AIM movers: Mindflair sells Getvisibility stake and Savannah Energy completes acquisition

Andrew Hore
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20
AIM movers: Mindflair sells Getvisibility stake and Savannah Energy completes acquisition

The government of Mali has partially lifted the suspension of the allocation of mining titles. This is potentially good news for Cora Gold (LON: CORA) and its Sanankoro gold project. Progress can be made, and the company will apply for a mining permit covering the Bokoro II, Kodiou and Sanankoro II areas. The share price increased 29% to 4p.

Investment company Mindflair (LON: MFAI) has sold its direct stake in Getvisibility to Forcepoint, a data and cloud security business, for £1.8m. Mindflair also had an indirect interest in Getvisibility via Sure Valley Ventures Fund and Sure Ventures (LON: SURE) and it should receive a further £800,000 from a distribution by the fund. The share price roe 18.8% to 0.95p.

Dekel Agri-Vision (LON: DKL) says February crude palm oil production was 6% lower at 3,527 tonnes as better extraction rates only partially offset the reduced crop. Year-on-year sales volumes rose 28.5% because of the timing of sales. The average sales price was €950/tonne, which is well above the average price assumption of €775/tonne for 2025. Palm kernel oil production rose, and the average price jumped 54.4% compared with one year ago. Raw cashew nut purchasing has started, and production rates are increasing. Quarterly data will be published next month. The share price improved 11.1% to 1.25p.

Empire Metals (LON: EEE) has reported positive test results and delivered a product which assayed at 91.6% TiO2. Purification and product finishing steps have been optimised. There are limited levels of deleterious elements. Larger scale test work will be undertaken. The share price is 5.56% higher at 11.4p.

Sovereign Metals (LON: SVML) says test work on coarse flake graphite from the Kasiya test mine in Malawi shows purification to 99.95% using acid purification and 99.98% using alkaline purification. This means that the graphite is suitable for powder metallurgy, isostatically pressed refractory products and foils and sheets. The share price moved up 4.55% to 46p.

FALLERS

Shares in Biome Technologies (LON: BIOM) slid a further one-fifth to 1p ahead of the general meeting on 13 March to gain shareholder approval to leave AIM.

Savannah Energy (LON: SAVE) has completed the acquisition of Sinopec International Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Nigeria, which gives it 100% of the Stubb Creek oil and gas field. This produces 2,700 barrels of oil equivalent/day and there are plans to increase production. The Stubb Creek field petroleum mining lease lasts until 2043. The share price fell a further 8.98% to 9.375p.

On Friday evening, Huddled (LON: HUD) reported a February trading update. The circular ecommerce company generated revenues of £1.5m in February and in the first six days of March has generated £350,000. Additional warehouse space will not be operational until the end of April/early May. The share price slipped 5.71% to 3.3p.

FTSE 100 dips as trade concerns weigh

UK Investor Magazine
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FTSE 100 dips as trade concerns weigh

The FTSE 100 fell again on Monday as trade concerns continued to weigh on cyclical sectors including banks and miners.

Selling pressure in US futures dragged as the session progressed with the FTSE 100 down 0.5% at the time of writing.

London’s leading index had its worst week for some months last week as the threat of Donald Trump’s trade war eventually eroded sentiment and sent the index below 8,700 on Friday.

Just days before, the index had been closing in on record highs as defence stocks rallied on positioning for higher European defence budgets.

However, uncertainty set in as the week progressed, and investors began reducing positions in UK-listed stocks as sentiment soured.

The US Non-Farm Payroll released on Friday helped steady the ship, but underlying fears of how the global trade war will play out prevented stocks from rebounding on Monday.

“The big issue for financial markets right now is not necessarily the Trump Admin’s policies themselves, but the degree of uncertainty associated with them, and the fact that the policies in question change almost as often as the direction of the wind does,” said Michael Brown Senior Research Strategist at Pepperstone.

Brown continued to explain that investors hoping for the famous ‘Trump put’ to kick in are likely going to be disappointed with the President who is seemingly unphased by the rout in US stocks.

