Sovereign Metals presents at the UK Investor Magazine Metals & Mining Conference February 2022.
Sovereign controls a globally significant, strategic rutile province across its large ground holding in Malawi, with its flagship project Kasiya, one of the world’s largest rutile deposits.
The FTSE 100 gained on Wednesday as markets shrugged of concerns around the latest developments in Russia’s movement in Ukraine.
Markets across Europe chose to look past the threats of conflict in Ukraine on Wednesday and traded within a tight range as investors awaited further news.
After trading as high as 7,549, the FTSE 100 closed just 3 points higher at 7,497.
“The FTSE 100 managed a move higher on Wednesday despite the simmering tensions in Ukraine,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
“The US seems to have ruled out any talks with the Russians until they pull back from the separatist regions in the Donbas region they occupied yesterday so the ball now appears to be in Vladimir Putin’s court.
“So far the sanctions imposed by the West aren’t as heavy as might have been expected and the market is apparently taking this a win amid hints Putin might be open to a diplomatic solution.
“However, predicting the Russian premier’s next move is a mug’s game and unfortunately until the situation is resolved the markets are likely to remain firmly on the edge.”
Evraz was FTSE 100 top faller, with the steel manufacturing and mining company’s stock dropping 10.8% to 250.7p as Russia tension again hit the company.
The bulk of Evraz’s output comes from Russia, sparking questions about how the producer intends to export its wares if conflict erupts.
Kingfisher has also taken a significant hit, dropping 4.69% to 298.6p. Kingfisher has been under pressure recently over concerns rising households bills would dent spending on DIY.
CRH fell 3,472.5p, wiping 2.66% off the stock value of the building materials producer.
Barclays rose 3% at 196p after reporting an increase in their annual net profits before tax. The group’s net profit before tax amounted to £8.4bn with a rise of 174% from £3.2bn net profits before tax in 2021.
Barclay’s Corporate and Investment Banking division also recorded an increase in net profits at £5.8bn.
Dividend payouts increased with Barclay’s paying their shareholders 6.0p per share.
Antofagasta continues rally
Antofagasta was riding wave of positivity following as strong update yesterday. Anto’s share price gained 3.2% to 1450p on Wednesday.
Antofagasta yesterday reported a 46% increase in revenues from $5.1bn to $7.4bn. Profits before tax was reported as $3.4bn which is 146% higher than last year.
“Antofagasta is riding this price strength as in 2021 it has generated its highest profits in over a decade, based on the company’s preferred metric of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), after a 77% jump to $4.8 billion,” said Russ Mould, AJ Bell Investment Director.
Hikma Pharmaceuticals shares rose 3.4% and were the FTSE 100 top rise ahead of their results tomorrow.
The UK government is calling for a windfall tax on big oil companies including Shell and BP as the commodity spikes to seven-year highs of almost $100 per barrel.
Shell and BP have seen their share prices surge this year due to tensions between Russia and Ukraine fuelling scarcity fears and sending the cost of the commodity soaring.
The oil majors have recently reported bumper earnings which are now being targeted for a potential windfall tax to help households deal with the impact of rising energy prices.
The Labour party proposed the one-off windfall tax following surging growth from the major oil producers as a means to counteract the rising oil price cap, which is set to cost consumers an estimated £693 per year in energy bills.
The price of rising energy is set to squeeze household budgets and analysts predict that UK consumers will suffer greatly without government intervention.
“The outlook is so bleak for cash strapped consumers, even the International Monetary Fund has now waded into the political waters surrounding high energy bills, urging the UK government to bring in targeted help for poorer households,” said Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown
“Any increase to the warm homes grants would still be paid for by other energy bill payers, which is why there is increasing clamour for a windfall tax on the big North Sea oil and gas producers like Shell and BP.”
The proposal has been met with a negative response from the oil companies, with the argument against the tax rooted in lost dividends for reliant shareholders, alongside purported green energy transitioning taking a hit in a crucial stage of development.
BP recently announced in its financial year results for 2021 that its schedule for transitioning to green energy includes a complete shift to net-zero across its entire operational portfolio by 2050.
