Koovs shares sink amid stalling financial investment talks
Koovs PLC (LON: KOOV) have seen their shares sink across Monday trading, amid talks between shareholders over a major financial investment.
Shares of Koovs sunk 29.6% to 2p on Monday. 18/11/19 15:04BST.
The India focused online fashion retailer said that it continued to negotiate with major shareholder Future Lifestyle Fashions Ltd (NSE: FLFL) for completing its £6.5 million investment.
Future Lifestyle Fashions is a subsidiary of Indian retail giant Future Group (NSE: FRETAIL).
FLFL holds a 26% in Koovs, and have previously invested £250,000 for 881,523 preference shares valued at 28.36 pence each.
The terms of this investment outline that these shares will convert to ordinary shares in June 2020.
The capital infusion was paused after the Reserve Bank of India asked FLFL to reapply for approval before any further subscriptions are made.
“FLFL has confirmed to the company that it is in the process of reapplying for approval of the investment from the Reserve Bank of India and that it remains committed to honouring the investment,” Koovs said.
Koovs also said that it is “actively considering all other financing alternatives available to it.” The company currently has cash reserves of around £2.2 million which is sufficient for 2019.
In the fashion and retail industry, competitors have seen shares become volatile after periods of uncertain and tough trading. Laura Ashely (LON: ALY) saw their shares dip after their Finance Chief left, additionally Superdry (LON: SDRY) informed shareholders of an annual loss back in July. There is a chance however, that FLFL will see potential in this investment as Koovs have experienced a solid few months of trading. Koovs in late October reported impressive fundamentals in their second quarter update, despite the ongoing uncertainty investment. The Group’s headline figure was its 100% year-on-year gross order value growth, from £2.5 million to £5.0 million, which may give enough appetite to FLFL to see out the remainder of the investment which was originally planned.Amur Minerals shares jump after repayment of convertible loan
Amur Minerals Corporation (LON: AMC) have seen their shares jump after the company announced repayment of its convertible loan.
The loan taken was valued at $853,000 and Amur confirmed on Monday afternoon that this had been paid back to Riverfort Global Opportunities PLC (LON: RGO) and YA II PN Ltd.
Shares jumped 13.76% on Monday afternoon to 2p. 18/11/19 14:54BST.
“The investment and support provided by Riverfort since February 2018 enabled Amur to continue the development of the project with the successful completion of the 2018 drill season, and the initiation of our current TEO feasibility study work programme,” said Chief Executive Robin Young.
“The company was also able to complete the acquisition of the bulk samples for metallurgical test work, hydrological and rock mechanic drilling in 2018, all of which form important inputs into the TEO report,” added Young.
Only two weeks ago, Amur Minerals announced that they would raise funds through a share subscription. The firm announced that they would raise £1.2 million in order to pay a segment of the convertible loan that was fully repaid today.
“The fundraise strengthens the company’s financial position as we continue our work on the TEO workstreams, and the follow on DFS, and will update the market with the progress of these various workstreams as and when appropriate,” Chief Executive Officer Robin Young said.At at time where competitors such as Serabi (LON:SRB) boat strong production figures for their third quarter, this will come as a relief for shareholders.
Additionally, Resolute Mining Limited (LON: RSG) saw bumper fundamentals in the first half of 2019 with their trading update.
There may been long term benefits for investor who stuck with Amur Minerals. Although the firm is still finding its feet in the market, Amur did show its resilient nature in paying off a significant debt.
Shareholders can remain optimistic about future outlook, as this could be a diamond for investors. Amur still has a long way to prove its credentials to both shareholders and the market, however these are steps in the right direction.
Feedback Plc launches Bleepa pilot study
Feedback Plc (LON: FDBK) have updated shareholders about a new trial with Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS for its new medical communication platform, Bleepa.
Shares of Feedback plc (LON: FDBK) are trading at 1p. 18/11/19 14:34BST.
In the medical and pharmaceuticals sector, the big names have continued to dominate headlines. Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) have smashed analyst and market expectations. Additionally, British rival GSK (LON: GSK) raised their annual profit forecast following a strong quarterly update.Bleepa is a platform which enables clinicians to access medical grade images through smartphones, tablets and desktop computers.
Shareholders can be optimistic, as it seems that the NHS have bought into the Bleepa software after agreeing a trial deal.
Feedback added that the trial is set to go live in December, and last for approximately three months to allow a full review of the system.
