Footwear retailer Shoe Zone (LON: SHOE) is buying back up to £3.5m shares over a period up until the end of November or when the money is spent. Shoe Zone is the best performer on the day with a 15.1% increase to 167.5p a share. This follows further positive trading news earlier in the week. Management raised 2021-22 pre-tax profit guidance from £9.5m to £10.5m.
Property investor Panther Securities (LON: PNS) says that its swap liability position has fallen from £15.3m to £3.9m in the six months to June 2022 and since then it has declined to £400,000. Panther Securities is benefiting from being sheltered from higher interest charges as rates increase. The share price rose 5.45% to 290p.
Sunrise Resource (LON: SRES) says Tolsa has identified multiple sepiolite horizons at the Pioche sepiolite project in Nevada. Tolsa, which is the world’s largest producer of sepiolite, has an option to purchase the project for $1.25m plus an ongoing royalty of 3%. Sepiolite is used in agriculture to carry pesticides and bind animal feed, high temperature drilling muds and pet litters. It is a scarce commodity with a limited number of commercial deposits one of which is in the US. The share price is 7.89% higher at 0.1025p.
Pharma software provider Instem (LON: INS) has gained its largest ever contract that is worth at least $12m over five years. The deal is with a contract research organisation and is for the company’s cloud-based Aspire clinical trial acceleration software, which will be launched with the customer in one year. There is $3m for implementation and the rest is paid in instalments of $2.25m a year over four years. The annual recurring revenues are $1m more than for the Instem system that is being replaced.
Oil and gas producer and explorer Serinus Energy (LON: SENX) says that the results of the Canar-1 exploration well in Romania did not justify flow testing. That sent the shares 22.2% lower at 10.5p. There were signs of residual gas, and it is possible that the gas migrated through this zone. Arden Partners has reduced is risked NAV from 55p a share to 53p a share. The next well to be drilled is Monfrinu Nord-1.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) intends to seek a competition disqualification order against Alliance Pharma (LON: APH) chief executive Peter Butterfield. Alliance Pharma is one of four pharma companies that the CMA says infringed competition law. Alliance Pharma is appealing the decision and a £7.9m fine. The appeal should be heard next year. The investigation related to prochlorperazine and infringement was between June 2013 and July 2018. Alliance Pharma out-licenced prochlorperazine to a distributor in 2013 at a fixed transfer price and says that it did not profit from any market sharing agreement. Last year, the drug generated revenues of £700,000. The share price slumped by 13.6% to 80.8p on the day and it has fallen by one-quarter so far this year.
