Belvoir Group shares rose 3% to 263p as the company reported the 25th year of unhindered profit growth in its latest financial results.

A REIT, Belvoir Group noted a 39% increase in pre-tax profit from £6.7m to £9.3m in 2021 with strong growth in revenue.

The group revenues increase 37% to £29.6m from £21.7m in 2020 as a result of growth in the group’s underlying business and acquisitions of Nicholas Humphreys and Nottingham Mortgage Services.

During the year, corporate acquisitions and disposals added a net of £1.8m to the revenue which climbed £6.1 million on a like-for-like basis. In an attempt to expand the company’s property and financial services networks, Belvoir acquired Nicholas Humphreys and Nottingham Mortgage Services in 2021. Nottingham Mortgage Services added £0.5m to the revenue in the last five months of 2021.

Acquisition and organic growth contributed to the rise in revenue in the financial services division which increased by £4.7m to £14.4m in 2021.

The property division increased the group’s revenue by £3.2m with the property division’s revenue summing up to £15.2m in 2021.

The acquisition of White Kite Group 202, which operates under the name Nicholas Humphreys, increased revenues by £2.1m.

Meanwhile, between August 2020 and January 2021, the projected franchising of five Lovelle corporate-owned offices lowered revenue by £0.8m.

Management service fees (MSF) increased 18% to £10.7 million, with £0.3 million coming from the 17 Nicholas Humphreys franchise offices and five newly franchised Lovelle locations. The £1.6m rise came from a £0.7m increase in lettings MSF and a £0.9m increase in property sales.

In 2021, Belvoir increased house sales by 54% to 12,320 homes, opened 45 new offices and managed a portfolio of 72,900 properties.

Belvoir noted an increase in year-end cash to £7.4m compared to £5.9m in 2020 whilst reporting a 65% decrease in net debt to £1.3m.

The group’s total dividend increased by 18% to 8.5p compared to 7.2p in 2020, with a final dividend of 4.5p in 2021. Belvoir’s dividend cover is 2.3x according to the company.

Dorian Gonsalves, Chief Executive Officer, Belvoir said, “2021 was the busiest year for our sector in recent times with residential property sales transactions at their highest level since 2007, which boosted both our growing estate agency and financial services businesses.” 

“We worked closely with our property franchisees and financial services advisers to ensure that they were best placed to respond to the strong market conditions, which drove significant organic growth of 25%.” 

“Adding the national Nicholas Humphreys franchise network to the Group has enabled us to extend our professional lettings service to encompass the specialist student lettings market.”

“We also further strengthened our strategic alliance with the Nottingham Building Society, through the acquisition of its mortgage advisory arm, giving us access to its online savers who we hope will be our future mortgage clients.”

Belvoir shares gained 2% to 260p following the company’s robust revenue growth and continued increase in profits.

With Covid-19 cases on the rise again, airlines have been heavily hit by staffing issues leading to the decline in airline shares on Monday.

Regardless, the FTSE 250 rose 0.39% to 21,300 and AIM increased 0.36% to 1,048 helped by a number of oil and gas companies, despite falling oil prices.

Oil prices fell 0.07% to $104 a barrel on Monday.

FTSE 250 Risers

Retirement specialist Just Group shares were trading up 5.9% to 95.5p after Barclays changed the group’s rating to overweight from equalweight.

Indivivour shares gained 3.9% to 296p following the rating change from buy to overweight by Jefferies.

FTSE 250 Fallers

Carnival shares fell 0.04% to 1,360p, despite UBS raising the group’s rating to ‘buy’.

Pets at Home shares dropped 1.7% to 357p after Deutsche Bank cuts the company’s rating to ‘buy’.

Page Group shares lost 1.2% to 477p after Barclays cut the group’s price target from 770p to 700p.

Airline company EasyJet shares sunk 2.3% to 542p after the company had to cancel 222 flights over the weekend due to staffing shortages as a result of rising Covid cases.

WizzAir lost 1.2% to 2,820p, despite the budget airline company reporting a 480,203 increase to 2.5m in passenger numbers during March and a load factor of 78.2% compared to 63.9% in 2021.

Hochschild Mining completed the acquisition of Amarillo on Friday, and the group’s shares dropped 0.5% to 129p in early morning trade on Monday.

AIM Risers

Genedrive shares continue its gains with a 28% increase on Monday due to the company’s Antibiotic Induced Hearing Loss test, MT-RNR1 being accepted across various healthcare institutions including Inspiration Healthcare and Manchester University Hospital Trust.

Chariot Oil & Gas shares rise 21% to 23p on news of an upgrade in the net gas estimates for the Anchois-2 well.

Thor Mining shares increased 5.7% to 0.93p on the approval to drill at Rim Rock and Section 23, Groundhog, from San Miguel County, Colorado.

