Hostelworld (LSE:HSW) is higher after business showed signs of recovery as the pandemic travel restrictions eased.
The online travel agent focused on, yes, hostels said full year revenues rose 10% to €16.9mln while adjusted losses were flat year on year at €17.3mln.
Its shares have added 4.37% to 76.4p on the news.
Chief executive Gary Morrison said: "While 2021 was a challenging year both for Hostelworld (LSE:HSW) and the global travel industry, I am pleased to say we saw a consistent recovery throughout the year in both bookings and revenue versus 2019, save for the last few weeks where we saw travel concerns over the Omicron variant...
"I remain confident that our loyal customer base has more desire than ever to travel and meet other like-minded travellers once restrictions are eased. The improvements we continue to make to our platform and our differentiated growth strategy mean we are well-positioned to capitalise on those opportunities as demand continues to return."
The company said it had made a strong start to the current year, with a consistent recovery in weekly net bookings and revenues.
It said: " Our business model is highly geared to travel recovery, and we anticipate seeing a continued recovery in bookings throughout the year.
"Whilst our recent trading data would indicate that the impact of COVID-19 on the travel industry is starting to recede, we, like many other businesses and industry sectors, face new uncertainties related to the effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
"Whilst it is difficult to predict what the mid to long term effects of these events might be in continental Europe or further afield, we are hopeful on a humanitarian level that there will be a swift and peaceful resolution of the conflict."
2.15pm: Active Energy sells US site to help fund biomass fuel production
Active Energy Group PLC (LSE:AEG), the renewable energy business, has seen its shares fired up by the sale of an unwanted US property.
The company has sold its Lumberton site in North Carolina to US property firm Phoenix Investors for US$4.65mln in cash.
The site is valued in its books at US$4mln.
The proceeds will be used to develop its Ashland (NYSE:ASH) facility and in particular the production plant for its CoalSwitch biomass fuel.
Active said it was seeing a growing number of enquiries for CoalSwitch after positive results from independent testing.
It said the completion of the Ashland (NYSE:ASH) facility would allow it to meet the growing potential demand for the fuel from both power generation markets and other hard-to-decarbonize industries.
Chief executive Michael Rowan said: "Based on the accelerating level of enquiries from prospective customers, we need to have commercial production of CoalSwitch as soon as possible. The strategic focus is upon acquiring and developing sites in the US and Canada that give us the quickest pathway to production.
"The first priority for AEG is to begin commercial production of CoalSwitchTM at the Ashland Facility as quickly as possible. Reinvesting proceeds from the sale of the Lumberton Site into our Ashland Facility allows AEG to accelerate this process."
Its shares are up 6.25% at 0.17p.
12.22pm: Sir Martin Sorrell's S4 Capital under pressure after results delayed for second time
Shares in Sir Martin Sorrell's advertising business S4 Capital PLC (LSE:SFOR), set up after he left WPP, have come under pressure for the second day running.
The company was due to announce its full year figures today but late yesterday it said auditors PwC had told S4 they could not complete the necessary work in time so the announcement would be delayed.
It said: "The company believes that the results for 2021 remain within the range of market expectations and continued to trade strongly in the first two months of 2022. "
But the surprise news saw its shares tumble by 36% in late trading yesterday and now they are down another 12.44% at 271.45p.
This is the second delay to the results. At the start of March S4 said that because of the impact of COVID-19 and omicron on travel and resource allocation, particularly in the Netherlands, PwC had requested a further period to complete its audit work.
11.39am: Xeros Technology falls as China lockdowns delay break-even point
Shares in Xeros Technology Group PLC (AIM:XSG) are in a spin after a disappointing update and talk of a possible fundraising.
The company, which has developed a polymer bead cleaning system that significantly reduces water, energy and chemical use, said it would not meet its target of reaching month on month profitability and cash breakeven in the first quarter of 2023.
Instead, partly due to the current lockdowns in China, it will not now reach those targets until 2024.
In January the company reported positive progress on a number of fronts.
But now it says: "Since that update, India has come out of its 3rd wave and is operating near normal but China has been experiencing a significant increase in major lockdowns. The board is continuously reviewing the group's forward projections in light of these uncertain circumstances....
"As at 28th February the group's cash balance was £6.2m. These funds are sufficient to fund the delivery of major growth milestones through the remainder of 2022 and into the first quarter of 2023.
"The board is actively evaluating several funding options to secure the remaining investment required."
