Fusion Antibodies report progress in update, but shares still remain in red

Ishen Patel
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Fusion Antibodies report progress in update, but shares still remain in red

Shareholders of Fusion Antibodies (LON: FAB) have seen their shares in red, despite the firm reporting progress in their most recent update issued on Monday afternoon.

The firm offers a complete range of antibody-related services in Discovery, Engineering and Supply and have guided hundreds of projects through critical preclinical stages.

Shares of Fusion antibodies trade at 73p. (-2.20%). 2/12/19 13:23BST.

In the pharmaceuticals industry, there have been updates. Today, Indivior have seen their shares dip despite progress made in one of their research operations.

However, a positive update came from Yourgene Health PLC who saw their shares rise following confident board expectations.

The firm has seen a volatile period over the last 18 months, and last year the firms saw its shares in red after it reported a slump in trading.

Fusion Antibodies posted revenue of £1.8 million for the six months ended September 30, far exceeding the previous year’s figure of £658,000, which showed good progress for the firm.

“The company’s order levels and revenues in the first six months of the financial year showed significant growth on the previous six-month period and a marked recovery from the comparable period last year. This has been achieved by addressing a number of external competitive pressures seen over the last two years, and by improving the company’s marketing function and business development strategy,” Non-Executive Chair Simon Douglas said.

As a result of the revenue rise, pretax loss narrowed to £621,000 from £887,000. The reason the loss did narrow further was more administrative expenses, which increased to £1.4 million from £1 million.

So far, uptake of RAMP has been encouraging, Fusion said, and this is expected to continue into the second half. However, order visibility is low because Fusion depends on multiple orders which are all worth less than £100,000 and capable of being executed in two to three months. As such, order visibility past three months is limited, it explained. Nonetheless, Fusion is confident order levels will growth for both its new and existing services.

Chief Executive Paul Kerr said: “Our revenues are growing apace, and we have seen a solid improvement in the performance of the business for this period, compared to the previous six months. We have received our first commercial revenues from early adopters of RAMP, and the feedback from the service has been very promising. We are on target to deliver significant revenue growth year on year.”

In the industry, shares have been volatile, and trading has been subject to tough trading conditions.

Indivior shares dip despite positive results report

Ishen Patel
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Indivior shares dip despite positive results report

Indivior PLC (LON: INDV) have seen their shares dip on Monday afternoon, despite reports that the firm had made progress in its Sublocade Injection analysis.

Indivior is a global pharmaceutical company working to working to help change patients’ lives by pioneering life-transforming treatment for addiction and other serious mental illnesses.

The FTSE250 listed pharmaceutical firm manufactures and markets medicines for the treatment of moderate to severe opioid use disorder with a global portfolio in over 40 countries.

In a report on Monday, the firm said that new analysis from a year long investigation of monthly Sublocade injection showed either improved or stable patient-centred outcomes versus placebo.

However, shareholders did not seem so keen on the announcement as shares dipped following the update.

Shares of Indivior dipped 4.46% to 38p. 2/12/19 13:11BST.

Indivior have seen a turbulent time in financial 2019, after the firm reported a slump in third quarter profit on October 31.

Additionally, the firm released a new treatment in February however shares fell following issues over copyright issues following issues with rival Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories (NSE:DRREDDY).

Today, the firm gave an update which did not seem to spark shareholder appetite.

Sublocade injection is intended to treat patients with opioid use disorder who have already taken a medication containing active ingredient buprenorphine. The 12-month study looked at a number of outcome measures, including treatment effectiveness and improvement in the severity of addition as measured by a patient reported Addiction Severity Index.

Other measures included health and employment status, use of healthcare resources, and medication satisfaction. Study participants who were treated with Sublocade injection showed improved or maintained outcomes across these measures when compared to a placebo.

Christian Heidbreder, Indivior’s chief scientific officer, said: “These 12-month findings strengthen our original observations that previously showed that participants receiving Sublocade over a 6-month period reported better health, higher medication satisfaction, increased employment, and decreased healthcare utilization compared to placebo.

“These findings also show that patient-centred outcomes that can be measured during office visits may help clinicians assess their patient’s improvement.”

In the pharmaceuticals market, updates have come from Faron Pharmaceuticals ImmuPharma who have seen their shares rise after progress in their respective updates.

