Nostra Terra Fouke 2 well exceeds expectations with 145 bopd

Natasha Doris
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Nostra Terra Fouke 2 well exceeds expectations with 145 bopd

Nostra Terra shares were up 11.5% to 0.7p in early morning trading on Monday, following an update that the company’s Fouke 2 well production rates had exceeded management expectations with a rate of 145 barrels of oil per day (bodp).

The oil and gas firm said the production was 77% higher than its Fouke 1 current production rate, with 100% oil and no water in its extraction.

Nostra Terra commented that Fouke 1 was restricted by field rules to 82 bopd per well, which the operation had maintained for over one year without decline and without the production of any water.

The operator is reportedly set to request a substantial increase in the field allowable rate to raise production at both projects to a higher and more efficient scale, with a decision expected later in 2022.

The group said it intended to operate both projects at a 140 bopd rate of production, above the allowable cap, in a bid to obtain sufficient technical information to support the updated field allowable.

Nostra Terra confirmed that oil sales from Fouke 2 had kicked off, with both operations set to produce at increased levels with an estimated 40% rise in net production based on the company’s Q4 2022 average bodp, while the company searched for permanent allowable increase.

The energy group added that higher rates of production alongside rising oil prices had provided an increase in the company’s free cashflow, with Nostra Terra adding that it expected a free cash flow over the remainder of the year in excess of its original budget forecasts.

“We are very pleased with the results of the Fouke 2 test and the plans by the operator to seek a substantial increase in the field production allowable,” said Nostra Terra CEO Matt Lofgran.”

“The Fouke 2 production will have a very positive impact on our cash flow.” 

“Given the performance of these wells we anticipate that a substantial allowable increase will be approved which will result in a further step change increase in our cash flow performance.” 

Nostra Terra also said it was in the process of completing its Grant East #1 well in West Texas, and confirmed fracture stimulation last week, which is reportedly scheduled for completion this week.

The company confirmed that work was in progress on its production facilities, with completion scheduled in the near term.

“Finally, I am looking forward to the results of the Grant East 1 completion and simulation activity concurrent with the completion of the field facilities,” said Lofgran.

“It’s been an active period for the company recently and I look forward to reporting additional results of our efforts in due course.”

Greggs expects costs to rise in 2022

Anshula Kumar
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Greggs expects costs to rise in 2022

Greggs stated in its latest announcement that the Board expects the forecasts for 2022 to remain unchanged, however, the group did voice its concerns regarding inflationary pressure impacting its input costs and current market conditions drying out its customers’ pockets.

Greggs, the bakery chain, recorded a 27% increase in like-for-like (LFF) sales in company-managed shops which is relatively flat due to constraints in trading conditions during 2021.

For the group’s last update, LFL sales growth amounted to 16% in the 10 weeks up to 14 May when Covid restrictions were easing and Greggs foresaw this number improving as conditions “continue to normalise”.

Greggs said sales in cities and office locations “continue to lag” but transport locations saw a “marked increase” and reported total sales of £495m in the 19 weeks to May 14 from £378m.

The sale of hot food and snacks generated growth with chicken goujons and potato wedges proving to be the most popular.

Since the start of 2022, the group has opened 49 new shops which include retail parks and travel-based shops at Birmingham and Liverpool airports.

However, the group has also shut down 6 stores since January resulting in a total of 2,224 shops open during 2022. Out of the 2,224 operating stores, 1,831 are company-managed shops and 393 are franchised units.

For the rest of the year, Greggs notes a “strong pipeline” of acquisitions along with market-wide cost pressures. The group also has kept in mind the rising cost of living for its consumers and understands that they may be under pressure in the second half of the year.

Greggs said it will work to curb all headwinds from challenges regarding the market condition without damaging “Greggs’ reputation for exceptional value.”

Taking into consideration the uncertainties, the group says its plan is working and Greggs’ Board anticipates 2022 results to stay the same as previously forecasted.

Ross Hindle, Analyst, Third Bridge, said, “LFL sales grew 27.4% for the period, prompting management to suggest its full-year plan is set to remain on track.”

“As expected, sales in larger cities and commuter centres lag the rest of the market in terms of recovery, with the new work-from-home culture looking like it is here to stay. Footfall figures remain 6% below 2019 levels. However, Gregg’s strong store footprint has meant it’s outperformed the market from a footfall perspective.”