“The real ‘Trump put’ would, at this point, be to take the President’s microphone away, throw his phone in the Potomac, and pack him off to play golf for a couple of weeks to let businesses, consumers, and markets, adjust to the new policy regime.

“That seems about as likely as pigs flying, though, in all honesty, meaning that headwinds facing the US equity market are only likely to intensify, with the bears retaining the upper hand.”

The declines were broad on Monday in London with most industry groups down.

Those stocks that enjoyed gains towards the beginning of the year were hit by profit taking. Banks and miners suffered the most. Ashtead and Melrose continued their purple patches and were again among the losers.

There was interest in JD Sports in early trade and the risk off tone was underscored by notable gains in utility stocks.

Share Tip: Forterra Group – this Wednesday the UK’s second biggest brick maker will report its 2024 results

Mark Watson-Mitchell
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Share Tip: Forterra Group – this Wednesday the UK’s second biggest brick maker will report its 2024 results

The chances are, you are never far from a building or structure built using Forterra (LON:FORT) products. 
This company proudly proclaims that: 
“Our purpose is to help create lasting legacies. 
We create bricks, blocks, precast concrete, paving and many other vital products that keep Britain building. 
We provide the building products that help our customers and communities prosper – from the initial groundwork through to the finished build.” 
The Business 
The Northampton-based business, which was founded in the 1960’s as Hanson’s UK building products division, ...

What is the attraction of Ricardo?

Andrew Hore
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8
What is the attraction of Ricardo?

AIM-quoted science and technology consultancy Science Group (LON: SAG) has built up an 11.7% stake in fully listed environmental and engineering consultancy Ricardo (LON: RCDO). This is described as a strategic investment.

The initial purchases were between 16 and 27 February and cost £12.2m, which is an average of roughly 231p/share for a 8.46% stake. There were subsequent purchases. But no figure has been put on the additional shares.

Briarwood Chase Management has cut its stake in Ricardo from 5.42% to 2.16%. The largest shareholder is Gresham House with 22.5%.

The Ricardo share price was 214p on 14 February. It has subsequently been as high as 250p. The current share price is 220p. That is 47.6% down since the end of 2024. At the end of January, Ricardo warned that delayed orders will mean that forecasts would not be met.

Results

In the six months to December 2024, continuing revenues edged up by 1% to £169.1m, while a loss of £3m was turned into a pre-tax profit of £4.1m. These figures were affected by the sale of the defence business for £72.3m. The dividend was cut from 3.8p/share to 1.7p/share.

Environment and energy division revenues were lower, but the operating profit contribution improved thanks to better margins in some parts of the division. The transport division returned to profit.

Net debt was £18.5m at the end of 2024. Part of the disposal proceeds have been used to buy an 85% stake in E3 Advisory in Australia for an initial £34.5m.

The order book is worth £393m. Zeus forecasts a full year pre-tax profit of £12.7m, down from £30.5m including the defence business, rising to £15.8m next year. The Ricardo share price is equivalent to 14 times prospective 2024-25 earnings.    

What is the attraction?

Science Group has a higher market capitalisation than Ricardo. Management wants to talk to the Ricardo board in relation to the investment. It is possible that Science Group could have some positive input.

Ricardo is already reducing its cost base and trying to improve cash generation. The target operating margin is 10%, which is nearly double the 5.4% expected in 2024-25. The dividend I being rebased from 12.7p/share to 5.4p/share in the year to June 2025 and could then grow steadily from this level.

Debt should come down, but it is likely to increase initially. The high borrowings are likely to hold back the share price.

Organic growth is anticipated to be in mid-single digits with a focus on environmental and energy. There is significant potential to improve profitability if management can get it right.

If the performance of the business is not significantly improved, then Science Group may be tempted to bid. This will probably not happen in the short-term, but there is a good chance it could happen further out. It is possible that the share price could remain depressed, and Science Group may take further opportunities to add to its stake.

Ricardo is an attractive recovery prospect. Even if Science Group does not bid another bidder could come along. This is not a short-term investment. A longer term view needs to be taken.

