DCD Media shares slump 11% despite swinging to narrow profit

Jamie Gordon
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DCD Media shares slump 11% despite swinging to narrow profit
Independent TV production and distribution group, DCD Media (LON:DCD), reported stable financial progress and a swing to a profit for the year ended 31 December 2019. The company’s revenue finished at £8.98 million, up 27% from £7.05 million. This led a rise in its gross profit, from £1.64 million to £1.78 million, and a swing from a £0.07 million operating loss, to a £0.02 million operating profit year-on-year. It finished its financial highlights, stating that its net cash position narrowed from £2.28 million to £1.59 million. Operationally, part of DCD Media success can be attributed to the successful sale of a wide selection of its titles: DCD Rights announced On the Ropes, The Hunting, and Inspector Rojas among the sales of its recently launched titles, and Secret Nazi Bases, and The Nile among the sales of its popular factual titles. The company continued, lauding the successful fifth series of Pen & Teller transmitted during H1 2019. DCD Rights added that it renewed its output deal with The Open University to distribute their 160 hours of factual programming.

DCD Media reaction

Responding to the company’s update, its Executive Chairman David Craven stated:

“We are pleased with the results for the twelve months to 31 December 2019 with the Company delivering a steady performance, increasing revenues by 27% and returning a small profit for the period. The business continued to invest in new programming with continued support from its primary funding partner.”

“The Board believes that with further funding available to DCD Media, we will create a quality company, capable of strong and predictable cash generation, sustainable returns on capital with attractive growth opportunities in this exciting, expanding market place. The continued consumer demand to enjoy personalised and tailored TV content across multiple platforms is providing tailwinds for the industry as a whole.”

“Reaching funding agreements with partners at the lowest possible cost provides DCD Media with a competitive advantage, The Board continues to work to provide access to competitively priced debt in the marketplace. The outlook for the remainder of the trading period to 31 March 2020 remains positive.”

Investor notes

Despite the seemingly positive update, the company’s shares dipped 11.11% or 25.00p to 200.00p per share. 25/02/20 15:58 GMT. The Group’s market cap stands at £5.72 million.

Digbeth named best Birmingham location to invest in property

Dina Caruso
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Digbeth named best Birmingham location to invest in property
Digbeth has been named the top area in Birmingham for residential property investment, new data from SevenCapital revealed. It was announced earlier this month that HS2, the high-speed rail network which connects London to Birmingham, Manchester, and Leeds, will be going ahead. This development is likely to give Birmingham a further boost in popularity as a location to both live and invest in. Data from SevenCapital, the leading Birmingham based developer, has revealed the top areas for property investment in the city. Digbeth is ranked first on the list; it’s considered to have a rather high growth potential. The area has grown by 38.04% over the last ten years, and its current average property price amounts to £189,400. The area is ranked first as a result of its “future potential over current statistics,” Andy Foote, Director at SevenCapital, said. Next on the list is City-Core, which is also considered to have a high growth potential. Growth over the past ten years in this area was 37.77%. Meanwhile, the average property price is currently at £200,300. Jewellery Quarter also made the list with a medium growth potential. Growth over the past ten years was 39.26% and the current average property price is £212,300. Meanwhile, Harborne, Edgbaston, Selly Oak and Erdington have also been identified as some of the top places to invest in property in Birmingham.
“Birmingham’s best areas are a mix of up-and-coming, well established and specific area types,” Andy Foote, director at SevenCapital, commented in a statement. “Digbeth tops our list for 2020 due to its future potential over current statistics. Whilst the more established central “hotspots” such as the Jewellery Quarter, Edgbaston and Harborne benefit from higher average house prices and marginally higher growth over the past 10 years, there is significantly more space for future growth and regeneration in Digbeth, which is exactly what is planned for the area,” Andy Foote continued. “Couple that with its lower entry point for buyers and investors, prospects for returns in the future for those who buy now, ahead of the area reaching its anticipated potential look very positive.” Andy Foote added: “Digbeth is within walking distance of HS2’s Curzon Street Station, the existing Moor Street and New Street stations, the main city shopping area and of course is the heart of the city’s emerging Creative Quarter. That’s not forgetting its already been dubbed the ‘coolest place to live in the UK’ by The Times and is subject to more than £2billion of planned development projects over the coming years, including the Birmingham Smithfield masterplan and long-awaited Connaught Square development.” “Overall, Birmingham has begun to shine out on a global stage over the past decade, but with recent and future developments, the best is yet to come for the city, so for residential property buyers, there has never been a better time to invest.” Will you be adding a Birmingham based property to your portfolio?

