Aquis weekly movers: Invinity Energy Systems’ largest order

Andrew Hore
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Aquis weekly movers: Invinity Energy Systems’ largest order

Invinity Energy Systems (LON: IES) has sold 15MWh of vanadium flow batteries to Everdura Technology in Taiwan. A deposit will be paid soon, and the first deliveries will be late in 2023. This is the largest ever single order and there is follow-on potential of 255MWh over three years and it will help to underpin 2023 forecast revenues of £23.7m. The share price jumped 56.5% to 36p

Hydrogen Utopia International (LON: HUI) has entered an agreement with Fishertown Property for a proposed lease of a 2.5 acre site in County Longford. This will become its first full scale waste plastic to hydrogen in Europe. A €50,000 payment has been made and an option for the site is being negotiated.

One Health Group (LON: OHGR) joined the Apex segment of the Aquis Stock Exchange on 24 November and the share price continued to rise and ended the week up 10.2% to 172.5p. The NHS-funded medical procedures provider raised £1.56m at 150p a share.

Tectonic Gold (LON: TTAU) has completed drilling at the Specimen Hill project in Queensland. This has intersected a geophysical target below high-grade historic mine. An adjacent target has also been intersected. Joint venture discussions will be pursued. The share price rose 5.52% to 0.765p.

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Fallers

Goodbody Health (LON: GDBY) chief executive Marc Howells has resigned, and George Thomas has replaced him. The share price dived 23.1% to 2.5p.

Shares in Good Energy (LON: GOOD) fell 7.69% to 180p after it said that trading to the end of October was in line with expectations, but the subsequent mild winter has reduced gas consumption. Risk management actions should enable the energy supplier to meet 2022 expectations. There was £21.2m in cash at the end of October 2022. Heat pump installer Igloo Works has been acquired for £1.75m. Last year’s revenues were £1m. This will form an energy services division.

Guanajuato Silver Company Ltd (LON: GSVR) produced 700,264 of silver equivalent ounces in the third quarter, which is more than double the previous quarter. Cash costs fell by 19% to $19.53/ounce. However, lower silver and gold prices meant that the loss increased. The share price fell 3.51% to 27.5p.

AIM weekly movers: Tailwind for Windar Photonics

Andrew Hore
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4
AIM weekly movers: Tailwind for Windar Photonics

Upward share price momentum continues at Windar Photonics (LON: WPHO) on the back of additional test orders for LiDAR wind sensor technology from Vestas. Also, non-executive director Paul Hodges bought 195,000 shares at 19.5538p each. The share price rose a further 163% to 21p and it is 20% higher over the year – making it one of the top 100 AIM performers in 2022.

Infrastructure India (LON: IIP) says it expects to receive proceeds from the sale of Indian Energy in December. The buyer has asked for additional time to complete the transaction and there is a possibility that the deal might not go through, and an alternative buyer comes forward. When cash is received it will be used to pay creditors. Other disposals are planned. The share price recovered by 38.5% to 0.45p.

Digital services provider TPXimpact (LON: TPX) rose 36.6% to 56p, following the publication of interim results that were no worse than expected. The underlying pre-tax fell from £4.7m to £400,000 and the interim dividend was maintained at 0.3p a share. The full integration of past acquisitions by the new management is continuing. A full year pre-tax profit of £5.45m is forecast.

Positive trial results for KidneyIntelX announced yesterday have boosted the share price of diagnostics firm Renalytix (LON: RENX) by 29.6% to 87.5p. KidneyIntelX has enabled early intervention with patients before kidney disease reaches a critical point. FDA approval is possible in the next few months.

Director buying at Primorus Investments (LON: PRIM) pushed the share price 28.3% higher at 2.95p. Executive chairman Rupert Labrum acquired one million shares at 2.86p each, taking his stake to 218%, and the wife of Hedley Clark purchased 784,791 shares at 2.53p each.

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Fallers

Falkland Islands oil and gas explorer Borders & Southern (LON: BOR) is raising £2.5m at 1.75p a share to finance studies of its 100%-owned Darwin gas condensate discovery. The previous market price was 3.15p and the share price has subsequently fallen 38.4% to 1.8775p.