AIM weekly movers: Savannah Energy returns from suspension

Andrew Hore
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1
AIM weekly movers: Savannah Energy returns from suspension

Metals One (LON: MET1) is proposing a capital reorganisation that will involve a ten-for-one share consolidation and reduction in the nominal value to 0.01p so that new shares can be issued. This is expected to be completed on 26 March. Metals One is involved in the Black Schist nickel copper cobalt zinc project in Finland and the Rana nickel cobalt copper project in Norway. The share price jumped 128% to 1.025p.

Oil and gas company ADM Energy (LON: ADME) has sent its circular covering the planned capital reorganisation and £313,000 share issue at 0.1p/share. There are also plans to divest the stake in the Aje oil field in Lagos. The proceeds may be distributed to shareholders. The share price doubled to 0.3p.

Yesterday evening it was announced that Andrada Mining (LON: ATM) chief strategy officer Frans Van Daalen sold 7.38 million shares, nearly all his shareholding, at 1.96p each and chief operating officer Christoffel Smith sold 655,873 shares at the same price. This was reported to be due to tax obligations. The share price increased 36% to 2.775p.

Kave Sigaroudinia’s stake in Surface Transforms (LON: SCE) has been raised from 7.6% to 8.9%, while the estate of William Black cut its stake from 5.17% to 4.56%. The finance director of the carbon fibre brake discs developer is leaving at the end of June. The share price recovered 22.2% to 0.33p.

FALLERS

Shares in Savannah Energy (LON: SAVE) returned from suspension and raised £30.6m at 7p/share. There is also a $200m acquisition facility for the oil and gas company. In 2024, total income was $393.6m, including rebilling of foreign exchange losses. Net debt was $634m at the end of 2024. The proposed deal to acquire the interests in Petronas in South Sudan has not happened. The share price slumped 63.3% to 9.625p.  

Vela Technologies (LON: VELA) has raised £1.1m at 0.0025p/share to invest in its new strategy and is changing its name to Caledonian Holdings (LON: CHP). Jim McColl, former boss of Clyde Blowers, and Chris Cooke have joined the board. A share capital reorganisation is required to lower the par value and issue the shares. The new policy is to invest in financial services businesses, particularly wealth management, fintech and specialist lending. The share price declined by two-fifths to 0.003p.

An acceleration by Google of the move from Adsense for Domains (AFD), set for 19 March, is going to hit revenues of Team Internet Group (LON: TIG). The uncertainty has also led to the Verdane deciding not to make an offer for the company. AFD is an important contributor to the search business and the company guides a reduction in EBITDA from $57m to $20m-$25m in 2025 as it adjusts to the switch to Related Search on Content (RSOC). Management believes that it can rebuild profitability as clients switch and it learns how to optimise results. The rest of the business continues to grow so the 2025 EBITDA guidance is a fall from $92m to $60m-$65m. Net debt will continue to reduce from the current level of $97m, but at a slower pace than previously expected. The share price declined 41% to 58.4p.

Petrel Resources (LON: PET) has raised £250,000 at 1.05p/share and each share has a warrant exercisable at 2p/share. This will be used as working capital while new oil and gas projects in Iraq. Petrel Resources may be invited to enter into pre-qualification discussions with the Ministry of Oil. The share price fell 39.5% to 1.15p.

Director deals: Harbour Energy non-execs buy after share price drop

Andrew Hore
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0
Director deals: Harbour Energy non-execs buy after share price drop

Following the latest full year figures from oil and gas company Harbour Energy (LON: HBR) two non-executive directors have bought shares. Simon Henry acquired 20,000 shares at an average price of 198.16p each. This takes his stake to 60,000. Last September, he bought 20,000 shares at 288p each. Margaret Ovgrum bought 18,000 shares at 189p each, taking the total stake to 26,500 shares. Last week, the share price dipped 16.5% to 189.45p.
Business
Harbour Energy originally focused on the North Sea. There has been subsequent diversification into south east Asia, Mexico, Argentina, Norway and Germa...

