Aim movers: CareTech, Verditek, Inspirit Energy, Caspian Sunrise, Immupharma

Andrew Hore
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Aim movers: CareTech, Verditek, Inspirit Energy, Caspian Sunrise, Immupharma

CareTech Holdings (LON: CTH) is recommending a 750p a share cash offer from a private equity backed management bid vehicle. The share price jumped 20.8% to 739.5p. This values the social care services provider at £870.3m. There is an alternative offer that enables shareholders the choice of taking non-voting shares in the bidder.

Verditek (LON: VDTK) distribution partner Bradclad Group is setting up a joint venture with Norway-based PVC roof membranes manufacturer Protan AB, which will use Verditek lightweight flexible solar panels. There has been 12 months of R&D and testing to perfect lamination of the solar panels to the roofing material. The first order is in England, but Protan will be sending samples to 35 distributors in Europe. The Verditek share price reached an all-time low of 1.3p last Thursday before rising to 1.8p on Friday. There has been a further 38.9% increase to 2.5p today.

Inspirit Energy Holdings (LON: INSP) is the biggest mover on the day rising 47.5% to 0.0435p. The company’s waste heat recovery system, where waste heat exhaust is converted to energy, has completed the first phase of development. The unit has recorded an output of more than 30kW in the first stage build test period. Further enhancements will be made before there are trials. A marine version is also being developed. Inspirit Energy had £348,000 in the bank at the end of 2021, but the company has limited resources to push forward the development of the waste heat recovery system. The market capitalisation is £1.9m.

Oil and gas explorer and producer Arrow Exploration Corp (LON: AXL) shares rose 16.4% to 17p after better than expected results from the well test on the Tapir block on the Llanos Basin of Colombia. The well was drilled to 8,656 feet and encountered six hydrocarbon bearing intervals and was under budget. This is the third well on the block. Arrow Exploration believes that it is still on target to achieve a production rate of 3,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Caspian Sunrise (LON: CASP) shares slumped 14.2% to 4.375p after taking a $12.5m impairment charge. The Kazakhstan-focused oil and gas producer has increased production to 4,050 barrels per day and this could be increased to 5,000 barrels per day.  In 2021, cash generated from operating activities was £7.76m, compared with an outflow in 2020. There have also been disappointing attempts to establish long-term flow rates for deeper structures. On the plus side, Caspian Sunrise says it could pay a dividend in 2022 following the recent capital reduction.

Orosur Mining Inc (LON: OMI) says that the latest drilling at the Anza project in Colombia has shown lower gold anomaly levels, although there are signs of high-grade zinc and copper at depth. However, the existing equipment cannot reach that depth. The share price slipped 8.3% to 8.25p.

ImmuPharma (LON: IMM) says that its US partner Avion Pharmaceuticals is seeking final regulatory guidance from the FDA ahead of the planned phase 3 trial of Lupuzor in Lupus patients. However, there appears to have been little progress since the announcement in May. A study has shown that Lupuzor is safe and well tolerated and been submitted to the FDA. The slow progress may be the reason for the fall in the share price by 5.3% to 5.91p. Avion has exclusive US rights and will fund the phase 3 trial.

AstraZeneca receives recommendations for EU approvals for two breast cancer treatments

Natasha Doris
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AstraZeneca receives recommendations for EU approvals for two breast cancer treatments

AstraZeneca announced it had officially received recommendations for EU approval for its breast cancer treatments Enhertu and Lynparza on Monday.

The pharmaceutical giant reported the recommended approval of its Enhertu treatment for patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer treated with a prior anti-HER2-based regimen, and the use of its Lynparza (olaparib) treatment for patients with germline BRCA-mutated HER-2-negative high-risk early breast cancer.

AstraZeneca confirmed Enhertu had been recommended for approval in the EU as a monotherapy for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable or metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer who had previously received at least one previous anti-HER2-based regimen.

The drug was developed and commercialised by AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo.

The approval recommendation was based off the positive results of the project’s DESTINTY-Breast03 Phase three trial, which indicated a 72% reduction in the risk of disease progression or death compared to trastuzumab emtansine in patients previously treated with trastuzumab and a taxane.