ReNeuron (LON: RENE) is the latest small company to try to raise cash but find that market conditions mitigate against any fundraise. Cost savings are being made by the exosomes technology company so that the existing cash can last until the fourth quarter of 2023. Revenues are growing and the interim loss was reduced. The cash outflow from operating activities was £4.3m, while there was still £10.5m in the bank at the end of September 2022. The share price dived 37.6% to 15.3p.  

Covid lockdowns in China have hit demand for kettle controls supplier Strix (LON: KETL). Zeus has reduced its 2022 pre-tax profit forecast by 17% to £23.2m and cut the 2023 figure by 11% to £29.7m. There could be some upside from the recently acquired water appliance manufacturer Billi. The share price, which had been recovering, dived 34.8% to 81.3p.

Drilling delays at five development Russian wells continue to push the Petroneft Resources (LON: PTR) share price lower and it declined by further one-third to 0.3p.

Because announcements were made late at the end of the previous week there was a delayed reaction to news from energy efficiency as a service provider eEnergy Group (LSE: EAAS) that is had raised £2.525m of subordinated debt lasting until 2024 issued at a discount. That discount equates to 2% repayment fee and 1.25% interest each month. The share price slumped 31.7% to 4.1p. Existing shareholder Hawk Investment, a company owned by John Foley, who will become a non-executive director, and eEnergy directors are providing the debt. There will be 42.1 million warrants with an exercise price of 6p – the current share price – issued to the lenders. It is taking longer to collect cash. Last year’s figures were in line with the previous trading statement. Net debt was £3.2m at the end of June 2022. First quarter revenues were 90% ahead at £7.6m.

CMO profit warning

Andrew Hore
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CMO profit warning

Online builders’ merchants CMO Group (LON: CMO) says lower margin sales and stock availability mean that 2022 profit will be lower than expected. There is also a stock revaluation at Total Tiles. The share price fell by 14.5% to 29.5p.

Stock availability concerns mean that orders are taking longer to be filled. There have also been changes in customer buying patterns, according to AIM-quoted CMO. Even so, second half revenue growth is running at 15% or 5% like-for-like.

Human error has caused a miscalculation of stock valuations at Total Tiles and this will lead to a £700,000 reduction in EBITDA due to the overestimation of margins. New procedures have been put in place and a new purchasing team employed.

Underlying EBITDA is expected to be £2.2m – previously it was £3.5m. There should still be a small pre-tax profit and a small net cash position at the end of the year.

FTSE 100 gains on the week despite choppy Friday session

UK Investor Magazine
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FTSE 100 gains on the week despite choppy Friday session

The FTSE 100 closed slightly down on Friday, but still positive on the week. US jobs data on Friday added choppiness to what had been a gradually improving week for London’s leading index.

The FTSE 100 closed down 2 points at 7,556 on Friday, gaining around 1% on the week.

The index was dragged from pillar to post earlier this week by developments in China. Unrest over the weekend put the FTSE 100 on the back foot, before reports Chinese authorities were considering an easing of lockdown rules helped lift the index. The news saw the index hits the highest levels since August.

Equity traders had further reason for optimism on Wednesday as attention shifted to Jerome Powell’s speech and hints the Fed would soon start to slow the pace of rate hikes. 

US jobs

However, with the jobs number today suggesting strength in the US economy, the Fed will find it difficult to justify pulling back in the short term and stopped the equity rally in its tracks.

US Non-Farm payrolls rose 263,000 in November versus expectations of just 200,000. Wages surged 5.1% higher year-on-year.

“Whilst the headline news is good for the US economy, the view is that the Federal Reserve will continue to raise rates until the labour market starts to crack and clearly there are no signs of that. The markets therefore reacted on the basis that rates will continue to rise reversing the changes seen following Chairman Powell’s speech earlier in the week,” said Toby Sturgeon, Global Head of Fiduciary Investment Services at ZEDRA.

AIM movers: Premier Miton AUM start to recover and Orosur Mining drilling disappointment

Andrew Hore
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5
AIM movers: Premier Miton AUM start to recover and Orosur Mining drilling disappointment

Investment manager Premier Miton (LON: PMI) reported lower profit and a 24% decline in assets under management to £10.6bn in the year to September 2022. The assets under management have recovered to £11.3bn thanks to net positive inflows since September. The share price has jumped 16.9% to 107p, but it has still fallen by 45% this year. The total dividend is unchanged at 10p a share.