ASA International shares dip despite its outstanding loan portfolio jumping 23%

Jamie Gordon
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ASA International shares dip despite its outstanding loan portfolio jumping 23%
ASA International Group (LON:ASAI), one of the world’s largest microfinancing organisations, today posted good progress in its yearly financial performance for the period ended 31 December 2019. The company boasted a 23% rise in its outstanding loan portfolio, up to $466.8 million at the end of the year. Additionally, its average OLP per client grew 8% from $174 million to $189 million. Its trading position was also strengthened by an expansion of its operations and potential business partners. ASA International noted that its number of clients was up 14% from 2.2 million to 2.5 million, and likewise, its number of branches rose 14% from 1,665 to 1,898 year-on-year. Today’s share price dip was caused by results being slightly below the company’s expectations. It said this could be attributed to ‘adverse conditions in India, Nigeria and Sri Lanka, which results in a slightly higher PAR>30.

ASA International reactions

Responding to the results, company CEO Dirk Brouwer commented,

“The operational performance of the Group has been strong during 2019, with continued client and loan portfolio growth in all our markets. We realized higher than expected growth in East Africa which was offset by lower than expected growth in India, Nigeria and Sri Lanka due to adverse market conditions. As a result, and combined with significant currency depreciation in Pakistan and Ghana, 2019 USD earnings growth is now expected to be around 5%.”

“We expect continued sustainable growth of our operations through 2020 with mid-to-high single digit USD earnings growth.”

Investor notes

Following the update, the company’s shares were down 2.60% or 7.00p, to 262.00p per share 25/02/20 12:37 GMT. The Group’s p/e ratio stands at 17.38, their dividend yield is 2.13%.  

Fury vs Wilder 2 and potential part 3 – neither could stop the BT share decline

Jamie Gordon
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Fury vs Wilder 2 and potential part 3 – neither could stop the BT share decline
Unfortunately for investors, BT (LON:BT.A) shares couldn’t emulate the knockout performance of Tyson Fury in early-week trading. The fight looked set to eclipse the 325,000 PPV buys of the first bout, and with ticket sales for the evening exceeding $17 million, it looks highly likely the fight’s live gate will exceed that of Lewis-Holyfield 2. This would mean the fight would set the record for the largest gate of any heavyweight fight in history, a significant marker and one that the promoters would struggle to beat in a third instalment. Despite the apparent bumper performance of event, likely to be one of the most viewed offerings on the BT sports channels in 2020, the company has had to weather weak trading since markets opened on Monday morning. Since the first bell on Tuesday, the stock has been on wobbly legs, down 1.62% to 148.81p per share 25/02/20 14:11 GMT, and down from 156.26p per share as markets closed on Friday. This has likely been led by the backdrop of difficult market conditions, with global equities in a bleak spot as a result of Coronavirus.

Fury vs Wilder trilogy?

Despite widespread lack of enthusiasm for a third clash between this epoch’s titans, team Wilder has received a boost by only receiving a six week medical ban following Saturday night’s drubbing. We can also infer that the Bronze Bomber’s team are trying to drum up traction for the trilogy, with comments from the former WBC Champion setting the rumour mill into full churn. Speaking to Yahoo Sport, the fighter had pundit’s tails wagging over the prospect that Mark Breland’s job could be in jeopardy. “I am upset with Mark for the simple fact that we’ve talked about this many times and it’s not emotional.” “It is not an emotional thing, it’s a principal thing. We’ve talked about this situation many, many years before this even happened.” “I said as a warrior, as a champion, as a leader, as a ruler, I want to go out on my shield. If I’m talking about going in and killing a man, I respect the same way. I abide by the same principal of receiving.” “So I told my team to never, ever, no matter what it may look like, to never throw the towel in with me because I’m a special kind.” “I still had five rounds left. No matter what it looked like, I was still in the fight.” “I understand he was looking out for me and trying to do what he felt was right, but this is my life and my career and he has to accept my wishes.” Being more direct, Wilder told Atlantic outright that he would be exercising his rematch clause with Fury, “The rematch is definitely going to happen. We’re going to get it on. I want to get right back to it.” Fans can only hope that next time his outfit won’t be ‘too heavy’. Maybe he should heed the advice of one Twitter comment and don the Borat mankini, and perhaps the streamlined attire would lend itself to a more competitive fight.

