Plant Health Care announced on Friday its new biochemical fungicide PHC279 has been approved for use on sugar cane and coffee crops in Brazil, the world’s largest producer of both. PHC279 stimulates the plant’s natural defenses to control diseases like orange rust and coffee leaf rust.

The environmentally friendly fungicide is expected to be widely adopted by Brazilian farmers who spent over $46 million controlling sugar cane diseases and $127 million on coffee diseases in 2021/22. PHC279 was submitted for approval in December and received swift regulatory approval from three Brazilian agencies in under a year.

PHC279 originates from Plant Health Care’s natural protein technology platform PREtec. The company continues to scale globally, growing relationships with major distribution partners. Plant Health Care is on track to achieve $30 million revenue by 2025 through new product launches and organic business growth.

‟Building on the success of Saori use in soybeans and the continued growth of H2Copla use in sugar cane, this new registration will bring the benefits of PHC279 to sugar cane and coffee growers and expand Plant Health Care’s current business in Brazil,” said Jeff Tweedy, CEO of Plant Health Care.

“This product will help Brazilian farmers sustainably produce crops and supports the Company’s vision to be a leading global provider of peptides for agricultural production.”

Everyman Media Group PLC reported a 6% drop in revenue to £38.3 million in the first half of 2023, compared to £40.7 million in the first half of 2022. EBITDA also fell 23% to £5.8 million from £7.5 million.

The decline was attributed to major film releases being delayed until the second half of the year. Revenue and profitability are expected to improve in the second half with major titles like Dune: Part Two, Wonka, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes slated for release.

However, recent box office hits Barbie and Oppenheimer released in late July delivered record admissions and £10.6 million in revenue for the month.

These are encouraging numbers for the company that demonstrate to investors cinemas can still pull in crowds. Everyman remains confident full-year results will meet market expectations.

The cinema chain expanded to 41 locations in the first half, with new venues opened in Northallerton, Plymouth and Salisbury. A 42nd cinema is slated to open in Marlow in October.

“Everyman remains an affordable and popular choice for consumers. The record week of admissions we saw in July demonstrates both the value of original content, and the fact that cinema remains as relevant as ever. Alongside this, we continue to see increasing demand for our high-quality food and beverage offering. The all-encompassing Everyman experience leaves us very well placed to satisfy consumer demand for premium entertainment,” said Alex Scrimgeour, Chief Executive Officer of Everyman Media Group

“None of what we do would be possible without the incredible Everyman team both in our venues and head office. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them all for their hard work and willingness to go that extra mile for our customers. We have added three carefully selected new venues to our estate and we look forward to building on the significant momentum we have seen in July and August.”

The FTSE 100 was lower on Thursday after a poor finish to US stocks last night following the release of the Federal Reserve’s minutes.

Investors have been locked into a game of cat and mouse with the Federal Reserve on the trajectory of interest rates, and last night’s minutes suggest the Fed is not yet done raising rates.

The FTSE 100 was trading down 0.3% after US stocks fell on further rate hike fears last night. The S&P 500 closed down 0.76% at 4,404 overnight.

“The fight again inflation in the United States is still ongoing, with the minutes from the Federal Reserve meeting indicating that another rate hike is still on the table, which has the potential to push the US into a deeper downturn,” said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“Reaching the target rate of inflation of 2% is proving a very hard nut to crack. Policymakers only have the blunt tools of rate hikes to do it, so they risk sending splinters of pain across the wider economy.”

China’s economic woes took a backseat on Thursday, with a late rally in Asian stocks spilling over into the FTSE 100’s China-focused stocks, among the few gainers. Rio Tinto, Prudential and Standard Chartered were the top risers gaining 1%-1.3%.

The general risk-off tone in markets is being demonstrated by the FTSE 100’s cyclical sectors failing to lift the index. UK banks were marginally higher on Thursday.

Housebuilders were lower ahead of tomorrow’s UK retail sales data, which could reveal a slowdown in spending and a weakening in the UK’s consumer health.

BAE Systems was the FTSE 100’s top faller after announcing the acquisition of Ball Aerospace for $5.5bn.

We wrote earlier this week that the FTSE 100 was in a descending triangle technical formation and looked set to test the 7,200-7,300 region.

Tekcapital has issued an update on their portfolio companies including Belluscura’s $15m in orders, progress in the MicroSalt IPO and a summary of developments at Innovative Eyewear.

Tekcapital has a portfolio of four privately-held and publicly-listed companies including Belluscura, Innovative Eyewear, Guident and MicroSalt.

Each company was born of university technology identified by Tekcapital as having a significant commercial opportunity.

Tekcapital’s process, strategy and ability to select technologies with substantial market demand received a major endorsement this week after Belluscura received $15m in orders for their portable oxygen units.

Tekcapital founded Belluscura, raised seed capital, and filed patents to protect its intellectual property, before floating the company on AIM in 2021.

This week, Belluscura announced a step change in the adoption of their portable oxygen units with $15m worth of orders from retailers for their new DISCOV-R model. The company said they had received similar levels of interest from healthcare providers which suggest they expect further orders before long.

