Shares in SSP Group plc (LSE:SSPG) are looking tasty for the second day running.
The company, which runs restaurant and cafe concessions in stations and airports and whose brands include Upper Crust and Ritazza, has climbed 5.49% or 13.4p to 257.4p after its chief executive spent £1.6mln on buying shares in the business.
Patrick Coveney bought 630,000 shares at 254p each, a day after the company pleased the market with its half year results.
The FTSE 250-listed group reported a £2.3mln loss before tax for the half-year to 31 March compared to a £299.7mln loss a year ago.
Sales of £803.2mln were up 213% on the previous year as pandemic travel restrictions were loosened.
1.22pm: Bluebird Merchant Ventures plans to revive Philippines gold project
Bluebird Merchant Ventures Ltd (LSE:BMV) is flying higher on plans to revive a gold project in the Philippines.
It said: "In recent months there have been strong indications of a more favourable policy in the Philippines towards responsible mining and which has now presented an opportunity for the company to revive the [Batangas] gold project."
It has applied for a two year extension of the exploration period of its mining permit for the project, and set out a work programme to focus on the potential for underground mining.
Chief executive Colin Patterson said: "Reviving the Batangas Gold Project is a fantastic and unexpected opportunity to create value for shareholders. Approximately US$20mln of historical expenditures have currently been written down to zero in our accounts.
"Should the application be granted this will immediately resurrect the value of this project."
The company's shares have climbed 4.88% to 2.15p.
12.33pm: Morses Club loses more than a third of its value after delaying results
Morses Club PLC (AIM:MCL) has seen its shares slump after the consumer finances group delayed its results from May to August.
The company's business is in the non-standard credit market, which includes both secured and unsecured lending.
In a stock exchange statement it said: "The company's full-year results for the 52-week period ending 26 February 2022, which were planned for release in May, will now be announced no later than 26 August 2022.
" An update on the expected date of results will be provided in due course following the completion of the audit process."
The delay has wiped 35.4% off its shares to 5.2p.
11.22am: De La Rue drops after warning profits will be flat this year
Investors in De La Rue PLC (LSE:DLAR) are cashing in their shares after the banknote printer warned of flat profits this year.
Revenues for last year dipped from £397.4mln to £375.1mln while operating profits jumped from £14.5mln to £29.7mln.
Chief executive Clive Vacher said: "Despite unprecedented global events, we grew adjusted operating profit in our two ongoing divisions by 30.2% year-on-year, with currency up 20.4% and authentication up 44.2%.
"This performance was against the background of supply chain inflation, and the various impacts of COVID-19, none of which were anticipated in the original turnaround plan of February 2020. We have made significant further progress in the execution of our operational transformation, enhanced our market positions in both divisions, and driven further efficiency improvements across the group."
But the company said since the year end, it had experienced further headwinds that would hit its profits.
It said: "In particular, supply chain inflation is anticipated to increase group operating costs by an additional net of £5mln this financial year, and there is a possibility that disruption may affect revenue. For this reason, the board now expects that adjusted operating profit for 2023 will be broadly flat versus 2022, and weighted towards the second half."
Vacher added: "We have prudently revised our outlook for the financial year 2022/23 adjusted operating profit, due to further headwinds experienced since the end of our financial year, and a realistic expectation of how far we can mitigate them. While this means that our progress is slowed, we remain strongly on the right path strategically and operationally to create a strong, cash-generative company in the medium term."
But its shares have dropped 7.93% to 102.2p.
10.09am: Randall & Quilter slides as bidder backs out of £482mln takeover for insurer
Insurance group Randall & Quilter Investment Holdings Ltd. (AIM:RQIH) is on the slide after a proposed £482mln takeover and US$100mln fundraising hit the buffers.
The group said it had received a letter from proposed acquirer Brickell - controlled by Miami-based investment group 777 Partners - alleging that it was in breach of certain obligations under the tems of the deal.
As a result Brickell said it was exercising its right to terminate the offer immediately.
Randall said it did not agree it had breached the terms or that Brickell could make that move.
According to the agreement unveiled in April, Brickell - which owns 23.2% of Randall but has voting rights over 9.9% - was set to pay 175p a share and provide US$100mln of equity funding.
Randall intends to adjourn a special meeting due later today to agree the acquisition, unless it receives indications that shareholders would vote against the necessary resolutions. In that case the meeting would go ahead and the votes would be likely to go against the deal.
Given the circumstances, Randall said there was now no certainty Brickell would provide the US$100mln of funding.
So Randall will seek Brickell's consent for an equity fundraising instead. It said: "[Randall] is of the view that it would be unreasonable for Brickell to withhold such consent."
At the moment its shares are down 27.86% at 101p.
9.26am: Caspian Sunrise doubles production capacity
Caspian Sunrise PLC (AIM:CASP) is shining after a positive update from its key site.
It said that a successful workover of well 142 has added around 1,400 barrels of oil a day to the production capacity at its BNG contract area in the west of Kazakhstan.
Chairman Clive Carver said: "Our focus on maximising production from the shallow structures at BNG has resulted in a more than doubling of production capacity since the beginning of the year.
"We plan to continue the programme of drilling and re drilling shallow wells using a horizontal drilling approach which we believe should result in reaching a production capacity solely from the shallow structures at the BNG Contract Area of 5,000 barrels of oil per day before the year end."
Shares in the company have jumped 22.41% to 3.55p.
8.45am: Tekmar sails higher after US wind farm contract
Tekmar Group PLC (AIM:TGP) has the wind in its sails after it won a major US contract.
The firm, which specialises in technology and services for the global offshore energy markets, has signed a deal to provide an integrated engineering solution, including cable protection systems for an offshore wind farm project in the US. The contract is expected to be delivered in 2023.
Chief executive Alasdair MacDonald said: "This landmark contract award strengthens our position in the US offshore wind market and represents an important milestone in expanding our geographical presence, a key driver of our growth strategy.
"The contract builds on our encouraging recent contract momentum, including the Dogger Bank Wind Farm."
Tekmar's shaes are up 7.09% at 38.55p.
Elsewhere Zotefoams PLC (LSE:ZTF) is up 6.5% at 303.52p after the specialist in cellular materials technology issued an upbeat statement for its annual meeting.
The company said it had experienced good demand in the first four months of 2022, with revenues up around 13% compared to the same time last year.
So it expects full year revenues to be ahead of market forecasts, with continuing positive demand and price increases offsetting cost pressures.
It admitted the macroeconomic environment remained challenging and it was mindful of contining risks around COVID-19.
But it added: "We are comfortable with expectations for growth in profit and remain confident about the long-term prospects of the business."