Did Naked Wines retain the wrong business?

Andrew Hore
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Did Naked Wines retain the wrong business?

Online wine retailer Naked Wines (LON: WINE) sold the Majestic Wine business in 2019. The difference in the financial positions of the AIM company and the acquirer is indicated by the early payment of the vendor loan note related to the transaction.

CF Bacchus HoldCo was used as the acquisition vehicle by Fortress Investment. The initial payment was £78m in cash and the £12m loan note. There was a £175,000 deferred payment, out of a potential £5m, related to the UK’s regulations following the exit form the EU. CF Bacchus bought two Calais stores in the deal and sales slumped, so they were ...

Tip update: Nanoco preparing for cash distribution

Andrew Hore
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Tip update: Nanoco preparing for cash distribution

Cadmium-free quantum dots developer Nanoco (LON: NANO) is in position to return the cash to shareholders it has promised and continue to develop IP. Investment in facilities will help to boost development revenues as product sales are building up.

Nanoco has achieved its first production order and trading remains in line with expectations. The interims will be announced on 27 March. The full year loss is forecast to fall from £3.6m to £400,000.

Earlier this year, Nanoco signed a joint development agreement with STMicroelectronics. This two-year programme will optimise a second-generatio...

Renalytix share price jumps after New York opens

Andrew Hore
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Renalytix share price jumps after New York opens

Shares in Renalytix (LON: RENX) have soared following the market opening in the US. The share price has more than trebled to 45.5p, which is 323% higher than one week ago. Renalytix is quoted on Nasdaq as well as on AIM. Investors seem to be picking up on the setting of the Medicare price last week.

Heavy cash outflows are likely before revenues build up so this share price rise may be used to raise additional cash. There should be net cash at the end of June 2023, but there could be net debt of around £20m one year later.

Last week. the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has published a draft local coverage determination for Renalytix for KidneyIntelX and kidneyintelIX.dkd. The Medicare price is $950/test. The specified coverage is for patients with diagnosed Tupe 2 diabetes and Stage 1-3b Chronic Kidney Disease.

Renalytix is participating in the BTIG MedTech conference in Utah on 13-14 February.

Kidney disease affects more than 850 million people around the world and 38 million people in the US have chronic kidney disease. Around 35 million US people have Type 2 diabetes.  

A study of KidneyIntelX at a major US clinical centre. After one year, blood pressure control improved as did blood glucose control. The rate of kidney function decline reduced across all risk categories.

Renalytix is expected to generate revenues of £5m in the year to June 2024 and double that level the following year. There are still substantial losses expected.

Good Energy adds to energy services operations

Andrew Hore
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Good Energy adds to energy services operations

AIM-quoted Good Energy (LON: GOOD) is building on its energy efficiency services business through the acquisition of Maidstone-based JPS Renewable Energy, which is a solar and storage installation business. The strategy is to have energy services operations that have an equal weighting with renewable energy supply earnings by 2025.

The initial consideration is £7m in cash and shares with deferred consideration of up to £6.75m over two years. The vendors are placing 842,000 of the 1.32 million shares issued at 250p each.

 JPS generated revenues of £12.4m and pre-tax profit of £600,000 in the year to April 2023 and pre-tax profit could increase to £1.3m this year. The deal should be earnings enhancing in 2024.

Solar installations are back to the previous peak and the small scale solar market was worth £1.9bn in 2023 after a 38% increase in installations. The fastest rate of growth is in JPS’s region.

Good Energy is already involved in the solar installation sector in south west England. JPS also owns a complex heating systems distribution business.

Good Energy is still trading in line with expectations. The share price fell 8.7% to 252p.

AIM movers: Artemis Resources update and Katoro Gold to refocus

Andrew Hore
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AIM movers: Artemis Resources update and Katoro Gold to refocus

Artemis Resources (LON: ARV) has published an update on the West Pilbara project exploration. This shows potential sub vertical orientation of pegmatites at Kobe and Osborne. The first drill hole potentially stopped short of the Osborne target. A drilling programme to test Osborne is planned for March to test near surface lithium rich zones. The share price increased 26.7% to 1.9p.

Semiconductors developer Sondrel (LON: SND) continues to recover previous share price losses even though it admits will need more cash before the end of March to secure its financial position. The share price has risen a further 22.8% to 12.25p. Last week, Sondrel revealed that it had received £1.5m form the customer where payments had been delayed. This has enabled deferred payments to be made by Sondrel.

Diagnostics firm Angle (LON: AGL) says a peer-reviewed paper reveals the additional DNA information that can be obtained from circulating tumour cells. These cells can be separated from a patient’s blood by Angle’s Parsortix technology and then they can be analysed. The share price improved 16.2% to 19p.

ECR Minerals (LON: ECR) has published additional results for the drilling at the Davey Road site in the Creswick tenement. There is a significant increase in gold grades, as well as a greater prevalence. The second phase of drilling is underway.  The share price rose 14.3% to 0.28p.