Positive trial results for KidneyIntelX announced yesterday have boosted the share price of diagnostics firm Renalytix (LON: RENX) by 12.1% to 92.5p. KidneyIntelX has enabled early intervention with patients before kidney disease reaches a critical point. FDA approval is possible in the next few months.

Intercede Group (LON: IGP) chairman Royston Hoggarth has bought 50,000 shares in the cybersecurity software company at 50.9p each. This follows last week’s interims showing an improvement in profitability. The share price improved by 8.74% to 56p.

Broker Peel Hunt (LON: PEEL) has regained all the share price loss on Thursday when it reported a slump in interim profit on revenues that fell 42% to £41.1m. Low activity levels are continuing. The shares have moved 8.28% ahead to 85p. The September 2021 placing price was 228p.

Disappointing drilling results have hit the Orosur Mining Inc (LON: OMI) share price, which fell 34.5% to 8.35p. The results of four holes at the Pepas and Pupino prospects in the Anza project in Colombia failed to encounter significant anomalies. This follows much more positive results in recent months. Drilling has been suspended, but other work is being undertaken. The proposed joint venture for this project could be completed in the first quarter of 2023, which would trigger a $2m milestone payment.

ReNeuron (LON: RENE) is the latest small company to try to raise cash but find that market conditions mitigate against any fundraise. Cost savings are being made by the exosomes technology company so that the existing cash can last until the fourth quarter of 2023. Revenues are growing and the interim loss was reduced. The cash outflow from operating activities was £4.3m, while there was still £10.5m in the bank at the end of September 2022. The share price slumped 27.8% to 16.25p.

A trading update from Light Source Technologies (LON: LST) says that farmers are reluctant to commit to capital investment and that has slowed progress leading to a higher loss in the year to November 2023. The growers are finding it difficult to pass on cost increases to customers, so they are not making the commitment to install the company’s controlled environment technology. Also, contract manufacturing margins have declined. The share price has been declining all year and fel a further 17.7% to 3.5p.

Graphene developer Directa Plus (LON: DCTA) says orders have been postponed until next year. Forecast 2022 revenues have been cut from €12.5m to €10.4m. The loss is expected to be one-quarter higher at €4.52m. Net cash is better than expected and should be €3.2m at the end of 2022 due to delayed capital spending. Next year’s loss estimate has been raised and Directa Plus could move to net debt. The share price declined by 11.1% to 74.5p.

Power Metal Resources excited by Uranium asset developments

UK Investor Magazine
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Power Metal Resources excited by Uranium asset developments

Power Metal Resources announced the results of a series of tests on their Uranium assets on Friday, some of which contained extremely high-grade samples.

Power Metals is exploring the Thibault Lake, Clearwater and Tait Hill properties in the Athabasca Basin area in Saskatchewan, Canada.

Highlights from their recent activities in the region include two rock samples of 4.7% and 2.4% U3O8 recovered from Thibault Lake assay results, and sampling at Clearwater revealed the presence of 1,120 ppm (0.112%) U3O8.

“We are particularly excited by our Athabasca uranium portfolio, with twelve properties covering some 841km2 of footprint in this highly sought-after region for uranium exploration.  Two of our properties, Reitenbach and E-12 are in the process of disposal as previously announced, and we continue to attract interest across the remainder of the portfolio and have established data rooms for each property to enable us to efficiently engage with third parties,” said Paul Johnson, Chief Executive Officer of Power Metal Resources.

Notwithstanding this, we intend to retain a number of the properties and to conduct proactive exploration across them.  Today we have announced positive exploration findings from our latest, Summer 2022 phase I work programme covering three properties, and we will be launching additional ground exploration in 2023.

In the meantime, the commercialisation work in respect of our uranium portfolio continues, including both disposal activities and the search for new uranium focused projects to add into the Power Metal business.”

Mind Gym frameworks provide strong base

Andrew Hore
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5
Mind Gym frameworks provide strong base

Learning and development products and services provider Mind Gym (LON: MIND) returned to profit in the six months to March 2022 following a loss in the second half of the previous year. New framework agreements underpin growth over the next 18 months.

There is an enormous opportunity for AIM-quoted Mind Gym in what is a fragmented market. The investment in new digital products helps to differentiate the company from competitors and win business.

In the first half, revenues were 11% ahead at £26.8m with US revenues growing by.20%, helped by currency movements. The ending of lockdowns meant that in-person delivery increased from 4% to 15%. Pre-tax profit improved from £17,000 to £641,000 and it should be much higher for the full year. That is despite higher amortisation charges on product investment.