Yourgene shares rise on confident board expectations

Ishen Patel
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Yourgene shares rise on confident board expectations

Yourgene Health PLC (LON: YGEN) have seen their shares rise on Monday afternoon, following a report of strong growth.

Yourgene Health is an international molecular diagnostics group which develops and commercialises genetic products and services. The group works in partnership with global leaders in DNA technology to advance diagnostic science.

In October, Yourgene looked set to hit an ambitious growth target in their half year update, which caused shares to rally.

The international molecular diagnostics group stated ambitions to diversify their markets, expanding internationally and increasing market presence.

This target had been successfully met, and revenue growth came from Yourgene’s International Operations, which increased by over 200% rising to £5.1 million.

This morning, the firm reiterated its stance saying that it was on track to hit further growth targets for the full year.

Shares of Yourgene rose 0.59% to 13p. 2/12/19 12:48BST.

The molecular diagnostics group said that in the six months ended September 30, its’ revenue doubled to £7.8 million from £3.9 million in the comparative period a year ago.

Notably, gross profit rose to £4.7 million from £2.0 million which will impress shareholders in a period of tough market conditions and stiff competition.

Lyn Rees, chief executive officer, said: “I am delighted to announce our first EBITDA profit as a demonstration of the transformation that is underway at Yourgene and resultant organic growth, supported by the contribution from Elucigene and the smooth integration process that is almost complete.”

“At this interim stage we are firmly on target to deliver full-year results in-line with market expectations, with consensus analyst forecasts looking for revenues of nearly £17 million for the year ending March 31, 2020, a considerable jump from last year’s £8.9 million,” Rees said.

The company said in order to deliver growth, it is focusing on product penetration, geographic expansion, products expansion, and acquisitive growth. Its said pure organic growth during the first half was 56% with non-Elucigene revenue of £6.1 million, and it has made a “very good progress” in expanding its’ commercial footprint into new territories.

The firm reported that pretax loss had also narrowed to £1.3 million from the £3.5 million figure in the first half of financial 2019.

The company said it has achieved its first ever positive earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization of £300,000, swung from loss of £2.5 million a year before.

The results and ambitions of the firm will thoroughly please shareholders, and will leave a good taste in a year which has seen good progress.

Nissan rule out deeper capital relations with Renault

Ishen Patel
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Nissan rule out deeper capital relations with Renault

Nissan Motor Co Ltd (TYO: 7201) have said that they will rule out any deeper capital relations with Renault (EPA: RNO) in an announcement made on Monday morning by CEO Makoto Uchida.

Nissan have only recently appointed Uchida, after the firm had seen a business crisis over the last few months.

On the 13th November, the firm reported that it would cut its full year forecast which caused shares to slide, and now Uchida has been placed in poll position to turn company fortunes around.

This comes at a time where the global automotive industry has seen slumps. Renault have cut their annual guidance and Japanese rival Suzuk reported a quarterly slump.

Additionally, Peugeot SA and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV have agreed a $50 million tie up deal which alerted competitors as it establishes its foot holding onto the global market.

On his first day in the new position, chief executive Makoto Uchida also pledged to repair profitability at Japan’s No. 2 automaker and said setting realistic targets would be key toward that goal, as it tries to make a clean break from the leadership of former chairman Carlos Ghosn.

“Closer capital ties with Renault are not a focus in the short term,” he told reporters.

Renault holds a 43.4% stake in Nissan, after it saved Nissan from financial collapse over 20 years ago. Since then, Renault have pushed for the two companies to merge, however Nissan have resisted the temptation.

“The alliance has to benefit each of its partners in terms of revenue and profit,” he said.

“We need to re-evaluate what has worked and what hasn’t worked in the alliance in the past few years.”

The CEO called for Nissan to set “challenging but achievable” targets, in a time where Nissan has seen its lowest annual profit in 11 years and slashed its dividend by 65%.

In a time where the global automotive industry is struggling, the newly appointed CEO has a a tough task on his hands.

“Somewhere along the way we created a culture of setting targets which could not be achieved,” Uchida said, adding that this had resulted in a focus on short-term results.

“Years of this had led Nissan to its current “difficult situation,” he said, using heavy vehicle discounting in the U.S. market as an example of how aggressive sales targets to grow market share had deteriorated the company’s brand.

Shares of Nissan currently trade at JPY688 (+1.40%). 2/12/19 12:39BST.

