Greatland Gold’s exploration progress
AIM-quoted Greatland Gold (LON: GGP) has updated the market on the progress at Havieron and its exploration drilling. The share price dipped 1.41% to 7p, although buyers have returned and this is above the low for the day.
The Havieron decline development has reached 2,510 metres and it has passed the middle aquifer. No significant water issues were found, which is good news and reduces the risk.
The current surface drilling campaign has ended. Management says that Greatland Gold will move to quarterly reporting of exploration and development at Havieron and Juri, which is in line with Newcrest Mining. Newcrest Mining has 70% of Havieron and 51% of the Juri joint venture, where it has taken on the management of the venture.
Greatland Gold will continue to report separately on its own exploration and development projects.
Exploration
Diamond drilling has been completed on five targets at 100%-owned Scallywag, while the maiden drilling at Paterson South has also ended. The latter is a farm-in and joint venture with Rio Tinto Exploration.
The data from the assays from Scallywag is being processed and this will be reported in the near future. Drilling on the Rameses target was not completed because the drill hole was not structurally accessible.
Paterson South drilling was on the tenement adjoining the Havieron mining lease and it targeted magnetic anomalies and airborne electromagnetics derived conductors.
AIM movers: N4P patent grant and Wandisco slumps on return
N4 Pharma (LON: N4P) has gained another US patent for its Nuvec silica nanoparticle delivery system for vaccines and therapeutics. The patent relates to the nanoparticle. Chris Britten has been appointed chairman. The share price jumped by one-third to 2p.
Richard Bernstein has taken a 9.7% stake in Bonhill (LON: BONH), which has sold off its businesses and recently bought back £3.9m worth of shares at 10p each. The plan is to cancel the AIM quotation and a general meeting will be held on 1 August to gain shareholder approval. The share price recovered 52.4% to 0.8p.
Video streaming services provider Aferian (LON: AFRN) raised £3.12m at 12p/share, which was a premium to the market price. The cash is an alternative to drawing down a loan from major shareholder Kestrel. This will provide working capital to enable the continued move to software and services revenues. The share price moved up 30% to 13p.
Shares in Sportech (LON: SPO) have risen 8.61% to 176.5p ahead of going ex-dividend for the 35p/share special dividend.
FALLERS
Wandisco (LON: WAND) shares slumped 96.2% to 49.75p after the data software company returned from suspension. Wandisco recently raised £23.8m at 50p/share. The share suspension came about because of fraudulent irregularities in its accounts. There were $115.5m of false orders in 2022 and $14.9m of this was recognised as revenues. The additional cash will reinvigorate sales and marketing.
Brighton Pier (LON: PIER) says that first half trading was subdued due to poor weather, weak consumer spending, train strikes and a fire in a hotel near to the pier. There are also cost pressures. Cenkos has halved its post-tax profit to £500,000, although net debt expectations have been cut from £4.5m to £3.7m. The share price dived 28.1% to 41p.
FireAngel Safety Technology (LON: FA.) says interim revenues are 17% lower at £21.4 and lower gross margin plus hedging losses means that the pre-tax loss will more than double to £3.7m. Price increases have been made. A strategic review has been started by new chief executive Neil Radley and is possible the company could be sold. FireAngel Safety Technology recently raised £6.1m at 5.05p. The share price slipped 24.4% to 3.25p.
Hummingbird Resources (LON: HUM) produced 24,000 ounces of gold in the second quarter of 2023 and even more was sold during the quarter. Costs were lower than expected at $1,234/ounce. This meant that EBITDA was $15.5m – the forecast was $11.8m. The downside is that net debt was higher than forecast at $123m. This was due to increased capital investment. The Kouroussa mine is likely to produce less than expected this year, while Yanfolila could continue to do better than anticipated. The share price is 6.46% lower at 14.125p.
Technology Minerals languishes below IPO price despite battery plant progress
Technology Minerals shares are struggling to get back above the company’s IPO price despite commissioning progress at their lithium battery recycling plant.
Technology Minerals has 48.25% in Recyclus Group, which is developing UK’s first industrial-scale lithium-ion battery recycling facility in Wolverhampton.
