Aquis weekly movers: Hydrogen Future Industries commences testing
Hydrogen Future Industries (LON: HFI) shares jumped by 23.8% rise to 6.5p. The wind and water-based green hydrogen production systems developer has commenced prototype testing of the wind element of the system. The wind turbines are designed to be more efficient, and the tests will show whether they achieve expected power output.
Ananda Developments (LON: ANA) shares rose 8.7% following its interim figures. Management says that it hopes to update the market on the acquisition of the 50% it does not own in cannabis grower DJT Plants. Trials are being undertake on growing cannabis in natural season, which will reduce capital requirements and costs.
Cooks Coffee Company Ltd (LON: COOK), which was already quoted on the New Zealand Stock Exchange, joined Access segment of Aquis on 2 November at 20p a share. The share price rose to 21.5p (20p/23p) by the end of the week. There were no trades during the week. The company owns the Esquires Coffee and Triple Two Coffee brands. It has 111 outlets around the world, including 70 in the UK, making it the largest franchise café chain in the UK. Elena Garside has been appointed as a non-executive director.
Quetzal Capital (LON: QTZ) has a conditional agreement to acquire the shares it does not own in TAP Global for 450 million shares. The deal requires a fundraising to finance the enlarged group. This has led to the suspension of trading in Quetzal Capital shares. The share price rose 7.94% to 3.4p before the suspension.
Quantum Exponential Group (LON: QBIT) investee company Universal Quantum says its German subsidiary has been commissioned by the German Aerospace Centre to build a fully scalable trapped-ion quantum computer. This follows projects supported by the UK government. Non-exec director Nigel McNair Scott has acquired 500,000 shares at 2p each, 1.5 million shares at 1.966p each and 500,000 shares at 1.95p each. The share price is 6.33% higher at 2.1p.
Cadence Minerals (LON: KDNC) says the Amapa ore reserve estimate supports a 15-year mine life and Cadence has increased its stake in Amapa to 30% by converting loans and capitalising management and admin contributions. Investee company Evergreen Lithium is moving towards an ASX listing. The share price is 3.6% higher at 9.22p.
Brewer Shepherd Neame (LON: SHEP) director Richard Oldfield is continuing to buy shares. He acquired at total of 9,500 shares at 680p each. The share price rose 2.22% to 690p.
Brewer Daniel Thwaites (LON: THW) more than doubled interim pre-tax profit from £7.5m to £15.7m, although most of the improvement came from a gain on interest rate swaps of £7.6m, up from £500,000, due to higher interest rates. Turnover was 21% ahead at £57.9m, although trading was disrupted in the corresponding period. Net debt was £61.1m at the end of September 2022. The performance of pubs is mixed, and beer volumes are not back to past levels. Higher hotels revenues were more than offset by increased costs. The share price improved 1.49% to 102.5p.
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Fallers
VVV Resources Ltd (LON: VVV) raised £241,000 at 20p a share and every four shares come with a warrant exercisable at 50p a share. The share price slumped 55% to 22.5p because of the placing’s large discount to the market price. VVV Resources has a conditional agreement to acquire 100% of the Mitterberg copper project in Austria and 49% of the Shangri La polymetallic project in Western Australia.
Shares in Gowin New Energy (LON: GWIN) have fallen to a new low of 0.008p, down 23.8% on the week. The repayment dates of shareholder loans have been extended to 2024.
Valereum (LON: VLRM) has gained regulatory approval for the acquisition of the Gibraltar Stock Exchange and the deal should be completed in the first quarter of 2023. Smaller companies in the Middle East, India and Africa. The plan is to attract An NFT strategy will be launched next year. Simon Brickles is chairman of the Gibraltar Stock Exchange, and he will join the Valereum board. There has been the conversion of £130,000 of the funding facility into shares. There is an outstanding balance of $2.35m. The share price declined by 17.9% to 13.75p.
Invinity Energy Systems (LON: IES) is undertaking a capital reorganisation in order to be ab le to issue shares under option at below the current nominal value. The share price slipped 16.7% to 22.5p.
