California faces the largest planned power outage of history amid wildfires
Wildfires in California forced thousands of evacuations this weekend. At least 90,000 fled their homes to run away from the disaster.
NEX Growth Market’s Cannabis companies
Patrick Birley, chief executive of NEX Exchange, is one of the speakers at todays Cannabis Investor Forum (www.cannabisinvestorforum.co.uk) in London. The London-based NEX Growth Market, which in stockmarket terms is the equivalent of AIM, offers a selection of companies that are involved, or seeking to become involved, in cannabis products.
AfriAg Global (LON: AFRI)
www.afriagglobal.com AfriAg Global started out investing in African agricultural logistics businesses and one year ago the remit was widened to include medicinal cannabis-related investments. AfriAg made its first medicinal cannabis investment last year. It was a £61,000 investment at $146.439 a share in 546 Tilray Inc. AfriAg has taken a small stake in Apollon Formularies, which plans to open a licenced retail medicinal cannabis dispensary and processing facility in Jamaica. The six-week pilot opening of a medicinal cannabis therapy centre to treat patients went well. AfriAg plans to acquire the rest of Apollon.Ananda Developments (LON:ANA)
www.anandadevelopments.com Medicinal cannabis-focused investment vehicle Ananda Developments joined NEX on 4 July 2018 having raised £930,000 at 0.45p a share. The pre-money valuation was £500,000. The first investment was $200,000 in convertible loan notes in iCAN Israel-Cannabis Ltd, which focuses on medicinal cannabis. iCan has subsidiaries involved in organising cannabis symposiums and cannabis-based research services, plus a 5% stake in CannRx Technology Inc, which has developed liquid soluble cannabinoids for use in treatments, and a 20% stake in CMTREX, which is developing a trading platform for cannabis. Ananda also bought 15% of UK-based Liberty Herbal Technologies Ltd, which is the owner and developer of hapac, a technology for vaping cannabis. Hapac has been refined and sales of the device and Hapac sachets are growing. However, legal uncertainty in Italy means that Hapac has been removed from sale while a court case over labelling and cannabis content is heard in Parma. There are plans to launch Hapac in other markets. Earlier this year, Ananda amended its investing strategy to include the cultivation of medicinal cannabis and acquired Tiamat Agriculture, which is applying for a UK controlled drug cannabis cultivation and supply licence. Ananda and Anglia Salads each own 50% of DJT, which will apply for a licence to cultivate and supply cannabis. DJT has applied for a licence to grow >0.2% THC cannabis and has been registered with the Drugs Licensing and Compliance Unit of the Home Office. DJT has acquired Aristaeus Elements, which is setting up as a cannabis extraction and processing facility, for £1 and assumption of debt of £51,000 – the deposit paid for the equipment for the plant. The plan is to finance the investment in the facility through debt secured against offtake contracts.Block Commodities Ltd (LON:BLCC)
www.blockcommodities.com Block Commodities is a trader in African commodities, which has launched a blockchain system called Farmer 3.0 that connects participants in the commodities market. Separately, Block decided to move into medicinal cannabis. The plan is to produce cannabis products in Africa to supply the European market.Eurocann International (LON:BUD)
www.eurocannintplc.com Valiant Investments has changed its name to EuroCann International and reinvented itself as a medicinal cannabis-focused investment company. It disposed of its investment in Flamethrower to one of its own directors and raised £263,000 at 1.5p a share. Valiant had £4,251 in the bank at the end of May 2019, prior to the fundraising. New chief executive Jeremy Ross is a former director of Speakeasy Cannabis Club, which grows cannabis in British Columbia.Freyherr International Group (LON:FRYR)
www.freyherr.com Slovenia-based Freyherr International Group joined NEX on 13 August 2019. The admission price was 170p a share, but no cash was raised. The market value was £43.8m. The directors still own nearly three-quarters of the shares, and if the two other major shareholders are included then six investors own nearly 89%. Pro forma net assets were €1.06m, while net debt was €697,000. The underlying business was founded in 2015. It cultivates and acquires hemp and cannabis, then produces CBD products from these ingredients. A subsidiary designs packaging and dispensers. The strategy is to invest €5.5m in upgrading the company’s extraction facility and it still needs to raise cash to do this. Freyherr generated revenues of £1.17m in the first half of 2019 and they should reach more than £2m for the full year. There was a small profit in the first half, which was before Freyherr joined NEX.Imperial X (LON:IMPP)
