88 Energy announces Philip Byrne as new chairman

Liam Roche
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88 Energy announces Philip Byrne as new chairman

Byrne is a petroleum geologist with over 40 years’ experience in the industry

88 Energy (AIM:88E) announced on Monday that Philip Byrne has been appointed as Non-Executive Chairman and to the board of the oil exploration company.

Byrne will replace Michael Evans, who retired after seven years in the role.

The new 88 Energy Non-Executive Chairman, Phil Byrne, commented: “I am delighted to be joining the 88 Energy team at this exciting time. The Company’s suite of world-class acreage on the North Slope of Alaska offers huge potential for shareholder value in my eyes. I look forward to assisting the management team in the drive to unlock this value through our appraisal and exploration activities over coming seasons.”

Byrne is a petroleum geologist with over 40 years’ experience in the international oil and gas industry.

The AIM-listed company made two additional appointments in order to boost the management team. Robert Benkovic has been hired as 88 Energy’s new new chief operating officer, while Joanne Kendrick is a new-non-executive director.

Benkovic is a petroleum engineer and subsurface manager with almost 25 years’ experience across the oil and gas industry. Previous industry roles he has held include Group Manager, Reservoir Engineering at Inpex Corp, Kharaib Section Head at Maersk Oil, Reservoir Engineering Expert and Senior Reservoir Engineer at Apache Corp, Senior Petroleum Engineer at Schlumberger and Petroleum Engineer at Origin Energy.

While Kendrick is currently a Non-Executive Director of Buru Energy Limited and Sacgasco Limited and has previously held Board and senior management positions with various international oil and gas companies including more recently as Managing Director and CEO of Blue Star Helium.

The 88 Energy share price is up by 7.19% during the morning session on Monday.

HSBC profit soars on recovery from pandemic

Liam Roche
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HSBC profit soars on recovery from pandemic

HSBC’s pre-tax profit reaches $10.8bn (£7.8bn)

HSBC confirmed on Monday its decision to pay an interim dividend after its pre-tax profit surged to $5.1bn during Q2.

The FTSE 100 bank continued to cancel provisions made in order to cover credit losses during the pandemic as it saw an improvement in the economic outlook.

HSBC’s profit before tax for H1 rose to $10.8bn (£7.8bn), up from $4.3bn year-on-year.

The bank confirmed it had been profitable across all regions during the period.

Noel Quinn, Group Chief Executive, said: “These are good results that reflect the return of growth in our main markets and marked progress in the execution of our strategy. We were profitable in every region in the first half of the year, supported by the release of expected credit loss provisions.”

“Our lending pipeline began to translate into business growth in the second quarter and we further strengthened that pipeline during the half. This performance enables us to pay an interim dividend for the first six months of 2021.”

“I’m pleased with the momentum generated around our growth and transformation plans, with good delivery against all four pillars of our strategy. In particular, we have taken firm steps to define the future of our US and continental Europe businesses, and further enhanced our global Wealth capabilities.”

HSBC reinstated its dividend payout following the economic recovery in two of its key markets, Britain and Hong Kong.

The bank will pay an interim dividend of $0.07 per share after the Bank of England gave a green light to do so last month.

HSBC cancelled an additional $300m of provisions made for bad debts during the pandemic in Q2. Over the course of the year, HSBC cancelled $700m of reserves. This means the total of its increase reserves now stands at $2.4bn.

The HSBC share price (LON:HSBA) is up by 1.57% during the morning session on Monday.

New AIM admission: Big Technologies goes to huge premium

Andrew Hore
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New AIM admission: Big Technologies goes to huge premium

Big Technologies has developed remote monitoring technology which is mainly used in the criminal justice sector and is sold on a subscription basis. This means that it has recurring revenues and contract wins are enabling it to grow rapidly. Big Technologies has never permanently lost a customer.
One of the attractions is the high gross margins of the business, although they have declined in the short-term as the company gears up for further growth. Even so, pre-tax profit is still growing faster than revenues. Like-for-like revenues grew by 60% in the first quarter.
In three days of trading t...

New standard listing: Spinnaker Acqusitions targets sustainable acquisition

Andrew Hore
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New standard listing: Spinnaker Acqusitions targets sustainable acquisition

Spinnaker Acquisitions is a shell that has been brought to the market by the same team that floated Spinnaker Opportunities, which eventually acquired cannabis products supplier Kanabo (LON: KNB).
Spinnaker Acquisitions is seeking to use shares to acquire a business in the sustainability and energy transition services markets. The existing board would not run the business being acquired but it would offer advice and direction. The first acquisition would provide a base for further purchases. The valuation of the initial acquired business is likely to be between £5m and £30m.
The share price ha...

