Morrisons (LON:MRW) have reported that their sales have fallen in their update dating to January 5.

The firm said that challenging trading conditions coupled with consumer uncertainty were the largest contributors to the slump in sales.

Morrison’s said that said like-for-like sales, excluding fuel, were down 1.7% year-on-year.

Additionally the decline was further accelerated by a fall in retail sales, as a like for like performance in the wholesale unit remained flat.

Notably, fuel sales declined 2.8% year on year across the 22 weeks period, and total sales dipped 2.9% but the figure totaled 1.8% without fuel sale considerations.

Shareholders should be not so concerned, as the firm said reiterate its full year guidance.

Morrisons said that pretax profit before exceptional costs should remain within the forecasts made by both analysts and market forecasts.

The firm ends its financial year on February 2, and shareholders will be keen to see annual reports in what seems to have been a tough year of trading for British retail.

The company said: “We managed costs well throughout the period, offsetting some of the impact on like-for-like sales of the challenging trading conditions and continued uncertainty amongst customers.”

Morrisons added “Throughout the period, trading conditions remained challenging and the customer uncertainty of the last year was sustained,”

During the 22 weeks, Morrisons said that they closed four underperforming stores, but this was offset by the opening of four new ones.

Morrisons explained: “The new stores include Canning Town, which is our first store with a Market Kitchen food-to-go offer, and Bolsover, our first smaller, community store format.”

Additionally, the company also recently sold a store in London to Berkeley Group Holdings (LON:BKG) in a reported £120 million deal.

On this deal, the firm said “Berkeley will pay £85 million in stages over the years of the project, and will build a new Morrisons supermarket and convenience store on the site at a cost to Berkeley of around £35 million.”

Chief Executive David Potts comments

“It was encouraging that during an unusually challenging period for sales, our execution was strong and our profitability robust, demonstrating the broad-based progress we have made during the turnaround.

“This was again down to the hard work of Morrisons exceptional team of food makers and shopkeepers. As always, we will take some learnings into the new year, and look forward to 2020 with a strong plan and solid foundations on which to continue to grow.”

Political uncertainty hits British supermarkets

Morrisons joined Walmart (NYSE:WMT) owned Asda in citing political and economic uncertainty as a contributor to slowing sales.

Asda said its gross profit rate fell, reflecting price markdowns in clothing following a slow summer season versus last year.

The fall in gross profit rate, plus increased operating expenses, meant operating income was also lower.

“This quarter has afforded consumers little respite from political or economic uncertainty and this has shown in their spending,” said Chief Executive Roger Burnley.

Morrisons follow in same step as rivals

Morrisons have followed in the same step as rivals in seeing their profits decline in what seems to be a very volatile period of trading.

At the start of November, rival Sainsbury’s (LON:SBRY) revealed a decline in profits in its half year results.

The firm said that, for the 28 weeks to 21 September, underlying profit before tax declined by 15% to £238 million, compared to the £279 million figure recorded for the same period the year prior.

Retail sales (excluding fuel) were down 0.6% and like-for-like sales (excluding fuel) were down 1%.

Shareholders of Sainsbury would have been compensated when the firm later that week revealed it had struck a wholesale deal with Coles (ASX:COL).

Sainsbury’s said: “The agreement with Coles marks a key milestone in Sainsbury’s strategy to build its wholesale business, with a number of partnerships already in place in Asia, Europe and the UK.

Greg Davis, Coles chief executive of commercial and express, said: “We want to accelerate the introduction of innovative products to Coles own brand, and this partnership allows us to do that with a range of food and groceries that are already proven in the international market but not yet available in Australia.”

Additionally, Marks and Spencer (LON:MKS) saw their profits plunge in November, which saw shares in red.

Chief Executive Steve Rowe alluded to several factors which had caused the slump including blamed the 5.5% decline in like-for-like clothing sales in the first six months of its financial year on supply chain problems and buying errors that meant popular sizes quickly sold out in store and online.

M&S reported a 17% decline in pre-tax profits of £176.5 million on sales of £4.9 billion.

M&S said the store closures would reduce clothing sales by 2% rather than the 3% previously thought but warned that its profit margins would come under pressure in the second half.

It seems that shareholders have not been too concerned about the performance of Morrisons as shares have remained in green, however there will be a hope that fortunes can be turned around.

