Antofagasta posts higher profit as copper prices surge

Liam Roche
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Antofagasta full-year dividend at 54.7 cents per share

Antofagasta (LON:ANTO) on Tuesday confirmed a 6% rise in its net profit during 2020 as well as raising its dividend for 2020.

The mining giant’s net profit reached $893.9m, up from $843.1m in 2019. Lower costs and stronger prices more than offset a fall in copper production levels.

Antofagasta’s EBITDA increased by 12% to $2.74bn ahead of analysts’ expectations of $2.7bn.

The copper miner announced a final dividend of 48.5 cents per share, bringing the full-year number to 54.7 cents, and up from 50.9 cents in 2019.

Antofagasta also confirmed its copper production guidance of 730,000 metric tons to 760,000 metric tons for 2021 at a net cash cost of $1.25 a pound.

Copper and gold prices climbed about 25% last year, with copper currently trading near 10-year highs at around $9,100 a tonne on rebound in demand in top consumer China.

Iván Arriagada, chief executive at Antofagasta, commented on the company’s results:

“The year has been challenging, but we have successfully kept our people safe and healthy, achieved our production and exceeded our cost targets, and increased EBITDA by 12.3% to $2.7 billion, yielding a 53% EBITDA margin. I am proud of how everyone at Antofagasta has worked together and adjusted to overcome the year’s challenges,” Arriagada said.

“Our resilient operations performed well with high levels of throughput and our Cost and Competitiveness Programme delivered benefits of $197 million, nearly double the targeted amount. Our balance sheet strengthened even further.”

“Full year copper production was 733,900 tonnes and net cash costs were $1.14/lb, reflecting the company’s agility in changing operating conditions.”

“In 2021, we will continue to focus on our safety and operating performance, and we expect copper production to be 730-760,000 tonnes at a net cash cost of $1.25/lb as ore grades increase at Centinela Concentrates and our operating efficiency remains high.”

“We are delighted that 100% of our mining division’s electricity consumption in 2022 will be from renewable sources.”

FTSE 100 listed mining blue chip, Antofagasta, watched its shares rally during November trading, as the company announced that two of its projects would be committed to the Copper Mark.

AIM new admission: In The Style

Andrew Hore
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AIM new admission: In The Style

Online fashion retailer In The Style got off to a strong start on AIM with the share price increasing from the 200p placing price to 237p. Recent trading has been exceptionally good as high street competitors were hit by the lockdown and consumers moved online.
Existing shareholders raised £46.8m from share sales. After expenses there was £9.1m raised by the company. This will finance further expansion including a new warehouse.
This is a predominantly UK business with most of the products made in the UK or China. Customers are added through deals with celebrities and online influencers, altho...

ActiveOps plans AIM flotation

Andrew Hore
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0
ActiveOps plans AIM flotation

Management process automation software developer ActiveOps plans to join AIM later in March. No new money is being raised because there is cash in the bank following a disposal last year. A valuation of more than £100m has been suggested.
ActiveOps develops back office workforce optimisation software that provides timely, accurate information and its main platform is called Workware+. The core customer base is financial services companies. This is a SaaS-based business. There are offices in the UK, US, South Africa, India, Ireland and Australia.
Calculus Capital has a 29.3% stake in ActiveOps,...

Flutter Entertainment considers listing FanDuel

Liam Roche
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0
Flutter Entertainment considers listing FanDuel

Flutter Entertainment would have to sell part of its holding in FanDuel to support an IPO

Flutter Entertainment (LON:FLTR) confirmed on Monday that it is thinking about the prospect of listing a small share of its holding in FanDuel.

The Irish gambling company – which owns Ladbrokes, Coral and Bwin – said that it “regularly evaluates its organizational and capital structure to assess how best to position itself to deliver upon the group’s strategy.”

Analysts at Peel Hunt valued FanDuel at around £12bn of Flutter’s £27bn market cap, adding that FanDuel’s smaller rival, DraftKings, trades at a market value of $28.5bn which they said “appears to support the argument that FanDuel is undervalued”.

AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould believes a listing would make sense for Flutter Entertainment.

“Flutter potentially listing its sportsbook and daily fantasy sports betting business FanDuel in the US makes perfect sense for two reasons.”

“First, it is likely to get a much higher valuation than is currently attributed to the operation as part of the Flutter group.