KR1 (LON: KR1) admits that the digital asset market is still in a prolonged downturn. There is longer-term optimism and revenues have staking activities have provided a source of income. There are still plenty of early-stage opportunities. KR1 shares fell 12.4% to 39p.
Vulcan Industries (LON: VULC) has issued interims to September 2022. Revenues increased from £491,000 to £1.23m and the loss was slightly lower at £547,000. The group will be different when the acquisition of Peregrine X goes ahead. The shares declined 2.3% to 0.85p.
AIM weekly movers: Agreed Science Group bid for TP Group
Science Group (LON: SAG) is buying the shares it does not own in TP Group (LON: TPG) for 2.25p a share in cash. That values TP Group at £17.5m. The share price jumped by 184% to 2.2p, which is the highest the share price has been since June. Science Group already owns 28% of the company and replaced the previous management. The independent directors of TP Group have agreed to the bid.
Firering Strategic Minerals (LON: FRG) has entered an agreement with Ricca Resources to fund the development of the Atex lithium tantalum project and adjacent Alliance Lithium exploration licence in Cote d’Ivoire. Firering Strategic will spend up to $18.6m. There is a cash payment of $1m and the acquisition of Ricca shares worth $600,000. The rest of the cash funds a four stage earn-in of up to 50% of the project. The share price soared 77.6% to 13.85p. This is the highest the share price has been for nearly one year.
Oil and gas producer Caspian Sunrise (LON: CASP) is paying its first dividend of 0.0444p a share and promises monthly distributions. The ongoing dividend will be based on 35%-40% of free cash flows or a minimum of £1m. Production is currently 2,400 barrels/day. The oil is being sold locally, but an international trading subsidiary is being set up to sell internationally at higher prices. The share price jumped 56.5% to 3.6p.
Cyber security provider Osirium Technologies (LON: OSI) has generated bookings of £2.52m in the nine months to September 2022, compared with £1.6m in the whole of 2021. The share price more than doubled at one point before ending the week 54.5% higher at 4.25p. Management says that there is a greater client understanding of the importance of privileged protection and security, and average contract values are increasing. Annual recurring revenues are £1.74m.
Kefi Gold and Copper (LON: KEFI) was boosted by the end of hostilities in northern Ethiopia. This will enable further development of the Tulu Kapi gold project. The capital investment requirement has risen to $320m. The project funding is still in place with syndicate approval expected in mid-November. The share price has risen 42.7% to 0.8705p.
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Fallers
North Sea oil and gas company Longboat Energy (LON: LBE) says results from drilling at the Oswig prospect in the northern North Sea were at the lower end of expectations. Longboat Energy has a 20% stake in Oswig. Recoverable resources are estimated at between 10 and 42 million barrels of oil. After a steady rise until Wednesday the share price dived 42.7% on the week at 25.8p. Longboat Energy joined AIM in November 2019 at 100p.
Delivered meals company Parsley Box (LON: MEAL) continues its share price decline on the back of a potential cancellation of the AIM quotation. The share price has been volatile, but it fell a further 37.5% during the week to 2p.
Data analytics company Rosslyn Data Technologies (LON: RDT) released full year results in the afternoon on Monday and announced the sale of Integrite the following day. In the year to April 2022, revenues from continuing operations fell from £3.6m to £2.7m and the cash outflow from operating activities was £2.23m. There was net cash of £882,000 at the end of September 2022, down from £2.4m at the end of April. The assets of Integrite were sold for an initial £1.6m with up to £1.4m based on revenue and growth targets. This was a non-core business. The share price ended the week at an all-time low of 0.85p, down 33.3%.
Ncondezi Energy (LON: NCCL) requires more funding by the end of November and the share price fell 30.2% to 0.925p. It may be able to draw down £150,000 from its convertible loan facility. The feasibility study for the 300MW solar project confirmed that it is technically viable.
Yourgene Health (LON: YGEN) interim revenues were lower but if Covid revenues are excluded they were 14% ahead at £8m. Margins are under pressure from rising costs, which means that the full year loss will be higher than previously expected. The share price slipped 26.7% to 2.75p.