Shares in Morrisons spiked 2.55% to 197p on Tuesday morning. 7/1/20 10:37BST.

Sirius Real Estate (LON:SRE) have updated the market on the purchase of two new business parks in Monday.

The firm said that they had acquired two retail parks in Germany in a deal valued at €33.4 million.

Neuss II

The Neuss II asset, located roughly 9.5 kilometres from the Dusseldorf city centre, offers 34,000 square metres of space and is 82% let.

The property is located on Fuggerstrasse in Neuss, 9.5 km south of Düsseldorf city centre. Sirius already owns an 18,000 per square meter office building in Neuss and two other business parks in Düsseldorf.

The firm added that this park produces an annual rental income of €1.3 million, reflecting an average rate of €3.84 per sqm, and has a remaining WALT of 4.4 years.

The property was acquired from a regional family real estate office for €19.1 million.

Neuruppin

Secondly, the firm announced the purchased of Neuruppin Business Park, which provides 22,400 sqm of net lettable space (12,600 sqm of production space, 7,200 sqm of warehouse space and 2,600 sqm of offices), together with 169 parking spaces on a total plot size of 108,200 sqm

The Company has now completed €98 million of the €170 million in acquisition capability that was set out in its Interim Results announced on 25 November 2019.

Chief Executive Officer Andrew Coombs comments

“The last month has been particularly successful on the acquisitions front providing us with some great assets which have good value add potential that can be realised next year and beyond.

“Neuss ll fits well with our strategy of buying assets at low capital values, with low average rents compared to the local market and located around key German cities. It offers us a good opportunity to add significant value by playing to the strengths of our integrated business model and track record of maximising occupation and growing rental levels.

“The Neuruppin property, which is 100% let to a tenant with a strong covenant with a WALE of 5.5 years and an EPRA net initial yield of 8.6%, is a very good acquisition, particularly when you take into account the tenant’s potential plans to expand in the area as well as the further opportunity to develop vacant parcels of land within the site.”

Sirius continue to perform in competitive market

At the end of November, the firm saw its shares rise on an increased payout. For the six months ended September, net asset value per share rose 7.3% to 76.18 euro cents from 71.01 cents six months earlier.

Operating income rose 9.4% to €39.5 million from €36.1 million the year before.

Pretax profit widened 1.9% to €79.7 million from €78.2 million the year prior, helped by investment properties revaluation gains rising 3.6% to €58.2 million from €56.2 million the year before.

The results are certainly impressive, and in a market where competitors such as Intu (LON: INTU) seem to be struggling, after they sold off a retail park to rival NewRiver Reit (LON: NRR).

Intu sold off Lisburn Retail Park for £40 million to NewRiver Reit at the end of November, and holds tenants such as Sainsbury’s (LON: SBRY) and B&Q, owned by Kingfisher PLC (LON: KGF).

Sirius Real Estate shareholders can remain optimistic on 2020 trading, the company clearly has a vision and strategy for expansion which will excite shareholders.

Shares in Sirius trade at 91p, rising 1.33% across Monday trading. 6/12/19 14:32BST.

Mattioli Woods plc (LON:MTW) have given the market a positive update on Monday morning, alluding to revenue growth and strong performance.

The firm is a leading provider of wealth management and employee benefit services with multiple offices throughout the UK, and holds its headquarters in Leicester.

Mattioli Woods said that it had returned to revenue growth in the first half of its financial year, with a rise in fees and investment related revenue.

The firm has conducted a company restructure which contributed to the impressive performance.

At November 30, its cash was valued at £20.0 million and its gross discretionary assets under management came to £2.7 billion.

Ian Mattioli, Chief Executive of Mattioli Woods, comments:

“I am pleased to report a return to revenue growth in the first half of this financial year, with increases in direct SSAS and SIPP fees and investment-related revenues. We have achieved this despite continued market and political uncertainty, albeit this uncertainty resulted in lower net inflows into the Group’s bespoke investment services than in the equivalent period last year.

“We are dedicated to maintaining our culture of putting clients first, developing our service offering and building a business that is sustainable over the long term. Supporting this, we have driven some further margin improvement, with additional efficiencies and cost savings realised following a planned restructure of our client facing operations and the migration of acquired pension portfolios onto our bespoke MWeb administration platform. These changes have been designed to enhance client service and experience, receiving positive feedback both internally and from clients.