www.imperialminerals.com Imperial X is seeking investments in the medicinal cannabis sector. This strategy commenced at the beginning of the year. Imperial X had previously been a mining investment company. The products involved, such as nutraceuticals and cosmetics, would contain less than 0.2% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Canadian corporate financier Kyler Hardy has been appointed chief executive. There was nearly £70,000 in the bank at the end of 2018 and since then £46,150 of convertible notes have been swapped for shares at 1p each by family interests of non-executive director Melissa Sturgess. Palace Trading Investments, which is beneficially owned by Melissa Sturgess, sold the same number of shares at 2p each and retains a 1.86% stake. Canadian corporate financier Kyler Hardy has been appointed chief executive. He appears to have bought the shares that were sold, and he owns 12.5%, while new non-executive director Emma Priestley owns 5.42%.Sativa Group (LON:SATI)
www.sativagroup.co.uk Sativa Group floated in March 2018 as a new investment company with a medicinal cannabis focus and raised £1.1m at 1p a share. That took cash in the bank to £1.5m. The company was launched by Geremy Thomas, the founder of former AIM company PNC Telecom The initial acquisitions were George Botanicals, which supplies cannabidiol (CBD) products, such as CBD oils, and PhytoVista, which operates a laboratory that tests cannabis oils and hemp products. Both were owned by Sativa boss Geremy Thomas. The Home Office has awarded Sativa a controlled drug licence to grow medicinal cannabis. This covers cannabis with a THC content of greater than 0.2%. Sativa already has a low-THC industrial hemp licence.Sativa has a research agreement with King’s College London on the impact of cannabinoids on inflammation and respiratory diseases. Sativa will supply specific strains of cannabis. Sativa has opened its third Goodbody CBD Wellness store in Bristol, following store openings in Bath and Cirencester. There are also talks with vets about using medicinal cannabis in animal health. Sativa has appointed Cenkos as its corporate adviser and broker, replacing Peterhouse. Henry Lees-Buckley has become chief executive and Geremy Thomas has moved to deputy chairman. Interim revenues were £588,000, while the loss was £1.56m. Sativa had £2.23m of cash at the end of June 2019.Almost three quarters of Brits turn off heating to save money
Almost three quarters of Brits put off turning the heating on in their home as a result of concerns surrounding energy costs, new data revealed on Thursday.
Conducted by the comparison site Moneyexpert.com, the research revealed that 72% of British people admit to restricting their use of heating because of concerns about energy costs.
Moreover, the research found that a quarter of people wear extra jumpers and a third wrap themselves in a blanket to keep warm.
Meanwhile, 1 in 4 Brits argue about whether or not the heating should be turned on, the research found.
Additionally, the cost of winter preparations was calculated, amounting to an average of £402.99 per household. The figure takes into consideration the extra costs associated with the colder months, such as warmer clothing, extra spent on energy, budgeting for Christmas, and any seasonal household expenses.
“It’s alarming to see that the vast majority of people are restricting the heating in their homes due to cost concerns, and with 74% expecting their bills to rise this winter, it’s more important than ever to shop around to find a better gas and electricity deal,” Jason Smith, CEO of Moneyexpert.com, commented on the data.
“If you’ve been paying a fixed monthly rate and you are one of the 60% of Brits whose energy plan is in credit at this time of the year, switching supplier now means you will also benefit from a reimbursement, which could go to help with all those extra or unbudgeted for winter costs,” the CEO of Moneyexpert.com continued.
Earlier this year, Ofgem implemented a price cap on default energy tariffs to limit customers from overpaying for energy.
Elsewhere, it was reported at the beginning of October that the market dominance of the Big Six energy companies continues to weaken. These are Centrica, E.ON UK, Scottish and Southern Energy, RWE npower, EDF Energy and ScottishPower; they supply most of the energy to domestic households in Britain.
Fresnillo reports low output at the end of Q3
Fresnillo Plc (LON: FRES) have reported poor trading and output figures at the end of the third quarter, as a result their shares have fallen as investors lose confidence.
The precious metals miner reported that gold and silver production on an annual scale would be at the lower end of its target.