“Second, this is arguably the most exciting part of its group and it seems logical to want to capitalise on positive momentum and give investors an opportunity to invest purely in this bit. It also helps there is already a listed peer in the form of DraftKings.

Mould adds that the company would have to sell part of its holding in FanDuel to support an IPO:

“Flutter would have to sell part of its holding in FanDuel to facilitate an IPO. On one hand this means giving up some of the potential future gains, but it could also generate a significant chunk of cash to help pay down debt.

“Importantly, Flutter has indicated it would only sell a small part of FanDuel to support an IPO. That would suggest that FanDuel would still play an important role within the larger group and be able to access funding.

FTSE 100 set to gain as Americans spend stimulus checks on stock market

Liam Roche
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0
FTSE 100 set to gain as Americans spend stimulus checks on stock market

The FTSE 100 briefly crept over the 6,800 mark for the first time since January on early Monday morning as figures emerged from China and the US stimulus package was signed into law by Joe Biden. According to a Deutsche Bank survey of online brokerage users, Americans are planning to use 37% of their cheques to buy equities.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, commented on the results and their potential implications for a recovery.

“It is like the markets have remembered to be happy about economic recovery again. For a time the focus was so fixed on accompanying inflation risks, the upside from a rebound in the economy as countries reopen was lost,” said Mould

“Impressive growth figures from China and the passage of Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package in the US helped briefly launch the FTSE 100 over the 6,800 mark for the first time since January on Monday morning.”

“The scale of China’s recovery from the pandemic, which beat analysts’ expectations, offers an imperfect trailer for what might happen when there is a full reopening in the West.”

FTSE 100 Top Movers

Flutter Entertainment (6.96%), BT Group (2.70%) and Kingfisher (2.49%) are the day’s biggest risers at early morning trading on Monday.

At the bottom, Standard Life Aberdeen (-1.73%), Evraz (-1.68%) and Morrison Supermarkets (-1.39%) saw the biggest drop in their share prices.

Deliveroo

Deliveroo confirmed on Monday morning that it will sell £1bn ($1.4bn) in new shares ahead of its initial public offering (IPO) on the London Stock Exchange.

The confirmed also announced in a statement that its listing would also include the sale of shares by some existing shareholders. 

Bitcoin

After getting close towards the end of February, bitcoin broke above $60,000 over the weekend.

The cryptocurrency’s previous all-time high of $58,332 was just under a month ago and has threatened on a number of occasions since to go past the $60,000 mark.

Bitcoin breaks $60,000

Liam Roche
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Bitcoin breaks $60,000

Bitcoin’s market cap worth $1trn

After getting close towards the end of February, bitcoin broke above $60,000 over the weekend.

The cryptocurrency’s previous all-time high of $58,332 was just under a month ago and has threatened on a number of occasions since to go past the $60,000 mark.

While previous milestones have been surpassed in a mild manner, bitcoin went past its recent marker with conviction. However, the digital currency has fallen by 8.83% in the past 24 hours to $55,528.

Bitcoin/USD

Over the past four months, bitcoin has quadrupled in value, while a year ago, it was valued at less than $5,000.

Nigel Green, chief executive and founder of deVere Group, says regulation must now become a major priority as the price of bitcoin hit a new record high, surging past $61,000 on the deVere Crypto exchange on Sunday for the first time.

“Whether crypto cynics like it or not, there’s no getting away from the fact that Bitcoin is becoming an increasingly important part of the global financial system,” Green said.

“Bitcoins in circulation are now worth $1 trillion, with prices having rallied 890% over the last year. Most major financial institutions, including investment giants and payment companies, are now backing the world’s largest cryptocurrency, and there’s ongoing soaring interest from retail investors.”

“The move towards digital currencies is going to increase – and at pace – over the next few years. This is why financial regulators must now make regulation of the crypto sector a major priority.”

“With a growing dominance, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies must be held to the same standards as the rest of the financial system with a robust, workable international framework.”

It was a similar story for the other major cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum, which surged before dropping by over 7% in the last 24 hours.

Octopus Renewables records ‘strong performance’ for inaugural year

Liam Roche
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0
Octopus Renewables records ‘strong performance’ for inaugural year

Octopus Renewables confirms dividend of 3.18p per share

Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust (LON:ORIT) confirmed its results on Monday for “the period from incorporation” on 11 October 2019 to 31 December 2020.