“We have continued to progress our strategic initiatives, including the further development of our own IT solutions where possible. In December 2019, we were pleased to announce the acquisition of The Turris Partnership Limited, which is based in Glasgow, provides chartered financial planning and wealth management advice to clients, and has over £65 million of assets under advice. This followed the acquisitions of SSAS Solutions (UK) Limited and Broughtons Financial Planning Limited in the prior financial year, which are integrating well and contributed positively to our trading results since acquisition.

“Consolidation within both wealth management and SIPP administration is expected to continue, and we will seek to build on our track record of successful acquisitions by continuing to assess opportunities that meet our strict criteria.

“We continue to deliver solid investment performance across both portfolios and funds, with the team at the Group’s associate company, Amati Global Investors, gaining further recognition through the Amati AIM VCT (LON:AMAT) being named Best VCT at Investment Week’s Investment Company of the Year Awards in November 2019.

“We plan to build on the progress achieved in the first half over the remainder of this financial year. Events such as the suspension of the Woodford Equity Income Fund and the M&G Property Portfolio are likely to drive an increased demand for the holistic planning and expert advice we provide, and I anticipate greater client activity and increasing inflows into our bespoke investment services following the definitive general election result last month.

“We continue to invest in our people, technology and infrastructure as we look to build upon our success to date. Clients need long-term advice and strategies more than ever before and we will continue to provide quality solutions, maintaining our focus on client service and continuing to adapt our business model to the changing wealth management marketplace, integrating asset management and financial planning.

“Our profit outlook for the year is in line with management’s expectations and I believe we remain well-positioned to grow, both organically and by acquisition, to deliver sustainable shareholder returns.”

The firm is expecting to announce its interim results for the six months ended 30 November 2019 on Tuesday, 4 February 2020.

Shares of the firm trade at 804p (-1.29%). 6/1/20 14:07BST.

The main shareholder of Avesoro Resources Inc (LON:ASO) has acquired the remaining shares of the company in an update on Monday.

The controlling shareholder, in the form of Avesoro Jersey Ltd has acquired all remaining shares it does not own in the west Africa-focused gold producer.

In December, Avesoro Jersey owned 79.9 million shares in the firm, equating to a 98% stake.

In an update on Monday, the shareholder has picked up the rest of the 1,7 million shares in issue at a price of 100p per share.

In October, the Avesoro board unanimously recommended the 100 pence per share bid from Avesoro Jersey, which is owned by Turkish businessman Murathan Gunal, however it seems that fortunes have changed.

As a result of this decision, Avesoro will have their shares delisted from both the London and Toronto market and should be taking place on Tuesday.

The firm also announced that Chief Financial Officer Geoff Eyre would be set to take up the same role at mining firm Adriatic Metals PLC (LON: ADT1).

Tough times for Avesoro

The decision comes after a tricky few months for the firm. In October, the firm saw its guidance under review as operational difficulties weigh on gold production volumes.

Third quarter production at it New Liberty venture dived 57% compared to Q2, down to 8,059 ounces – though its also attributed this dip to ‘heavy rainfall flooding the main pit’.

Similarly, its Youga prospect’s output dropped by 6%, to 14,619 ounces. It said a degree of this drop owed to a security issue which ‘hampered mining fleet availability’.

Company CEO Serhan Umurhan added “Following the transition to contractor mining at New Liberty and Youga earlier this year, both mines have experienced operational issues that adversely affected our mining rates and gold production performance in the Quarter.”

“However, I am confident that operational performance will improve at both mines during Q4, with the end of the wet season allowing New Liberty to materially enhance productivity in the near term despite the recent pit-wall failure. Meanwhile, an additional 15 trucks, 6 excavators, a rock drill and further auxiliary equipment will be available at Youga later this week at the mining contractors cost, and we expect that this will result in an uplift in production during Q4.”

“Given a number of operational uncertainties our full year production guidance remains under review. The Company intends to provide updated guidance once operational performance has stabilised for a sustained period of time.”

Lekoil Ltd (LON:LEK) have updated shareholders on Monday on two new appointments.

LEKOIL is an Africa focused oil and gas exploration and production company with interests in Nigeria and Namibia.