In the three months to the end of September, silver production fell 14.5% from the third quarter of last year to 13,283 kilo ounces and gold production was down 6.9% to 209,752.
Fresnillo said that the low production rates for silver was due to expected lower ore grade at the Saucito mine and lower ore grades at Fresnillo and San Julián.
Subsequently, the lower gold production was attributed to lower grade and volume of gold produced at both Herradura and San Julián veins, and a lower volume of ore processed at Noche Buena.
The company have issued a statement saying that total production should be around 55-58 million ounces and 880-910 koz, for gold and silver respectively.
Chief executive officer Octavio Alvidrez said: “We continued to implement the performance improvement plan for our Fresnillo District mines during the third quarter. This programme includes intensive infill drilling to improve the geological model, dilution control and raising development rates, whilst also taking actions to address maintenance performance, contractor productivity and equipment availability. As a result, while grades remain variable, we are now processing higher volumes of ore on a more consistent basis at Fresnillo.
Alvidrez added “Our development pipeline is progressing well. Construction of our next major mine Juanicipio is moving forwards. The second phase of the pyrites plant project and the optimisation of the beneficiation plant to deal with higher lead and zinc grades at the Fresnillo mine remain on track. Both are due to be commissioned in the second half of 2020.”
In the mining sector, there have been updates. Hochschild Mining (LON: HOC) have remained confident after a mixed quarterly update, Centamin (LON: CEY) have remained confident on 2019 revenue and Antofagasta (LON: ANTO) are facing supply disruptions.
Currently, shares of Fresnillo are trading at 634p per share, seeing a 2.37% drop. 23/10/19 14:35BST.
Pipehawk shares soar with strong second half trading
Pipehawk Plc (LON: PIP) have said today that strong second half trading have allowed the firm to swing to an annual profit.
The Hampshire based underground piping specialist reported a first time company profit, leaving shareholders satisfied after prior loss.
The engineering solutions provider said they had swung to a pretax profit of £12,000 in the year to the end of June.
This was the first sign of profit since the £502,000 loss faced last year, as revenue climbed by 40% to GBP6.7 million from GBP4.8 million.
The second half of the year benefited from a GBP129,000 one-off gain in relation to the reduction of the amount of money that is owed to the vendors of Thomson Engineering Design, Pipehawk explained.
Chair Gordon Watt commented “The politicians faffing around with Brexit has undeniably had an effect on this year’s results and to some extent continues to do so. owever, UK business has generally had to move on, and delayed orders have eventually been placed such that we have had a very reasonable second half of the year”
PipeHawk said new unit sales in its technology division were flat, although sales in the Middle East and Asia overtook Europe for the first time.
Pipehawk have also received a boost from Thomason Engineering Design, a firm which it recently acquired in November 2017, who showed strong trading figures in the second half.
Watt also added “The PipeHawk group remains committed to creating sustainable earnings-based growth and focusing on the expansion of its business with forward-looking products and services.One small such acquisition has been made since the year end in Wessex Precision Instruments Ltd, where I expect with synergies and cost savings an early return to its profitability.”
Pipehawk added Wessex Precision Instruments to their portfolio earlier this month. With the first show of company profits investors can be optimistic on future returns with stron performance in Pipehawk and its subsidiaries.
In the engineering sector updates have been added. IntegraFin (LON: IHP) have seen annual funds rise. Georgia Capital (LON: CGEO) have experienced their share value slip and Nexus (LON: NEXS) have given a positive outlook for shareholders.
Currently, shares of Pipehawk are trading at 4.7p seeing a 14.63% rise during Wednesday trading. 23/10/19 14:13BST.
EOS Scientific CEO: CBD is “future of skincare”
EOS Scientific’s Ambience CBD is bringing CBD-infused skincare products to the UK high street.
The CEO of EOS Scientific said that holistic compounds, like CBD, are “the future of skincare”.
The UK’s leading CBD oil testing service, EOS Scientific, has established its brand Ambience CBD as one of the leading CBD providers in the UK.
Ambience CBD’s new premium CBD-infused skincare range, named Ambience Apothecary, is available to buy in both Boots and Holland & Barrett.
The CBD market is expected to see exponential growth – in the UK, the market is expected to grow three times in value by the end of 2021, amounting to £1.2 billion.
In July, Sativa Group opened its first CBD wellness retail store in Bath.
