Live Company Group signs contracts with Animal Paradise and Supersized for Bricklive.

Bricklive is one of the divisions for the live events company which creates interactive brick-based toys for their touring trails.

Bricklive Contracts

One of the contracts is for Animal Paradise with the Oklahoma Zoological Society.

The Oklahoma Zoological Society was established to increase footfall for the city zoo which supports endangered wildlife.

The touring trails will display the models at Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Gardens.

The event will run from 7th May to 30th October, 2022.

David Ciclitira, Chairman, Live Company said, “I am delighted to add another new contract from the US with Oklahoma Zoological Society. My team continue to deliver new customers in new cities.”

The second contract for Supersized is with Zoo New England, in Boston, USA.

The 40+ models displayed will be inspired from the 26 acre Stone Zoo, with models of various animals including American Kestrel, Assassin Bug and the Blue Ringed Octopus.

The 115 years old Stone Zoo was established to support Zoo New England’s goal of sustaining the natural world.

The trailing tour will run from 30^th April to 8^th September 2022.

“This significant contract for Stone Zoo is a real signal that our tours are in massive demand in the US and globally. Investors should remember the large tours form an integral part of the BRICKLIVE division revenue generation,” stated Ciclitira.

Live Company shares were up 3.9% to 5.1p on Friday morning’s open, following the announcement of the partnerships with American zoos.

BrandShield Systems reported the removal of 850 rogue online pharmacies and 14,000 fraudulent drug listings over the last year on Friday morning.

The cybersecurity solutions firm worked in partnership with the Pharmaceutical Security Institute from December 2020 to November 2021.

The company reported an estimated $1.8 million of counterfeit deals were removed from the market.

The illegitimate pharmaceuticals were linked to asthma, Covid-19, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and cancer treatments.

Indonesia reported 13,395 marketplace listing removals, with India and the Philippines at 566 and 171.

Malaysia had 135 removals and Singapore recorded 120.

The partnership reportedly used a disruption programme to track down and remove online threats.

It investigated online markets and social media platforms in excess of 100 reported fake listings.

“Criminal fraudsters and scammers posing as reputable pharma companies are a major public health risk for the millions across the globe who are in the market looking for products to treat a range of life-threatening diseases,” said BrandShield CEO Yoav Keren.

“In our work with PSI, we are taking the fight back to not only detect dubious online sellers but also remove these threats as they happen. Such a proactive approach ensures that patients are protected from further harm.”

BrandShield’s share price increased 1.8% to 11.2p in early morning trading on Friday following the company release.

Belvoir shares were trading up 2% to 250p with the completed acquisition of Mr. and Mrs. Clarke, the real estate agency.

Belvoir, the property franchise group, has taken over Mr. and Mrs. Clarke (MMC) for £0.2m in initial cash considerations.

A further capped consideration may be payable over the next 3 years based on the company’s performance.

MMC used a network of 10 licensed partners to offer a personalised ‘concierge-style’ service to their customers.

MMC ran their business online through their website as opposed to operating high street offices. The company is focused on being ‘discerningly different‘ by using completely digital methods of using great photos and customising the home for the customers used to market real estate.

MMC will have access to more leads through Belvoir’s established network as well as access to Belvoir’s support system that deals with legal, IT and marketing.

“The opportunities arising from being part of a Group that is so experienced in estate agency, lettings, franchising and financial services, are extremely exciting for our partners, and we will be grabbing the opportunity with both hands to exceed our plans for further national business growth,” said Paul Clarke, Managing Director, MMC.

This unique methods of customised marketing models is what attracted Belvoir to acquire MMC.

MMC also covers the same area of the property market as Belvoir in higher end properties, which will provide synergies across the portfolio.

Dorian Gonsalves, CEO, Belvoir said, “the acquisition of Mr and Mrs Clarke provides the Group with a new service offering, which will recognise the breadth of ways in which our customers want to interact with their estate agent and the different ways in which potential new franchisees or partners want to operate.”

Using Belvoir’s assisted acquisitions programme, the growth opportunities for the company is high.

The services offered by Belvoir will include financial services and lettings leading to an increase in revenues.

With increased focus on commodity prices, Fresnillo, the Mexican mining company is benefitting from economic and geopolitical developments.