The Company was founded in 2010 by a group of leading professionals with extensive experience in the international upstream oil and gas industry as well as in global fund management and investment banking.

The firm said that it has hired hired Mark Simmonds and Tony Hawkins as non-executive directors with immediate effect.

Additionally, interim Chief Financial Officer Greg Eckersley and Non-Executive Director John van der Welle step down from their respective roles.

Simmonds has a wealth of experience as he served as the as the UK’s Foreign & Commonwealth Office Minister. He was also a member of the UK Parliament as well as a senior adviser to former prime minister David Cameron.

Hawkins is currently chief executive at oil & gas exploration company Columbus Energy Resources PLC (LON:CERP) having previously been Legal and M&A Director there.

He also previously worked as General Counsel & Head of Commercial for oil & gas firm Sterling Energy PLC (LON:SEY).

Eckersly was appointed as interim financial officer in May 2019, will be stepping down from his role as non-executive director upon completion of his term in the finance role. Lekoil said the process to appoint a new chief financial officer is ongoing.

Lekoil Chair Samuel Adegboyega commented: “I would also like to welcome Mark and Tony to the Board and thank both Greg and John for their significant contribution. I know I speak on behalf of the full board when I say that we will miss their contribution to the board function, and we wish them all the best in their future endeavors.”

Lekoil receive approal for loan to fund Ogo Field Drilling

Last week, Lekoil said that it had obtained funding from Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund for appraisal drilling and initial development of the Ogo field offshore Nigeria.

The loan was secured against the shares and assets of Lekoil subsidiary Lekoil 310 Ltd, as well as Mayfair Assets & Trust Ltd.

The loan will carry a 3.7% interest rate and has an upfront fee of 2.8%, and the firm will have to ensure that it meets numerous criteria to remain in good standing.

Chief Executive Lekan Akinyanmi pledged his entire 39.1 million holding of Lekoil shares as part of the facility’s security package.

He will receive a fee of $1.8 million offset against a $1.7 million loan that was made to him in December 2014.

“Following the recent achievements of the OPL 310 license extension and the securing of funding for the appraisal drilling and development programme, we are delighted to have made strong progress, as promised, towards the start of the appraisal drilling programme on Ogo. We will continue to work closely with our partner and the Operator of the OPL 310 License, Optimum Petroleum, as we pursue value for our shareholders,” said CEO Akinyanmi.

Open Oprhan PLC (LON:ORPH) have announced their intentions to relist on the London AIM market in an announcement on Monday and also announced an undisclosed merger deal.

The firm said that the decision was made following its merger with clinical development services provider hVIVO PLC (LON:HVO).

Last week, Open Orphan said that the merger deal had been unconditional after the firm received total valid acceptance for 72.5 million shares, which amounted to 87% of hVIVO’s entire issued share capital.

Under the terms of the agreement, hVIVO shareholders will receive 2.47 new Open Orphan shares per hVIVO share. The deal values hVIVO shares at 15.56 pence each, a 34% premium to the clinical development services company’s closing price of 11.62p on December 8, the day before the initial announcement.

In the Monday announcement, it was said that hVIVO will own 45% of the newly formed parternship with Open Orphan taking the other 55%.

Arden Partners (LON: ARDN) will be acting as broker and nominated advisor.

Shareholders were further impressed as Open Orphan announced a three year contract with a German Pharmaceuticals giant, which has built on an existing relationship.

Terms of the deal and financial details are yet to be provided, however Open Orphan remained optimistic saying said the new deal guaranteed “significant annual revenue” with work expected to get underway this month.

“This new contract is further evidence of Open Orphan delivering against one of its key objectives, transforming Venn by transitioning from ad-hoc short-term contracts to long-term contracts with high quality customers thereby delivering secured recurring revenues for the business,” said chief executive Cathal Friel.

“We look forward to delivering the contract and building upon this great partnership with one of the leading companies in the European pharma industry.”

hVIVO deal

In December, the firm announced the tie up deal with hVIVO. Under the terms of the agreement, hVIVO shareholders will receive 2.47 new Open Orphan shares per hVIVO share.

Open Orphan Chief Executive Cathal Friel said: “The merger of Open Orphan and hVIVO is a key milestone in the execution of our strategy to become a larger-scale specialist pharma services business and in complementary segments where specialist skills and know-how command higher margins.

