Sabien Technology Group shares surged on Wednesday after the group released a prepared AGM Statement alluding to material progress over the past year and promised further success in the near term. 

Sabien Technology shares were 17% higher at the time of writing.

The company has developed technology that stops boilers from firing unnecessarily, saving fuel and reducing carbon emissions.

Richard Parris, Executive Chairman of Sabien Technology Group said in a prepared statement:

“The Company’s financial year 2023 saw considerable progress in both M2G and b.grn, which progress has continued since the year end. Sabien has built, and is building, a portfolio of businesses whose development is expected to produce a range of outcomes across a range of timescales.

“M2G represents success in the near term while b.grn is expected to contribute materially within the medium to long term. These are not mutually exclusive. Our work within the HVAC market brings important intelligence for the development of our plastic-to-fuel operation. Our development of b.grn has informed our work within the markets facing M2G, not least geographically.

“I am pleased to report that M2G has delivered against challenging expectations. Carbon savings using M2G have almost tripled while Cloud Connect installations are now nearly twice that of a year ago. Since year end, new orders and revenue growth have extended the strongly positive trend during the last financial year. The business has maintained a robust financial position allowing it to further evolve its product offering and geographic footprint.  

“b.grn has continued to build its relationship successfully with City Oil Field (“COF”) and its understanding of the available markets. The Board expects to deliver on key milestones in the year to June 2024.

“The Board looks forward to another year of operational progress and financial delivery.” 

The FTSE 100 fell for a second straight session on Tuesday as comments from central bankers reminded investors that markets were not completely out of the woods in terms of inflation and possible interest rate hikes.

Global equities staged a material rally earlier this month after major central banks signalled we are likely near the end of the tightening cycle. Since then, European equities have sagged as the euphoria diminishes and investors prepare for upcoming inflation data and central bank meetings.

“Markets are going through a one step forward, one step back motion at present, struggling to sustain a proper breakout despite investors increasingly taking the view that central banks are done with raising interest rates in the current cycle,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

“The problem is that representatives of major central banks don’t want to draw a definitive line in the sand. We keep getting little comments that suggest their work to tame inflation is not finished. The latest example came from ECB President Christine Lagarde who yesterday said that the fight to contain price growth is not yet done. Every time we get such comments, investors lose confidence and equities take a small step back.”

The FTSE 100 was down 0.4% to 7,429 at the time of writing.

Rolls Royce

Rolls Royce was the FTSE 100 top gainer after the engine maker held a capital markets day and outlined plans to divest up to £1.5bn of assets that didn’t fit their medium-term goals.

The company set targets to deliver ‘record future performance’ that included operating profit of between £2.5bn-£2.8bn and operating margin of 13-15%. Rolls Royce said they were delivering a strategy with the aim of producing free cashflow of £2.8bn-£3.1bn and return on capital of 16-18%.

Rolls Royce shares were up 5% to 256p and touched the highest levels since 2019.

Miners

Iron futures fell overnight in Asian trade following reports the Chinese authorities will increase their oversight of the market after a sharp rally in futures contracts.

An integral element in steel making, iron ore prices have jumped from around $105 per dry metric ton in August to just under $130. Rising prices and associated increased prices of steel could derail a Chinese economic recovery helped by construction, prompting authorities to tighten their supervision of the market.

A Chinese administration setting its sights on managing iron ore prices is not good for miners who have been praying for higher commodity prices.

After slipping yesterday, Rio Tinto was down a further 1.3%, while Glencore dropped 0.8% and Anglo American 1%.

On Tuesday, EasyJet reported a record H2 pre-tax profit as soaring demand for holidays over the summer helped the company swing to a pre-tax profit for the full year.

EasyJet shares were up 3.36% and are trading at 418p at the time of writing on Tuesday.

In the fiscal year 2023, easyJet reported a headline profit before tax of £455 million, showing a substantial improvement of £633 million compared to the previous year.

EasyJet holidays experienced remarkable growth, expanding 221%, with the pre-tax profit being £122 million.

According to Sophie Lund-Yates from Hargreaves Lansdown, “easyJet has once again shown how its best-in-class operation has set it up for success. The group’s measured expansion at high-calibre airports has proved an especially shrewd move, as has the supercharged effort to push easyJet holidays. In a time when cost and convenience are the ultimate precursors to whether or not customers will splash on a trip, easyJet has been able to scoop up lots of existing demand in its net.”

