has agreed to work with Microsoft to target new applications and services that will accelerate innovation and growth for organisations in the financial services sector.

Chief executive Seamus Keating said: "This is a landmark agreement for KX, with significant strategic benefits supporting our growth ambitions."

FD's shares have jumped 14.76% to 1742p.

Elsewhere 7Digital Group PLC (AIM:7DIG) is in tune after it signed a contract with an existing B2B music streaming service customer, worth a minimum of €2.2mln over a three-year period.

The digital music specialist has been providing services to the customer since 2016, with contract renewals on an annual basis. This latest contract expands the relationship to a long-term agreement, providing greater visibility over revenue. The company also expects the value of the contract to increase as the customer seeks to expand its brand into further territories, which would require further licence agreements with 7digital.

Its shares are up 14.29% to 0.4p.

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