The CEO of EOS Scientific, Simon Manthorpe, believes holistic skincare will protect the cosmetics industry.
“CBD has had a revolutionary effect on consumer markets in the UK. CBD wasn’t even on the FMCG market five years ago. Now, we’re expecting the market to be worth a whopping £1.2 billion by the end of 2021. CBD-infused skincare has been around for over a year, but investors are only just waking up to the rapid growth within this arena in the cosmetics market,” the CEO of EOS Scientific said.
“The launch of our new premium CBD skincare range, Ambience Apothecary, this will allow us to lead the way for businesses looking to take advantage of the growing cosmetics market,” the CEO continued.
“The infusion of CBD is particularly important too. Not only is it where our expertise lie, but we have conducted research nationally representative research that showed 40% of Britons will only buy skincare products with natural ingredients and a further 55% of Britons will not buy skincare products if they were aware that they are made with animal products.”
“his means that collagen will become far less popular as a base compound for cosmetics, with natural compounds such as CBD becoming far more prevalent in the cosmetics arena. With an increasingly conscious consumer market, holistic compounds such as CBD will prove to be the future of skincare.”
Hostile Political conditions test Antofagasta
Antofagasta Plc (LON: ANTO) have faced a production disruption after tough political conditions outlined in their third quarter update.
Currently, strikers are occurring in Chile which has disrupted the copper production line where Antofagasta generate most of their revenue.
The demonstrations have been ongoing, and fifteen people have died as result.
Antofagasta joined Santiago in the list of firms who have been affected by this political action. Santiago is the world’s largest copper producer, and has been in a rut with strikers.
Antofagasta said that the disruption could cause problems in their supply chain and prevent workers getting to site, with the potential to lower output by about 5,000 tonnes.
The union of national copper miners, Codelco were expected to join today’s general strike which would give huge backing to the demonstrations.
Antofagasta operates four mines in Chile, with its flagship Los Pelambres project located 240km north-east of the capital.
Antofagasta chief executive Ivan Arriagada said: “We delivered another quarter of strong production underpinned by a consistent operating performance, which together with higher grades at some of our operations, contributed to year to date copper volumes of 584,200 tonnes which are 16 per cent higher than the same period in 2018.”
Arriagada added that production growth for the whole year was expected to be in line with annual forecasts of 750-790,000 tonnes, with this expected to slip to 725-755,000 tonnes next year.
Political demonstrations in Chile have significantly disrupted all business, but particularly mining.
However, Antofagasta have remained confident that legislators and unions will be able to meet an agreement to stop the industrial action.
The quicker this issue is resolved, the better for Antofagasta and Santiago will be able to restore their supply chains.
In the mining sector, there have been updates. Hochschild Mining (LON: HOC) have remained confident after a mixed quarterly update, Centamin (LON: CEY) have remained confident on 2019 revenue and Thor Mining (LON: THR) have issued new shares.
Currently, shares of Antofagasta are trading at 872.6p per share, seeing a 1.75% increase across Wednesday trading. 23/10/19 12:51BST.
Nexus Infrastructure give assured outlook for shareholders
Nexus Infrastructure PLC (LON: NEXS) have given investors a confident outlook and that annual profits will be in line with market forecasts.
Nexus provide infrastructure services in the housebuilding and commercial sectors, however, said it remains cautious over the ongoing political backdrop.
Nexus is not the first industry firm to express their concern amidst Brexit anxiety. Along with Nexus, many British firms have suffered from low consumer confidence in a period of slow business.
The AIM listed engineering services provider said divisional revenue in the year ending in September was productive.
In this time period, divisional revenue increased year-on-year with Tamdown (Nexus’ civil engineering, infrastructure and concrete frame services arm Tamdown, which counts the bulk of the UK’s biggest housebuilders as customers) achieving high single-digit percentage revenue growth.
TriConnex, part of Nexus is expected to deliver strong revenue growth following an increase in the projects secured and acceleration of other projects in the period. eSmart Networks also continues to successfully scale-up, Nexus noted.
The Essex based firm said that revenues ended the year at £338.9 million, a 17% year on year increase.
This provides the company with “good visibility” of earnings for the year ahead.