Restaurant operator, Fulham Shore shares were boosted 6.5% to 16.5p as the company saw a return of consumers with Covid restrictions being eased, allowing the group to assume earnings will exceed expectations.

Induction Healthcare shares rose 3.7% to 42p as the company signed on 4 South West London NHS Trusts to use its Induction Zesty platform

i3 Energy shares gained 12% to 23p as the company said the oil production will exceed expectations. In Q1 2022, the weekly average production of barrels of oil per day increased from 8,856 to 20,312.

AIM Fallers

Red Rock Resources shares plummeted 17% to 0.38p despite the company establishing a lithium subsidiary in Zimbabwe, African Lithium Resources.

Keras lost nearly 16% to 0.08p after the company announced the complete takeover of Falcon Isle Resources and Falcon Isle Holdings from Helda Living Trust for $3.2m.

Oilex shares sunk 13% to 0.22 following the news of hindrance in restarting production at its Cambay field in India due to licensing issues.

The FTSE 100 was up 0.2% to 7,554 in late morning trading on Monday, following a strong jobs report on Friday that revealed 431,000 jobs added to the US payroll in March, and that the American unemployment rate fell to 3.6%, the lowest rate in two years.

Oil continued its decline to $104 per barrel of Brent Crude as US President Biden’s announced that the country would release one million barrels of oil per day from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve last week which calmed the spiking prices and brought it down from previous heights of $120.

A recent ceasefire between the UAE and the Houthi group which is set to see a suspension of military operations on the border between Saudi-Arabia and Yemen has also served to alleviate concerns about supply issues in the area.

Housebuilders Gain

The market enjoyed positive gains across the housing sector, with Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey, Barratt Developments, Berkeley Group Holdings and Rightmove joining the FTSE 100 risers today after the UK government discarded demands on housebuilders to contribute to its £4 billion cladding fund to fix faulty cladding on houses across England.

Barratt Developments rose 5.2% to 545.6p following the £4 billion cladding fund news.

Persimmon enjoyed a boost of 5.2% to 22,615p also on the back of the cladding fund report, alongside the group’s acquisition of Bootham Crescent from York City football club for £7 million earlier today.

The top risers also included Endeavor Mining, which increased 5.3% to 2,180p after it reported the expansion of its Sabodala-Massawa mine in Senegal.

The top fallers were led by Aviva, after the British insurance company announced former Jupiter Fund CFO Charlotte Jones as its new CFO on Monday.

IAG took a hit of 1.4% to 139.1p after it experienced cancelled flights amid the spiking surge of Covid-19 cases among airline staff over the weekend.

“Hot on the heels of long delays at Heathrow and Manchester airports is news that EasyJet has cancelled 100 flights and British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines also unable to operate all of its scheduled flights,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

“These issues stem from airlines and airports having insufficient staff to cope with rising demand. A resurgence in Covid cases hasn’t helped, with many workers off sick.”

International banking services firm, Standard Chartered fell 1.2% to 503.4p.

Endeavour Mining announced the upcoming construction of its Sabodala-Massawa expansion based in Senegal for $290 million in upfront capital, following supporting results from a recent Definitive-Feasibility Study (DFS).

Endeavour Mining reported that its DFS recommended the expansion of the mine by supplementing its present 4.2 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) Carbon-in-leach (CIL) plant with a 1.2mtpa BIOX plant in order to process high-grade refractory ores sourced from the company’s Massawa Central Zone and Massawa North Zone deposits.

The group estimated that the first gold production could be expected by early 2024.

The mining firm said that the Expansion Project is projected to yield an incremental production of 1.35 million ounces (Moz) of gold at a low all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of $576/oz throughput the life of mine.

The company also said the extension boasts robust economics, and will provide an after-tax IRR of 72% and a fast 1.4-year payback period based on a gold price of $1,700/oz.

The news follows Endeavour Mining’s sale of its 90% stake in its non-core Karma mine in Burkina Faso to Nere Mining for a $25 million total consideration.

“We are extremely pleased with both the current performance of Sabodala-Massawa and the Definitive Feasibility Study results announced today, as they demonstrate the asset’s potential to be a top tier mine capable of producing in excess of 400,000 ounces per year at an industry-leading AISC,” said Endeavour Mining CEO Sébastien de Montessus.

“Given the robust project economics, which significantly exceed our investment criteria, and the strong exploration upside potential, we are excited to launch this low-capex intensive brownfield expansion project as it will continue to improve the quality of our operating portfolio and contribute to driving the Group’s return on capital employed above our 20% target.”

“In line with our capital allocation framework, we are very pleased to be able to pursue this organic growth opportunity while maintaining a healthy balance sheet and the financial flexibility to continue to deliver strong capital returns to shareholders.”