Educational services provider Malvern International (LON: MLVN) increased 2023 revenues by 79% to £11.3m and it has moved back into profit. Student numbers were higher. Investment in senior employees will help the business continue to grow. The share price is 10% higher at 27.5p.

FALLERS

Katoro Gold (LON: KAT) has raised £750,000 at 0.1p/share, along with warrants exercisable at 0.2p/share that could raise up to £1.5m, and it is planning board changes. Executive chairman Louis Coetzee is stepping down. Outstanding board fees of £91,000 have been reduced to £63,600. A new strategy will involve maximising value from existing interests and seeking new opportunities in critical metals, including uranium. Paul Johnson, who has previously run Power Metal Resources and Metal Tiger has been appointed strategic consultant. The company plans to change its name to Katoro Global Resources. The share price slipped 24.1% to 0.11p.

Tertiary Minerals (LON: TYM) has raised £375,000 at 0.08p/share. The share price fell 17.1% to 0.085p.Executive chairman Patrick Cheetham subscribed £20,000. The cash will be spent on the copper and precious metals projects in Zambia and Nevada.

Corcel (LON: CRCL) says testing of the Tobias-14 well in the onshore block KON-11 in Angola has begun. There were delays in delivery of testing equipment and flooding that delayed the commencement of testing. The initial flow test results should be available over the next few weeks. Corcel’s interest in the unproduced prospective resources of KON-11 is 11.7MMbls. The share price is 10.5% lower at 0.85p.

Oil and gas company Synergia Energy (LON: SYN) says discussions continue with the potential joint venture partner for the Cambay PSC farm out. This should be concluded this month. The share price declined 8.57% to 0.16p.

Beacon Energy shares jump on German well progress

UK Investor Magazine
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Beacon Energy shares jump on German well progress

Beacon Energy shares rose on Monday after providing an update on operations at its Schwarzbach-2 well in the Erfelden field, Germany

The company announced that sand jetting operations using a coiled tubing unit have been completed at the Schwarzbach-2(2.) well. Beacon now expects to resume production at the well in the coming days after reinstalling the rod pump.

The impact of the sand jetting on production rates will only be known once output has stabilised after restoring pumping, Beacon said. The company plans to provide a further update once this occurs over the next several weeks. After the well has been fully cleaned from the jetting work, expected in April 2024, Beacon intends to replace the rod pump with an Electrical Submersible Pump to maximise production.

The project has faced a number of delays and today’s news will be welcomed by investors.

Beacon Energy shares were 7% higher at the time of writing.

“We are pleased to have safely completed the sand jetting operations to stimulate the well and are now working to recommence production in the coming days with the rod pump,” said Beacon Energy Chief Executive Officer, Larry Bottomley.

“We remain fully focused on establishing optimal production from the SCHB-2(2.) well as quickly as possible following this well stimulation operation and ultimately the installation of the ESP.”

“We look forward to the results of this operation and providing an update to shareholders in due course.”

Why Zoo Digital’s recovery could be further delayed

Andrew Hore
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Why Zoo Digital’s recovery could be further delayed

Film localisation services provider Zoo Digital (LON: ZOO) was hit by the directors’ and writers’ strikes in Hollywood. The latter dragged on and although it has ended film and television productions have been further delayed. That means that there will be a higher than expected loss in 2023-24.

The share price recovered when there was an agreement with the actors’ union, but last month’s warning led to a slump to 33.4p, which is below the low during the strike. The share price has fallen by 49% so far this year, having declined by 63.2% during 2023.

There has been a slower than expecte...

Aquis weekly movers: Newbury Racecourse and Arbuthnot Banking director buys

Andrew Hore
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Aquis weekly movers: Newbury Racecourse and Arbuthnot Banking director buys

Newbury Racecourse (LON: NYR) non-executive director Dominic J Burke bought 3,000 shares at 700p each, taking his stake to 6.51%. The share price improved 9.72% to 592.5p.

Arbuthnot Banking Group (LON: ARBB) chairman and chief executive Sir Henry Angest acquired 100,000 shares at 990p each, taking his stake to 57.3% of the voting shares. The share price increased 2.53% to 1015p.

Diagnostic products developer EDX Medical Group (LON: EDX) is raising £4.01m via a subscription at 12p/share. The share price moved up 2.33% to 11p. Founder Professor Chris Evans subscribed for 6.25 million shares. The other investors were high net worth individuals.

FALLERS

Oscillate (LON: MUSH) has a 12.75% stake in Psych Capital (LON: PSY). The investment company is pleased about the news that Psych Capital has been awarded a grant for a phase 1 POC study in Israel of psilocybin-assisted therapy for anorexia nervosa patients. The Oscillate share price is 8.33% lower at 0.55p.  

Alex Albertini has been appointed as a non-executive director of SulNOx Group (LON: SNOX). He has experience in the shipping industry. The share price dipped 1.41% to 35p.

Marula Mining (LON: MARU) has amended the terms of the Q Global Commodities subscription of up to £3.75m at 3.75p/share so that the money can be subscribed by another affiliate. This cash will be invested in battery metals mining projects in Africa. There is an option to subscribe up to a further £4.78m at 10p/share. The share price edged up 1.18% to 10.5p.  