Aquis weekly movers: Board changes at Investment Evolution Credit

Andrew Hore
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25
Aquis weekly movers: Board changes at Investment Evolution Credit

A purchase of 2,390 shares in Cooks Coffee Company (COOK) at 10p each pushed up the share price 7.14% to 8.5p.

Coinsilium Group Ltd (LON: COIN) has entered into a strategic advisory services agreement with Context Protocol, a Layer 1 blockchain designed to enable verified AI Domains for trusted data exchange. Coinsilium will provide guidance on tokenomics and market positioning.  The share price improved 1.69% to 3p.

FALLERS

Shares in Inteliqo Ltd (LON: IQO) slumped 83.2%to 0.505p ahead of the company leaving Aquis on 14 March.

Richard Leaver has stepped down as chief executive of Investment Evolution Credit (LON: EC) and Paul Mathieson has returned to the position. Glendys Aquilera has replaced Bob Mennie as finance director. These management changes knocked 76% off the share price to 3p.

Trading in ChallengerX (LON: CXS) shares resumed after First Sentinel was reappointed as corporate adviser. The share price dived 37.5% to 0.25p. Shareholders have agreed to the acquisition of three gaming services and technology businesses and 510 million shares will be issued on completion which is likely to be 11 March. A fundraising has generated £83,000 at 0.2p/share and there is a commitment for a further £50,000. There have been 145.8 million shares to satisfy debt.

Marula Mining (LON: MARU) has signed an agency framework contract with Baosteel Resources South Africa, a subsidiary of the world’s largest steel producer, for purchase and sale of manganese from the Kilifi manganese plant in Kenya. The contract lasts five years and there will be an initial delivery of 5,000 tonnes of manganese ore by the end of April. From then on, the delivery will be 10,000 tonnes/month for 12-months and then increase the following year. The open pit mining operations have been extended at the Kinusi copper mine in Tanzania. The first copper sales are imminent.  The share price declined 13.5% to 4p.

MaxRets Ventures (LON: MAX) shareholders have voted to leave the Aquis Stock Exchange on 18 March. That reduced the share price by 10% to 1.125p.

Max Capital Ltd no longer has any shares in WeCap (LON: WCAP) and Woodland Capital has taken a 3.7% stake. The share price slipped 9.3% to 0.975p.

Ananda Pharma (LON: ANA) chief executive Melissa Sturgess bought 20 million shares at 0.46p each. The share price dipped 5.94% to 0.475p.

EDX Medical (LON: EDX) has signed a master service agreement with The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, which includes an eminent cancer hospital. EDX Medical will supply diagnostics services to the NHS trust. The share price fell 3.77% to 12.75p.

Valereum (LON: VLRM) has still managed to complete the fundraising with Valereum Inc and an institutional investor. Completion was anticipated by 4 March. The share price edged down 2.38% to 20.5p.

Urban Logistics REIT enhancing earnings by buying manager

Andrew Hore
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26
Urban Logistics REIT enhancing earnings by buying manager

Logistics properties investor Urban Logistics REIT (LON: SHED) is internalising its management by acquiring the current asset manager Logistics Asset Management for an initial consideration of £6.8m in shares. This will reduce annual costs by £1.4m and enhance earnings.

 Contingent consideration will be up to £5.6m and depends on the average closing share price for three months prior to the first anniversary of the acquisition. There will be 20% vesting if the price is 130p and this increases on a straight line basis with 100% vesting at 158p. The share issue would be based on a share price of 114.3p. The current share price is 115.4p, down 0.52%. The share price has risen 12.7% so far this year.

The company will consult with shareholders. A circular will be published, and the deal should be completed in the second quarter.

If full consideration is paid there will be a 1.28% increase in number of shares. The cost saving should add more than 3% to profit, so there is a net improvement in earnings per share. Panmure Liberum currently forecasts earnings of 7.8p/share in the year to March 2026. The NAV forecast is 160p/share at the end of March 2026. The dividend is forecast at 7.6p/share, which is a forecast yield of 6.6%.