“This recommendation reflects the transformative progression-free survival benefit seen in the DESTINY-Breast03 trial compared to T-DM1, supporting Enhertu as a potential new standard of care and setting a new benchmark in the treatment of HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer,” said AstraZeneca executive vice president of oncology research and development Susan Galbraith.

“If approved by the European Commission, patients in Europe may be able to benefit from this important medicine earlier in the treatment of their disease, improving their chance for better outcomes.”

AstraZeneca’s Lynparza treatment has been recommended for marketing authorisation in the EU for adult patients previously treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

The recommendation was based off results from the company’s OlympiA Phase three trial, which reportedly displayed a reduced risk of breast cancer recurrences, new cancers or death by 42% against a placebo.

The treatment also increased chances of survival overall, with a reduced risk of death by 32% compared to a placebo. The safety of the drug lined up with results in previous trials.

“For patients with high-risk, early-stage breast cancer, the risk of recurrence remains unacceptably high and cancer will return for more than one in four of these patients,” said OlympiA Phase three trial chair Professor Andrew Tutt.

“Today’s recommendation is hopeful news for patients in Europe, as we move closer to setting a potential new standard of care that improves overall survival in patients suitable for treatment with olaparib.”

PZ Cussons expects £590m revenue, trading in line with management expectations

Natasha Doris
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0
PZ Cussons expects £590m revenue, trading in line with management expectations

PZ Cussons shares were up 1.1% to 199.6p in early morning trading on Monday after the group reported an expected revenue of approximately £590 million in FY 2022, in line with management expectations.

The company mentioned an anticipated like-for-like revenue growth of 3% and a Q4 like-for-like growth of 7%.

PZ Cussons highlighted that growth continued to be driven by improvements in price/mix, with limited impact on volumes.

The healthcare and hygiene group confirmed its expectations for FY 2022 adjusted pre-tax profits remained unchanged.

The firm noted good revenue momentum in its Must Win Brands, which experienced a 4% rise in Q4. It attributed its growth to an ongoing focus on marketing and execution, alongside a normalisation of supply challenges for US beauty.

PZ Cussons also pointed out its significantly lower rate of decline in Carex on the back of higher demand for its hand hygiene category in the UK as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“As we close our first full financial year under our new strategy, ‘Building brands for life. Today and for future generations’, I am pleased with the significant progress made in returning the business to sustainable, profitable revenue growth,” said PZ Cussons CEO Jonathan Myers.

“With a new team in place, we have re-focused on the core job of building brands and have started to unlock value through dramatically reducing complexity in our business.”

The firm commented its trading was in line with expectations, however it acknowledged the difficulties plaguing the supply chain as well as inflationary worries.

“The trading environment continues to be challenging, with high input cost inflation and pressures on household budgets. We have plans in place to mitigate the impact of this, as we continue to deliver great value for consumers, whilst also investing behind more premium innovations,” said Myers.

“The recent introduction of our new portfolio brand, Cussons Creations, for the value-conscious consumer, alongside the re-launches of Sanctuary Spa and Imperial Leather, are good examples of such initiatives. They have been well received by customers and have allowed us to secure significant distribution gains.”

“We have great brands and great people and, whilst there is more to be done to deliver against our strategy, we remain excited by the long-term opportunities ahead of us.”

Russia defaults on foreign debt for first time in a century

Natasha Doris
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Russia defaults on foreign debt for first time in a century

Russia has officially defaulted on its foreign debt, marking the first time in a century that the country has failed to complete its payments.

Russia reportedly defaulted on $100 million of coupons on two Eurobonds due in May, after which the country received a 30-day period to make the payments, which expired on Sunday.

Putin’s administration has been walking a razor’s edge since the invasion of Ukraine in late February, however the crippling of Russian access to the West has served to server his government’s capabilities to make good on their debt.

Sources told Reuters that Taiwanese holders of Russian Eurobonds reported not receiving the scheduled interest payments due last month.

The report represents the first time since the Russian revolution in 1917 that the Russia has defaulted on its foreign debt.

Biden’s White House essentially cut Putin’s access to creditors in the West, which meant the government was unable to pay off its debts despite protests that it had the financial resources to settle them.

Russia argued it would pay its debt in roubles, and said it had the cash to pay off its debts, however its foreign currency reserves held abroad remain frozen on account of sanctions.