This week, Technology Minerals said the plant’s commissioning phase was on schedule, and operations were building steadily with the aim of processing 8,300 tonnes in the first year.
Despite the apparent landmark news, Technology Minerals shares have failed to rise above the 2.25p IPO price. Technology Minerals shares were comfortably above this level shortly after the IPO before crashing to lows around 1p earlier this year. The stock hasn’t convincingly traded above 2.25p for over a year.
Sellers have consistently stepped in as Technology Mineral’s share price approaches the 2.25p IPO price, and significant resistance has built in the 2p-2.4p region.
One Twitter user suggests Technology Minerals’ disappointing share price performance could be a result of “Bland/Dull” investor communications.
Indeed, one would think the UK’s first industrial-scale lithium-ion battery recycling would pique investor interest and earn the company a greater market cap than the current £32m.
There has also been little guidance on potential earnings from the plant despite Technology Minerals conducting numerous fundraises to progress their recycling plant.
Technology Minerals recorded zero revenue in the half year to 31st December, and there was no revenue forecast provided in their outlook.
Unilever shares jump as revenue growth beats expectations
Unilever shares were up over 5% in early trade on Tuesday after the consumer giant reported better-than-expected revenue due to sale price growth in the second quarter.
The company reported their second quarter trading statement alongside first-half results.
Unilever’s second-quarter revenue was €15.74bn versus analyst expectations of €15.54bn. Top-line growth was driven by 7.9% underlying sales growth in the second quarter, mitigated marginally by a 0.3% volume decline.
Robust first-half
Underlying sales grew 9.1% in the first half of 2023 for Unilever, driven by 9.4% price growth. Rising sales prices were offset slightly by a 0.2% volume decline for the first half. Unilever’s market share declined to 41% as the company reduced SKUs by 17% and saw volume drops in some markets like India tea and Brazil laundry.
However, beauty and wellbeing sales rose 9.1% led by double-digit prestige beauty and health growth. Emerging markets grew 10.6% though growth in SE Asia was muted. These were key to Unilever’s robust first half.
Developed markets rose 6.9%, with higher pricing in Europe. Turnover increased 2.7% despite currency and acquisition headwinds. Underlying operating profit was up 3.3% as gross margin rose on pricing though it remains below 2019 levels.
“These results from Unilever are solid but uninspiring,” said Charlie Huggins, Manager of the Quality Shares Portfolio at Wealth Club.
“Despite significant price increases, Unilever has managed to maintain broadly flat volumes. This is a clear positive and suggests Unilever’s brands continue to attract a loyal following. The other piece of good news is Unilever upping its full-year sales guidance to “above 5%” and reiterating that operating margins will improve slightly, despite cost pressures.
“The question is – should Unilever be doing better? The answer is almost certainly yes. Margins remain well below pre-pandemic levels and below the bonnet of that robust underlying sales growth there are problems. Only 41% of Unilever’s business is winning market share which means more than half the portfolio is losing out to competitors. And performance in Europe is exceptionally poor, with volumes falling 10% in the second quarter.”
Despite these failings, investors clearly liked Unilever’s top-line growth and shares were very well bid early on Tuesday.
Faith In Nature smashes Crowdcube target
Founded in 1974, UK manufacturer of natural personal care products, Faith In Nature, is open to investment for the very first time in its near 50 year history.
Its Crowdcube campaign (available here) leads under the headline “The first ever chance to invest in a 50 year old start-up” which, they believe, best sums up their independent spirit that has guided their approach to purpose lead business since day 1. Founded by Rivka Rose, the much-loved company has always existed to make natural products accessible for all. It has been a mainstay of the UK health sector since inception and has 95% distribution in the independent sector.
With increased environmental awareness, Faith In Nature has grown 226% in the last five years and is stocked in Holland & Barrett, Boots, Waitrose and Sainsbury’s. They are also number 1 on Amazon for bar soap and 400ml body wash. Sales are projected to increase by a further 85% over the next 4 years.