Hurricane Energy shares plummet despite new recorded discovery

Ishen Patel
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Hurricane Energy shares plummet despite new recorded discovery

Shares of Hurricane Energy (LON: HUR) have plummeted despite the firm reporting that it had made a new discovery on Monday morning.

Hurricane Energy is an AIM listed, UK based exploration and production company.The firm focuses on discoveries in naturally fractured basement reservoirs and are working towards realising the value of the reserves and resources of these discoveries.

Shares in Hurricane Energy plummeted 16.9% to 38p after the announcement. 2/12/19 12:19BST.

Hurricane saw their shares rally in October, after the firm excepted interim expectations which thoroughly impressed shareholders. However, the update today did not spark so much optimism.

The firm announced that it had made another discovery at its Warwick West well in the UK North Sea, however further analysis was needed to consider the sustainability of the discoveries.

The Warwick West well, third and final well in the 2019 Greater Warwick Area programme, was spudded September 24 and drilled to 1,879 metres, intersecting a 931 metre horizontal section of a fractured basement reservoir.

The well flowed for 85 hours total at variable rates. A stable rate could not be reliably measured with an electric submersible pump because the well was still cleaning up. After a build-up period, final flow was concluded and achieved a stable, sustainable 1,300 barrels of oil per day rate. Less than 0.5% water was produced.

Hurricane owns 50% of the Warwick site, located in the Greater Warwick Area offshore. The other 50% is held by joint partner Spirit Energy Ltd.

The company said more technical analysis will be needed to evaluate the impact of the well tests on volumetrics and on whether the Greater Warwick Area could “be a single accumulation”

Chief Executive Robert Trice said: “We are pleased to have made another discovery with the Warwick West well. The flow test results confirm the presence of light, mobile oil.

“The impact that this well will have on how the company views the [Greater Warwick Area] accumulation and its associated volumetrics will require further technical analysis. The GWA joint venture is now assessing the optimal appraisal strategy for the GWA, and Hurricane will provide an update in due course.”

For the rest of 2019, average production is to to be in line with Hurricane’s fourth quarter guidance of 11,000 barrels of oil per day.

Trice concluded: “Further progress is also being made in our understanding of the Lancaster reservoir. Uninterrupted vessel uptime combined with good well productivity have allowed us to carry out additional data gathering whilst remaining in line with guidance for Q4 2019.”

KEFI Minerals shares surge following green light for Tulu Kapi project

Ishen Patel
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KEFI Minerals shares surge following green light for Tulu Kapi project

KEFI Minerals (LON: KEFI) have seen their shares surge on Monday morning, after the firm picked its bank funding for its Tulu Kapi operations.

KEFI Minerals an exploration and development company focussed on gold and copper deposits, primarily in the highly prospective Arabian-Nubian Shield.

The Tulu Kapi project is based in Ethiopia with a Probable Ore Reserve of 1.0 million ounces and Mineral Resources totaling 1.7 million ounces.

Shares in KEFI Minerals surged 36.88% to 1.74p after the update. 2/12/19 12:06BST.

Just one week ago, the firm announced that they were pondering options on how they would finance these developments.

The firm has seen success in the last few weeks, as KEFI saw their shares rally 55.11% at the start of November after conflicts were resolved with regard to internal internal administrative arrangements in Ethiopia.

The fact that this dispute was resolved gave KEFI the green light to pursue operations in the Tulu Kapi project, and now finance options have been weighed and finalized.

It has gone with the bank-based proposal, it said Monday, believing it to be financially “more attractive” and easier to executive.

“In addition, the proposed bank lenders are actively working in Ethiopia, are familiar with the local market and many of our local stakeholders and thus considered more compatible with the project consortium,” said KEFI.

KEFI said that the total funding requirement for infrastructure and mining was $154.9 million, but a bond-lease based financing package would lead to interest payments twice that of a bank loan, and also higher financing-related costs.

“We have been very well supported by the bond-lease proposal and now we also have an attractive bank-loan based alternative because capital market support for our project has recently improved markedly, both inside and outside Ethiopia,” said KEFI Finance Director John Leach.

“The expected savings from the preferred bank-based infrastructure finance proposal provide our project subsidiary, Tulu Kapi Gold Mines, with the opportunity to develop and further explore the underground Tulu Kapi deposit and significantly increase value for shareholders, without reducing net cash flows available for other purposes,” he added.