“It’s a very, very rare thing, where a government that otherwise has the means is forced by an external government into default,” said Loomis Sayles senior sovereign analyst Hassan Malik to Bloomberg. “It’s going to be one of the big watershed defaults in history.”

Russia currently owes approximately $40 billion in foreign bonds, and held around $640 billion in gold reserves and foreign currency before its invasion of Ukraine. The majority of its assets were frozen earlier in the Ukraine conflict.

Companies have already fled from Russia since the start of the war, and western sanctions have served to cripple trade across international borders, so it remains to be seen how the long-term ramifications of this development will impact the Russian government going forward.

The typical risk of a country defaulting would be that states lose confidence in their ability to pay, and block their access to bond-market borrowing until a good amount of confidence is regained in the international lending community. However, Russia has already become a pariah to such a level in the international community that this issue is the least of its concerns.

Poland opportunities for First Property

Andrew Hore
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Poland opportunities for First Property

Property investor and fund manager First Property (LON: FPO) is strengthening its balance sheet so that it has the flexibility to take advantage of opportunities in Poland and the UK.
First Property is set to sell its properties in Romania and its supermarket properties in Poland. That will provide additional cash to reinvest in other properties. The environment is still volatile, but there should be potentially profitable deals surfacing in the future.
Management is optimistic about the prospects in Poland. The economy is continuing to grow, and rental levels are generally linked to Eurozone ...

Manolete Partners set for insolvency boost

Andrew Hore
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Manolete Partners set for insolvency boost

Insolvency litigation funder Manolete Partners (LON: MANO) remains profitable, although growth has been hampered by Covid. The increasing level of insolvencies as Government assistance ends will provide more opportunities for Manolete Partners over the long-term.
Manolete Partners specialises in chasing former directors of companies placed in litigation for compensation where there could be some level of wrongdoing. There could be cases relating to companies wrongly claiming Covid financial assistance.
In the year to March 2022, revenues declined from £27.8m to £20.4m. The realised revenues fe...

Aquis weekly movers: Valereum continues rise

Andrew Hore
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1
Aquis weekly movers: Valereum continues rise

Valereum (LON: VLRM) shares continued to rise after last week’s announcement that it intends to launch a global open marketplace platform for Non-Fungible tokens (NFTs) and the commercial review of the business plans for the Gibraltar Stock Exchange. The share price rose 18.8% to 28.5p (27p/30p). There is regular trading in the shares.

Mark Horrocks has increased his stake in Quetzal Capital (LON: QTZ) from below 3% to 5.3%. The share price jumped 15.5% to 3.35p (3.2p/3.5p).

Energy storage technology developer Invinity Energy Services (LON: IES) share rose 14% to 53p (51p/55p) ahead of the publishing of 2021 results on 27 June.

Shares in brewer Daniel Thwaites (LON: THW) rose following the previous week’s full year results to March 2022. Revenues recovered from £32.2m to £96m and it also returned to profit. A loss of £12.4m was turned into a pre-tax profit of £12.7m. The pension deficit has become a pension asset worth £10.1m and a final dividend of 2.2p a share is recommended. The shares rose 9% to 106p (104p/108p).

Shares in clean energy supplier Good Energy (LON: GOOD) rose 3.81% to 272.5p (265p/280p) in the week of its AGM. There was a pre-AGM investor presentation. Resolutions 8-12 were not passed, which were mainly enabling the company to issue new shares or buy back existing shares. Resolution 12 would have amended the articles of association to permit hybrid meetings.

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Fallers

Shares in Yooma Wellness Inc (LON: YOOM) slumped by one-quarter to 4.5p (4p/5p), making it the worst Aquis performer last week. There was one deal during the week with 47,777 shares traded at 3p each, although there were no new announcements.

Pluto Digital has repaid the loan, plus interest, of £5.18m owed to NFT Investments (LON: NFT). Weak cryptocurrencies are hitting the shares. The price fell 19.6% to 1.025p (1p/1.05p).

Wishbone Gold (LON: WSBN) says that drilling at the Halo project in north Queensland has discovered copper mineralisation in the majority of holes drilled. The 21 hole is apparently the most promising. There was a 16.7% fall in the share price to 10p (9.5p/10.5p).