There was a working capital outflow of £3.34m, which was predominantly down to a £3.49m increase in trade receivables. There is normally a first half cash outflow due to bonus payments and the first half outflow should unwind.

Capitalised development was £2.12m and total development spending is likely to rise as more products are developed. There was still £4.5m in the bank at the end of September 2022, plus an unused debt facility.

A £10m framework agreement has been won with an energy company which should generate revenues over the next two years. The timing of the revenues is not contracted, but there will be a second half contribution. Other new frameworks will also contribute.

The share price has fallen by one-third this year to 92.5p, but strong progress has been made. Profit should start to grow from this year and the cash position will rebuild.

These stats point to a FTSE 100 Santa Rally in December

UK Investor Magazine
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2
These stats point to a FTSE 100 Santa Rally in December

Statistics analysed by AJ Bell suggest December is historically the best performing month of the year and chances of a seasonal rally in the FTSE 100 are high.

A Santa Rally is always referred to by commentators as we move towards the end of the year, and for good reason. Since the FTSE 100 was established in 1984, the index has returned over 2% on average in December.

Indeed, the majority of December trading periods since 1984 have produced positive returns.

“If you want to know why markets talk about the Santa Rally, that’s why – because the numbers back it up. Thursday got the month off to a slow start but investors can be forgiven for hoping for a little seasonal cheer after the FTSE 100 has spent all year huffing and puffing to a rise of around 2% (albeit with dividends and in some cases buybacks on top),” said Russ Mould, AJ Bell investment director.

AJ Bell analysts compiled data on the best performing Decembers and compared to the following year’s performance. There have been very few negative Decembers since the FTSE 100’s inception in 1984 and all but one negative December was followed by a positive return in the following year.


FTSE 100		FTSE 100
YearPerformance in December (ranked)Performance in following calendar year
19878.4%4.7%
19937.9%(10.3%)
20106.7%(5.6%)
19896.4%(11.5%)
19976.3%14.5%
20165.3%7.6%
19995.0%(10.2%)
20174.9%(12.5%)
20214.6%2.6%
19844.3%14.6%
20094.3%9.0%
20053.6%10.7%
20083.4%22.1%
20203.1%14.3%
20033.1%7.5%
19913.0%14.2%
20062.8%3.8%
20192.7%(16.9%)
19862.6%2.0%
19922.4%20.1%
19982.4%17.8%
20042.4%16.7%
19961.5%24.7%
20131.5%(2.7%)
20001.3%(16.2%)
20111.2%5.8%
19950.7%11.6%
20120.5%14.4%
20070.4%(31.3%)
20010.3%(24.5%)
19880.0%35.1%
1990(0.3%)16.3%
1994(0.5%)20.3%
2015(1.8%)14.4%
1985(1.8%)18.9%
2014(2.3%)(4.9%)
2018(3.6%)12.1%
2002(5.5%)13.6%
Source: Refinitiv data, AJ Bell

Although a negative December is usually followed by a positive year, there is no real indiction of what will happen in the next year based on December’s performance.

“The Santa Rally is not certain to offer anything more than festive cheer because it does not seem to be a reliable indicator for the following year,” Russ Mould said.

HeiQ plans US expansion

Andrew Hore
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8
HeiQ plans US expansion

Antimicrobial and textile odour control materials developer HeiQ (LON: HEIQ) has acquired the land and property of Chem-Tex Laboratories Inc in the US for $2.5m in cash and shares at 74.4p each. The share price fell 1.5p to 72.5p.

This property in North Carolina was previously leased, and it is the base for the development of speciality chemicals for flooring and textiles. The sellers are three trusts where the beneficiaries are HeiQ shareholders.

Securing the site will enable further expansion. The focus of manufacturing investment will be the US because of the availability of chemicals and the reduced exposure to rising energy prices. These factors have held the business back in Europe.

Group operating margin should improve after the purchase. In the six months to June 2022, revenues were $30.3m and the operating profit was £1.24m. Full year operating margins are expected to be around 7.5%.