Seniority at Feedback anticipated that the pilot will be extended to include other clinical teams within the Trust, and expects diversification into the Orthopaedic and Vascular sector.
Dr Tom Oakley, CEO of Feedback, commented:
“Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust is a renowned adopter of new technology given its status as a GDE Fast follower site, and we look forward to working with the team on our first pilot study of Bleepa®. We believe that Bleepa will accelerate the process of requesting a specialist opinion from colleagues, ultimately resulting in better care for patients, faster.
“The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust pilot study is our first, but with the interest we have received since the launch of Bleepa at the NHS Expo 2019 in September, we anticipate more to follow.”
Libby Woodcock, EPR Transformation Manager of Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, commented:
“Transforming clinical services by providing digital enablement is always high on our agenda and we are excited to be involved.”
Dr Georges Ng Man Kwong, Consultant Chest Physician and CCIO of Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, commented:
“Bleepa is addressing a direct clinical challenge to better support our busy respiratory clinicians (at the Royal Oldham Hospital) by improving referral process and patient care. Each referral requires rapid and reliable access to radiology images and clinical handover information, and a means of messaging referring teams and documenting outcome. Bleepa has the potential to bring this together for our clinicians and therefore for our patients. We are delighted to be involved with this innovation solution.”
This morning in the medical sector, it was also reported that Consort Medical (LON: CSRT) had merged with Swedish based Recipharm (STO: RECI-B).Feedback have also said the strategic review for its TexRAD medical image analysis technology has needed further developments to support a US Food & Drug Administration submission.
“We have made some product modifications to TexRAD Research in response to customer feedback and are evaluating the impact of these on revenue. In the near term, we will continue to sell TexRAD within the research setting through third party distributors which provides a more cost-effective avenue for maintaining our sales efforts. As a result, we have reduced the resources associated with TexRAD,” said Oakley.
Bezeq Tel shares dip following third quarter update
Bezeq Tel (TLV: BEZQ) have seen their shares dip following a modest trading update released to shareholders on Monday.
Shares in the Israeli telecoms firm dipped 0.28% on Monday to ILS286. 18/11/19 14:10BST.
The firm reported a larger than expected fall in third quarter profit, and informed shareholders that it expected a large 2019 loss.
Bezeq Tel alluded to two major write downs of its business units as one of the main reasons for the loss expected in financial 19. Israel’s largest telecom provider is currently undergoing a change of ownership which has led to operational and structural changes.
The firm reported a profit of ILS191 million, down from the 2018 figure of ILS234 million, additionally this was short of analyst expectations of ILS198 million.
As well as the write downs of its business units, Bezeq reported the higher financing expenses contributing to the poor update.
Revenue fell 2.3% to ILS2.25 billion, which did beat analyst expectations of ILS2.23 billion.
The company maintained its forecast for 2019, expecting a net loss of ILS1.1 billion.
Bezeq is in the midst of a major restructuring with several parallel early retirement plans and cost-cutting measures,” Barclays (LON: BARC) analyst Tavy Rosner said. “These are starting to pay off, as demonstrated by the 4% decrease in salaries.”
“We hope that the new policy that will be formulated will enable us to launch fibre optic services for the private sector in Israel on an economic basis,” CEO David Mizrahi said in a statement.
Bezeq have seemingly lapsed behind industry competitors such as Cellcom (NYSE: CEL) and Partner Communications (TLV: PTNR) who have released their own fibre networks. Bezeq have been locked in a deal to try and push their fibre network but negotiations stalled when Bezeq were unwilling to meet demands it provide the service for 100% of the country. In the global telecoms industry, BT (LON: BT.A) have hit headlines after Labour announced on Friday that they planned to nationalize the firm as part of their 2019 election manifesto. Additionally, TalkTalk (LON: TALK) and Spirent Communications (LON: SPT) gave shareholders a positive update on Friday.Volkswagen shares dip after confirmed 2019 outlook
Volkswagen (ETR: VOW3) have seen their shares dip after a statement was issued on Monday identifying a gloomy annual outlook.
Shares of Volkswagen dipped 3.95% to €175 on Monday. 18/11/19 13:46BST.
At the end of October, it was reported that Volkswagen’s sales revenue and profit grew between January and September.
Despite the positivity, seniority do not seem so confident on the full year guidance for the german automobile firm.
Volkswagen highlighted that in 2020 operating profit will remain between 6.5 and 7.5%.
We are continuing to pursue our ambitious strategic financial targets for 2020 and 2025,” Frank Witter, the member of the Volkswagen Group Board of Management responsible for Finance and IT.