With investment already at 125%, the crowdfunding campaign is open for another week and they intend to invest funds raised into 3 main areas: growing brand awareness, sustainable product innovation and manufacturing more efficiently by moving to a new, greener, site in Manchester. Managing Director, John Allaway, says: “We know when people discover us, they love us. This investment will really help deliver the growth in awareness that we already know converts into growth in sales and loyalty.”
In August 2022, Faith In Nature made headlines by becoming the first company in the world to make Nature a director — giving Nature a voice and a vote on all decisions they make and reimagining what it is to be a responsible, green business in the 21st century.
To invest, and read the full investment pack, go to their Crowdcube page here.
FTSE 100 gains despite China woes, Ocado soars
The FTSE 100 was slightly stronger on Monday as a poor session in Asia overnight saw London’s leading index flutucate between gains and losses after a storming week last week.
“A weak showing from Hong Kong’s Hang Seng cast a dark cloud over the start of the new trading week, with the index falling 2.3% as investors dumped holdings in real estate, consumer cyclicals and basic materials companies,” said Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell.
“China’s post-Covid economic reopening is proving to be less robust than hoped at the start of the year, and now it seems that investors are growing tired of waiting for the Chinese government to announce new stimulus measures.
“There are concerns that the Chinese housing market will remain sluggish and that has weighed on sentiment towards all things related to real estate and construction, including miners over fears that commodities demand could weaken.
“Names like Glencore and Anglo American acted like an anchor on the FTSE 100, dragging the UK index down 0.2% to 7,647. Prudential was also caught up in the negativity around China, given it is a key territory for the life insurer. It was the same story for HSBC, slipping 1.3%.
“UK housebuilders and banks gave up some of their recent gains as investors locked in some profits after one of the best weeks for the FTSE in a long time.”
Housebuilders have staged a monumental rally after UK inflation slipped and boosted chances of slower rate hikes.
FTSE 100 movers
Ocado has found its way into the headlines one way or another lately, and on Monday, a 12% gain in the food retailer meant the spotlight was firmly back on the company.
On Monday, Ocado announced litigation between Ocado and AutoStore had been settled, and action against each other was being dropped. Ocado was the FTSE 100 top gainer at the time of writing.
Tim Steiner, Chief Executive Officer of Ocado Group plc, said:
“I am pleased that we have worked together to resolve our differences and can now continue to focus on what we do best – innovating, developing and enabling partners to access world beating technology”
Vodafone was 2.5% higher amid a bout of optimism emanating from their Q1 results.
AIM movers: Revolution Beauty investigation and new life for Itsarm
Shares in Itsarm (LON: ITS) have more than trebled on the back of board changes. The share price jumped 212.5% to 0.625p, which is the highest it has been since March. David Craven and Jean-Paul Rohan are joining the board and the winding-up petition has been withdrawn. James Sharp and Richard Monaghan are stepping down without compensation and payment of fees for July. A new proposal reduces liabilities to around £140,000 and current cash is £223,000. The company is a shell and trading in the shares will be suspended if it does not find a takeover candidate by 27 September.
OptiBiotix Health (LON: OPTI) shares continue to rise after it said last week that manufacturing of the sweetener products range SweetBiotix is being scaled up and it is being tested for consistency and shelf life. OptiBiotix Health says that well-known consumer brands like Kellogg’s, Nestle and Coca Cola are interested in SweetBiotix. The share price is nearly treble the level of one week ago and has risen a further 11.8% to 23.25p – the highest level since August 2022. Cleantech Lithium (LON: CTL) is also still going up on the back of last week’s announcement of a 39% increase in measured and indicated resource for the Laguna Verde project. The resource is sufficient for an annual production rate of 20,000 tonnes of battery grade lithium carbonate for more than 30 years. The share price is 6.78%% ahead at 63p and is 57.5% higher than one week ago.
Mind Gym (LON: MIND) co-founder Sebastian Bailey has bought 825,000 shares at 35.07p each, which is an investment of nearly £290,000. He owns 10.3% of the human resources services provider. The share price was near to its low and it rose 10.5% to 47.5p.