AIM movers: APQ Global rises despite proposed AIM departure and Premier African secures interim funding

Andrew Hore
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0
AIM movers: APQ Global rises despite proposed AIM departure and Premier African secures interim funding

APQ Global (LON: APQ) is asking for shareholder agreement for its departure from AIM and unusually the share price jumped 83.3% to 0.55p. The book value was 17.9p/share at the end of November 2024. There have been five trades today with a total value of just over £230. Lack of liquidity and the cost of the quotation are the reasons for leaving. There are also plans to change the convertible unsecured loan notes settlement date to the end of 2025. The interest rate will increase from 6% to 10% between the end of March and the end of December 2025. The company is trying to refinance the £26m plus owed.

Investment manager AssetCo has been readmitted to AIM as River Global following a share reorganisation into A shares (LON: RVRG) and B shares (LON: RVRB). The A shares have the same rights as the previous ordinary shares. The B shares will receive dividends relating to the 30% stake in Parmenion Capital Partners or capital distributions if the business is sold. The B share is 36.5p, a notional increase of 25.9%, while the A share is deemed to be one-third lower at 7p. So, the overall improvement is around 10%.

Avacta (LON: AVCT) says its lead peptide drug conjugate (PDC) AVA6000 has completed phase 1a dose escalation with encouraging data in patients with salivary gland cancers. There were no observed events of severe cardiac toxicity. Enrolment in phase 1b has commenced. Avacta has agreed to sell Launch Diagnostics for £12.9m to Duomed Belgium NV. This will provide enough cash until the first quarter of 2026. The share price is 4.83% higher at 38p.

North Sea oil and gas producer Serica Energy (LON: SQZ) is in talks about a potential merger with EnQuest. This will increase the scale of the business and enable cost savings. EnQuest would acquire Serica Energy, whose shareholders would receive a cash distribution as part of the transaction. This is an alternative to Serica Energy moving to the Main Market. The share Serica Energy share price rose 4.02% to 125.35p. EnQuest shares jumped 14.5% to 12.48p.

Empyrean Energy (LON: EME) has signed the farm in agreement for ATP1173 and will part fund the drilling of the Wilson River-1 well in Queensland in return for a 52.8% working interest. The share price improved 3.64% to 0.1425p.  

FALLERS

Premier African Minerals (LON: PREM) has raised interim funding of £600,000 at 1.25p/share and £230,000 of invoices have been settled by the issue of 1.84 million shares. The board is still trying to secure funding that will enable the reopening of the Zulu lithium and tantalum mine. The share price slipped 32.9% to 0.01275p.

Indus Gas Ltd (LON: INDI) is still awaiting the extension of the production sharing contract (PSC) for Block RJ-ON/6. Gas sales are low, and the PSC extension will enable the company to agree a renewed sales contract with GAIL. The share price declined 17.2% to 6p.

Bad news for Jersey Oil & Gas (LON: JOG) concerning the decision by Dana Petroleum to terminate the agreement with NEO Energy over the purchase of the Western Isles FPSO vessel. This is due to uncertainty about government policy ahead of the consultation on fiscal policy for the oil and gas sector. This will delay the Buchan joint venture’s ability to commit to buying the FPSO. Jersey Oil & Gas will receive $20m on final investment decision on the Buchan field as part of the farm-out agreement. The share price has fallen 9.92% to 54.5p.

Oil and gas company Tower Resources (LON: TRP) is purchasing an additional 5% interest in the PEL96 licence offshore Namibia for $375,000. A farm-out agreement for the licence may be completed by the end of March. In Cameroon, farm-out agreement documentation has been submitted, and Tower Resources is awaiting government approval for drilling the NJOM-3 well. The share price is 2.08% lower at 0.0235p.

Vietnam doubles down on its energy transition commitment 

Vietnam Holding
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1
Vietnam doubles down on its energy transition commitment 

With the Year of the Snake underway, Vietnam is pursuing numerous ambitious projects across multiple industries. The energy sector is no exception, with the high-profile renewed campaign for nuclear energy grabbing headlines and the revised National Power Development Plan 8 (PDP8) providing more room for solar and onshore wind development.  