Frank Witter said: “The Volkswagen Group remains very robust in the face of increasingly difficult economic conditions. However, we will have to apply systematic cost discipline to reach our long-term goals.” Witter concluded “We also confirm our outlook for 2019,”.
Volkswagen join Nissan (TYO: 7201) in a list of firms who have been pessimistic on their guidance for 2019 amid tough market conditions.
In a time where the global automobile market has experienced a slowdown, it seems that seniority at Volkswagen are feeling the slump.
Volkswagen have indeed given better updates compared to rivals, where the German firm have seen both profit and revenue gains.
Global rival such as Suzuki (TYO: 7269) have not been so lucky, seeing major slumps in Indian business. Whilst firms have attempted to combat slow business through mergers, as seen with Fiat Chrysler (NYSE: FCAU) and Peugeot (EPA: UG).
The continued saga between the UK and European Union has affected trading in the car industry, the fact that Volkswagen have not mentioned that they plan to exceed guidance may be a warning to shareholders about tougher tests in the future. The first step in solving the ongoing Brexit negotiations is the general election on the 12th December, and like many British and European firms there is a hope that Britains status with the EU can be clarified as soon as possible. It seems that after last week’s positive update from the German firm, shareholder are remaining somewhat optimistic in tough trading conditions.H&T shares sink following regulator investigation
H&T Group Plc (LON: HAT) have seen their shares sink after the FCA triggered an investigation into ‘certain aspects and files’.
The FCA pledged to look into the companies high-cost short term credit (HCSTC) and unsecured loans business.
The review is focussing on H&T’s creditworthiness assessments and lending processes for HCSTC loans in light of new rule changes over affordability assessments, it said today.
Shares of H&T have sunk 16.99% during Monday trading to 307p. 18/11/19 13:27BST.
H&T confirmed to shareholders that it has temporarily ceased all HCSTC operations due to the ongoing investigation.
For financial 2019, H&T expected revenues from HCSTC unsecured lending to total less than 4% of total group revenue.
The FCA review is focusing on H&T’s creditworthiness assessments and lending processes for HCSTC loans, in light of regulatory changes.
H&T said it is cooperating with FCA and the review will result in changes to its policies and procedures relating to the provision of unsecured HCSTC loans.
H&T have said that they will also review historical lending practices to look into any issuances of customer redress.If redress applies, then the firm will fund it from existing financial resources.
In spite of the FCA review, H&T said that it continues “to trade well and in line with the dynamics set out in its statement of 30 September 2019.”
Clearly the market reputation of H&T is at risk here, and shareholder’s will be concerned about whether the FCA will impose any regulatory fines onto the the UK based pawnbroker. In October, it was announced that H&T had acquired Albemarle & Bond Pledge Books in an £8 million deal, which pleased shareholders. “This is an exciting transaction and enables us to cement our position as the UK’s leading pawnbroker. Our immediate focus is to do everything we can to support A&B’s customers,” said H&T Chief Executive John Nichols.IQE shares plummet as annual loss expectations announced
IQE PLC (LON: IQE) have seen their shares plummet across Monday trading after the firm announced expectation for a financial 2019 loss.
The British semiconductor company lowered its annual revenue forecast and warned shareholders that it will report a mid single digit operating loss for 2019.
As a result, shares plummeted 19.85% to 52p. 18/11/19 12:47BST.
In a market where global names such as Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) and Samsung (KRX: 005930) have also seen slumps, it is clear that the market conditions are tough for all firms. However, firms such as Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) have remained optimistic that they can make changes to ensure that results are turned around. “A mid-single digit adjusted operating loss is now expected resulting from revenues being slightly below the previous guidance range, additional one-off commissioning costs at the new foundry in Newport, general diseconomies of scale associated with operating at low volume in some sites and the inclusion of losses for the Singapore CSDC entity as announced in October,” IQE said.The British firm expects revenue to be between £136 million and £142 million for 2019, where previous guidance was issued in the range of £140 million and £160 million.
In 2018, the company generated revenue of £156.3 million and adjusted operating profit of £16 million
The company highlighted good growth in its Photonics division, but this will do little to appease shareholders in what seems a very poor year of trading for the Cardiff based technology firm.
IQE further said that it has taken steps to reduce costs and 2019 capital expenditure is expected to be at the lower of the £30 million to £40 million guidance range and net debt to be between £15 million to £20 million.