AIM weekly movers: Sondrel recovers after late payment received

Andrew Hore
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AIM weekly movers: Sondrel recovers after late payment received

Semiconductors developer Sondrel (LON: SND) has clawed back some of the share price loss in the past six months. The share price jumped 95.7% to 9.98p, having been as high as 13.5p. Sondrel revealed that it had received £1.5m form the customer where payments had been delayed. This has enabled deferred payments to be made by Sondrel. New business opportunities are being negotiated. Even so, Sondrel needs to raise more cash before the end of March to put it on a sound financial footing. The October 2022 placing price was 55p.

Artemis Resources (LON: ARV) has halted trading in its shares on ASX. Earlier in the week, the company said it has discovered spodumene bearing pegmatites with Li2O grades of up to 1.82% at the Mount Marie prospect in the Greater Carlow project. This is the first tangible proof of spodumene bearing pegmatites and it could be part of a lithium corridor according to WH Ireland. Assay information is being assessed and should be published on 13 February. The share price improved 93.5% to 1.5p.

Helium One Global (LON: HE1) continued its rise last week even though it was curbed by a fundraising. Itumbula West-1 has flowed a high concentration of helium to surface. A measured helium concentration of up to 4.7% equates to nearly 9,000 times normal background levels. The well results will be evaluated. The company raised £4.7m at 1.5p, which is still a 650% premium to the share price prior to positive drilling news. The share price increased 59.3% to 2.195p

RF components and systems developer Filtronic (LON: FTC) has won a £7.8m contract for ground station antenna amplifiers for a leading global supplier of LEO satellite communications equipment. It also released interims with revenues 1% ahead at £8.5m. The cost base has been increased to cope with future growth, so there was a swing from profit to loss. Cavendish has raised its full year revenues expectations from £20.5m to £23.5m and pre-tax profit estimate has more than trebled from £800,000 to £2.5m. The share price is 58.2% higher at 40.5p, which is the highest it has been for nearly ten years.

FALLERS

In-game advertising technology provider Bidstack (LON: BIDS) has been unable to issue additional convertible loan notes to Irdeto because it has not been able to provide information to Bidstack to enable a shareholder circular to be issued. Shareholder approval is required for the convertible issue. Bidstack had drawn down £600,000 from the convertible loan note facility but does not expect to make any more draw downs. The €3m payment from commercial partner Azerion is running out with cash of £1.4m at the end of January and this will run out by the end of March. A strategic review has been initiated. The share price dived 59.1% to 0.225p.

Verditek (LON: VDTK) has agreed terms to sell its solar business and become a shell. The buyers are the holders of secured convertible loan notes in return for the surrender of £528,340 loan notes and £50,000 in cash. The company will transfer the shareholder loan to the new company for nominal consideration. The bondholders are providing Verditek with a loan facility of up to €100,000 to fund the operating costs of the solar business. If the deal does not go ahead by the end of February Verditek will be running out of cash. A new management team is interested in joining Verditek and there are plans to raise £300,000. The share price slumped 43.3% to 0.085p, which is a new low.

Adam Wilson is stepping down as chief executive of coal supplier Bens Creek (LON: BEN) once a replacement has been found. Lower metallurgical coal prices led to a shortage of cash last year and $13 of convertible loan notes were issued to 29.9% shareholder Avani Resources. That cash should have lasted until the end of 2024. The company blames poor weather in West Virginia for interrupting production and delaying trains transporting coal. Avani Resources has offered another $5m as a working capital facility. While details are worked out Avani has advanced $1.25m. A 12-month offtake agreement for 40,000 short tons of coal is being negotiated with Avani Resources. The share price slumped 34.3% to 5.75p – a new low. The October 2021 placing price was 10p.

Pharma company Aptamer Group (LON: APTA) admits that it will not achieve the expected revenues of £3m in the year to June 2024. Interim revenues were less than £1m. There are more than £1.4m of signed deals for prospective laboratory-based services. There is enough cash to get through to later this year. The share price slid 34.2% to 0.625p, which is a new all-time low.

Evgen Pharma in dispute with partner

Andrew Hore
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Evgen Pharma in dispute with partner

Sulforaphane-based medicines developer Evgen Pharma (LON: EVG) has issued a notice of dispute with Stalicla its partner in autism spectrum disorder and other neurodevelopmental disorders. The share price has fallen by more than one-quarter to 1.1p, which is a new all-time low.

AIM-quoted Evgen Pharma licenced the global rights for SFX-01 in neurodevelopmental disorders and schizophrenia. The initial payment was $500,000 with a further $500,000 due on completion of the human volunteer phase 1 study. That was completed in August 2023. The dispute resolution process has been started so that the payment is received.

In January, Stalicla raised $17.4m in a Series B fundraising and a credit facility.

Evgen Pharma had a cash of £3.7m at the end of September 2023. That was after a cash outflow from operations of £1.3m.

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