Light Science Technologies shares plummet on expected £2m loss

Natasha Doris
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Light Science Technologies shares plummet on expected £2m loss

Light Science Technologies shares plummeted 24.6% to 8.8p after its recent trading update announced anticipated revenues approximately 35% below market expectations for FY 2022. The company warned it expected a pre-tax loss of £2 million for the entire year.

Light Science Technologies noted a sales pipeline of quoted work over £60 million, including forward orders and contracts valued at £18 million. The pipeline has been growing on several factors, such as the necessity for food security and the requirement to grow more produce using sustainable and energy-efficient methods.

However, the firm mentioned that its sales pipeline growth had been negatively impacted by the elongation of the sales cycle, with government grant delays and grower input inflation which can’t be passed onto consumers leading to a delay in capital expenditure.

Light Science Technologies commented that it expected the benefit of the pipeline conversion to fall into the next financial year.

The company said its board remained confident in the group’s overall prospects, notwithstanding the current delay in revenue.

MindGym swings to pre-tax loss of £500,000

Natasha Doris
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0
MindGym swings to pre-tax loss of £500,000

MindGym shares were down 2.1% to 115p in early morning trading on Friday, following a reported pre-tax loss of £500,000 in FY 2022 against an adjusted pre-tax profit of £300,000 in FY 2021.

The group announced a statutory pre-tax loss of £500,000 compared to a loss of £400,000 the last year.

MindGym highlighted a gross profit margin fall of 0.3% to 87.1% from 87.4%, and a cash at bank drop of 40% to £10 million against £16.8 million.

The company reported a capital expenditure growth of 91% to £6.1 million from £3.2 million, with a year-on-year adjusted cash conversion drop of 323% to 95% compared to 418%.

However, MindGym noted a revenue climb of 24% to £48.7 million against £39.4 million in the previous year, with a digitally-enabled revenue increase of 23% to £37.4 million compared to £30.5 million.

The firm’s adjusted EPS grew 1.2% to 1.5p compared to 0.3p, alongside a diluted EPS increase of 1.8p to 1.5p from a loss of 0.2p.

MindGym said it expected robust top line growth for FY 2023 despite macroeconomic headwinds, helped along by the launch of its Performa offering and its new Points of View on Leadership and Wellbeing.

The group projected a return to profitability next year as it sees leverage of its investments made in FY 2022 support growth expectations in the coming years.

“MindGym made progress during a turbulent year delivering a robust performance in line with the Board’s expectations, surpassing pre-Covid revenue. Our digital strategy has seen the successful launch of our latest product, Performa, our 1:1 digitally enabled coaching service,” said MindGym CEO Octavius Black.

“Performa has distinct competitive advantages in this new, fast-growing market including our proprietary Precision Coaching methodology and our ability to integrate with MindGym’s library of existing content to deliver integrated solutions to challenges like leadership and inclusion. The more than £0.5m in annualised revenue generated in the first 12 weeks is a promising indication of what’s to come.”

“MindGym’s future digital transformation will increasingly be powered by data and this has been enhanced by the acquisition of 10X Psychology’s IP, which will enable us to deliver highly personalised, mass customisation and equip clients to target their investment on what works best.”

Serabi Gold revenue surges 13% as production increases

Natasha Doris
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0
Serabi Gold revenue surges 13% as production increases

Serabi Gold reported a slate of positive results today, including a revenue surge of 13% to $63.1 million in FY 2021 from $55.8 million in the previous year.

Revenue was helped higher by an 8% jump in gold production. Serabi said gold production for cash costs and AISC purposes rose to to 33,848 ounces from 31,212 ounces year-on-year.

Serabi Gold mentioned total cash of production per ounce hit $1,090, up from $1,075 in the last year, with total AISC of production per ounce rising to $1,429 against $1,374.

The company reported its best annual EBITDA on record, with a rise to $19.1 million compared to $15.5 million the year before.

Serabi Gold further noted a post-tax profit leap of 42% to $9.95 million against $7 million in 2020, with an EPS of 13.8c from 11.9c.

The mining firm’s earnings were helped higher by an uptick in the price of gold to $1,776 per ounce from $1,727 per ounce the last year.

The group highlighted that it repaid all its outstanding debt listed at the start of the year, with the final payments for its Coringa acquisition closed through the raising of $16.9 million via the issue of new shares and warrants in March 2021.

The company noted the identification of several financial irregularities in 2021, with investigations closed in September last year.

Serabi Gold confirmed that a legal process had started to recover the misappropriated funds, however it warned that proceedings would not be completed in the near-term.

Recent Operational Updates

Serabi Gold reported several operational updates for Q1 2022, including news from its Coringa and Palito operations.

The mining company commented that underground development of the Coringa project ramp had intersected all three veins of the Serra Zone on at least one level.

Meanwhile, production operations at Palito reported a 13% fall in gold production to 7,062 ounces in Q1 2022 against a result of 8,087 ounces in Q1 2021.

