Kore Potash PLC (AIM:KP2, ASX:KP2, JSE:KP2) was 12% heavier at 1.2p after it provided additional information on the outcomes of the optimisation study for the Kola Potash Project located within the Republic of Congo.
The capital cost of the project has been reduced by US$520mln to US$1.83 billion on an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) basis compared to the capital cost of US$2.35 billion on an equivalent EPC basis mentioned in the definitive feasibility study.
READ Kore Potash reveals definitive feasibility numbers for the Kola potash project (Jan 2019)
The construction period has been reduced to 40 months from the DFS construction period of 46 months.
Kore Potash has a market capitalisation of £40.5mln.
3.10pm: Tintra appoints Time Machine guy as chief scientific officer
Tintra PLC (AIM:TNT) has appointed a chief science officer, Dr Joe Lyske, who is co-founder of Time Machines Capital 2 Limited.
Quick, someone notify Marty McFly.
It is through Tintra’s relationship with Time Machines that Dr Lyske first joined the group's activities as part of the Tintra 3.0 Ltd team, the artificial intelligence (AI) joint venture announced on 24 November 2021, where he made a considerable contribution to the patent application announced on 16 June 2022.
He has invented and patented several creative AI core technologies one of which resulting in the world's first AI engine that atomises, re-constructs and edits any music to video, instantly.
2.20pm: CareTech surges to just below founders' offer price
CareTech Holdings (AIM:CTH) PLC has agreed to the 750p-per-share cash takeover offer from its founders and has recommended that shareholders support it.
The board’s independent committee, consisting of non-executive directors Jamie Cumming, Moira Livingston and Adrian Stone, was said to have reached an agreement with the Amalfi Bidco vehicle of founders Farouq and Haroon Sheikh, the executive chairman and chief executive, over the deal, which values the group at £870.3mln and will be completed via a scheme of arrangement.
Shares in the specialist care and housing support services shot up 21% to 740p, just below the offer price.
1.30pm: Petro Matad slides after full-year results disappoint
Petro Matad Limited (AIM:MATD, OTC:PRTDF) shares retreated at the old hurry-up after the Mongolian oil explorer released its results for 2021.
The shares were off 11% at 2.55p as the company posted losses of US$2.1mln versus losses of US$3.2mln in 2020.
Petro Matad has been pushing for local and central government action on the conflicts in the land laws since they first affected the company's activities in 2019. Recent progress and the elevation of the issue to the highest level of government are positive but the matters have still not been resolved and until they are, the company will not mobilise without legally valid permits in place, it told shareholders.
12.40pm: Genel Energy has the readies in the bin
Genel Energy PLC (LSE:GENL, OTC:GEGYY) perked up by 4% to 140.8p after it received payments for oil sales during March from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), with its share amounting to US$60.6mln.
The company noted that some US$24.2mln related to the Tawke field’s production while US$15.6mln was from the Tawke override facility, US$13.7mln related to the receivable facility, meanwhile, the Taq Taq and Sarta fields contributed US$2.5mln and US$4.6mln respectively.
It added that Genel is now owed some US$68mln from the KRG for oil sales for the period from November 2019 to February 2020 along with the suspended override from March to December 2020.
11.50am: Caspian Sunrise's rally stalls as it posts increased losses
Caspian Sunrise PLC (AIM:CASP) shareholders saw the sun go down on its share price on Monday morning after it issued results for 2021.
The company is focused on Kazakhstan but that did not stop the share price from being hammered following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It has recovered over the last month, helped by the company’s assertion that it has not experienced any significant issues in delivering its oil via the Russian pipeline network.
Oil prices have, of course, been rocketing and although Urals Oil, as the oil and gas company’s product is categorised, is selling at between US$25 and US$35 a barrel below Brent crude, the company observed it is “a world away from 2020, when we faced $16 per barrel and limited interest in our oil”.
Nevertheless, the company posted a loss of US$4.84mln compared to a loss of US$1.07mln in 2020 despite revenue rising to US$25.0mln from US$14.3mln.
“We firmly believe the Russian pipeline network will remain available to transport our Kazakh oil, however if that were not to be the case, or if the discount to Brent of our oil significantly widens, we would seek alternative distribution options avoiding Russia,” the company said.
“Other delivery destinations include China, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan with each option involving additional transportation costs. An alternative would be to sell all oil produced on the domestic market. A better alternative would be to sell direct[ly] to one of the new mini refineries setting up in the region, which would eliminate a large part of the transportation and delivery costs,” it added.
The shares were down 14% at 4.4p but were comfortably above their May low-point of 2.55p.
10.55am: PZ Cussons (LSE:PZC) cleans up
PZ Cussons (LSE:PZC) PLC, a producer of hygiene products such as Carex, said in a trading update to the market today that it expects like-for-like sales to grow 3% and earnings to be in line with expectations in 2022.
It said growth has been driven by improvements in its pricing, as the demand for hand sanitising products in its Carex range normalises following the Covid-19 pandemic.
The shares were up 2.3% at 202p in mid-morning trading.
10.00am: Warpaint London scrubs up well after AGM statement
Warpaint London PLC (AIM:W7L) scrubbed up well after a trading statement issued ahead of its annual general meeting.
The shares advanced 12% to 126p after the specialist supplier of colour cosmetics and owner of the W7 and Technic brands said it had experienced strong trading in 2022.
Sales for the six months to 30 June 2022 are anticipated to be in excess of £24mln, up from £18.4mln in the first half of 2021. The first-half revenues are a record level for the group and ahead of the board's expectations at the start of the year.
9.05am: Energetic starts for Verditek and Inspirit
Verditek PLC (AIM:VDTK) was top of the risers with a 42% gain at 2.55p after its distribution partner entered into a joint venture with Protan AB.
The solar panel maker will be the exclusive supplier of lightweight solar panels to the new joint venture between its distribution partner Bradclad Group, the Yorkshire-based roof system manufacturer, and Protan AB, the Norwegian-based manufacturer that is the second largest, single-ply roofing membrane supplier in Europe.
The collaboration will see the integration of Verditeks's lightweight solar into a market-leading membrane roofing product that enables solar to be used in large-scale applications where traditional heavy glass solar cannot; these include large out-of-town retail sheds, warehouses and factories, Verditek said.
Verditek’s surge put Inspirit Energy Holdings PLC (LSE:INSP) slightly in the shade although it is unlikely Inspirit shareholders will be complaining about a 30% share price hike to 0.0385p.
Inspirit rose after an update on the waste heat recovery (WHR) system that is being built and tested in Poland, which given its proximity to Ukraine had made sourcing materials and components challenging.
Nevertheless, the unit has provided the highest recorded output of over 30 kW in the first stage build test period.