Bluejay Mining PLC advanced 15% to 8.8p during Thursday afternoon’s dealings after it raised £5.4mln in a placing to fund a feasibility study for the Dundas ilmenite project in Greenland as well as for general working capital.
It placed 76.9mln new shares at 7p each, just slightly below the company's closing share price of 7.66p yesterday.
The exploration company said the fundraising saw the entry of a major UK institution as a new shareholder and demonstrated the continued strong support of existing institutional investors, including its two largest shareholders, as well as increased aid from government-backed institutions in Greenland and Denmark.
"This transaction marks an important step towards construction and commercial production. It will secure the completion of the bankable feasibility study, ensuring that Dundas is as robust and as profitable as possible," Bo Stensgaard, Bluejay chief executive, commented.
2.32pm: eve Sleep falls as pandemic bounce begins to wane
eve Sleep PLC slipped almost 5% to 1.95p as the mattress maker’s latest numbers suggested the lockdown bounce of the last two years has started to fade.
Revenues rose 5% to £26.6mln but losses before tax increased to £3.4mln as the company spent more on marketing in France.
Gross margins also eased to 55.4% as costs rose and the group discounted sales in a fiercely competitive market.
UK and Ireland were the stand-out performers with sales up 10% year-over-year and by 22% compared to two years ago.
1.30pm: In line performance for Games Workshop as shares jump
Games Workshop Group PLC (LSE:GAW) shares jumped 7% to 7,590p after the company announced that its business was trading in line with expectations in the three months ending February 2022.
The company declared a dividend of 70 pence per share, which will be paid on 13 May 2022.
Total dividends declared in the year so far, including the latest, are £2.35 per share from £1.85 a year ago, the fantasy and science fiction-themed miniatures gaming company said.
12.30pm: Pantheon Resources climbs as pre-drill estimates exceed expectations
Pantheon Resources PLC (AIM:PANR, OTC:PTHRF) climbed 13% to 139p after it told investors that testing of the Theta West well, in Alaska, likely exceeds its pre-drill estimates for the project.
The company, in a statement, said that testing of the Lower Basin Floor Fan (LBFF) target has commenced with oil flowing to surface and that initial results satisfy the primary goals of the programme – namely to a) confirm oil quality b) confirm oil movability and c) confirm reservoir deliverability.
Testing initially delivered encouraging oil flow rates before operations were shut-in due to a storm. The test saw peak rates of around 100 barrels per day from the vertical well, with the rate noted at 59 bopd prior to the storm. As with prior vertical test wells drilled by Pantheon, the company anticipates that flow rates from horizontal production wells would be materially higher.
Pantheon said the test is presently suspended due to extreme weather but may resume if conditions improve before the end of the Arctic operating season.
"After confirming the oil resource over this large area, our focus will now shift to proving the deliverability of production wells which will commence with the spudding of Alkaid 2 horizontal well, estimated for July 2022,” said chief executive Jay Cheatham.
11.25am: Surface rockets on brake discs contract
Surface Transforms (AIM:SCE) PLC soared 30% on Thursday morning after it signed a £100mln contract with its existing customer OEM 8, replacing its current £27.5mln one.
The carbon-fibre brake discs manufacturer revealed the contract was extended to 2027 on increased demand from OEM 8 for a specific model of its product.
This new contract raised its sales forecast by £66mln over the next five years, which would take its overall lifetime order book to more than £180mln.
Surface said it must accelerate the recruitment and infrastructure actions to complement the higher expected sales.
Kevin Johnson, chief executive, said: "This important announcement maintains the recent momentum of significant commercial success for our brake discs.
“This success is of course being accompanied by our parallel focus on installing and commissioning the new plant to produce this huge increase in sales, a project that is continuing apace.”
10.25am: PipeHawk plummets as it laments macro-conditions
PipeHawk PLC (AIM:PIP) nosedived 27% to 26.3p after announcing its interim results for the six months ending 31 December 2021.
Despite turnover increasing 23% year-on-year for the company, up to £3.2mln, the total loss after tax was £284,000, an increase of more than £120,000.
The electronic systems development company said it experienced an “extremely challenging six months.”
The removal of the furlough scheme and rise in cases led to material shortages, longer lead times and increased costs, which caused “operational inefficiencies and uncertainty.”
9.20am: Tungsten jumps as takover heats up
Tungsten Corp PLC (AIM:TUNG) shares jumped in early trade, up 18% to 46.02p after it was revealed that two possible takeover bids had been made.
First, Tungsten announced that it had agreed a 42p-per-share cash offer from Kofax, before less than an hour later Pagero Group swooped in with another possible cash offer at a price of 45p per share.
The online invoice group said the Pagero offer is subject to the satisfaction or waiver of a number of pre-conditions, including the completion of detailed due diligence, and that there can be no certainty that a firm offer will be made by Pagero.
Elsewhere, shares in Alpha Growth PLC surged 30% to 2.74p after it agreed to acquire a Guernsey-based life insurance company in a deal that will more than double group assets under management (AUM) above US$700mln.
Executive chairman Gobind Sahney said: “This acquisition is another key building block in our plan to be managing over US$2bn of assets by 2025 and I'm very pleased to announce that we are currently tracking ahead of schedule to achieve that aim.
“This acquisition not only increases our AUM substantially, it also provides us with the ability to offer very tax efficient insurance based wealth management products and will also serve as a European vehicle for further value accretive acquisitions."