Should Belluscura secure further orders from healthcare providers to the tune of $15m, the total order flow could generate $30m revenue which would make the current £58m market cap very good value.

‘We are excited to see Belluscura gaining commercial traction with their announced orders for over 6,500 units for their next-generation DISCOV-R portable oxygen concentrator, with estimated potential revenues of $15 million,” said Dr Clifford Gross, CEO of Tekcapital.

“This underscores Tek’s investment thesis that commercialisation of advanced intellectual capital in the oxygen therapy space can result in the potential for better and significantly more affordable oxygen concentrators. As such, we believe Belluscura is now well placed to help improve the lives of a great number of people who require supplemental oxygen.”

Tekcapital has an 11.16% take in Belluscura.

MicroSalt

Tekcapital hope to replicate the success of Belluscura with its low-sodium food technology company, MicroSalt.

In today’s portfolio company update, Tekcapital provided an insight into the highly anticipated MicroSalt IPO saying the company was making steady progress and that they were hopeful that MicroSalt would list its shares this year. This is a key step in crystalising value for Tekcapital’s shareholders.

MicroSalt has developed a salt which contains 50% less sodium than traditional table salt, without sacrificing taste.

MicroSalt has two main consumer products in SaltMe! crisps and salt shakers which are stocked in thousands of stores across the United States and will now be available in the Philippines through two new partners.

However, it is the B2B market that could create the most shareholder value.

Earlier this year, MicroSalt signed a strategic partnership with US Salt to supply low-sodium salt in bulk for use in US Salt’s products. It’s these types of partnerships which could yield the highest revenue for MicroSalt.

US Salt, founded in 1893, gave MicroSalt their vote of confidence when the deal was announced.

“US Salt is looking forward to working with MicroSalt® to help with our low-sodium initiatives. Sodium is a worldwide concern in the food industry, and we believe Rick and his team are the industry leaders that can help propel our future growth,” said Bob Jordan, Vice President of Sales & Marketing of US Salt LLC.

Today’s update alluded to ongoing negotiations between MicroSalt and ‘key players in the snack food industry’. Although Tekcapital did not mention specific companies or potential order sizes, one would be forgiven for speculating that should these negotiations bear fruit, the resultant revenue for MicroSalt could be substantial.

Innovative Eyewear

The most interesting part of today’s update concerning Innovative Eyewear was news Nautica, Eddie Bauer and Reebok licensed smart eyewear is expected to launch by Q1 2024. When these products launch, it will dramatically increase Innovative Eyewear’s revenue generation capabilities.

In addition, Lucyd has launched its 2.0 Lucyd app which features an easy-to-use voice interface for ChatGPT.

BAE Systems is acquiring Ball Aerospace for $5.55 billion in a deal that will strengthen the defense contractor’s position in space, missile and surveillance technologies, the companies announced Thursday.

The all-cash purchase of the aerospace technology firm will expand BAE’s offerings to U.S. intelligence agencies and the military. BAE said it expects the deal to boost annual revenue growth to around 10% over the next five years.

BAE Systems shares were down around 3.5% at the time of writing on Thursday and are 20% higher year-to-date.

Ball Aerospace makes space systems, sensors, antennae and other technologies used in national security and civil space programs. BAE said the acquisition will complement its military electronics operations with new space and geospatial intelligence capabilities.

The British defense giant said it expects the deal to lift profit margins and earnings per share starting in the first year after closing. Return on invested capital is forecast to top BAE’s weighted average cost of capital within five years.

BAE plans to fund the purchase using new debt and existing cash. It said the deal fits within its capital allocation policy and won’t prevent share repurchases.

The transaction is valued at $4.8 billion after factoring in expected tax benefits. BAE said it expects to close the acquisition following U.S. regulatory reviews.

Kin and Carta shares jumped on Thursday after the global digital transformation consultancy said profits will be ahead of current market expectations.

Kin and Carta shares were 13% higher at 8.35am on Thursday.

Kin and Carta expects flat revenue growth but higher profits for the fiscal year ending July 2023, the digital transformation consultancy said on Thursday.

The company predicts adjusted operating profit will be 10.5% to 14% ahead of market expectations thanks to a realigned operating model with lower costs. Adjusted operating profit margin is forecast at 9.3% to 9.6%.

Kin and Carta’s net revenue is projected to be around £192 million for the full fiscal year, roughly even with the prior year. Revenue in the fourth quarter hit £48 million, in line with expectations.

While client engagement remains strong, the company said it continues to manage the business cautiously amid ongoing sector headwinds.

Kin and Carta will announce full fiscal year results and its outlook for the new fiscal year in October. The company enters the new year with a healthy backlog and expects further sequential revenue growth in the first quarter.

“We executed through a challenging second half to return to modest quarterly growth with an improved cost base. While macro challenges remain across the sector, I am encouraged by the start to Q1 underpinned by a solid foundation of enterprise clients,” said Kin + Carta’s Chief Executive Officer, Kelly Manthey.

The FTSE 100 was firmly lower again on Wednesday amid inflation fears and ongoing concerns about the Chinese property sector.

The FTSE 100 was down 0.4% to 7,360 at the time of writing.