What fans really want to see

While the real world will probably dictate that the trilogy will be complete, and Anthony Joshua will most likely have to oblige his mandatories, the fight to make from a fan’s perspective is Fury vs Joshua. Licking his lips gleefully though he may, it looks doubtful that Eddie Hearn will bring us Fury vs Joshua in 2020. I’d be the first to tell you that this fight would be brilliant to cement Fury’s legacy and development arc. His recovery, his narrative, his performances, have all been conducive to the creation of a true sporting legend. Beating the Adonis of UK boxing would be the perfect way to crown off an inspirational story. We can collectively hope, as fans, we get the chance to see this hope realised before Tyson loses his love for the sport. From a business perspective, promoters and media outlets will be happy to milk his story, his character and his talent for everything its got to give, for as long as that lasts.

Rockfire Resources find potentially ‘major’ gold system in Queensland

Ishen Patel
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Rockfire Resources find potentially ‘major’ gold system in Queensland
Rockfire Resources PLC (LON:ROCK) have said that it has made a new discovery with high potential in Australia. The firm said that it has found a potentially ‘major’ gold system at the Plateau deposit in the north of Queensland, Australia. Rockfire have been operating at this new sight and the results have returned extensive intercepts of gold mineralization. The gold miner added that an important milestone was hit with a zone being found at a grade of above 2.0 grams of gold per tonne of ore. David Price, Chief Executive Officer of Rockfire, commented: “These long intervals of gold in the upper levels of Plateau are extremely positive and demonstrate the size of the mineralising system. The Rockfire technical team continues to see similarities to the Mt Wright Gold Mine, 45 km to the northeast of Plateau, hosting over 1.5 million ounces of gold, where the main gold ore is between 400 m and 850 m below surface. “We appear to be at the top of a similarly large gold deposit. The dimensions of Mt Wright, which is 250 m long, 60 m wide and mined to over 1,200 m deep, compare favourably with those of Plateau; being 200 m long, 70 m wide and currently drilled to only 240 m. The broad intervals of gold mineralisation between 0.2 g/t and 0.5 g/t in the top 200 m are also characteristic of Mt Wright.” “The next step is for Rockfire is to conduct a CSAMT (Controlled-source Audio-frequency Magnetotellurics) geophysical survey. Such a survey is expected to provide a high-definition target generation beneath the levels drilled so far at Plateau. CSAMT was used very effectively at Mt Wright, leading to the identification of deep drill targets. This is expected to commence as quickly as possible after the wet season finishes.” The firm said that all of the holes drilled at the Plateau deposit hit gold, which means that the deposit has now expanded to over 200 meters length, 70 metres of width, and 200 metres of depth. Shares in Rockfire Resources trade at 1p (-2.08%). 25/2/20 14:15BST.

Cora Gold shares sink 9% despite positive Mali update

Ishen Patel
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Cora Gold shares sink 9% despite positive Mali update
Cora Gold Ltd (LON:CORA) have seen their shares fall over 9% following an operational update announced today. The firm said that drilling in Southern Mali had produced significant” mineralisation away from the existing resource. Cora has been targeting shallow oxide extensions beyond the existing work at the Sanankoro gold project. The current resource stands at an estimated 5.0 million tonnes of ore, containing 265,000 ounces of gold from a grade of 1.6 grams of told per tonne of ore. The company also said that they have seen a 1,500 metre-long gold structure as a continuation of Zone B North, as well as 500 metres of new mineralisation along strike to the west of Zone C. Bert Monro, CEO of Cora Gold, commented, “This latest round of drill results has identified a new +1,500m long gold structure representing a continuation of Zone B North. This is particularly encouraging given that the shallow drilling undertaken is only designed to provide a guide to the location of the structures. This has similarities to early results from Selin before deeper holes were drilled, and a maiden Resource was declared. Additionally, a further 500m of strike to the west of Zone C was also identified as a new mineralised zone. I look forward to releasing the remaining results from this programme once they are received.”

Cora’s work in Mali

A few weeks back, the firm announced that it had found multiple high grade gold intercepts at its Sanankoro gold project in southern Mali. The gold miner said that drilling had targeted deeper oxide and sulphide extensions to the current inferred mineral resource of 5.0 million tonnes, which has a grade of 1.6 grams per tonne of gold, containing 265,000 ounces of gold. From the results, Cora said that drilling results had shown 2.61 grams of gold over 29 meters, including 3.89 grams over 12 meters at one of its operations. Shares in Cora Gold trade at 6p (-9.43%). 25/2/20 13:47BST.

