MicroSalt shares surged in early trade on Monday after the low-sodium salt technology announced forecasts for 2025 alongside an oversubscribed fundraise at current market prices.

The Tekcapital portfolio raised £2.3 million in an oversubscribed subscription to fund the development of a recently launched ‘Quick Service restaurant’ product, which the company sees as a ‘tremendous opportunity for growth’.

However, the most exciting takeaway from today’s RNS is that MicroSalt forecasts 2025 B2B volumes to increase more than 10 times the amount of low sodium salt manufactured in 2024. This represents a step-change in customer demand and suggests MicroSalt salt will be used in the production of millions, if not tens of millions, of individual food products.

MicroSalt said it had received orders for an additional 290 metric tonnes of low-sodium salt for 2025 already and expects this to increase.

Investors will also be delighted to hear the company has received positive feedback subsequent to the launch of the Quick Service restaurant and MicroSalt will target the massive french fry market. This development, should it result in the commercial reformulation of products, would open the doors to a market of billions of people globally that consume fast food products.

MicroSalt shares were 20% higher at the time of writing.

Investor confidence in MicroSalt was further demonstrated by the £2.3 million fundraising being completed at current market prices, with investors prepared to commit substantial levels of cash without demanding a discount to the recent share price.

“We are pleased to close this oversubscribed fundraising at the current market price, at a time when many other fundraisings are consummated at substantial discounts,” said Rick Guiney, CEO of MicroSalt.

“This additional capital will enable us to further scale our B2B sales to snack manufactures and help us meet anticipated customer demand in the QSR segment since our January 2025 product launch.

“I am very optimistic on the upside potential for anticipated rapid growth in 2025, particularly at a time when governments are increasingly focused on initiatives to reduce Sodium consumption in manufactured foods. Indeed, only last month the US FDA proposed new short form nutritional labels to be applied to the front of packaged foods where the levels of (i) Saturated Fat; (ii) Sugars; and (iii) Sodium are to clearly labelled as Low, Medium or High. For MicroSalt, this is potentially game-changing and we already have food companies engaging with us to actively address the need to lower Sodium levels in their products.” 

EnSilica shares jumped on Monday after the group announced a UK Space Agency contract win.

EnSilica, the British chip manufacturing specialist, has been awarded a substantial £10.38 million contract from the UK Space Agency to develop next-generation semiconductor chips for satellite broadband equipment.

EnSilica, which specialises in mixed signal ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits), will focus on creating semiconductor chips for mass-market satellite broadband user terminals.

These terminals will be designed to interface with various satellite networks, including OneWeb and the European Union’s planned IRIS2 multi-orbit constellation.

The market for user terminals is projected to reach US$16.5 billion by 2031, and investors will be delighted that EnSilica is positioning itself early in the growth cycle.

Modern satellite terminals require hundreds of specialised chips to operate their electronically steerable antennae, highlighting the significant commercial potential of this project.

The funding has been allocated through the UK Space Agency’s Connectivity in Low Earth Orbit (C-LEO) programme, which maintains a total funding pool of £160 million over four years.

The programme aims to strengthen Britain’s position in the competitive global market for Low Earth Orbit satellite constellations by supporting the development of advanced satellite technology and hardware.

After a poor 2024 for EnSilica shares, investors will hope the relationship with the UK Space Agency develops over time.

EnSilica shares were 8% at the time of writing.

Education administration software provider Tribal Group (LON: TRB) says 2024 revenues and cash flow are ahead of expectations. Singer raised its forecast revenues by 5% to £90m, while pre-tax profit is expected to be £12m. There was £5m of legacy contract revenues that are reducing, so 2025 revenues are expected to be flat, which would mean 2025 pre-tax profit of £10.4m. The share price recovered 21% to 47.2p.

Fusion Antibodies (LON: FAB) says that the OptiMAL validation project is proceeding as planned and the National Cancer Institute has identified a number of antibody expressing cells that positively bind to their targets of interest. Analysis of the DNA by Fusion Antibodies will take several months. The share price imrpved 8% to 8.75p.

Artemis Resources (LON: ARV) has identified targets for drilling at the Karratha gold project in early February. Three targets will initially be tested. The share price rose 6.25% to 0.425p.

Europa Oil & Gas (LON: EOG) is hoping to secure a full carry on an exploration well in Equatoria Guinea on the Barracuda gas prospect. The Irish government appears more favourable to oil and gas exploration and that will make it easier to find a partner there. There is sufficient cash for 2025 requirements. The share price is 6.25% higher at 0.85p.

FALLERS

Metals One (LON: MET1) is raising up to £5m, or £3m after costs, plus up to £100,000 from a retail offer. A convertible loan note will raise £600,000, which will be interest free, and £4.4m via a warrant instrument. There will also be a ten-for-one share consolidation – the retail offer price is then 2p. The effective exercise of the warrant instrument depends on the consolidation and shareholder approval, plus a 24-month consulting agreement with MavDB costing £2m. The PEA for the Finland – Black Schist Ni-Cu-Co-Zn project has been published. The share price slumped 47.1% to 0.225p.