In Fresnillo’s latest financials, the company managed to increase revenues by 11% to $2.7bn, despite facing operation challenges.

Fresnillo says they have a plan for converting those challenges to earnings and the favourable conditions for precious metals sets Fresnillo shares up for a favourable 2022.

Fresnillo Share Price

Fresnillo shares peaked at their 52-week high of 986p in later 2021, but has since dropped to trade at 769p on Thursday afternoon.

The mining company’s performance is completely dependant on commodity prices and are rightly seen as proxy for swings in gold and silver.

Fresnillo is largely known as a silver miner due to their dominance in the market among London-listed shares.

However, Fresnillo generated 45.8% of their adjusted revenue from gold in 2021, making it a great play on rising gold prices.

Goldman Sachs analysts believe that the price of gold will rise due to increased geopolitical tensions.

Targets raised for:

3-month horizon to $2,300 vs. $1950 previous.

6-month horizon to $2,500, from $2050 previous.

12-month horizon to $2,500 vs. $2150 previous.

“An increase in demand from consumers, investors, central banks due to the rising geopolitical uncertainty,” says analysts at Goldman Sachs.

Fresnillo Earnings

Fresnillo’s adjusted revenues saw an increase of 9.2% to $2.8bn in 2021. The group also reduced their refining costs by 20% in 2021.

The production of silver was lower than expected, however they saw an increase of 0.1% to 53,000 kOz in 2021. The increased revenues benefitted from the 16.9% rise in silver prices.

Gold exceeded expectation despite a reduced production of 2.4% to 751,203 Oz in 2021 because of problems in the terrain and higher mining costs.

The company has faced staffing problems due to labour reforms and the pandemic. Going forward, the company has panned out a strategy involving recruitment campaigns.

In terms of their yield from mining, the production is expected to grow with increased investments in equipment and technology.

With no positive outcome from the discussion between Russia and Ukraine this afternoon, gold prices started to rise again as investors looked for stable investments in turbulent markets.

Fresnillo’s EBITDA increased by 3.2% to $1.2bn in 2021.

Fresnillo Dividends

Fresnillo investors enjoyed a twofold increase in dividends to $0.33 which is covered 1.7x. The dividend yield for Fresnillo is 3.4%.

Fresnillo Shares Valuation

With Fresnillo trading at 769p, the stock has a forward P/E of 20.4x and a trailing P/E of 17.3x which is substantially above its FTSE 100 mining peers. However, such a valuation can be justified by Newmont’s PE Ratio of 53 and Barrick Gold’s 21x.

Rio Tino announced the withdrawal of its operations from Russia today, after pressure mounted following over 300 major brands exiting the country this week.

The news came as the stock went ex-dividend, making a bumper payout to investors following a record year.

The Rio Tinto share price was down 6% in early afternoon trading on Thursday in London.

Russia ties

“Rio Tinto is in the process of terminating all commercial relationships it has with any Russian business,” a spokesperson from the mining group said in a statement today.

The mining company said it had no operational assets or employees to remove from the country, but that it would examine any business ties to Russia in its dealings.

With Rio Tinto’s share price diverging from an otherwise strong mining sector today, Rio shares are now appearing good value when compared to their peers.

Rio Tinto’s record-breaking 2021

Rio Tinto enjoyed a record-breaking 2021, with its dividend reported as the second-highest in the FTSE 100’s history.

The company reported a total dividend per share of 1,040c compared to 557c in 2020, and an EBITDA of $37.7 billion against $23.9 billion in 2020.

Rio Tinto celebrated a consolidated sales revenue of $63.2 billion compared to $44.6 billion in 2020.

“Rio Tinto’s headline grabbing $16.8 billion total dividend payment for 2021 tops the $15.7 billion in dividends paid by Shell in 2018,” said Russ Mould, analyst at AJ Bell after they reported in February.

“The big question now is whether Rio’s dividends and earnings have peaked in the current commodities cycle.”

“There are plenty of headwinds to suggest global economic growth may slow and forecasts would suggest Rio’s dividends are going to get progressively smaller over the next three years.”

Severing ties to Russian oligarchs

Rio Tinto is set to break its aluminium joint-venture with aluminium company Rusal, founded by Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska.