Striving for Nuclear Energy 

In 2016, the National Assembly canceled two planned nuclear power plants in Ninh Thuan Province due to cost concerns. At the time, Russia and Japan were expected to support the development of one plant each, but the expected budgets kept growing.  

This also aligned with a global downturn in interest in nuclear energy in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan. 

Almost a decade later, nuclear energy is back in vogue internationally as countries strive to decarbonize their base-load power systems and reduce emissions.  

In that context, the National Assembly approved the resumption of nuclear energy planning – specifically the two Ninh Thuan plants – late last year. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has since hit the accelerator on these ambitions, ordering that both plants be completed by December 31, 2031, at the latest. 

EVN has been named the Ninh Thuan 1 Nuclear Power Plant investor, while PetroVietnam will hold this role for the Ninh Thuan 2 Nuclear Power Plant.  

These plants are expected to produce a combined 4,000 MW of energy once online, though Vietnam will need substantial foreign technical and financial assistance to reach that stage. This month, government stakeholders are expected to hold talks with partners, including Russia, Japan, South Korea, France, and the United States. 

Russia appears to have one foot in the door already: in January, Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy company Rosatom signed a nuclear energy cooperation agreement with EVN.  

Currently, the expected cost of these projects is unknown, as are technical details such as the types of reactors that will be used.  

Revising PDP8 

More broadly, the Vietnamese government is revising PDP8 to integrate nuclear energy and make other adjustments based on current progress – or, in some cases, lack thereof.  

The latest draft of the revised PDP8 in late February proposed to increase solar power capacity dramatically to 34,000MW, an increase of more than 25,000MW compared to the previous plan. Additionally, pumped storage hydropower and battery storage are proposed to increase six-fold from 2,700MW to 15,250MW. This helps raise the solar power ratio from only 5.7% of the power structure to 16% when adjusting the planning. 

Giles Cooper, a Hanoi-based partner at Allens and energy expert, wrote on LinkedIn: “Progress is accelerating on revising Vietnam’s PDP8, which is positive. Although the process is far from complete, it’s not a surprise to see utility-scale solar make a comeback in the draft revised targets to 2030 given delays developing offshore wind and LNG projects and the continual growth in energy demand. Developers need to be poised for a kick off in new greenfield project development (particularly onshore wind) in the coming months.” 

The most significant downward revision to the existing PDP8 is for offshore wind, which has been reduced to zero installed capacity through this decade, down from 6 gigawatts. Offshore wind is arguably the most troubled of Vietnam’s planned energy generation sources, as regulations governing seabed surveying to build wind turbines still have not been completed. The development of this sector has been pushed to the 2030s. 

Over the past two years, foreign wind power companies, including Orsted, have paused development or exited Vietnam entirely. 

New Decrees Boosting Renewable Energy 

To further accelerate its clean energy transition, the Vietnamese government issued two new decrees, Decree 57/2025 and Decree 58/2025, effective March 3, 2025, aimed at boosting renewable energy development and market liberalization. 

Decree 57/2025 introduces the Direct Power Purchase Agreement (DPPA) mechanism, allowing large electricity consumers to buy power directly from renewable energy producers. Decree 58/2025 further strengthens the renewable energy landscape by incentivizing the development of solar, wind, hydrogen, and battery storage. 

These all come amid fast-rising demand for electricity, which is growing by at least 10% annually. Last October, PM Chinh demanded no power shortages in 2025 under any circumstances while noting the importance of energy infrastructure for further economic growth. 

The power shortages that hit northern Vietnam in the summer of 2023 negatively impacted the country’s image in the eyes of foreign investors, and officials have gone to great lengths to avoid a repeat. A stable power supply is especially important as the government strives to draw further investment in energy-intensive sectors like semiconductors and artificial intelligence. 

As ever, it’s an exciting time to follow the country’s fast-evolving energy picture.  

Writing credit Michael Tatarski 

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