“However, balancing market share opportunities with margin protection is likely to be a big challenge for Greggs. The group will struggle to increase prices while still maintaining its value-for-money proposition in the market. Savoury and breakfast products are the most likely to be priced higher”

Hindle says “80% Greggs’ range is manufactured in-house” which gives the group some breathing room with inflationary pressure. He also explained that its experts predict “Greggs’ EBIT margin to continue to be under pressure” for the coming months due to higher costs.

Greggs’ shares dropped 1.15% to 2,145p in early morning trade on Monday despite the group reiterating its unchanged forecast for 2022 in its latest update.

Experian to acquire 51% stake in Brazilian fintech group MOVA

Natasha Doris
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Experian to acquire 51% stake in Brazilian fintech group MOVA

Experian shares were down 2.1% to 2,639p in early morning trading on Monday, following an update that the company was set to acquire a majority stake in Brazilian fintech group MOVA Sociedade de Empréstimo entre Pessoas S.A. (MOVA).

According to Experian, MOVA equips firms with technology to execute data-driven credit assessments of their SME end-clients, which reportedly serves Experian’s existing business-to-business offerings by providing access to credit by SMEs.

Experian announced that it had agreed to acquire a 51% stake in the fintech company, which the firm is set to purchase from private investor Érico Sodre Quirino and MOVA CEO Roberto Tesch for a consideration of $7.9 million in cash, on the back of a form of capital injection into MOVA.

Experian has also agreed to an earnout based on the group’s calendar year 2024 net revenues payable to Quirino and Tesch.

The information services company confirmed that it has a call option to acquire the remaining 49% of the group between calendar year 2026 and 2028, while the sellers have a put option exercisable over calendar year 2029.

The firm announced that the deal is set to be funded by Experian’s current cash resources.

MOVA reportedly generated a negative EBITDA of $2.3 million at the close of 2021, with gross assets of $2.9 million.

Plus500 forecasts 2022 results to beat market expectations

Anshula Kumar
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Plus500 forecasts 2022 results to beat market expectations

Plus500 announced “very strong” trading in its second-quarter update on Monday where the group said the forecast for 2022 will beat market expectations leading Plus500 shares to gain 3.2% to 1,556p.

Plus500 is an online trading platform which noted a pretax profit of $386m and revenue of $719m in 2021.

Plus500 said that current market conditions have supported its strong trading in the second quarter which led the Board to raise the group’s 2022 forecast.

The Board expects revenue and EBITDA to be “significantly ahead of current market expectations”.

New proprietary technologies and products have contributed to the performance in 2022 and are expected to drive growth, expansion and diversification for the company.

The group said in order to “deliver sustainable growth” over the mid to long term, Plus500 will focus on organic investments and actively mark acquisitions which will help construct its strategic position as a global multi-asset fintech firm.

Plus500 said its financial condition is debt-free and has a good cash balance generated from activities of constant high cash generation leaving the financial position to be robust for the group.

New standard listing: GS Chain technology search

Andrew Hore
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New standard listing: GS Chain technology search

GS Chain is seeking a technology acquisition that will be paid for by a combination of cash and shares. Due to transitional policies concerning the standard list an acquisition will have to lead to a market capitalisation of more than £30m for readmission to the standard list.
The share price opened at 3p and went as low as 2.5p before ending the day at 3.625p (3.5p/4p). There were just over 46,000 shares traded in two trades. Nearly £1,000 worth of shares were bought for 3.8p each.
The share price is many times the underlying asset value of less than 0.2p a share. The original investors may b...

Small & Midcap Roundup: Bridgepoint, Vietnam Enterprise Inv., Griffin Mining, Vast Resources

Anshula Kumar
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Small & Midcap Roundup: Bridgepoint, Vietnam Enterprise Inv., Griffin Mining, Vast Resources

The UK’s small and mid caps rebounded on Friday as equities clawed back some of the losses incurred this week caused by concerns over growth and tightening monetary policy.

Bridgepoint shares jumped 10% to 281p after the group reported that all motions were passed with majority votes in its latest annual general meeting.

ConvaTec shares gained 3% to 219p as momentum continued from Thursday when the group announced its exit from the hospital care segment and reported expected revenue for 2022 to be around $20m to $30m and adjusted EBITDA of around $5m.

ContourGlobal shares gained 0.7% to 191p after the group noted a 53% jump in revenue from $427m to $652m in its first quarter of 2022 as the year started positively with resilient trading. However, net profit fell 10% to $8m from $9m.

Vietnam Enterprise Investments shares dropped 4.3% to 645p after the group reported a drop of 5.9% in its NAV and said the NAV per share performance was down 5.6% over three months.

Mitchells and Butlers’ shares rose 2.1% to 209p as the group announced May 18 as the date for its Half Year Results.