“The first quarter results for 2022 have been somewhat mixed. We have had some excellent, and better than anticipated results from the underground development at Coringa,” said Serabi Gold CEO Mike Hodgson.

“At Palito, the first quarter production results have been disappointing with 7,062 ounces produced.”

Sovereign Metals sees low cost of graphite production

UK Investor Magazine
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Sovereign Metals sees low cost of graphite production

Titanium rutile and graphite miner Sovereign Metals has said they see future graphite flake production at the lower end of the cost curve.

Sovereign Metals has recently confirmed their Kasiya titanium rutile and graphite project in Malawi holds the world’s largest titanium rutile resource, and the second largest graphite flake resource.

Sovereign points to the high purity and highly crystalline characteristics of the graphite deposit, as well as potential production scale, as reason for the upbeat cost forecasts.

“Not only is Kasiya the world’s largest rutile deposit and one of the largest flake-graphite resources, but our latest graphite industry benchmarking also demonstrates the potential for Kasiya to be a globally dominant supplier and low-cost flake graphite producer at scale,” said Sovereign’s Managing Director, Dr Julian Stephens.

“Importantly, the very low graphite production costs at Kasiya should allow Sovereign to compete aggressively on price point across global graphite markets.”

The miner also highlighted the findings Independent Life Cycle Assessment Study and the strong ESG benefits of their process which could see their production which could have a “significantly lower carbon footprint than Chinese-produced natural graphite”.

Sovereign Metals notes that their Updated Scoping Study should be ready shortly following a bumper increase in the mineral resource estimate earlier this year.

Netcall shares jump after $19m contract win with S&P 500 company

Natasha Doris
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0
Netcall shares jump after $19m contract win with S&P 500 company

Netcall shares soared 27.6% to 82.9p in early morning trading on Friday, after the company reported a $19 million multi-year contract win for its Liberty platform with an unnamed S&P 500 international financial services firm with operations based across 120 countries.

Netcall confirmed an expected $19 million in revenue for the initial three-year cloud subscription, with the deal projected to generate similar margins to the company’s overall group margin.

The contract is set to provide a significant contribution to Netcall’s revenue and profits, with the board anticipating an adjusted EBITDA for FY 2023 to come in at significantly higher levels than its previous expectations.

The S&P 500 client reportedly selected Netcall’s low-code product, Liberty Create, along with its Liberty RPA offering, which were designed to build and deploy power business applications across its slate of international operations, in order to deliver optimal outcomes for customers and other stakeholders.

The new contract win follows a global framework agreement reported by the firm on 9 August 2021, and the launch of its initial applications going live in North America and Europe.

“This landmark contract demonstrates the quality of the Liberty platform and its ability to support the world’s largest companies in their digital transformation efforts,” said Netcall CEO Henrik Bang.

“Having successfully deployed initial applications in North America and Europe, the customer will now use Liberty low-code and RPA across its global operations.”

“As well as providing a significant increase in revenue and profits to the Group, the contract further strengthens Netcall’s presence in the financial services industry, marking another step forward in the evolution of the Company.”

GSK announces positive results in phase 3 RSV vaccine trial for older adults

Natasha Doris
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GSK announces positive results in phase 3 RSV vaccine trial for older adults

GSK shares were up 2.2% to 1,748.3p in early morning trading on Friday, after the pharmaceutical company announced positive results for its respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine candidate for older adults.

GSK’s AReSVi 006 phase three trial vaccine candidate was reportedly the first of its sort to display clinically meaningful efficacy in adults aged 60 or over, with the magnitude of effect displaying consistency across RSV A and B strains, key secondary endpoints and in participants aged 70 or above.

The RSV vaccine contains a recombinant subunit prefusion RSV F glycoprotein antigen combined with the firm’s proprietary AS01 adjuvant, which has been utilised in several of GSK’s established adjuvanted vaccines.

GSK said it aimed for the antigen and adjuvant combination to help overcome natural age-related decline in immunity that contributes to the challenge of shielding older adults from RSV disease.

The interim analysis was reviewed by an Independent Data Monitoring Committee, and the group commented that the primary endpoint was exceeded with no unforeseen safety concerns noted.

GSK confirmed it would kick off engagement with regulators immediately, with regulatory submissions anticipated in HY2 2022.

The findings from the trial are scheduled for presentation in a peer-reviewed publication and at a scientific meeting later this year.

The trial is set to continued evaluation of an annual revaccination schedule and longer-term protection across several seasons with a single dose of the RSV older adult vaccine candidate.

“These data suggest our RSV vaccine candidate offers exceptional protection for older adults from the serious consequences of RSV infection,” said GSK chief scientific officer and research and development president Dr Hal Barron.

“RSV remains one of the few major infectious diseases without a vaccine, and these data have the potential to meaningfully impact the treatment of RSV and may reduce the 360,000 hospitalisations and more than 24,000 deaths worldwide each year.”

“Given the importance of these data, we plan to engage with regulators immediately and anticipate regulatory submissions in the second half of 2022.”