Despite UK inflation falling to 6.8% in July, record wage growth released yesterday suggests further downside in UK CPI could be limited. Sterling rose against the dollar as traders priced additional rate hikes by the Bank of England in their fight against inflation.

“The record wage growth revealed on Tuesday created fears that inflation is becoming increasingly entrenched in the UK economy and beyond the headline number there were signs rising prices are getting quite sticky in this latest CPI print,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

“The Bank of England may be glad of the breathing space provided by the scheduling of its next meeting which does not come until late September. This will allow it to look at a few more data points before deciding its next move on interest rates. One thing is absolutely certain – the battle against inflation is far from over.

“Overnight US stocks were lower thanks to concerns about the banking sector, while Asian indices continued to suffer in the fall-out from a Chinese property market crisis.”

According to reports by Bloomberg, Chinese authorities have asked some asset managers to avoid being net sellers of Chinese equities to help contain volatility. Such a move highlights the concern China has about its equity market but begs the question of why they haven’t gone further to stimulate the economy.

Yesterday’s 15bps Chinese interest rate cut did nothing to boost sentiment, and investors continued to dump China-focused stocks on Wednesday.

The FTSE 100 has made a series of lower higher and, on a technical basis looks set to test support around 7,300.

FTSE 100 movers

Miners were again weaker on Wednesday but the most pronounced selling was in UK-focused sectors such as the banks and housebuilders.

With today’s inflation more or less nailing on another rate hike by the Bank of England, fears of higher mortgage rates for an extended period knocked the housebuilders. Barratt Developments, Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon were down between 0.6%-2%.

Admiral was the FTSE 100’s top riser on Wednesday after the insurer said it has successfully implemented price hikes to offset inflationary pressures. Admiral shares were over 4% higher at the time of writing.

“It’s a tough time to be a UK motor insurer as claims cost inflation continues to run hot. To its credit though, Admiral is managing the challenging backdrop well with some pretty serious price hikes now starting to feed through to improved performance,” said Matt Britzman, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

“The bad news for consumers is that car insurance is now another inflated cost to try and manage as part of the ever-increasing pressures on income. Some customers have had enough, and Admiral saw a 7% dip in customer numbers over the quarter. But for Admiral, that’s a loss worth taking as maintaining profitable insurance contracts is key, even if it means losing a few customers along the way.”

GENinCode (LON: GENI) has filed its premarket notification (510k) with the US FDA for the CARDIO inCode-Score polygenic test for the risk assessment and prevention of heart disease. The test uses data collated over 15 years. The company’s US laboratory has gained accreditation from the College of American Pathologists. The share price steadily improved during the morning and is up 17.4% to 13.5p.

Belluscura (LON: BELL) has orders for 6,500 DISCOV-R portable oxygen concentrators and received 1,500 X-PLOR units to sell. The DISCOV-R order is worth $15m – 2022 revenues were $1.5m – with production beginning in the third quarter. The share price increased 16.2% to 43p, which is the highest since March.

Chaarat Gold (LON: CGH) has agreed a bonding conditional sale of its subsidiary that owns the Kapan mine in Armeina to Gold Mining Company, which owns the nearby Lichkvaz mine. The deal is worth $55.4m. Kapan needs significant investment and exchange rates had hit profitability. Chaarat will focus on the Xiwang project. The share price rose 8.52% to 7.325p.

Staffing firm Gattaca (LON: GATC) expects net fee income to be below forecasts, but the pre-tax profit is likely to be higher than expected because of cost control. Liberum has upped its estimate from £1.8m to £2.5m. However, it has cut its 2023-24 estimate by one-quarter to £3m. The share price is 9.84% ahead at 106p.

Eden Research (LON: EDEN) has received its first commercial order for seed treatment Ecovelex from partner Corteva Agriscience. This treatment replaces chemicals that may be banned. Full authorisations have yet to be received, but it can be sold under emergency use authorisations.  The share price is 6.52% ahead at 6.125p.

Technology investment company Tern (LON:TERN) reported a decline in NAV from 6.4p/share to 5.7p/share over the six months to June 2023. The 12.5% decline in the share price to 5.25p probably has more to do with continued profit-taking following the rise after investee company Wyld Networks said it was exploring potential areas of collaboration with SpaceX. Tern owns 27% of Wyld Networks.

Serinus Energy (LON: SENX) shares continue to decline following its announcement on Monday that lower oil and gas prices mean that interim revenues slumped from $29.3m to $8.9m. Net cash was $2.5m at the end of June 2023, but a full year loss is forecast. Chief executive Jeffrey Auld bought 250,000 shares at 1.95p each. The share price fell a further 7.5% to 1.85p.

Alba Mineral Resources (LON: ALBA) says that the workings at the Clogau gold mine have reflooded and it is waiting for an extension to the higher abstraction rate permit. The share price declined 6.25% to 0.1125p. Investee company GreenRoc Mining (LON: GROC) an operating loss of £415,000 for the six months to May 2023. The focus is larger scale bulk test work at the Amitsoq Lower graphite layer orebody, which will provide more graphite for testing and supplying samples to potential off-takers. The share price rose 2.35% to 4.35p.