AIM Index

The AIM index was at 950, up 1.2% on Friday with strong gains after investors returned from the “recession rout” as described by Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.

Griffin Mining shares were up 7% to 98.5p after the miner reported a pretax profit of $36.5m in 2021, which was more than double 2020s $14.5m due to higher volumes of zinc and other metals sold. The sale of higher tonnes of zinc metal in concentrate in 2021 rose 83% to $43.9m and the amount sold rose 30% to 41,949 tonnes in 2021.

ThinkSmart shares increased 10% to 24.5p following the company’s latest business update in which the digital payments platform company said it intends to return roughly £2.5m to its shareholders, subject to approval.

One Media IP Group shares rose 1.8% to 7p after the group said it placed a bid of £3.5m to own a 1% stake in the back catalogue of UK rock band Pink Floyd. Pink Floyd has put up the entire back catalogue of music for sale for around £350m.

President Energy shares were up 4.8% to 1.7p following the group’s first-quarter results where it records a pretax profit of $5.3m, a revenue of $8.7m and forecasts revenue to be around $40m from Argentina subsidiaries.

First Property Group shares gained 1.5% to 33p after the property fund manager announced that it has signed leases for 20% of the net internal area in its office building located in Gdynia, Poland which was 98% vacant due to covid lockdowns.

Neometals shares were trading up 6.3% to 76.5p after the group reported that its battery recycling joint venture has made a deal with Mercedes-Benz AG’s recycling subsidiary Licular, where Primorbius, which is a joint venture between Neometals and SMS Group, will design and construct a 2,500 tonnes per annum lithium-ion battery recycling plant

Sabien Technology shares rose 5.5% to 24p when the group confirmed that the UK and Welsh governments will fund the construction of a new freeport in Wales that the b.grn Group aims to do. Sabien holds a 33% stake in b.grn.

Vast Resources shares plummeted 37% to 0.85p after the group Atlas Special Opportunities converted bonds amounting to $500,000. The explorer was traded as high as 2.22p this week.

Condor Gold shares dropped 6.8% to 34.5p after the group reported a widening pretax loss of £668,000 compared to £513,000 in 2021 and noted no revenue, the same as a year ago. However, the group drew focus to a feasibility study for its La India project in Nicaragua. 

Fulcrum Utility Services shares sank 20% to 7.2p after the group said UK energy market conditions hurt its profits. The impact of inflationary pressure hurt the group’s financial position resulting in the group predicting a 21.8% YoY growth to £57.4m in report adjusted revenue for FY22 and expects adjusted EBITDA to be around £0.5m.

UK Oil and Gas shares fell 0.8% to 0.12p following the group’s announcement of being granted a one-year extension to the “Retention Area work programme” of the group’s PEDL137 licence encompassing the operating Horse Hill oil field and its underlying Kimmeridge oil pool by the North Sea Transition Authority.

Twitter sale on pause as Musk questions fake accounts

Anshula Kumar
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Twitter sale on pause as Musk questions fake accounts

Elon Musk has hit the pause button on his $44bn Twitter deal until the tech mogul gets more information about fake and spam accounts on the social network platform hurting Twitter shares on Friday.

Twitter reported less than 5% of users on its platform are fake and spam accounts in a filing from early May.

Elon Musk tweeted that the deal would be postponed until Twitter can explain the calculations behind the 5% that the platform listed in their filings.

Musk has placed an offer of $54.20 per share for Twitter. However, shares were trading down 10% to $40.6 on the NYSE at the time of writing on Friday as investors feared that the deal would fall through.

Elon Musk responded to a Reuters tweet on Friday that the deal remains intact and that he is simply focused on understanding the justification towards the reported 5% of fake accounts and spam users.

There is no information behind whether Musk thinks the number is inaccurate or any particular concerns regarding the stated figure. There is also no understanding behind why Elon Musk raised the question on the 5% now, when the reports came out almost two weeks ago.

In the filing, Twitter stated that the platform has 229m users who were shown advertising, a key internal metric. Talks of Elon Musk’s bid raised eyebrows for advertisers as questions arose regarding whether advertisers would continue to spend on Twitter.

Twitter said there is “potential uncertainty regarding our future plans and strategy” with regards to Musk’s acquisition of the microblogging platform.

Elon Musk said disabling spam and false accounts from Twitter is an integral part of his bid to acquire the tech giant, as the Silicon Valley mogul has been personally impacted by multiple fake accounts as himself on the platform. The fake accounts used his stature to deceive other users into crypto scams.