AIM highlights: Northbridge Industrial hits highs as Altus Strategies enjoys higher royalty revenue

Andrew Hore
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AIM highlights: Northbridge Industrial hits highs as Altus Strategies enjoys higher royalty revenue

AIM-quoted Northbridge Industrial (LON: NBI), which is set to change its name to Crestchic. Trading at the core power reliability business is better than the recently upgraded expectations. Previously full year earnings of 12.1p a share were forecast. The share price rose 12.5p to 205p on Thursday. That is the highest the share price has been since 2015, helped by share buy backs. There is a strong pipeline for rental and sale of loadbank equipment. New depots are open in the US and Belgium. The enlarged manufacturing facility is being officially opened on 6 July. The disposal of the oil and gas tools business is near completion.

Minerals explorer Altus Strategies (LON: ALS) is seeing the benefits of its move into mining royalty investments. In the first quarter of 2022, it received $1.54m, up 24% on the previous quarter, for its royalty interest in the Caserones copper mine in Chile. Just as important was the increase in projected mine life from 17 to 28 years. The share price rose 3p to 48.5p.

India-based call centre operator iEnergizer Ltd (LON: IBPO) says that it is in talks with Mumbai-based BPEA Advisors Private Ltd concerning a potential bid as part of a strategic review by the AIM-quoted company. This sparked a 31p rise in the share price to 425p. iEnergizer is a highly cash generative business that has paid substantial dividends in recent years, including a special dividend of 49.4p a share at the beginning of 2021. The most recent interim dividend was increased from 5.72p a share to 8.1p a share. The forecast yield is 4.7%.

ITM Power drags clean energy shares

Andrew Hore
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ITM Power drags clean energy shares

ITM Power (LON: ITM) was the biggest faller on AIM yesterday, and it dragged down other fuel cell companies with it.

ITM says that its full year loss will be higher than expected and the cash burn was £52m -although there is still £364m in the bank. Revenues remain modest at £5.5m due to delayed deliveries of products.

The share price dived 52.6p to 236.2p. Even though the ITM share price has fallen by two-fifths since the beginning of the year, it is still one of AIM’s ten largest companies. AFC Energy (LON: AFC) fell 2.1p to 25.4p, while Ceres Power (LON: CWR) slumped 79.2p to 593.6p.

New Aquis admission: Psychedelic future for Psych Capital

Andrew Hore
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New Aquis admission: Psychedelic future for Psych Capital

Psych Capital is floating on Aquis so that it can take advantage of the opportunities in the fast-growing psychedelic medicines sector. There is increasing interest in treatments using psychedelics and thereby investment in this area. More than $2bn has been invested in psychedelic companies and there are 47 quoted companies around the world in the sector.
However, Psych Capital is focused on early-stage companies that it can help to grow by providing marketing services and data.
The investors taking shares in the placing are also being given existing shares. The board is confident that they a...

Peel Hunt shares fall on 33.5% revenue drop to £121m, 57% profit fall to £33.1m

Natasha Doris
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0
Peel Hunt shares fall on 33.5% revenue drop to £121m, 57% profit fall to £33.1m

Peel Hunt shares decreased 4.1% to 112.2p in late afternoon trading on Thursday following a 33.5% drop in FY 2022 revenue to £121 million against £196.9 million in FY 2021.

The company announced a 57% pre-tax profit fall to £33.1 million from £77 million, alongside a basic EPS of 21.1p compared to 47.8p the last year.

Peel Hunt confirmed a cash hit of 25.8% to £76.7 million compared to £103.4 million.

However, the firm noted a 106.8% growth in net assets to £100.1 million against £48.4 million.

Peel Hunt reported that all three of its business divisions continued to make progress, with investment banking achieving record results for its second consecutive year at a 32% revenue increase to £57.9 million. The sector executed 46 equity fundraises, with advisory revenue up 166% to £8.4 million as the department acted on 19% of announced UK mid-and-small-cap takeovers.

The group commented that its execution services business delivered revenue of £42.9 million in FY 2022 compared to £166.7 million in FY 2021, and its research and distribution results were resilient, however revenues slid to £30.2 million from £36.3 million year-on-year. The sector apparently gained substantial market share in institutional commissions across the term.

Peel Hunt added 19 new corporate clients to its portfolio, with an additional four added in the period since the close of FY 2021, which brought its complete number to 164 clients.

“Against this backdrop, our performance was resilient, with all three divisions continuing to make progress, demonstrating the benefit of our diversified business model,” said Peel Hunt CEO Steven Fine.

“We generated record Investment Banking revenue for the second consecutive year, continuing to grow our corporate client base while being more active than any other investment bank in UK ECM transactions.”

“Alongside this, both Execution Services and Research & Distribution delivered solid performances, as we continued to develop our trading technologies and to win market share in institutional commissions.”

Peel Hunt reported a final dividend of 3.1p, in line with the company’s dividend policy.

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