Autoantibody profiling company Oncimmune (LON: ONC) should double revenues to £3m in 2024. Subsequent interim revenues are set to rise by one-fifth to £1.4m. New contracts are being added, but the process has become slower. There are potential deals that could have a large effect on the second half, but the timing is uncertain. One contract is deferred into next year. The annual cost base has been lowered to £5m. Additional finance will be required. The share price dipped 21.7% to 9.75p.

Celadon Pharmaceuticals (LON: CEL) says it should receive the remaining £103,000 from its committed credit facility in February. There is enough cash to last until March if the drawdown is further delayed. Discussions have ended with one previously mentioned potential finance provider, but there are still other potential providers. The share price decreased 19.4% to 14.5p.

Maintel (LON: MAI) revenues were lower than expected in 2024 and net debt was higher than anticipated at £16.7m. Revenues were £97.9m and the loss of contracts has reduced forecasts for 2025. The focus has been higher margin business. Pre-tax profit is still estimated to have improved from £3.9m to £4.8m in 2024, but earnings are lower. A permanent chief executive is being recruited. The share price declined 15.2% to 235p.

Growth in the human capital management business in North America offset delays in other parts of Newmark Security (LON: NWT) in the first half. Revenues fell 2% to £10.2m and the loss increased from £126,000 to £431,000. There is an increasing focus on recurring software revenues and that is helping to edge up overall gross margins. The second half is always stronger, and Newmark Security has built up a base in the North America to enable further growth in the region, while UK and European markets are more subdued. The share price fell 9.38% to 72.5p.

It’s up, up and away for the FTSE 100 as London’s flagship index rocketed to another fresh all-time record high on Friday.

After smashing through the 8,600 level like it wasn’t there yesterday, the FTSE 100 firmly had 8,700 in its sights on Friday after gaining another 0.5% in early trade.

The combination of hopes around interest rates and positive corporate developments has helped the index higher this week. Investors will also be encouraged that the index still presents value compared to peers in the US.

“Despite the FTSE 100 outperforming its US peers so far this year, UK indices continue to trade at significant valuation discounts, not least due to differing sector exposures,” said Mark Nelson, Senior Equity Analyst at wealth manager Killik & Co.

Indeed, the repricing of interest rate futures in recent days suggests the Bank of England will cut interest rates between 3 -5 times this year, which will serve as a tailwind for risk appetite and should help support the index.

“It’s been a record-breaking week for the Footsie and enthusiasm is still high, with the index up 5% year to date,” explained Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“Given the volatility this week on Wall Street as investors fret about the trajectory of AI spend, and the impact of Trump’s tariff plans, there’s been a flight to safer havens, offering more reliable returns.”

While ‘safer’ stocks such as utility shares were again well bid on Friday, the mining, financials and engineering sectors with more cyclical attributes joined the rally and helped to take the index to record highs.

Smiths Group shot to the top of the FTSE 100 leaderboard after announcing it would sell a number of business units after a period of shareholder pressure.

“‘You say jump and I say how high’ appears to be the response of industrial conglomerate Smiths Group to pressure from activist investor Engine Capital,” Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell said.

“Smiths Group says it plans to spin off its Interconnect arm – which makes broadband connection and antenna parts – and Smiths Detection which makes X-Ray machines for airports. In reality, it is unlikely these decisions have been made purely because Engine published a letter a week or so ago. These plans have likely been in the works for some time, although whether they have been brought forward is another matter.”

Smiths Group shares were 11% higher at the time of writing.

Industrial technology conglomerate Smiths Group has unveiled plans for a significant restructuring, announcing its intention to sell or separate two of its four main divisions as it seeks to streamline operations and boost shareholder returns.

Investors cheered the news, and shares jumped over 15% in early trading to touch all-time record highs.

Smiths Group reported organic revenue growth of 15.8% for the three months to 1 November 2024 but had been under pressure to explore options to boost shareholder value.

The FTSE 100 company will focus on its John Crane and Flex-Tek businesses, which specialise in industrial technologies for flow and heat management. These divisions have demonstrated strong performance, each achieving operating profit margins above 20% and returns on capital employed exceeding 25% in fiscal year 2024.

Under the restructuring plan, Smiths will launch a sale process for its Interconnect division, targeting completion by the end of 2025. Following this, the company plans to separate its Detection business either through a UK demerger or sale.

Explaining the rationale behind the strategy, Roland Carter, CEO of Smiths Group, said: “We start from a position of strength and as we execute this strategy, we will become a more focused business with significant potential for future growth and value creation. Focusing on our world-class John Crane and Flex-Tek businesses and carefully managing the separation of Smiths Interconnect and Smiths Detection, we will deliver significant value for all stakeholders.

The strategic shift comes after a period of robust financial performance, with the group delivering 7% compound annual organic revenue growth between FY2021 and FY2024. The company believes the separation of Interconnect and Detection will better serve these businesses’ prospects while creating additional value for shareholders.

The group has also announced a significant increase in its share buyback programme from £150 million to £500 million, with the additional £350 million to be returned to shareholders by the end of 2025. This will have played a part in today’s jump in shares.