“We believe we are well positioned to unlock the full value of the Sabodala-Massawa complex as we have significantly de-risked the project by integrating key changes into the DFS, based on experience gained from operating the asset and the results of further technical analysis, and we have highly experienced operating and construction teams already in place.”

Endeavor Mining shares were up 4.5% to 2,004p in late morning trading on Monday following the news.

Elixirr shares were up 4.4% to 700p in early morning trading on Monday following the announcement of its 2021 results, which included a 67% increase in revenue to £50.6 million against £30.3 million in 2020.

Elixirr reported an adjusted EBITDA growth of 62% to £15.7 million compared to £9.7 million in 2020 and a pre-tax profit increase of 109% to £12.2 million against £5.8 million in 2020.

The business management consultant firm announced an adjusted diluted earnings per share increase of 58% to 24.2p compared to 15.3p in 2020.

The company also noted a net cash position of £31.8 million following its £17.5 million result in 2020.

Elixirr said that it expects a revenue of £70-75 and an adjusted EBITDA margin of 27-28% in 2022.

The group highlighted its operational accomplishments for 2021, including the acquisition of the Retearn Group in April, and its post period-end acquisition of iOLAP, which is set to add specialist data and analytics capabilities to the company and accelerate its US business growth.

The firm also noted an organic revenue growth of 35%, including 100% growth in its US business, alongside the addition of over 80 new clients and a 50% clientele repeat business rate.

“2021 has been another phenomenal year for Elixirr,” said Elixirr CEO Stephen Newton.

“We have stayed resolute in our commitment to provide a bespoke and high-quality service to our clients, all made possible by the dedication and talent of our teams.”

“This has contributed to our fantastic performance in the market this year and consistent growth since listing.”

Healthcare technology provider Induction Healthcare has collaborated with NHS Trusts in South West London to assist with long-term outpatient care change.

The South West London Integrated Care System (ICS) will use Induction Zesty to assist their outpatient transformation initiative, according to Induction, a ‘leading virtual care platform driving the digital transformation of healthcare systems’ globally.

The collaboration comes at a time when the NHS secondary caregivers in England are focusing and spending heavily on digital transformation, with Induction Zesty reportedly set to benefit Trusts in South West London.

Induction Zesty has been advertised as a hospital’s ‘digital front door’, with an easy setup that allows users to manage their appointments, communications, and virtual consultations from the comfort of their smartphone.

Patients can now have a cohesive perspective of their care journey, spanning various caregivers, on a single digital platform.

The combined contracts, which cover 4 of SW London’s NHS Trusts, have periods between 2 to 9 years and will generate a total revenue of roughly £3.6m with an ARR of around £650,000 from FY23 onwards. As installation work is finished and the sites go operational, the firm expects to generate roughly £450K in revenue in FY23 from these deals.

The contracts were partly influenced by a strategic partnership between Cerner and Induction. The partnership developed a combined solution that was made available as part of a value-added reseller agreement to NHS Trusts, which were already Cerner clients as an extension of their current Cerner EPR contracts.

Induction obtained remote video consultations platform Attend Anywhere in South West London in June 2021. The ability to combine the features of both platforms will reportedly improve patient engagement and support the company’s growth plan for FY23 and beyond.

“This is an exciting first step and strong proof point in our strategy to support regional digital transformation via newly forming Integrated Care Systems,” stated, Induction CEO, James Balmain.

“We have a strong pipeline of further Cerner customers who are keen to purchase the joint Induction/Cerner patient portal. Equally encouraging is the positive reaction we’ve seen from customers around the integration of Attend Anywhere into our Induction Zesty product.”

Induction Healthcare shares increased nearly 4% to 42p following the announcement of collaborating with 4 NHS Trusts.

Hochschild Mining completed its acquisition of Amarillo on 1 April 2022, helping shares gain 1% to 130p in early trade on Monday morning.

The terms of the acquisition were circulated to shareholders in March 2022.

Hochschild Mining is a major precious metals firm that specialises in silver and gold exploration, mining, refining, and sales.

The company has been mining precious metal epithermal vein deposits, and currently owns and manages three underground epithermal vein mines with two in southern Peru and one in southern Argentina.

The mining group is also working on several long-term ventures throughout the Americas.

Amarillo is developing two gold properties in Brazil, both of which are near strong infrastructure and in mining-friendly locations. The Posse gold project is located in Goiás State on Amarillo’s Mara Rosa property.

It reported a favourable definitive feasibility study that demonstrated that it can be turned into a lucrative operation with low costs and a high financial return.

Mara Rosa further suggests that more near-surface deposits could be discovered, extending Posse’s mine life beyond the original ten years.

Ignacio Bustamante, Chief Executive Officer, Hochschild said, “We are delighted to have closed the acquisition of Amarillo which adds the exciting Posse project in Brazil to our portfolio. We can look forward to the commencement of construction and the opportunity to generate strong sustainable value for the Company and the project’s local stakeholders.”