The company announced that 100% of its net proceeds from IPO are now committed following its IPO on 10 December 2019 which raised £350 million.

Octopus Renewables’ Net Asset Value (NAV) per ordinary share is at 98.3p as of 31 December 2020, a £344m total NAV. Its total NAV return is 2.4% over the period since its IPO.

The company announced a dividend of 3.18p per share, while reaffirming its dividend target for 31 December 2021 at 5p per share.

Octopus Renewables made five acquisitions during the period, with diversification across 24 assets, four countries, onshore wind and solar PV, and operational and construction assets.

The company also confirmed that construction of the Ljungbyholm wind farm in Sweden is on schedule.

Octopus Renewables announced in November that it had acquired 100% of the Cerisou wind farm, a construction-ready project in the Vienne department of France.

Chris Gaydon, Investment Director at Octopus Renewables, commented on the company’s performance following its inaugural year.

“I am pleased that ORIT is reporting a strong performance for its inaugural year. Over the period the team has fully committed the net proceeds of the IPO and delivered on the first-year dividend target of 3.18p per share,” said Gaydon.

“For the year to come we remain focused on delivering on the targets set out to investors, strengthening ORIT’s position as an impact investment trust and continuing to drive the energy transition towards a net-zero future. As we emerge from the Covid-19 crisis, and the electrification of transport and heat accelerates creating greater demand for renewable energy, we continue to see opportunities for further growth in the Company.”

Deliveroo confirms sale of £1bn worth of shares ahead of IPO

Liam Roche
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0
Deliveroo confirms sale of £1bn worth of shares ahead of IPO

Deliveroo to issue two separate classes of shares

Deliveroo confirmed on Monday morning that it will sell £1bn ($1.4bn) in new shares ahead of its initial public offering (IPO) on the London Stock Exchange.

The confirmed also announced in a statement that its listing would also include the sale of shares by some existing shareholders.

Deliveroo confirmed there will be two separate classes of shares. Founder and chief executive Will Shu will be the only holder of “class B” stock, which means each of his shares gets 20 votes, while all other shares will get one vote.

The takeaway company will open the listing up to retail investors, making £50m worth of shares available to customers. Each person will be able to apply for up to £1,000 worth of shares. 

Shu has confirmed he will offer the company’s top riders £10,000 each following the IPO, as part of a £16m “thank you” fund.

Just last week Deliveroo revealed plans for its initial public offering (IPO), while confirming a 54% growth in sales and £224m of losses in 2020.

Transactions surged to over £4bn during the pandemic however Deliveroo is still a loss making business.

Oilex swings to profit

Liam Roche
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0
Oilex swings to profit

Oilex reduced its explorations costs by over 50%

Oilex (LON:OEX) confirmed on Monday that the company made a post-tax profit for the six months up to 31 December 2020 of $418,881, up from a loss of $2,023,782 the year before.

Oilex reduced its explorations costs by over 50% to $256,917, as well as its care and maintenance costs to $63,765, and its administration costs to $424,297.

The cash and cash equivalents held by the AIM-listed company fell to $102,901 from $173,816 at the end of June 2020.

Oilex confirmed in its report that its objective is to maximise shareholder value from its principal asset in the Cambay Basin, located onshore Gujarat State in India, whilst also continuing to review other opportunities to create value and diversify risk by adding new assets to the company’s project portfolio.

The company’s plans at Cambay are well advanced and include the drilling of up to two vertical wells, subject to, among other things, securing the necessary funding.

The Oilex share price is down by 1.25% to 0.16p on early morning trading. In mid-February the company’s share price jumped from 0.10p to 0.21p.

Oilex has performed well on the AIM exchange recently as oil and gas companies have specifically benefitted from the resurgence in oil prices.

Avingtrans pinpoints disposal gain

Andrew Hore
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0
Avingtrans pinpoints disposal gain

Engineer Avingtrans (LON: AVG) is showing the success of its strategy with the £35m sale of the Peter Brotherhood business that came with the acquisition of Hayward Tyler in September 2017.
This is part of the strategy of management. It pinpoints businesses that are attractively valued and/or provide a good fit with existing operations. In many cases these are loss-making businesses. Investment is injected into the acquired business in order to improve performance.
A recent example is specialist doors manufacturer Booth Industries, which has shed lower margin work and is back in profit. It is ...

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