Tungsten West PLC (AIM:TUN) surged 26% to 26.4p after it said capital expenditure requirements for restarting the Hemerdon tungsten and tin mine in Devon will be lower under a new development plan that will also see much lower diesel and power consumption.
The group also announced chief executive and co-founder Max Denning will step down with immediate effect and executive vice-chairman and co-founder Mark Thompson will assume the role.
The AIM-traded company carried out a three-month technical and commercial review of a March 2021 feasibility study in response to higher power and diesel prices and the growing cost of construction materials.
The board has given its approval to proceed with detailed engineering design and to commence construction of the Hemerdon project with immediate effect.
The new plan also envisages restarting production in the first half of 2023.
1.45pm: Made.com sinks on volatile trading and low consumer confidence
Made.com Group PLC (LSE:MADE) sunk 40% to 23p after it confirmed volatile trading and worsening consumer confidence will impact profits this year.
Profitability is expected to be hit by roughly £20mln due to escalating supply chain costs and additional promotional and clearance activity.
Guidance was also revised for a number of metrics, including adjusted underlying earnings, which was cut to somewhere between a loss of £50mln and £70mln from a previous range of a £15mln loss to £35mln loss.
The lifestyle brand said gross sales in the first half sales were down 19% compared to the same period last year, with macro conditions making new customer acquisitions difficult as well as hitting demand for discretionary big-ticket items.
“Understandably, we've seen a worsening in consumer confidence since May and this has had an impact on this period's performance." said chief executive Nicola Thompson.
12.07pm: Hotel Chocolat plummets 50% on statutory loss
Hotel Chocolat Group PLC (AIM:HOTC) sunk 50% to 118p as the group warned it will post a statutory loss for 2022 after closing its stores in the United States.
Despite a rebound in sales, co-founder and chief executive Angus Thirlwell largely attributed the 2022 fiscal loss to costs arising from discontinuing its American activities.
Group turnover increased 37% year-on-year to £226mln, ahead of consensus expectations.
Annual sales were 70% ahead of pre-pandemic turnover in 2019, the company said, adding that revenues grew by nearly a third in the second half of the year.
Thirlwell said: "The Hotel Chocolat brand is achieving very strong growth in the UK and we are pleased to have beaten sales expectations and expect to meet underlying profit expectations for FY22.
"A year of exceptional sales growth following two years of reactionary tactics to the pandemic has left clear opportunities for us to proactively streamline overheads and improve gross margins.”
10.30am: Wise surges as sales rocket 50% in Q1
Wise PLC (LSE:WISE) jumped 14% to 398.4p after it said revenues jumped by more than 50% in the first quarter as more and more users used its payment platform.
The international payment transfer company revealed that 5mln customers transferred £24bn of payments across international borders using its platform during the fiscal quarter.
This represented 49% growth in users compared to the equivalent part of last year and was up from the 4.6mln customers reported at the end of the fourth quarter through to March.
As a result, turnover jumped 51% year-over-year to £185.8bn in the first quarter of its fiscal 2023.
Wise claimed it saved customers money by charging them 0.61% to transfer money internationally, down from 0.67% a year earlier.