Pure Electric surges past £1m crowdfunding target, raising over £1.9m and counting
Sponsored by Pure Electric
Pure Electric is on a mission to revolutionise urban transport. The market-leading manufacturer of British-designed electric scooters is currently running a highly successful public equity crowdfunding campaign with Crowdcube.
The company quickly surpassed expectations, securing over £1.9m of funding in just X hours/days.
Pure Electric is led by Adam Norris – former founding director of Hargreaves Lansdown’s Pensions Direct and manager of Formula One driver, Lando Norris.
Norris ventured £60 million of his own capital (made from the IPO of his previous business) to establish Pure Electric. This investment was driven by his desire to safeguard the planet’s future, as well as his strong belief in the electric transport industry’s commercial potential.
He has since built an experienced British-based leadership team – with expertise from Dyson, Dr. Martens, Vivo Barefoot, Weber and Nisbets.
In an email to Crowdcube investors, Adam Norris said:
“I started Pure Electric to provide a solution to the escalating environmental issues caused by traditional transport systems. Our ground-breaking technology, designed by our world-class team, is now providing greener, safer, and more affordable transport.”
The business continues to go from strength to strength, with over 200,000 e-scooters sold and 6X revenue growth in two years (£5.5m to £35m).
This success is on track to continue, with experts from McKinsey predicting the e-scooter category will be worth nearly $41 billion by 2030.
The company recently announced a partnership with Currys – the UK’s biggest technology retailer – which now markets Pure Electric e-scooters through its website and 66 stores across UK and Ireland.
Pure Electric has a further 150 points of distribution across France and Spain, through a partnership with FNAC Darty.
The investment secured in their Crowdcube funding will support them in creating innovative new products, while facilitating their global expansion plans.
The company’s lucrative crowdfunding campaign comes just two weeks after the reveal of its latest innovations – the Pure Advance and Pure Advance Flex e-scooters.
Designed from the ground up by a world-class team of engineers, the new range is a reinvention of the e-scooter with rider experience and safety at its core.
Pure Electric’s investment opportunity is available for a limited time only. Investors can pledge as little as £12.17 to own a stake in the future of this rapidly growing British-based business.
Among the list of Pure’s current investors, there are numerous high-net-worth individuals. Anyone interested in investing over 100k is encouraged to email Adam Norris and his team directly via the Crowdcube platform.
“As we continue to scale our business and discover more ways that e-scooters can transform society, I passionately believe that this is a phenomenal opportunity. I’m delighted to invite like-minded investors to be part of our mission.” – Adam Norris
To learn more about the company and its mission, as well as how to invest, visit the page for more information
Sign-off risk warning
Investing in start-ups and early stage businesses involves risks, including illiquidity, lack of dividends, loss of investment and dilution, and it should be done only as part of a diversified portfolio. Crowdcube is targeted exclusively at investors who are sufficiently sophisticated to understand these risks and make their own investment decisions. You will only be able to invest via Crowdcube once you are registered as sufficiently sophisticated. Please click here to read the full Risk Warning.
Crowdcube is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV). This page has been approved by Crowdcube. Pitches for investment are not offers to the public and investments can only be made by members of crowdcube.com on the basis of information provided in the pitches by the companies concerned. Further restrictions and Crowdcube’s limitation of liability are set out in the Investor Terms and Conditions.
Investment opportunities are not offers to the public and investors must be eligible Crowdcube members. Further restrictions and Crowdcube’s limitation of liability are set out in the Investor Terms and Conditions. Please seek independent advice as required as Crowdcube does not give investment or tax advice.
FTSE 100 surges on China hopes and strong US jobs
The rumour mill was powering the FTSE 100 forward on Friday with investors jumping on more speculation about a potential Chinese economic reopening.
Earlier this week, global equities rallied after social media posts suggested the Chinese were creating a committee to end zero covid policy and reopen the economy.
“Any indication that some rules could be relaxed would be an immediate dose of grease in the jarring cogs of China’s economy,” said Sophie Lund-Yates, lead equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
The optimism around China was compounded by better than expected US jobs numbers on Friday showing the US economy was still powering ahead despite economic headwinds.
Non-farm payrolls grew by +261k in October, yet another month of stellar job growth.