Xeros shares are down 27.5% at 61p.
10.51am: Renalytix rises after raising US$30mln
Renalytix PLC (AIM:RENX) has risen after raising cash to see it through the next two years and issuing an upbeat trading statement.
The company, which specialises in diagnostic solutions for kidney disease, has unveiled a US$30mln financing package, made up of US$21.2mln of convertible bonds and US$8.8mln in equity at 276p a share.
It said the net proceeds together with its existing cash resources of US$39.9mln would provide it with sufficient cash runway for at least 24 months.
The news has seen its shares jump by 22.22% to 330p.
At the same time it reported a rise in half year revenues from US$0.4mln to US$1.3mln.
Its net loss jumped from US$16.2mln to US$26.8mln after an increase in expenses.
It said: "In the fiscal second quarter, we made a number of one-time investments pertaining to the recruiting, equipping, training and deploying of our salesforce, and associated marketing and other expenses to enable them to be most successful in the field.
"We are happy with the sales infrastructure we now have in place to pursue the large Veterans Administration and commercial hospital revenue that is available to us.
"Much of this is included in one-time expenses that are not repeating, and indeed our quarterly burn rate is already reduced versus the second quarter, and we plan to exercise continued prudent cash discipline."
It said testing revenues continued to improve in the third quarter and added: "As additional hospital systems begin to come on stream into fiscal 2023 and beyond, we anticipate further increase to these testing volumes."
9.52am: Falcon Oil & Gas flares up after raising US$10mln
Shares in Falcon Oil & Gas Ltd (AIM:FOG, TSX-V:FO) have flared up after raising funds from an existing shareholder.
The company is raising US$10mln through a private placing with Sheffield Holdings LP, which will see the latter's stake in Falcon rise to 8.66%.
Falcon has also agreed to grant Sheffield a 2% royalty interest over its 22.5% working interest in the Beetaloo Sub-Basin exploration permits in Australia in return for a cash payment of US$6mln. l.
The US$10mln will be added to Falcon's current cash balance of US$8.4mln, strengthening its financial position ahead of future decisions on the Beetaloo project.
Falcon chief executive Philip O’Quigley said: “Falcon is very pleased that Bryan Sheffield of Sheffield Holdings LP has increased his strategic stake in the company at this time. Bryan is a highly successful investor and has made significant returns in the US unconventional energy sector in the past."
Bryan Sheffield said: "The Beetaloo Sub-Basin is still in the exploration and appraisal phase, but with continued good well results, Falcon is well positioned to become a key supplier of low carbon energy to Australia and to the world within a few short years.’’
Falcon shares are up 14.14% at 11.3p.
9.00am: Trainline on the right track with new commission charges
Trainline PLC (LSE:TRN) shares are steaming ahead as the company reached an agreement over the amount of commission it receives for selling rail tickets.
After a review by the rail industry, Trainline and other ticket sellers said they would cut commission rates by 0.5% to 4.5% but offsetting this, industry costs will fall by 0.25% meaning an overall reduction in Trainline's take of 0.25%.
But given this is a relatively small reduction overall, Trainline shares are up 19.54% at 236.92p.
This agreement will take effect if the retailers cannot agree new contractual terms with the Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operators.
Chief executive Jody Ford said: "This is a step forward in providing greater certainty to Trainline. It allows us to invest further in product innovation and marketing to encourage more people back to rail. We are committed to continuing to work constructively with the Rail Delivery Group and the government to reach agreement on a future retail framework that works for the customer, the industry and rail retailers like Trainline."
Also heading higher is Chariot Ltd (AIM:CHAR, OTC:OIGLF).
The Africa-focused group is up 9.32% at 15.25p after a positive update from its Anchois-2 gas appraisal and exploration well offshort Morocco.
The gas pay estimate for the well has been raised from an initial 100m to 150m.
Chariot's acting chief executive Adonis Pouroulis said: "I am delighted to announce this very positive update on the analysis of the well data obtained from our successful gas drilling campaign on the Anchois project, offshore Morocco, including a significant increase in net gas pay to approximately 150m. This increase combined with the confirmation of excellent quality dry gas consistently across all the discovered gas reservoirs is extremely encouraging, as it will help enable a simple and standard development.
"Our ambition is to bring the Anchois gas development online quickly, to fuel Morocco's economic growth, but also to deliver near-term cash flows to our shareholders."