She added that “investors are being rewarded for their patience following a bumpy few years with the reinstating of the dividend. The starting point means there’s plenty of room for growth, but it will allow EasyJet to dip its toe before diving in, which is the right move in such an uncertain

Looking into the future, EasyJet reports that the revenue per seat for Q2 to Q4 is expected to outperform YoY.

EasyJet holiday sales are anticipated to experience growth of over 35% in FY24, with the average selling price (ASP) increasing.

Investors will also be happy to learn the company is reinstating a dividend of 4.5p to be paid in early 2024.

EasyJet also reported a plan to increase the payout to 20% of the profit after tax for FY24.

Sophie Lund-Yates further stated, “easyJet is adamant that households will continue to prioritise travel in the new financial year. There are early indications that’s true, but that could change at short notice if the UK folds into recession.”

Lund-Yates also highlighted the conflict in the Middle East was hurting winter bookings.

“The conflict in the Middle East also has the potential to dent performance and will need monitoring closely. The good news for easyJet is that its problems are all outside of its control, which tells the market that its proposition is about as good as it can be and is waiting to take off once conditions allow,” Lund-Yates said.

Pets at Home published its half-year report on Tuesday, revealing that the pet retailer’s H1 consumer revenue 8.6% in the period, smashing their 7% growth target.

Pets at Home shares were up 2.57% to trade at 294p at the time of writing.

Total revenue increased to £774.2 million during the 28-week period ending 12th October, with comparable sales showing a growth of 6.2%.

The growth trend persisted into the initial weeks of the third quarter, recording a roughly 4% rise in comparable retail sales as the holiday season approached.

The underlying pre-tax profit of the group decreased by 19.3%, amounting to £47.8 million for the half-year, primarily attributed to the rise in digital investments.

The company’s CEO, Lyssa McGowan, said that, “our medium-term vision and strategy is to build the world’s best pet care platform. This will generate sustainable value for all stakeholders, as we create a better world for pets and the people that love them.

“We are the largest, and by far the most trusted, pet care business in the UK. We already have a leading 24% share of the £7.2bn UK pet care market, an industry supported by structural growth, underpinning resilience and predictability in our revenues.”

According to Susannah Streeter from Hargreaves Lansdown, “Desires to keep our four-legged friends fed, watered, and entertained have helped the company reach £1 billion in half-year sales. Conditions still seem clement for the pet chain, although the Competition and Markets Authority’s ongoing investigation into the vet sector is still a headwind.”

Susannah Streeter further explained that ,”While this isn’t the entire business case, an unfavourable set of rulings could hamper sentiment, but there’s cautious optimism that this won’t be the case.

“In broader business, fears that the lockdown surge in ownership would subside don’t seem to be materialising. Working from home habits have kept the trend strong, and recurring revenue is bedded in. However, given the competitiveness online, the company must ensure it keeps all its ducks in a row as it continues to expand.”

Kodal Minerals shares have sunk since the lithium miner announced the completion of the funding from their Chinese financing partner.

The recent sell-off was a classic ‘buy the rumour, sell the fact’ trade and is typical of mining companies securing financing and entering a phase of no news and little development.

Kodal Minerals lacks any catalysts for a meaningful re-rate in the short and medium term. Financing has been secured, and the mine will be built.

All Kodal investors really have to look forward to over the next year is possible announcements on issues and challenges with mine construction. This should be expected, and shares will react accordingly.

Those investors with a propensity for higher-risk junior mining exploration companies have plenty of other companies on AIM to choose from that have announced promising early-stage results and are further evaluating their assets. Kodal investors are jumping ship to pursue these opportunities.

In addition, the current circa £100m valuation seems fair given the value attributed to their Bougouni project and the work required to bring it into production.

The $100m acquisition of a 51% stake in the newly incorporated UK subsidiary holding the Bougouni lithium project naturally infers Kodal’s stake is worth a little under $100m.

Of course, this will change should lithium be produced as planned.

Kodal does have other mining assets, but these are of little value.

Looking to the future and to comparisons with peers producing lithium at meaningful volumes, there is plenty of opportunity for the Kodal share price to increase to match peer group valuations.

However, there is a long road ahead to achieving material production from the Bougouni project. Only at this point will Kodal be attributed the valuation other junior lithium miners command.