“We are accelerating the greening of BP,” said BP CEO Bernard Looney.
“Our confidence is growing in the opportunities that the energy transition offers. This allows us to raise our low carbon ambitions, and we are now aiming to be net zero across operations, production and sales by 2050 or sooner.”
Credit Suisse is tied in a new scandal revolving around criminals and illicit funds following the leak of customer data.
Credit Suisse has faced scrutiny following the leak of information which showed the bank has provided services to criminals, raising questions about their internal procedures.
The Guardian reported the leak of 30,000 clients details highlighted Credit Suisse had been involved in managing the wealth of individuals involved torture, drug trafficking and money laundering.
Credit Suisse is yet again being accused of allegedly allowing clients with criminal records to maintain an account with the Swiss Bank after accusations they facilitated money laundering for cocaine dealers.
The Credit Suisse chairman recently left his post after he was found to break Covid regulations and faced backlash from ex-employees revealing money laundering practices.
As a response to these allegations, Credit Suisse issued a press release which stated, “Credit Suisse strongly rejects the allegations and insinuations about the bank’s purported business practices. The matters presented are predominantly historical, in some cases dating back as far as the 1940s, and the accounts of these matters are based on partial, inaccurate, or selective information taken out of context, resulting in tendentious interpretations of the bank’s business conduct. While as a matter of law Credit Suisse cannot comment on potential client relationships, we can confirm that actions have been taken in line with applicable policies and regulatory requirements at the relevant times, and that related issues have already been addressed.”
“Following numerous inquiries by the consortium over the last three weeks, Credit Suisse has reviewed a large volume of accounts potentially associated with the matters raised. Approximately 90% of the reviewed accounts are today closed or were in the process of closure prior to receipt of the press inquiries, of which over 60% were closed before 2015. Of the remaining active accounts, we are comfortable that appropriate due diligence, reviews and other control related steps were taken in line with our current framework. We will continue to analyze the matters and take additional steps if necessary.”
Past these allegations, talks of assessing Switzerland as a high risk country are about.
In an interview with The Guardian, Jonás Fernández, an S&D MEP and spokesperson for economic and monetary affairs said, “these latest revelations show that too many of the world’s largest banks have still not learned their lesson. Banks are only too willing to accept dirty money, as long as they can pocket the fees.”
Darktrace has acquired attack surface management company Cybersprint for €47.5 million.
The share price for Darktrace gained 3% to trade at 355p in Wednesday afternoon trade. Darktrace had traded as high as 361p in earlier in the session.
The acquisition comes as an addition to Darktrace’s new ‘Prevent’ product suite, which is underpinned by Attack Path Modelling.
The company said that Cybersprint will contribute to Darkspace’s ‘Continuous Cyber AI Loop’ development and will complement its self-leaning technology and inside-out view.
The transaction is set to be paid approximately 75% in cash and 25% in equity, which values the transaction at approximately 12.5 times Cybersprint’s annual recurring revenue (ARR).
“We are very excited to welcome the Cybersprint team to Darktrace,” said Poppy Gustafsson, CEO at Darktrace.
“Bringing inside-out and outside-in visibility together is critical and having access to the robust, rich, real-time external dataset combined with Darktrace’s Self-Learning AI means that customers get a holistic view of prioritised cyber risks to harden the parts of their organisation that are most vulnerable.”
“With this acquisition, we are able to leverage Cybersprint’s seven years of R&D to accelerate our Prevent product family, ultimately making it much harder for cyber-attackers to carry out successful missions.”
Pieter Jansen, CEO at Cybersprint added: “I’m very excited about this fantastic step in the journey of Cybersprint.”
“We are looking forward to joining Darktrace and working together to accelerate state-of-the-art innovations to make organisations more cyber secure.”
The acquisition is scheduled for a completion date of 1 March 2022.
Genedrive have made headway in rapid point of care molecular tests for Covid-19.
Genedrive shares were trading up 20.7% at 17.5p after their update on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, Genedrive provided an update which stated that the near patient molecular diagnostics company has entered distribution agreements for their rapid point of care molecular test for Covid-19.