The first six months of work will be funded by project partners, including the Ethiopian government. KEFI would then plan to draw the bank loan mid-2020.

In the minerals and mining sector, firms have struggled in a period of tough trading.

Fresnillo have seen their shares dip on Monday morning, after the FTSE 100 listed miner announced cuts in its production guidance.

This comes in similar fashion to big name rivals such as as Hochschild Mining and Antofagasta recently slashed their expectations.

Trainline shares dip on Labour election announcement

Ishen Patel
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Trainline shares dip on Labour election announcement

Shareholders of Trainline PLC (LON:TRN) have seen their shares dip on Monday morning, after Labour announced its travel policies for the upcoming election.

Trainline, formerly branded Thetrainline.com, is an independent digital rail and coach platform. It sells tickets through its website, by telephone, and through its mobile app Trainline’s main offices are in London, Paris and Edinburgh.

Shares of Trainline dipped 3.64% to 450p on Monday. 2/12/19 11:45BST.

The Daily Mail, on Sunday reported that the firm would face a direct rival if the Labour Party were to win the election, which alerted shareholders.

As part of Labour’s nationalization plans were it to get into power, the UK government would create a ‘one-stop shop’ for rail passengers to buy tickets online without booking fees, the Mail reported without citing its sources.

This comes as part two of Labour’s headline policies for the December 12 election, after the party announced a few days back that it had intentions to nationalize BT (LON: BT.A) in an attempt to win voters.

The FTSE 250 listed firm has yet to comment on the situation formally, however shareholders do seem concerned as reflected in this morning’s stock price movements.

Labour’s policy will not only be a major blow to Trainline, but would also hit the many shareholders and pension funds that have been placed in good faith within the country.

This all comes part of Jeremy Corbyn’s plans to put power back into the hands of government, in an era where apparent nationalization has never been more important. However, this idea can be thoroughly contested.

Labour had detailed its plans to renationalize the railways but had not outlined plans to introduce a central ticket-selling service.

Labour’s plans would not affect Trainline’s operations in selling train tickets abroad. But the UK makes up a large chunk of the company’s business, with net ticket sales worth £1.65 billion last year.

In a time where the transport industry has been mixed, firms have been fighting the slumping business. National Express and FirstGroup have seen polar opposite updates, as the former saw its shares surge after winning a new contract. The latter saw their shares sink in November, after the firm reported a widened interim loss. Certainly, the election is heating up and both parties have had their share of failures and successes. However, in a time of such political uncertainty there is just no way to deduce which way the election will swing, as voters prepare to visit polling booths on December 12.

Hiscox look likely to suffer FTSE100 demotion

Ishen Patel
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Hiscox look likely to suffer FTSE100 demotion

Hiscox Ltd (LON: HSX) are set to drop out of the elite FTSE 100 index after the firm has seen its shares slip following a tough period of trading over the last 12-18 months.

Hiscox is headquartered in Bermuda, and is an international specialist insurer, underwriting a diverse range of personal and commercial insurance risks.

Its reputation and solid trading figures has made the firm a mainstay in the FTSE100, however the firm appears set for relegation, which may alert shareholders.

Shares of Hiscox currently trade at 1,312p (-3.74%). 2/12/19 11:40BST.

At the start of November, Hiscox gave shareholders an uncertain update which entailed that premium growth was strong however combined ratio was affected by a busy claims period and a trio of natural disasters.

The high number of claims has meant that the insurers balance sheet has taken a bruising which made it likely for demotion.

Easyjet (LON: EZJ) appear to be the likely candidate to replace Hiscox in the FTSE100, and the firm who have also had a turbulent 2019 will shift into the elite list.

“Hiscox may have the FTSE 100’s longest-serving chief executive, as Bronek Masojada has held the post for almost 20 years, but the Lloyd’s of London insurer looks set for a brief initial stay in the index as the latest quarterly reshuffle looms next week,” according to Russ Mould, AJ Bell investment director.

He added: “The specialist underwriter of catastrophe, property and marine insurance only joined the UK’s elite equity benchmark a year ago but its £3.7bn market capitalisation means it looks set for an automatic exit, to be replaced by easyJet, which is set to return to the FTSE 100 after an absence of just six months.”