Deliveroo announces plans to pull out of Spain

Liam Roche
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Deliveroo announces plans to pull out of Spain

Spain accounted for fewer than 2% of Deliveroo’s overall sales in H1 2021

Deliveroo (LON:ROO) is weighing up the possibility of ceasing its services in Spain because of the high costs involved in operating in the country.

The food delivery company added on Friday that it may seek to focus its resources on other markets by expanding into new locations.

“The company has determined that achieving and sustaining a top-tier market position in Spain would require a disproportionate level of investment with highly uncertain long-term potential returns,” Deliveroo said in a statement.

A spokesperson for Deliveroo specifically said that Spain’s employment rights law was not the reason, although it was confirmed that it did contribute to the earlier than initially expected withdrawal.

Back in March the Spanish government revealed its intention to give employment rights to workers food delivery companies and similar platforms in what was a landmark ruling.

According to Deliveroo, Spain accounted for fewer than 2% of its overall sales in H1 2021.

The Deliveroo share price is up by 2.77% on Friday following the announcement.

The London-listed food delivery company operates in 12 markets across Europe, as well as Hong Kong, with around 50% of its revenue coming from the UK and Ireland.

The Deliveroo share price surged towards the end of June as a UK court ruled that the people who deliver the food on bikes are self-employed. The ruling was passed by three judges who came to a unanimous agreement.

“Concern about the company’s reliance on the gig economy model was one of the factors which contributed to its disastrous IPO in March,” said Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

Problems continue for the ECB as CPI rises

Liam Roche
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Problems continue for the ECB as CPI rises

CPI reached 2.2%, surpassing expectations

EU GDP surpassed expectations of 1.5%, reaching 2% for the quarter gone, according to Eurostat.

Among the EU nations for which data are available for Q2 2021, Portugal, up by 4.9%, recorded the highest increase compared to the quarter before.

Consumer price index (CPI), a measure that examines the weighted average of prices of a basket of consumer goods and services, reached 2.2%, 0.2% above analysts’ expectations.

The news comes amid concerns over inflationary pressures across the world and the potential impact.

Commenting on EU GDP and CPI, Jesús Cabra Guisasola, Associate at Validus Risk Management, said: “The eurozone economy expanded at a rate not since in decades, with GDP during Q2 rising at 2%. The strongest rebounds came from the southern countries as the economies continue lifting restrictions for the summer season. In addition CPI numbers in the Eurozone rose in July 2.2% and came above the market expectations of 2.0%. However, the core CPI was lower compared to a month ago and in line with most forecasters at 0.7% vs 0.9% in June.”

Similar to the Fed, Guisasola does not expect today’s news to compel the ECB to change its stimulus measures aimed at boosting the EU.

“Nevertheless, we do not expect these figures would change the ECB’s plan to continue supporting the economy with favourable financing conditions in the coming months, as the institution recently signalled the regions still a “long way to go” to recover from the pandemic. Moreover, the central bank recently changed its inflation target by letting the CPI to move above or below the 2% level when needed.”

The dollar lost ground against the euro over the past as the Fed took a dovish tone, according to Guisasola.

“On the FX market, the dollar has depreciated against the euro in recent days after the dovish tone from the Fed, and the disappointed Q2 GDP numbers from the US released yesterday, where the economy posted a growth lower than expected.”

Eurozone inflation fell in June amid a fall in the price of oil, according to data published last month.

Inflation across the EU was down by 0.1% from May to 1.9% in June.

The figure matched the European Central Bank’s inflation target of below but close to 2%.

SolGold share price set to close in the red for fifth consecutive week

Liam Roche
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SolGold Share Price

The SolGold share price (LON:SOLG) is down by 2.92% on Friday, as the emerging copper-gold major looks set to close in the red for the fifth week in a row. Over the past month the SolGold share price gave away 6.67%, now trading at 26.6p per share. Investors may be concerned over the recent trajectory, while others may be excited by the possibility of buying the dip. The hierarchy at SolGold remains optimistic about the near-term outlook of the company.

Outlook

SolGold is confident it will put forward strong results for the remainder of the current year.

The current quarter will see increased active exploration activity at SolGold’s regional exploration projects with preparations advancing for the commencement of drilling at the Rio Amarillo and Sharug projects, SolGold said in its recent update, while drilling at the Porvenir and Blanca projects is currently underway.

About SolGold

SolGold is a leading resources company focussed on the discovery, definition and development of copper and gold deposits. The London-listed company, with 76 concessions covering approximately 3,100km², is the largest and most active concession holder in Ecuador and is aggressively exploring the length and breadth of this highly prospective and gold-rich section of the Andean Copper Belt which is currently responsible for c40% of global mined copper production.

SolGold employs a staff of over 800 employees of whom 98% are Ecuadorean.