Cloud services provider Beeks Financial Services (LON: BKS) has added a further $4m of total contract value from multiple clients, including a large UK bank. This helps to underpin the forecast growth for the company. The share price is 6.13% higher at 108.25p.
Revolution Beauty (LON: REVB) has been hit by the FCA investigation announced late on Friday. This relates to potential breaches of market abuse regulations between July 2021, when the company joined AIM, and September 2022 when trading in the shares was suspended. The company has already said that revenues had been recognised too early and former management also failed to disclose other matters. The share price slipped 6.16% to 27.825p.
Shares in TV and film transport and facilities provider Facilities by ADF (LON: ADF) are still declining because of fears about the medium-term consequences of the Hollywood writers and actors strikes. Projects are continuing to be filmed with existing scripts, but no changes can be made, and they will eventually run out if the strike continues for a long period of time. The share price dipped 5.61% to 41.25p.
Haydale Graphene (LON: HAYD) is launching a second collaboration with Cadent to develop graphene ink-based low-power radiator heaters, which will generate income of £350,000 over 12 months. There could be significant orders in 2025 if the collaboration is successful. They are already working on another heater project. The share price fell 2.17% to 1.125p.
Concrete levelling equipment supplier Somero Enterprises (LON: SOM) is trading in line with previously downgraded expectations. First half trading was at the upper end of expectations, but the full year pre-tax profit is being held at $32.5m, down from $42.3m. This assumes stronger second half trading. Outside North America, trading was stronger. The share price declined 2.11% to 347.5p.
Itsarm shares fly on hopes liquidation can be avoided
Itsarm plc announced that its board of directors has entered into agreements to avoid the proposed compulsory liquidation which sent shares in the cash shell into freefall.
The key elements of the proposal are the appointment of David Craven and Jean-Paul Rohan as directors, the resignation of current directors James Sharp and Richard Monaghan, and the waiving of certain fees and notice periods by the outgoing directors.
This significantly reduces Itsarm’s liabilities and contingent liabilities, which provides the opportunity for the company to avoid the proposed compulsory liquidation and pursue a deal for the cash shell.
Itsarm shares were up 150% at the time of writing on Monday.
The current directors will request the withdrawal of the winding-up petition originally filed on June 5 at the scheduled court hearing on 26th July or by 31st July.
As of 20th July, Itsarm had approximately £223,000 in cash and liabilities reduced to around £140,000 through the waiving of fees.
Itsarm disposed of its operating assets related to the In The Style fashion website earlier this year for a consideration of £1.2m. Itsarm is now operating as a cash shell and has until 27th September to secure a deal.
Canadian Overseas Petroleum shares surge on Cole Creek progress
Canadian Overseas Petroleum has entered into a letter of intent (LOI) with an established energy company to negotiate a joint venture agreement to develop and begin oil production from COPL’s Cole Creek project in Wyoming.
The LOI grants the company exclusivity for a period of time to negotiate the terms and structure of the joint venture, which will require consent from COPL.
Canadian Overseas Petroleum shares were over 14% higher at the time of writing on Monday.
The companies had previously signed a confidentiality agreement in October 2022 related to the potential joint venture, with confidentiality provisions that will terminate concurrently with the exclusivity period. The joint venture will focus on the Cole Creek project and does not include COPL’s Barron Flats Shannon miscible flood EOR project.
Arthur Millholland, President and CEO commented:
“We have been working on this project for some time. We first identified the potential at Cole Creek before completion of our Atomic acquisition in March 2021. Our acquisition of the complimentary assets of Cuda in July 2022 gave our Company full control of the Cole Creek project. This LOI is the first step completed in a process initiated in October of last year after the Cuda acquisition.
“The company that has entered into the LOI with us is the best partner we could have of the ones we have considered. Our Company brings considerable experience and understanding of Cole Creek, including operating the early stage enriched gas miscible EOR project at the neighboring Barron Flats Shannon Unit. This EOR experience can be directly applied to Cole Creek as they have many similar reservoir characteristics. We look forward to updating our stakeholders when able as the process proceeds.”