All Star Minerals (LON: ASMO) is raising £200,000 at 0.02p a share and every two shares come with a warrant to subscribe for a share at 0.04p. The share price slipped 10.9% to 0.0245p (0.025p/0.026p). The cash will be used to finance investment in the company’s exploration projects. A further share issue at 0.02p pays the £102,000 owed to GMI, where the All Star Minerals chief executive is a substantial shareholder. Management says that it is planning a much bigger cash raise. OvalX has been appointed as broker.

Cadence Minerals (LON: KDNC) reported an outflow of cash from operating activities of £751,000 in 2021, down from £1.36m the previous year. The company, which is also quoted on AIM, has agreed to sell its 30% working interest in the Yangibana project tenements for £5.1m in shares of the ASX-listed operator Hastings Technology Metals. The share price fell 4.23% to 10.75p (10.5p/11p). Blockchain and cryptocurrency investor Coinsilium Group Ltd (LON: COIN) increased 2021 revenues by 130% to £530,000. Net fair value loss on financial assets was £407,000, compared with a gain of £566,000, but realised gains increased from £199,000 to £1.52m. Overall pre-tax profit fell from £310,000 to £14,000. There is £1.51m in the bank at the end of 2021, while NAV is £5.84m. Coinsilium has entered a simple agreement for future tokens (SAFT) with potential Latin America- focused blockchain gaming hub GGs.io for $100,000 of its future tokens and is a strategic adviser. There was a 1.42% fall in the share price to 2.77p (2.74p/2.8p).

AIM weekly movers: 4D Pharma, Kinovo, Naked Wine, Corcel, Tasty, Engage XR, Actual Experience

Andrew Hore
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0
AIM weekly movers: 4D Pharma, Kinovo, Naked Wine, Corcel, Tasty, Engage XR, Actual Experience

Gas and electrical maintenance services provider Kinovo (LON:
KINO) was the best performing AIM share last week although there was no
additional information about the guarantees and £3.7m of working capital support
provided to DCB Kent, which was sold at the beginning of the year. DCB has been
placed in administration The acquirer MCG Global is claiming money from Kinovo.
The share price was 41.2% higher at 12p, but that is not much more than
one-third of the level in early May.

Restaurants operator Tasty (LON: TAST) has repaid its
£1.1m bank loan, leaving it with net cash of £8.6m. The share price jumped
31.2% to 5.05p. That values the company at £7.1m. Annualised interest rate
savings will be £57,000 and there was no early repayment penalty. There are plans
to open five or six more restaurants this year.

Virtual reality software developer Engage XR (LON: EXR) announced
two partners for its enterprise focused Metaverse, ENGAGE Link. This boosted
the share price by 28.6% to 13.5p. The partners are HITC, which will be in the
enterprise plaza of the platform, and The Vitual Human Interaction Lab at
Stanford University, which is in the education plaza. ENGAGE Link should launch
in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Argentina-focused oil and gas company Phoenix Global
Resources (LON: PGR) says that it is in discussions with 84% shareholder Mercuria
Energy Group concerning a cancellation of its AIM quotation and a cash offer to
purchase shares from independent shareholders at 7.5p each. The share price has
risen 25.4% to 6.3p. Five years ago the share price was ten times that level.

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Fallers

Last week Actual Experience (LON: ACT) shares had a
chance to react to news of the loss of a contract that was published late on
the previous Friday. The share price more than halved to 3.5p. The analytics services
provider to digital businesses says that due to a change in requirements a channel
partner has terminated the contract that generated £200,000 out of group
revenues of £1.74m in 2020-21.

Online wine retailer Naked Wine (LON: WINE) reported
a profit in the year to March 2022, but it is likely to make a loss this year. The
share price slumped 47.9% to 152.2p. Customer retention is declining, although
it remains at 80%, and it is taking longer to achieve the payback of investment
in acquiring new customers. There are fears that consumers seeking to save
money may end their subscription to Naked Wine.

Shares in 4D Pharma (LON: DDDD) declined 28.5% to 16.66p
before trading was suspended on Friday. 4d Pharma subsequently revealed that Oxford
Finance has demanded immediate repayment of the $13.86m it is owed. The company
cannot do this, so administrators have been appointed.

Corcel (LON: CRCL) shares fell 35.7% to 0.675p after
it said that it was not going ahead with the Avonmouth 50MW gas peaking project
near Bristol. There is progress being made with the Wowo Gap nickel/cobalt project
in Papua New Guinea.