Genedrive COV19-ID kit is a rapid molecular diagnostic testing kit. Positive results are delivered in 7 minutes and negative results are delivered in 17 minutes by the Genedrive COV19-ID kit. The results are extracted by Reverse-Transcription Loop Mediated Isothermal Amplification (RT-LAMP) and a proprietary buffer formulation.
The test is performed by administrating a mid-turbinate nasal swab, the assay targets the ORF1ab and N genes of the SARS-CoV-2 genome, adding robustness against emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants.
The product was CE marked on 8th December, 2021 enabling distribution in Spain, Portugal, Oman and the United Arab Emirates. Opportunities in the EU are currently under assessment. The main market for distribution of the Genedrive COV19-ID kit are including pharmacies, sports and private workplace.
Genedrive say the distribution agreements will provide the opportunity to access to the longer-term market potential in each country.
End-user product evaluation is underway in the UK in order to access certain occupational health markets.
CTDA approval is pending in the UK, therefore, commercial distribution is at a halt. The UK government is assessing the statutory requirements for COVID testing and opportunities for Genedrive depend on it.
“Progress since CE marking is as expected in terms of timeline and a focus on specific use cases. We are pleased with the distributor agreements we have contracted to date and expect to expand to additional countries in due course. While UK government policy has changed, opportunities are continuing in other markets that are taking a different approach with regards to testing,” said David Budd, CEO of Genedrive.
Cohort plc company SEA has secured a contract with Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) to supply its Torpedo Launcher System (TLS) to two of the Philippine Navy’s new corvettes.
Cohort’s share price rose to 474.80p in early morning trade, before the rally faded and shares fell back to just 1% up at 455.52p.
The contract is worth several million pounds and is scheduled to see the first TLS delivered in 2023, with the second estimated for delivery in 2025.
The TLS is reportedly a close-range and rapid-react system which is equipped to fire a selection of NATO-compatible standard lightweight torpedoes.
The system is capable of launching the US Mk44, Mk46 and Mk54 torpedoes, UK Sting Ray, Italian A244S, French MU90 and the Korean Blue Shark.
The contract comes as part of the Revised Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program (RAFPMP), and follows the success of SEA’s TLS onboard the Philippine Navy’s frigates.
“The inherent flexibility of our TLS will provide the Philippine Navies with a capability that helps future-proof the corvettes against new weapon developments and obsolescence, whilst also ensuring commonality across the fleet,” said David Hinds, Vice President Strategic Accounts at SEA.
“We look forward to working with our partners across Southeast Asia and further strengthening our relationship with HHI and the Philippine Navy.”
HHI representative Mr Kyunghyun Cho added: “This contract is part of a significant modernisation programme for the Philippine Navy.”
“Following the successful delivery of SEA’s TLS for the Philippine Navy’s frigates, we were impressed by the performance and reliability of the system and are pleased to be collaborating with SEA to deliver the same superior capability to the Navy’s corvettes.”
Mosman Oil and Gas finished a gas network in East Texas, connecting several leases in the area and enabling sales of gas from the Winter-2 project.
Mosman Oil and Gas share price has leaped 25.9% to 0.12p on the news of their project completion to supply gas in East Texas.
The Mosman Oil and Gas strategy focuses on exploration of existing permits and acquisition of new permits in politically stable companies. The Group works to find opportunities which will optimise operating cash flows along with positive developmental shifts.
In the new development, sale of gas is going to be supplied by Winter-2 well and Stanley-4 well. The gas network connects multiple leases, out of which one is Arcadia Operating LLC. Arcadia Operating LLC is jointly owned by Arcadia and Mosman subsidiary, Nadsoilco.
The well production flow rate will be announced after testing the system for a few days.
“Mosman is pleased to complete the construction of the gas network to further build on our production profile. With the gas network in place, it enables gas production from Winters-2 and Stanley-4, and other wells in the area. I am pleased to see increasing production volumes and cashflow, especially while gas price is strong,” said John W Barr, Chairman.
Mosman is on its way to maintaining their growth by furthering their exploration in helium and hydrogen potential in Australia and have recently released a production report that 17,344 boe, an increase of 43% compared to the six months to June 2021 of 12,143 boe.