— Justin Wolfers (@JustinWolfers) November 4, 2022
Past two months show revisions of +52k for September and -23k for August, so this is an even stronger report.
Unemployment rate rose a tick to 3.7%.
This is a very strong economy.
FTSE 100 Miners
The FTSE 100 miners were inevitably the top gainers on Friday as commodity prices surged on hopes of a rebound in demand from China.
Anglo American stormed to the top of the leaderboard gaining nearly 10% with Antofagasta adding over 7% and Rio Tinto 6.5% at the time of writing.
Prudential – gaining 8.5% – has a significant Asian focused business and will benefit from a relaxation in China restrictions.
The strong performance in the FTSE 100’s China-exposed stocks came after a bumper session in Chinese equities overnight.
“The Hang Seng index recorded its biggest weekly gain in 11 years, rising 8.7% to 16,161. A good chunk of those gains came on Friday as stocks jumped in anticipation that the Chinese government would relax its zero-Covid policy from March next year,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
“Prior to this week’s rally, Asian stocks had struggled this year amid fears about a sharp slowdown in economic growth partially caused by stringent Covid lockdown rules in China. Even after the rebound this week, Hong Kong’s index remains 30.6% lower year-to-date.”
BP vs Shell: how the oil majors compare after Q3 results
BP and Shell have both reported their third quarter results and provided insight into how the oil majors are performing as oil prices fall back from the $100+ levels seen after the start of the war in Ukraine.
By all accounts the oil majors had a successful third quarter with profit rising compared to last year. BP’s underlying profit rose to $8bn while Shell’s Adjusted Earnings jumped to $9.5bn.
There was a slight deterioration compared to the second quarter for BP who reported Q2 underlying profit of $8.5bn. Shell had reported $11.5bn earnings in Q2.
As we move towards the end of the year, BP and Shell are trading at their highest levels of 2022 as oil prices rally on hopes of a Chinese economic reopening and end of their zero Covid policy.
Despite BP and Shell shares moving in tandem for most of the year, there a striking differences in the underlying valuation of the shares.
BP Shares Valuation
BP shares trade at 8.7x historical earnings and just 3.8x forecasted earnings. This is of course reliant on BP meeting analyst earnings estimates but these multiples suggest deep value.
From an income perspective, BP has a current yield of 3.2%. This isn’t particularly attractive based on BP’s historical yield an is broadly inline with the FTSE 100 average. That said, the Dividend Cover is 3 so there’s plenty for space to increase dividends and BP are also embarking on a significant buyback programme.
Shell shares
With the Shell share price at 2,530p, the company has a notably higher price-to-earnings ration at 13.7x. This may reflect a premium the market has given to Shell due their exposure to gas and effort in reducing their carbon footprint – something BP is also making significant steps in doing as well.
Nonetheless, Shell does trade at a much higher valuation than BP and also has a lower yield at 2.3%, although Shell has recently hike the dividend. So with these basic valuation metrics, Shell does appear expensive compared to BP.
BP generated a similar amount of cash from operations ($8.2bn) as Shell ($12.5bn) in the third quarter, but did this from around half of the revenue of Shell (BP revenue $57.8bn; Shell $98.7bn). This would suggest BP was more efficient than Shell at generating cash – in the last quarter, at least.
However, BP revenue was more heavily hit during the summer by lower oil prices which could be a cause for concern among investors when extrapolating out the potential impact into 2023. Indeed, Shell’s revenue fell by only 5% from Q2 to Q3 while BP’s sank 17%.
AIM movers: Caspian Sunrise dividend and Enwell Energy court loss
Oil and gas producer Caspian Sunrise (LON: CASP) is paying its first dividend of 0.0444p a share and promises monthly payouts. The dividend will be based on 35%-40% of free cash flows or a minimum of £1m. Production is currently 2,400 barrels/day. The oil is being sold locally, but an international trading subsidiary is being set up to sell internationally at higher prices. The share price jumped 36% to 3.4p.
Tlou Energy (LON: TLOU) has raised £1.1m at 2p a share from a strategic investor, controlled by Dr Ian Campbell and taking his stake to 8.69%. The cash will be used to develop the Lesedi power project that will connect to the Botswana grid. The share price rose 14.8% to 1.55p.