The joint-venture was in Queensland Alumina Ltd (QAL), which is owned 80% by Rio Tino and 20% by Rusal through his parent company EN+ Group.

The activist investor group, the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR), commended Rio Tinto on its decision.

“Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, all Australian companies should sever relationships with companies owned or part-owned by oligarchs aligned with Russian president Vladimir Putin,” said ACCR director for climate and environment Dan Gocher.

“Rio Tinto and Worley should be commended for taking appropriate action.”

Oyu Tolgoi

The company cited previous hesitancy at cutting ties with Russia after noting that it was reliant on the country to provide diesel for Rio Tinto’s Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia.

Rio Tinto’s has an indirect ownership of the Oyu Tolgoi through their 50.8% stake in Turquoise Hill Resources. Turquoise Hill Resources principal asset is its 66% ownership in Oyu Tolgoi, which owns the Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine.

The Oyu Tolgoi project has experienced a long embattled journey to gain the approval of the Mongolian government, with the parties finally reaching agreement in January 2022.

The project was estimated to produce approximately 500,000 tonnes of copper per year from 2028 to 2036 and an average of around 350,000 tonnes for a further five years, compared to 163,000 tonnes in 2021.

It will prove a substantial headache for Rio Tinto to source alternative means of powering Oyu Tolgoi without resources from Russia.

However, the Oyu Tolgoi and Turquoise Hill Resources only counted for $1.9bn of gross copper sales and $1.2bn in underlying EBITDA for 2021. This compares to group underlying $37.7bn.

This means although any disruption to the project will be painful, it will not materially impact group earnings in the short term.

If there is a scenario where the issues persist to 2028 – when production is forecast to ramp up to 500,000 tonnes per year – it could result in lost future earnings for the diversified miner.

Rio Tinto Dividend

Rio Tinto has paid a substantial dividend today comprising of a 306.72p ordinary dividend, and a 45.60p special dividend.

Immediate interest in Rio Tinto for income investors will now be diminished, but with a historical PE Ratio 5.8 and forward PE Ratio of 7.2, there is ample space for multiple expansion.

This makes Rio Tinto share particularly interesting, especially if the commodities super cycle accelerates in the coming years and the miner makes further investments in battery metals.

The FTSE 100 took a blow of 1.1% in late morning trading on Thursday, as oil prices whipsawed in choppy trade and Rio Tinto announced they would break ties with Russia and paid a bumper dividend.

The price of oil rose on Thursday following a 17% drop on Wednesday, after the UAE considered pushing OPEC to increase its agreed output to ease supply fears.

“Wild swings in oil overnight reflect the febrile nature of markets right now and also just how little visibility investors have,” says AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

European shares were also heavily hit and extended declines after the ECB said they would accelerate the winding down of asset purchases.

Rio Tinto

Rio Tinto announced its decision to sever all ties to Russian business operations, including its joint-venture between the company and Russian oligarch Oleg Deripska’s company, Rusal.

Rio Tinto confirmed it was “in the process of terminating all commercial relationships it has with any Russian businesses.”

The decision also brought Rio Tinto’s Oyu Tolgoi project in Mongolia into doubt, due to the venture’s reliance on Russian diesel.

Rio Tinto shares were down 5.8% on Thursday as the company went ex-dividend. Antofagasta, Glencore and Fresnillo shares were up 5%, 2.8% and 1.6% respectively.

However, Russian focused miners Polymetal and Evraz sank as the UK imposed further sanctions on Russia and Oligarchs.

“From a Western perspective the war in Russia is very much an economic one and the full ramifications may not be known for quite some time,” said Mould.

Evraz shares are down 23% to 71p after UK government accused the mining company of providing support to Russia in the war against Ukraine by supplying steel to the Russian military for the production of their tanks. Roman Abramovich, major shareholders in Evraz is one of 7 Russian oligarchs who was sanctioned today.

Evraz shares were suspended by the LSE as a result of the sanctions.

Spirax-Sarco

Spirax-Sarco shares are trading up 3% after the firm exceed pre-pandemic sales by £100m to £1.3bn in 2021. Spirax-Sarco enjoyed higher demand as their customers recovered from the pandemic. Spirax-Sarco also announced an increase of 18p in their total dividends to 136p for 2021.