Budget day could be in 2022 as Rishi Sunak avoids naming day

Liam Roche
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Budget day could be in 2022 as Rishi Sunak avoids naming day

In recent years budgets have been postponed until March due to unprecedented events

Rumours are circulating that chancellor Rishi Sunak will delay his budget until 2022.

The speculation came after Sunak asked the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to prepare an economic forecast to be put to parliament at the end of October.

It is customary for the OBR’s release to come with a budget or spending review, however, Sunak did not announce either.

It was reported earlier in July that Rishi Sunak is considering delaying the budget until the spring, as there will be a clearer picture of the UK’s economic outlook.

This is especially true at the present time as the furlough scheme is set to end, while inflation and tax breaks are on the horizon, meaning there will be a great day of economic upheaval.

Since 2017 yearly budget are supposed to take place in October or November to allow time to implement tax changes before the new tax year begins in April.

More recently budgets have been postponed until March due to unprecedented events including elections and the coronavirus pandemic.

Soggy end to July for the markets across the world

Liam Roche
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Soggy end to July for the markets across the world

Friday appears to be a downbeat finish to the week and month for markets in the UK and abroad, as the FTSE 100 gave away 0.8%, falling to 7,022 points.

“It’s looking like a soggy end to July both in meteorological terms and with the markets as so-so numbers from Amazon and a sell-off in Asia linked to Covid concerns had a dampening effect on sentiment,” says AJ Bell financial analyst Danni Hewson.

Disappointing results from highly rated testing specialist Intertek and IAG, as well as a downbeat reaction to Natwest’s latest numbers, did little to lift the mood.

“The mining sector also slumped and investors continued to fret about the Chinese crackdown on its technology sector, despite Beijing’s efforts to dial back some of its recent rhetoric. There was talk about targeted rather than broad-based action,” said Hewson.

“As the flood of corporate updates on both sides of the Atlantic slows to a stream and then a trickle, we enter the summer lull for the markets – although this can be a dangerous time for equities.”

“With experienced investors away from their desks on holiday and trading volumes lower, it sometimes doesn’t take much for a market correction to begin and with Covid-19, inflationary pressures and regulatory crackdowns all in the background, there are a plenty of a potential catalysts for a sell-off.”

FTSE 100 Top Movers

Pearson (2.36%), the only company to get beyond a decimal place at the time of writing, along with Segro (0.96%) and Sage Group (0.92%), are leading the way on the FTSE 100 during the morning session.

At the bottom end, Intertek (-7.53%), IAG (-3.35%) and Weir Group (-2.97%) are dragging on the FTSE 100.

IAG

IAG, the owner of British Airways, confirmed on Friday that it fell to a €2bn (£1.7bn) H1 loss as travel restrictions continue to work against the airline.

The FTSE 100 firm flew at a capacity of 21.9% during Q2, while it is expecting this figure to rise to 45% for the coming quarter.

Natwest

NatWest will return more than £3bn to shareholders via dividends and share buybacks over the coming years, as the FTSE 100 bank swung into the black on the back of the brightening outlook of the UK economy. 

The banking giant made a £1.6bn profit before tax for the three month period to June, swinging from a £1.3bn loss for the same period a year ago, surpassing analyst forecasts.

Cineworld secures £143m loan ahead of a busy period of film releases

Liam Roche
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Cineworld secures £143m loan ahead of a busy period of film releases

The loan provides ‘operating flexibility‘ says Cineworld CEO

Cineworld (LON:CINE) confirmed on Friday that it will receive £143m in loans to help secure its finances as the company looks ahead to a busy period of film releases for the remainder of 2021.

The FTSE 250 company’s loan was agreed with already existing lenders and will mature in May 2024.

The cinema chain also said it agreed amendments to covenants on some of its existing debt facilities, including reducing the minimum liquidity requirement and relaxing limitations on the use of cash, as well as other modifications that will provide further support as its cinemas restart trading.

It is the most recent portion of fundraising after Cineworld secured $203m via the US CARES Act in May and raised $213m though a convertible bond in March.

Cineworld said these measures will boost its balance sheet as it recovers from the impact of repeated closures during lockdown.

Cineworld said that its trading has continued to improve as its cinemas began reopening in April.

“The additional liquidity announced today provides the group with significant operating flexibility now that cinemas have opened across the world,” said chief executive Mooky Greidinger.

“We are monitoring the evolution of the virus and its potential impact on our business, but we are very excited about the potential of the unprecedented slate of films in the second half of 2021 (mainly in the fourth quarter). We remain confident in the prospects for our business and continue to look forward to welcoming our customers back to the best place to watch a movie.”

The Cineworld share price is down by 1.17% during the morning session on Friday.

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