Thor Mining (LON: THR) says initial drilling results for Kelly’s Ridge, which is part of the Ragged Range project in Western Australia, with one hole returning a 4-metre downhole interval grading of 12.2g/t gold. This is at a deeper point than historical mining. The share price is 10.5% ahead at 0.525p.
Enwell Energy (LON: ENW) is on the wrong end of a court decision relating to an exploration licence in Ukraine. JV Boryslav Oil Company claimed that irregular procedures were followed in the grant of the licence. Enwell Energy will appeal. The shares have slumped 10.9% to 23.2p.
Longboat Energy (LON: LBE) and Yourgene Health (LON: YGEN) both continue to decline after yesterday’s disappointing statements. North Sea oil and gas company Longboat Energy said results from drilling at Oswig in the northern North Sea were at the lower end of expectations. Longboat Energy has a 20% stake in Oswig. The share price has fallen a further 8.77% to 26p, having been 47.5p two days ago. Yourgene Healthmargins are under pressure, which means that the full year loss will be higher than previously expected. The share price slipped another 3.85% to 3.125p, down from 3.75p two days ago.
AiDash secures $10m strategic investment from SE Ventures
AiDash has secured a $10m strategic investment from SE Ventures, a leading global venture fund backed by energy giant Schneider Electric.
AiDash is a SaaS company operating satellite and AI-powered solutions that help a broad range of industries better understand their operations.
Schneider Electric’s interest stemmed from the ability to predict wild fires and other weather events to help prevent power outages.
“Vegetation is the biggest cause of power outages and one of the most critical factors for grid resilience,” said Abhishek Singh, co-founder, and CEO of AiDash.
“Schneider Electric has a very robust portfolio of solutions related to grid resiliency and we see particularly strong synergy with their EcoStruxure Grid Asset Advisor offer. The strategic fit was so great that we didn’t want to wait until our Series C round – planned for 2023 – to work with Schneider Electric. Together we’re even stronger on our mission to modernize electric grids, prevent and minimize natural disaster damage, and fight climate change through AI and satellite technology.”
AiDash work with 75 companies globally and claim to reduce vegetation management expenses by 20%.
FTSE 100 briefly spikes as the pound dips after UK interest rates rise to 3%
The Bank of England raised interest rates by 75 bps to 3% on Thursday following an increase by the same amount in US interest rates over night.
As expected, the BoE and Fed both hike by 75 bps to 3% and 3.75% respectively.
“The 0.75% rise was expected by markets as inflation continues to hit multi-decade highs and after a pretty tumultuous few months for the UK economy,” said Dan Boardman-Weston, CEO and Chief Investment Officer at BRI Wealth Management.
However, the deviation in their potential trajectories was the biggest story, and main driver of markets on Thursday.
There is a clear divide appearing in the rhetoric of the two centrals banks. The Federal Reserve is hinting at the need for more rate hikes while the Bank of England is very gently suggesting that further rate hikes may do more harm than good.
The prospect of a hawkish Federal Reserve and dovish BoE sent GBP/USD 1.3% lower to 1.1235.
Sterling weakness
The weakness in the pound provided some relief to the FTSE 100 which spiked immediately higher after the announcement at 12.00pm on Thursday. The FTSE 100 had been lower in early trade after the Federal Reserve warned they were prepared to continue with large rate hikes.
The FTSE 100 jumped roughly 30 points from around 7,085 on the announcement, but the rally faded quickly with the FTSE 100 trading below 7,100 at the time of writing, down 0.67% on the day.
Gloomy outlook
The Bank of England provided a gloomy economic outlook saying that should the market’s rate trajectory be met, we could see a two year recession.
That’s if the Bank of England mets market expectations. Market expectation of UK rates have fluctuated wildly over the past month so the worst case scenario may well be avoided.
“The good news is that the restoration of calm in UK markets means the BoE faces less pressure to hike aggressively. UK interest rates are expected to peak at 4.75% in late 2023, much milder than over 6.25% priced in after the mini-budget,” said Janet Mui, head of market analysis at wealth manager RBC Brewin Dolphin.