Mike Morris, chief executive said “I am pleased to report that the group is trading in line with expectations. “The continued growth in our order book provides us with strong visibility of future earnings and gives us confidence in the future,”
Low risk investor will be particularly keen on Nexas Infrastructure as Nexus closed their financial books with net cash holdings of £22.6 million, beating the forecast by Numis Securities by £10 million.
The fact that in their most recent trading statement, Nexas have given investors a strong outlook is a positive sign. Shareholders can be optimistic for the future, with good performance coming in subsidiary companies as well.
In the energy sector, Hurricane Energy (LON: HUR) have exceeded expectations, TomCo Energy Plc (LON: TOM) have reported a H1 loss and Rose Petroleum PLC (LON: ROSE) shares have spiked on loss announcement.
Currently, shares of Nexus Infrastructure PLC are trading at 136.5p per share, seeing a 2.63% increase during Wednesday trading.
Hochschild Mining remain confident after uncertain quarterly update
Hochschild Mining Plc (LON: HOC) claimed that they would meet their annual guidelines after a mixed third quarterly review.
The FTSE250 (INDEXFTSE: MCX) listed mining company said gold production had risen to 81,370 ounces in the three months leading up to September.
This figure showed a 9.7% increase compared to the 74,200 ounces produced a year ago.
This derived from solid delivery from all of the company’s operating mines, it said, especially San Jose in Chile.
However, quarter on quarter gold production fell by 3.3% causing concern for Hochschild shareholders.
Looking at silver production, the third quarter showed a positive 2.3% increase to 5.3 million ounces compared to the 5.2 million produced in the 2019 second quarter.
Once again, year on year output in silver production fell 8.8% dampening the positive results.
Overall year-to-date production was 366,721 gold equivalent ounces and 29.7 million silver equivalent ounces, the second highest nine month total in the company’s history, it said.
Hochschild have given investors reassurance by saying that they are on track to meet full year production forecasts of 457,000 ounces of gold production, and 37 million ounces of silver.
With respect to prices, Hochschild said average precious metal prices in the third quarter of 2019 were $1,510 per ounce for gold and $18.4 per ounce for silver, higher than $1,187 and $13.7, respectively, a year ago.
Chief Executive Ignacio Bustamante commented “”Hochschild has delivered another strong quarter of output including robust contributions at all three of our mines and we remain on track to meet our annual production and cost targets”
Bustamante added “We remain confident for the future and are excited by the acquisition of the low-risk Biolantanidos rare earth deposit in Chile which adds diversified optionality to our portfolio although we will retain our core focus on precious metals,”
In the mining sector, Centamin (LON: CEY) have experienced a output decline, Serabi Gold Plc (LON: SRB) have shown strong production figures in their third quarter and Kavango Resources Plc (LON: KAV) have seen their shares climb.
Shares of Hochschild Mining are trading at 188p per share. 23/10/19 12:05BST.
Getlink Q3 revenue up only slightly
Getlink (EPA:GET) announced a slight increase in third quarter revenue on Wednesday, in a context hit by uncertainties.
Shares in the operator of the Channel Tunnel were down during trading on Wednesday morning.
Getlink said that third quarter revenue in 2019 rose to €305.1 million, up only slightly when compared to the same period a year prior.
The company added that Eurotunnel Le Shuttle revenue declined by only 2%, amounting to €185.8 million despite a “difficult market”.
Rail Network revenue increased by 4% to €83.9 million, Getlink said. The company added that this was driven by dynamic growth in Eurostar traffic, in particular the development of the direct service from London to Amsterdam.
“In the third quarter, the Group has been bolstered by its fundamental principles of quality of service and premium offer and continued to grow in the context of lower European growth and the uncertainties related to Brexit,” Jacques Gounon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Group, said in a company statement.
Getlink confirmed its medium-term objectives, despite the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the nation’s departure from the European Union.
“This quarter was marked by strong performance in each of the Group’s segments, with maintaining its pricing power confirming the Group’s position. In total, even in the current context of the Brexit negotiations, the Group confirms its medium-term objectives of €735 million in EBITDA by 2022,” Getlink said.
Elsewhere in Brexit related news, it was revealed on Wednesday that Prime Minister Boris Johnson will push for a general election if the European Union agrees to delay Brexit even further until January.
Shares in Getlink SE (EPA:GET) were down, trading at -0.47% as of 12:33 CEST Wednesday.