AIM movers: Venture Life acquisition and ex-dividends

Andrew Hore
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4
AIM movers: Venture Life acquisition and ex-dividends

Venture Life Group (LON: VLG) is buying HL Healthcare, which owns Earol, EarolSwim and Sterinase, for £13m. The products generated EBITDA of £1.7m in 2021-22 and they should do better this year – £3m of the consideration is dependent on 2022-23 revenues. Venture Life is expected to make a 2022 pre-tax profit of £946,000 and that could improve to more than £4m in 2023. The share price jumped by 17.9% to 31.25p.

Facilities by ADF (LON: ADF) is acquiring Location One, which also provides services to the TV and film industry, for up to £8.9m. The initial cash payment is £4.5m. Facilities by ADF provides specialist vehicles, while Location One provides other equipment, such as parking foundations and generators. The two companies already work together. The deal is expected to improve 2023 earnings by 7% to 6.3p a share. The share price rose 14.6% to 63p.

Digital services provider TPXimpact (LON: TPX) continued the share price improvement started late on Wednesday. This follows the publication of interim results that were no worse than expected. The underlying pre-tax fell from £4.7m to £400,000 and the interim dividend was maintained at 0.3p a share. The full integration of past acquisitions to improve efficiency is continuing. A full year pre-tax profit of £5.45m is forecast, which would put the shares at 47.5p, up 18.8%, on ten times prospective earnings.

Professional adviser network DSW Capital (LON: DSW) improved interim pre-tax profit to £902,000 despite the additional costs related to being quoted on AIM. Demand for M&A and other services from small and medium-sized companies remains resilient and the licence income from the fee earners has increased from £1.16m to £1.63m on the back of a one-third rise in network revenues to £9.8m. The interim dividend is 1.76p a share. There was a 7.14% improvement in the share price to 127.5p.

Telecoms customer engagement software provider Pelatro (LON: PTRO) says the currency movements between the US dollar and Indian Rupee will lead to a shortfall in reported revenues this year. Along with other factors, this will reduce revenues by up to $800,000, although the currency movements will have a positive effect on costs that partly offsets the shortfall. EBITDA will be slightly below expectations. Some new clients are moving to a licence model, which means revenue will be recognised earlier.  The share price slumped 31.7% to 13.5p.

Education services provider Tribal (LON: TRB) continues to have problems with its Nanyang Technology University contract. Costs have increased and recognised revenues are lower than expected. That will reduce 2022 EBITDA by £9m and there will be a further shortfall of £4m in 2023. Contract wins have added £1.1m to annual recurring revenues. This knocked 27.5% off the share price leaving it at 40.6p.

Gensource Potash (LON: GSP) has raised $6m with $3m coming from the sale of units (one share and one warrant) at 15 cents each and the rest from an issue of flow through shares at 20 cents a share. The cash will be spent on the Tugaske project and exploration. The share price fell 28.6% to 12.5p.   

Weakening mortgage markets are hitting the revenues of Mortgage Advice Bureau (LON: MAB1) with October and November volumes 50% below expectations. Weak volumes are expected to continue into next year. The network members are reducing the number of advisers employed and new hiring has slowed. Market share continues to increase and it has reached 7%. The 2022 pre-tax profit will be slightly below the previous expectation of £28.9m, but there could be a one-quarter downgrade for 2023. The share price slipped 12.5% to 491.5p.  

Ex-dividends

AssetCo (LON: ASTO) is paying a dividend of 1.3p a share and the share price is unchanged at 65p.

Calnex Solutions (LON: CLX) is paying an interim dividend of 0.31p a share and the share price fell 2p to 165.5p.

CML Microsystems (LON: CML) is paying an interim dividend of 5p a share and the share price declined by 5p to 495p.

Croma Security Solutions Group (LON: CSSG) is paying a final dividend of 2.1p a share and the share price is down by 2.5p to 54p.

FIH (LON: FIH) is paying an interim dividend of 1.2p a share and the share price still rose 7p to 241p.

Michelmersh Brick Holdings (LON: MBH) is paying an interim dividend of 1.3p a share and the share price and the share price edged up 1p to 98.5p.

Marks Electrical (LON: MRK) is paying an interim dividend of 0.3p a share and the share price is unchanged at 76.5p.

Pan African Resources (LON: PAF) is paying a final dividend of 0.87p a share and the share price fell 0.39p to 17.37p.

Tatton Asset Management (LON: TAM) is paying an interim dividend of 4.5p a share and the share price improved by 3p to 473p.

YouGov (LON: YOU) is paying a final dividend of 7p a share and the share price declined 11p to 969p.

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