Nicholas Hyett, an equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: ““An increase in claims in the US together with major weather events, such as the Japanese Typhoon, have blown a hole in insurer Hiscox’s bottom line.

“Unfortunately getting back on track looks set to take longer than some might have hoped, with combined operating ratios not set to return to their previous range until 2022.

“The good news is premiums have continued to grow, but that’s unlikely to offset the headwind from increased claims in the short term.”

Dashing through the snow… as Christmas breaks the bank

Dina Caruso
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Dashing through the snow… as Christmas breaks the bank
A study has found that 43% of British shoppers expect to spend more than their monthly pay cheque over the festive season. Indeed, 68% of British people said that they intend to use credit cards to fund the additional cost of Christmas, a survey of 1,000 adults in the UK conducted by Creditfix.co.uk found. An additional 24% said that they have more than one credit card to cover Christmas costs. According to the survey, 62% of Brits said that the biggest cost over the festive period comes from purchasing gifts for loved ones. Last month, we took a look at the adverts released by retailers this Christmas to encourage shopping over the festive season. John Lewis & Partners, together with Waitrose & Partners, released their Christmas advert featuring the character #ExcitableEdgar. Additionally, Marks & Spencer (LON:MKS), Sainsbury’s (LON:SBRY), Tesco (LON:TSCO) and McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) also released adverts to encourage consumers to get into the festive spirit. Meanwhile, respondents also said that hosting Christmas dinner, attending social events such as Christmas markets and buying decorations also break the bank. The survey found that 16% are still paying off debt from last year’s Christmas period. “It is difficult to anticipate the true cost of Christmas, especially when we all want to treat our loved ones to something special. This is even more the case considering the cost of gifts and festive experiences, such as Christmas markets, which seem to get more expensive every year,” Taylor Flynn, head of marketing at Creditfix, commented on the data. “There are resources available to Brits that can help with budgeting over the festive season and handling credit card bills in the new year, easing financial strain. So, Brits can spend less time worrying about money and more time enjoying the holidays,” Taylor Flynn continued.

Ted Baker shares crash following balance sheet errors

Ishen Patel
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Ted Baker shares crash following balance sheet errors

Shareholders of Ted Baker plc (LON: TED) have seen their shares crash following announcements of a £25 million balance sheet error.

Ted Baker plc is a British luxury clothing retail company, and is a stable name on the British high street.

Shares in Ted Baker crashed 9.12% to 361p after the announcement. 2/12/19 11:18BST.

In the retail and clothing sector, rivals such as Superdry and Sosandar have seen their shares slip in similar fashion following modest updates.

The firm warned investors that it will take a £25 million hate, after it overstated the value of inventory on its balance sheet.

The retailer has appointed Freshfields Druckhaus Deringer to investigate the issue and told shareholders that it estimates an impact on the value of the stock of between £20 million and £25 million.

The interim period has not been pleasant for Ted Baker, as the firm reported a half year loss at the start of October.

The Magic Circle law firm will appoint independent accountants to undertake a “comprehensive review” of the issue, Ted Baker said.

“Ted Baker is committed to ensuring the independent review is completed in an efficient and transparent manner and will update the market as appropriate,” Ted Baker said in a statement.

“Whilst the review is ongoing, the company will not comment further.”

Liberum called the discovery “less than ideal”.

“In our view, it is indicative to some degree of the very early stage work that the new and highly regarded CFO, Rachel Osborne, is undertaking,” the broker said.

“The board believes that any adjustment to inventory value will have no impact on the year-end cash balance and will relate to prior years. We keep our recommendation under review as there are further moving parts that may need consideration, which naturally lead to some additional questions.”

This issue will not come at a pleasant time for newly appointed Rachel Osnorne, who was appointed finance head just a few weeks back.

The issue was mentioned in Ted Baker’s last annual report from information provided by auditors KPMG.

AJ Bell’s investment director Russ Mould said it appeared that “Ted Baker has found another banana to slip up on”.

“Discovering that the value of inventory on its balance sheet has been overstated is a huge blunder on its behalf,” he said.

“It suggests that the business hasn’t got a grip on its numbers which is a bit worrying considering that new chief executive Lindsay Page used to be the finance director.

“Appointing a law firm and the intention to bring in independent accountants will raise questions about whether more serious problems are bubbling under the surface at the business.”

The company is due to publish its latest trading next week.

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