“The merger allows the combined business to maximise shareholder value through delivering cost and revenue synergies across the businesses and one that is better positioned to consistently capture greater market share as part of a properly profitable business with losses confined to the past.”

Shares in Open Orphan trade at 5p on the announcement (+11.34%). 6/1/20 12:24BST.

Serabi Gold PLC (LON:SRB) have seen their shares rise nearly 15% as the firm gave an impressive update to the market on Monday.

Serabi Gold plc is a gold exploration and production company involved in the evaluation and development of gold deposits in Brazil.

On Monday, the firm said that diamond drilling at the Sao Chico orebody in its Palito project in Brazil “significantly” extended the resource beyond the current mine limits.

Serabi have begun a 9,600 metro step out diamond drill operational program, in the last quarter of 2019, testing the east and west continuity of the Sao Chico orebody.

Serabi added that key intercepts to the west include 21.03 grammes per tonne and 15.39 tonnes per gramme. To the east, intercepts include 16.61 grammes per tonne and 27.35 grammes per tonne.

Chief Executive Mike Hodgson praises Serabi

Chief Executive Mike Hodgson said: “This is clearly excellent news for the company. We are embarking on an aggressive surface and underground drilling programme mostly focusing in and around the Sao Chico orebody to assess its long-term potential. We have always seen the strong potential in and around Sao Chico and exploration success here is key to our next expansion plans should they be justified.”

“Our initial plan is to drill over an area, beyond the current mine workings, of up to 300 metres to the east, 500 metres to the west, and approximately 250 metres at depth,” Hodgson continued.

He added: “The company has completed approximately 20% of the planned programmes, which are expected to be concluded by the end of June. Our objective is that the drill programme will provide enough new information to allow us to commission the preparation of an updated geological resource and mineral reserve for the Sao Chico orebody during the third quarter of 2020.”

Hodgson said: “The recent start-up of the reverse circulation drilling into the large terrestrial geophysical anomalies just two kilometres to the west of the Sao Chico orebody is also very exciting. These anomalies, which we originally confirmed in November 2018, are quite spectacular when compared to the equivalent geophysical anomaly that overlies the Sao Chico orebody, which has produced approximately 75,000 ounces of gold to date.”

“In the near term, operations have continued to perform well over the last quarter of 2019, and I was at site in December for the initial testing of our ore sorter. Further calibration work will be undertaken this quarter with the manufacturer at site this month. With the ore sorter being tested during this first quarter, we expect the first quarter’s gold production to be at similar levels to 2019, with the enhanced production impact being realised from the second quarter onwards,” Hodgson added.

Serabi picks up from impressive third quarter

Serabi have continued the flush of good form into 2020, as it ended the year very strongly following a bullish third quarter update.

In the three months up to September, the gold producer confirmed 10,817 ounces of production. This showed an increase of 26% from 8,101 in the same period last year.

Serabi have publicly expressed their expectations from the final quarter, expecting figures of 40-41,000 ounces of gold reflecting a 10% rise.

In the first quarter of 2019, production tallied at 10,164 ounces whilst the second quarter saw a fall to 9,527.

Mike Hodgson CEO commented “We are delighted to report our third quarter production of 10,187 ounces of gold, which is another excellent performance and as a result the Company is very well placed to exceed 40,000 ounces of gold production for 2019 and significantly improve on the 2018 gold production of 37,108 ounces”

Brazil Miners begin to see potential

Like Serabi Gold, fellow Brazilian operator Jangada Mines (LON:JAN) have seen success in their operations.

In November, Jangada said it identified eight magnetic anomaly targets to follow further exploration operations at Pitombeiras, located in Brazil.

The firm reported that high grade vanadium, titanium and iron was found at the surface which sparked shareholder optimism. This will see pre-drilling exploration concluded by the end of the final quarter of 2019 and a three-month drilling programme to commence in January 2020.

Serabi will continue to develop their operations across 2020, which will give shareholders both excitement and optimism.

This seems like a period of really positive trading for the firm, and if 2020 continues like 2019 ended then shareholders will be thoroughly impressed.

Shares of Serabi received a 13.07% boost on Monday afternoon, trading at 78p. 6/1/20 12:05BST.