Wey Education bounces 15% with turnover ‘significantly ahead of forecasts’

Jamie Gordon
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Wey Education bounces 15% with turnover ‘significantly ahead of forecasts’
Online educational services provider Wey Education (LON:WEY) updated its shareholders on its current trading position, which it described as strong.

It said both its InterHigh and Academy 21 offerings started the financial year with strong performance. It added InterHigh’s b2b sales had been ‘higher than anticipated’.

Wey Education continued, saying that its turnover for the year ended 31 August 2020 is expected to be ‘significantly ahead of market forecasts’, in excess of £7.5 million.

This turnover growth, if realised, would represent an increase of 25% on the year ended 31 August 2019.

The company said its Directors would continue to invest in marketing to enhance future growth and are actively investing in senior operational executives in marketing, education and Information Systems.

Wey Education response

Commenting on its outlook and strategy, the company’s statement continued,

“The board is taking advantage of the increased turnover to invest in these areas at a greater rate than initially planned to accelerate its growth plans. Notwithstanding the additional cost of these investments the Company still expects to meet market forecasts for profit for the current year ending 31 August 2020.”

Responding to the positive overview, company Chairman Barrie Whipp, commented,

“The strategy established in 2019 to deliver excellent online education to an increasing number of students is clearly working. Our brands, InterHigh and Academy 21 are both growing at similar rates. It is entirely logical that, with our substantial cash reserves, we continue to seek further growth through investment in quality and marketing. The appointment of new senior executives is being covered by our enhanced revenues, as is the increase in marketing expenditure. This allows the Board to project further growth with optimism.”

Investor notes

Following the update, the company’s shares jumped 14.89% or 2.41p to 18.56p per share 25/02/20 13:01 GMT. The Group’s p/e ratio is high at 64.60, their market cap stands at £25.63 million.

Atlantic Capital Markets see further upside in Greatland Gold

Ishen Patel
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Atlantic Capital Markets see further upside in Greatland Gold
One of the hottest stocks on the market right now is Greatland Gold plc (LON:GGP). Last week, I wrote stating my confidence that Greatland had the potential to break their barriers and produce a fine year of trading across 2020. John Woolfitt, from Atlantic Capital Markets has been praising the recent performance of Greatland Gold, and it is interesting to note that he recognized the stock early – when he brought it to the attention of his clients in 2017. Woolfitt has a lot of experience in the industry and knowledge of wider global markets. He has held his role as Director of Trading at Atlantic Capital Markets for almost four years, and has also worked as an Equities Derivatives Trader – and he has identified Greatland to be a very exciting stock. He identified that Greatland Gold was very different from many other AIM listed gold miners, describing market competitors as having “flash in the pan” moves. Woolfitt added that Greatland itself – “has got a large footprint in the Havieron region and it’s got a track record of success. The company has identified several high priority targets close by as well. Scallywag for one, an area only a short distant from Havieron, and the preliminary work at Goliath is now also showing similar geophysical and geochemical signatures to those seen in the early work at Havieron”. The Paterson Project includes the Havieron, Black Hills and Paterson Range East licences, covering over 385 square km of under-explored ground in the Paterson Province in Western Australia. This region had high potential for intrusion related gold-copper systems such as the Telfer deposit, which was mentioned by Atlantic Capital Markets. There was much praise for Greatland, as they identified multiple targets across its licences and recent drilling has demonstrated the potential for one such target, Havieron, to represent a very large mineralised system. The Havieron prospect is strategically located 45km east of the major Telfer gold mine, and 500km east of rail and port infrastructure at Port Hedland – and may new exploration license applications have been made due to the high potential of the site. Woolfitt commented: “The AIM market is a fickle environment and moves are fleeting, largely due to a lack of volumes and a lack of reporting clarity. However, Greatland’s prospects look to be far superior than other miners in this market. The reality is that the prospects for Greatland gold are high quality and if it can be pulled out of the ground also of a significant quantity. There is also significant strong noise from Newcrest who are the joint venture partners over in Australia. In fact they have been so impressed with the prospects that they have opened the taps to drilling in the region in an effort to have resources moving out of the ground by the end of the year. And let’s be clear on this, Newcrest is no minnow with a market cap of $20bn+ However, if you have been around the markets as long as I, then you will surely know it is never as simple as it might seem. It takes more than just numbers to really make a difference and with the only target price out in the market being 6p the short-term upside is stunted. That being said, the price of gold also plays its part and any drop in gold could temporarily weigh on the share price and give investors the entry level required. This year is going to be an interesting year for the company and if all goes to plan, we could be looking at a significantly different price by the end of the year.” Greatland Gold is certainly an exciting stock, and many market analysts think that this is only just the start for the AIM listed miner. It will be certainly interesting to see how the firm reacts to all the expectations and media speculation.

