There were relatively significant trading volumes in investment company Craven House Capital (LON: CRV) in the last three days of the week. There had been hardly any trading in the rest of January. There were seven trades last week totalling just over 39,000 shares worth around $7,300. The AGM was held on Friday and all the resolutions were passed. The share price jumped 268% to 35 cents a share.
A slightly better than expected outcome for spectacles supplier Inspecs (LON: SPEC) was enough to push the share price 74.4% higher to 102p. This is the highest the share price has been since the profit warning in October. The figures are still much worse than expected prior to that warning due to destocking and poorly performing businesses. Sales were flat at $246m, although there was growth before currency movements. Pre-tax profit is set to more than halve from $17.9m to $7.7m.
The CPP Group (LON: CPP) share price held onto most of its gains even though on Tuesday afternoon the company put out a statement saying it did not know why it had risen. The share price reached 234p during the week and ended 65.9% higher at 182.5p.
Battery technology developer Ilika (LON: IKA) has been awarded a UK government grant of £2.8m for taking a leading role on a 24-month Faraday Battery Challenge in collaboration with BMW and Williams. This will further the development of Ilika’s Goliath battery, which is designed to be cost-effective and recyclable. There were no surprises in the interims earlier in the week. In the six months to October 2022, revenues improved from £179,000 to £204,000, which all came from UK grants. Net cash outflow from operating activities increased from £2.19m to £3.84m. Net cash is £17.8m. The Stereax M300 miniature battery should be launched by the summer. The share price increased by 48.1% to 60p.
Shares in Fiinu (LON: BANK), which offers the Plugin overdraft to individuals with accounts with other banks, perked up after the latest trading statement. They were 36.4% ahead at 13.5p, which is still lower than when the reversal into the shell happened last July. The full year figures will be published in late April. The core banking platform configuration and testing have been completed. Testing of the service is continuing. There is £35m-£40m required to fund the bank and a staged fundraising will commence before Easter.
==========
Fallers
Following the departure of the recently appointed chief executive Inland Homes (LON: INL) has sold its greenfield strategic land portfolio. There was a £3.5m profit on the sale that raised £9.5m in cash. There will also be fees generated for assisting the purchaser. Despite the disposal, net debt has risen to £100m and trading conditions have deteriorated. The 2021-22 loss is expected to be £91m and NAV has fallen to 40p a share. The share price slumped 44.4% to 9.8p, reflecting concerns about the debt.
Plexus Holdings (LON: POS) lost some of the share price gain from the previous week falling 34.9% to 2.7p. Trading volumes continued to be relatively high.
Credit provider Morses Club (LON: MCL) fell back following a sharp recovery at the end of the previous week and the shares ended 34.3% lower at 0.69p. In the previous week, JO Hambro sold its shareholding of 8.8 million shares and Pendal Group sold its 5.16% stake.
Supercapacitors manufacturer CAP-XX (LON: CPX) shares declined by one-third to 2.95p after it reported interim revenues that were one-third lower at A$1.6m. A full year loss of A$1m is expected.
Beowulf Mining (LON: BEM) is raising up to £9.1m to finance the development of the Kallak iron mine. This includes a £2.1m PrimaryBid offer at 2.06p a share, compared with a market price of 3p, down by one-quarter on the week. The cash will fund a pre-feasibility study and resource drilling, as well as reducing debt.