“IQE has experienced very challenging market conditions in 2019. Shortfalls in revenue relate predominantly to two major customers, with whom IQE is confident it has not lost share and who remain very well positioned for returns to growth in 2020. Indeed, the company remains well positioned to capitalise on an expanding future compound semiconductor market opportunity driven by the macro trends of 5G and connected devices,” said IQE Chief Executive Drew Nelson.
Cambria Africa shares spike despite ongoing legal battles
Cambria Africa PLC (LON: CMB) have seen their shares spike despite on going legal battles and declining second half profits.
The investment firm, which primarily operates in the African country Zimbabwe, reported lower profitability in second half operating profits.
The firm added the company failed to meet both revenue and profit estimates, and experienced a slump in trading.
The company also said an investee’s court claim in Zimbabwe was dismissed, rendering it liable to pay an unspecified amount in legal costs.
Despite both the poor performance in the market and issues outside, shares of Cambria Africa spiked 4.44% to 0.38p. 18/11/19 12:25BST.
In a time where global investment companies have faced cut throat market conditions, shareholders of Cambria Africa seem optimistic. Georgia Capital (LON: CGEO) saw their net asset value fall back in October whilst Apax Global Alpha (LON: APAX) saw their shares rise after a positive update.Cambria said: “Operating profits in US dollars for the second half of the 2019 fiscal year did not meet management’s worst expectations. The rapidly depreciating exchange rate has rendered operating profits negligible, however the company continues to trade profitably in Zimbabwe dollars.”
In June, the Zimbabwe government enforced a single currency legislation banning the use of all foreign currencies, and this has caused the Zimbabwe dollar to depreciate since February which has sugar coated business reports in Zimbabwe.
Cambria said the currency “depreciated from an opening exchange rate to the US dollar of ZWL2.50 in February 2019 to an interbank selling rate of over ZWL17.00”.
Cambria Africa is set to release its full year results in mid February, where shareholders will be keen to see whether progress has been made.
Cambria explained: “The company has been advised that the exception filed by BAZ has been upheld by Justice Mushore and Payserv’s lawsuit has been dismissed with Payserv liable for BAZ’s legal costs. Through its Payserv subsidiaries, the company intends to reissue summons against the BAZ and/or individual banks as guided by its senior counsels.”
Christian Beddies, the chief executive of Payserv’s Zimbabwe unit, resigned from the role but will remain a non-executive director. Samir Shasha takes over on an acting basis, he is also Cambria’s chief executive.
The company added: “The company funded its acceptance of what it believes to be an irrevocable offer by Caulicle Investments (Pvt) Ltd, a 20% shareholder of Hinshaw, to sell its entire shareholding of Hinshaw shares.
“If the award is in favour of the company, Paynet Zimbabwe will control 24.9% of Radar indirectly through Hinshaw. The company continues to believe that Radar is well positioned as a defensive investment in Zimbabwe.”
Jangada Mines shares rally after Brazil operational update
Shares of Jangada Mines have rallied after the firm reported a new discovery at its Pitombeiras project in Brazil.
Shares of Jangada rallied 12.97% to 2p on Monday. 18/11/19 12:09BST.
Jangada said it identified eight magnetic anomaly targets to follow further exploration operations at Pitombeiras, located in Brazil.
The AIM listed (INDEXFTSE: AXX) natural resources company started a new exploration operation in Pitombeiras back in October.
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.
An extensive fully funded programme is planned to provide the necessary technical information, Jangada said, which is expected to be available in the second quarter of 2020.
Janganda said the program includes the completion of up to 2,500 meters of diamond drilling.
Brian McMaster, Chairman of Jangada, said: “We continue to be highly encouraged with the results from the ongoing exploration programme at Pitombeiras. Our recent work has discovered a new target we call Goela, which adds substantial footprint to the overall prospect beyond the previously announced JORC Exploration Target. Excitingly, it is possible that Pitombeiras and Goela are linked and form one large deposit. Our January 2020 drilling campaign will look at the possible connection between these two mineralised bodies. In total, we have identified eight magnetic anomaly targets to follow up with further exploration work. Additionally, our exploration license was extended for an additional three years by the Brazilian mineral authority. Jangada is entering a truly exciting phase.”
Competitors in the natural resources industry have seen varied results. Hochschild Mining (LON: HOC) and Thor Mining (LON: THR) have remained optimistic after a mixed update. Additionally, Serabi Gold (LON: SRB) and Eurasia Mining (LON: EUA) have seen their shares rocket after impressive quarterly updates.