Twitter is aware that it could take months to close the deal with Musk, however, he holds the right to leave the deal at any point with the clause of paying a $1bn penalty.

Neometals collaborates with Mercedes-Benz

Anshula Kumar
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Neometals collaborates with Mercedes-Benz

Neometals announced on Friday that its battery recycling joint venture has inked a collaboration agreement with Licular, a recycling subsidiary of Mercedes-Benz AG, to use Primobius as the technology partner.

The arrangement comes after both firms announced in March that Primobius, a joint venture between Neometals and SMS Group, will be their technology partner for the design and building of a 2,500-tonne-per-year lithium-ion battery recycling plant.

According to Neometals, Primobius will collaborate with Licular on long-term research and development for recycling cell forms and chemistries. The collaboration will also provide a non-exclusive technology licence for the recycling facility along with staff training and plant management.

The recycling plant, which will be built in two stages and has a minimum design capacity of 10 tonnes per day, will be operated at Mercedes-Kuppenheim Benz’s operations in southern Germany said the group.

The agreement will begin and become legally enforceable once Primobius gets a purchase order from Licular for the supply and installation of plant equipment. Neometals said it will last until December 31, 2026.

Neometals said Primobius will assist Licular with activating the Recycling Plant, getting permissions, approvals, and government funding, training Licular’s personnel and providing on-site engineering support at no cost.

Licular will acquire the essential equipment for the Recycling Plant’s implementation from Primobius according to the group.

During the phase of Recycling Plant operations, the parties will exchange information to enhance efficiency and jointly analyse the feasibility of monetizing the recycling technology and circular economy strategy.

Christopher Reed, Managing Director, Neometals, said “We are delighted to formalise our long-term cooperation agreement with Mercedes-Benz. The R&D collaboration is as important to us as successfully supplying the equipment.”

“We are excited to work together to develop a more holistic recycling solution covering logistics, handling, compliance and sustainability. We are grateful for the opportunity and accept the challenge to futureproof our processing technology.”

Neometals shares rose 7% to 77p after the announcement of the collaboration on Friday.

Condor Gold shares tumble on widened £668,134 operating loss

Natasha Doris
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Condor Gold shares tumble on widened £668,134 operating loss

Condor Gold shares tumbled 7.8% to 34.1p in late morning trading on Friday after the mining firm reported a widened operating loss of £668,134 compared to £512,518 year-on-year in its Q1 2022 results.

The company announced a pre-income tax loss of £667,879 from £512,518, alongside an EPS loss of 46p against 41p in Q1 2021.

Condor Gold confirmed its ongoing operations related to the La India open pit mine, including advances made on the technical studies required for the completion of a Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) covering the project.

The mining group said it had purchased 99.6% of the core areas of land at the La India operation, alongside a site clearance of 14 hectares for the processing plant location, including space for offices, warehouses, a stockpile and a buffer zone.

The company reported that project finance discussions were currently ongoing with potential financers with access to the firm’s data room under the protection of confidentiality agreements.

“During the first quarter, we continued to make significant progress on advancing the Feasibility Study for the La India open pit and associated mine site infrastructure,” said Condor Gold CEO Mark Child.

“All technical studies undertaken at the Project level are complete. We are currently reviewing the metallurgical test work, geotechnical analysis and capital cost estimates.”

“The Feasibility Study on La India open pit is almost complete, the formal announcement will probably take us into Q3. It will put the Company in a position to pursue various project financing alternatives, some of which have already been initiated.”

Saudi Aramco dethrones Apple as most valuable company on the market

Natasha Doris
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Saudi Aramco dethrones Apple as most valuable company on the market

Saudi energy giant Saudi Aramco officially overtook tech company Apple as the most valuable firm on the international market earlier this week.

Aramco reported a market valuation of slightly under $2.4 trillion on Wednesday, as Apple dropped more than 5% during Wednesday trading with a current worth of $2.3 trillion.

The Saudi oil and gas company has been benefiting from rising oil prices on the back of supply instability due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which saw oil prices skyrocket past the $100 level to peak at almost $130 per barrel in mid-March.

The price of Brent crude currently stands at $109 per barrel at the time of writing.

Apple has seen a series of disruptions to its productivity in 2022, with Covid-19 lockdowns in tech hub Shanghai sending investors into a panicked frenzy of selling shares in the US-listed group.

Apple shares have so far taken a fall of almost 20% since its $182.9 high point on 4 January this year.

Meanwhile, Aramco have seen its stock climb 27% in the year-to-date, with its recent profits reported in March more than doubled as a result of surging oil prices.

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