Engineer and consultancy TP Group (LON: TPG) has
delayed the publication of its 2021 results and AIM regulation is extending the
allowed reporting period to the end of September. There is work to be done on onerous
fixed price contracts in the maritime division and there will be provisions.
There are attempts to renegotiate contracts. The share price fell by 34% to 1.65p.

FTSE 100 claws back ground as consumer confidence hits record low

Natasha Doris
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FTSE 100 claws back ground as consumer confidence hits record low

The FTSE 100 closed up by 2.6% at 7,208.8 on Friday, clawing back ground in a turbulent week for the markets.

Markets have contended with soaring inflation and the prospect of a central bank induced recession in the first half half of 2022 and UK stocks have provided investors with a dismal performance.

“As we approach the halfway point for 2022, investors continue to cross their fingers that markets will have a better second-half than the first six months of the year,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

“Only 59 socks in the FTSE 350 index are currently sitting on share price gains year-to-date.”

“It’s when you dig into the data for the fallers that the scope of the market sell-off is laid bare. More than 100 stocks in the index have seen their share price fall by 30% or more, including some names which up to this year had been market darlings.”

Surprisingly, retail stocks performed strongly despite consumer confidence hitting a record low of minus-40 points according to the Growth from Knowledge (GfK) survey. JD Sports Fashion shares gained 4.2% to 119.1p and Next shares rose 1.7% to 5,982p.

Clothing stood out as one of the few categories gaining in the latest retail sales report, with consumer spending up 2.2% last month.

Food sales dropped by 1.6% in May, however the results failed to slow supermarket stocks. Tesco shares increased 3.5% to 255.4p, B&M shares gained 2.1% to 385.4p, Sainsbury’s shares rose 3% to 210.8p and Ocado shares saw an uptick of 1.7% to 870.6p.

Barclays

Barclays shares jumped 3.1% to 158.9p after the banking group confirmed its intended acquisition of specialist mortgage-lender Kensington Mortgage Company for £2.3 billion.

The company mentioned the purchase would allow it to broaden its product offering across the UK mortgage market, grow its client volumes and expand mortgage originations in order to optimise its UK funding base.

“The Transaction reinforces our commitment to the UK residential mortgage market and presents an exciting opportunity to broaden our product range and capabilities,” said Barclays Banks UK CEO Matt Hammerstein.

“The Transaction should generate attractive returns for Barclays over the medium term as the KMC Mortgage Portfolio increases in size through the ongoing origination of new mortgages.” 

“We look forward to KMC management and employees becoming part of the Barclays group.”

Conservatives lose two seats to Lib Dems and Labour as calls for PM resignation grow

Natasha Doris
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0
Conservatives lose two seats to Lib Dems and Labour as calls for PM resignation grow

The Conservative party lost two seats in the by-election today, losing the Tiverton and Honiton seat to the Liberal Democrat party and the Wakefield seat to Labour.

The defeat comes hot on the heels of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s latest wave of scandal, with the Tories still working to stamp out the flames from ‘partygate.’

Adding to Johnson’s strained party morale, Conservative chair Oliver Dowden handed in his resignation earlier today, serving to throw additional fuel on the fire.

“We cannot carry on with business as usual … Somebody must take responsibility and I have concluded that, in these circumstances, it would not be right for me to remain in office,” wrote Dowden.

The loss of the Conservative seats follows a vote of confidence against Johnson earlier in June, where his own party split down the middle in a bid to kick him out of his leadership role.

The verdict saw him maintain his position, however 148 members of the Tory party voted to have him evicted, with his supporters growing ever thinner.

The Tiverton and Honiton seat was won with a 30% swing on the back of former MP Neil Parish quitting after he was discovered watching adult videos in Parliament.

The votes beat a Conservative majority of 24,239, the highest number ever overturned in a by-election on record.

The Tories lost the Wakefield seat to Labour in a 12.7% swing, gaining victory by 4,925 votes.

The win marks the party’s first by-election victory over the Conservatives since 2012, with the result coming in as Labour’s best intake for Wakefield since 2001 and its best result ever on those boundaries.

https://twitter.com/UKLabour/status/1540304529501069312
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