Triple Point Social Housing REIT acquires six properties & care home for £18.3m

Jamie Gordon
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Triple Point Social Housing REIT acquires six properties & care home for £18.3m
The Board of Triple Point Social Housing REIT (LON:SOHO) announced on Tuesday that it had completed a block acquisition of several properties across England. The company acquired six housing properties and a care home, for a consideration of £18.3 million, excluding costs. Its acquisition comprises a total of 91 units in total, 43 of which are in the West Midlands, 40 in Yorkshire, 5 in the South East and 3 in the North West. Continuing their update, the Triple Point Social Housing REIT statement read,

“The Group has entered into new FRI leases in respect of each of the properties acquired for periods of between 20 and 35 years. These leases are with specialist housing associations regulated by the Regulator of Social Housing or care providers regulated by the Care Quality Commission, including Falcon Housing Association and Inclusion Housing.”

The company continued, saying that rents received under the leases are subject to annual, upward-only rent reviews, that would increase in line with the Consumer Price Index.

It said its properties comprise ‘specialist, high quality homes’ that require specialist care for mental health and other needs.

It finished by saying that the properties acquired today generate net yields in line with the company’s investment criteria and returns profile.

Following the update, Triple Point Social Housing REIT shares rallied 0.72% or 0.70p, to 98.50p per share 25/02/20 25/02/20 12:22 GMT. Analysts from Berenberg initiates their ‘Buy’ stance on the company’s stock. The Group’s p/e ratio stands at 43.08, their dividend yield is impressive at 5.02%.

Previously within the same field, we reported that Impact Healthcare REIT PLC (LON: IHR) had acquired a care home in Bristol for a consideration of £6.95 million.

N4 Pharma narrow loss across 2019

Ishen Patel
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0
N4 Pharma narrow loss across 2019
N4 Pharma PLC (LON:N4P) have told the market that their loss has narrowed for 2019, as the firm delivered their final results on Tuesday. The firm added that it is working to improve Nuvec dispersion to address in-vivo inconsistencies. The firm said “The data we have generated so far is encouraging and shows that Nuvec® has the potential to be an effective delivery system for nucleic acids.” Nuvec is N4’s company vaccine and cancer treatment delivery system. N4 has repeated a pre-clinical study of Nuvec due to inconsistencies identified in third-party pre-clinical studies. Across 2019, N4 reported a pretax loss of £948,725, from a loss of £1.4 million recorded a year ago. Notably, no revenue was recorded for the period, and a government grant off £72,832 received the year prior did not get enforced again. The firm did raise £1.1 million of new funds through a share placing, which results in the firm having cash of £965,752 at the end of the year. Nigel Theobald, Chief Executive Officer of N4 Pharma Plc, commented: “The Directors believe we have made considerable progress in understanding how Nuvec® works in the last 12 months which will put us in a stronger position for potential collaboration discussions as we continue to present our data to potential licensing partners. Having demonstrated that Nuvec® can load and transfect a range of DNA and mRNA antigens in vitro and also produce an in vivo antibody response with a good safety profile, we have recently worked on improving the dispersion of Nuvec® with a view to addressing some of the inconsistencies seen in previous in vivo work. “Our next focus is to assess the improved dispersion with further in vitro and in vivo testing of Nuvec® using OVA plasmid DNA whilst, in parallel, working with Nanomerics on producing stable Nuvec® formulations. “We believe the work we have done in the last 12 months, together with our ongoing studies, puts our Nuvec® delivery system in a stronger position than it was when we first announced our positive in vivo antibody results and we remain excited about the potential for Nuvec® to become a credible delivery system in the field of cancer therapeutics and vaccines.”

N4 reach deal with Nanomerics Ltd

Last week, the firm told the market that they have signed a research collaboration deal with Nanomerics Ltd. N4 said that the deal would be spanning 14 months and this tie up will allow the testing of two candidate formulations using its Nuvec delivery systems. The firm said that the partnership will be split into two phases, each lasting seven months. In the first phase, N4 said that the companies will develop and test the thirty day stability of four different Nuvec formulations, using both a plasmid DNA and a small interfering RNA. After this, the second phase will be underway where the testing of efficacy of the plasmid DNA will take place in an vivo antibody generation model. Shares in N4 Pharma trade at 3p (-3.11%). 25/2/20 12:40BST.
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