Reckitt feels the impact of rising commodity prices

Liam Roche
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0
Reckitt feels the impact of rising commodity prices

Reckitt made £6.5bn in revenue over the past six months

Reckitt (LON:RKT), the FTSE 100 consumer goods group, confirmed the impact of inflation on its Q2 results as commodity costs rose sharply.

The manufacturer of Dettol and other such cleaning products said its sales slowed down as the high levels of demand seen at the beginning of the pandemic eased off.

Reckitt made £6.5bn in revenue over the past six months, which was just below analysts’ expectations.

The company’s balance sheet was buoyed by the sale of its Chinese infant formula business for approximately £1.5bn in June.

Reckitt confirmed a loss before tax during H1 of £1.94bn, a swing from a £1.44bn profit the year before.

Its operating profit margins narrowed 2.9% in H1 to 21.6%, down to rising commodity prices, Reckitt said.

“Cost inflation accelerated in the second quarter and it will take time to offset this headwind with productivity and pricing actions being implemented,” chief executive Laxman Narasimhan said.

Over the course of the past year Reckitt recorded record sales levels as demand for cleaning products and cold and flu brands soared.

As consumers tended to remain at home during the pandemic, cooking and washing more, demand for the related good increased.

“Overall demand in the disinfectant category remains significantly higher than pre-Covid levels and the two-year stacked growth of our hygiene portfolio is up 34.1 per cent, compared to a normal growth rate, pre-Covid, of around four per cent,” Narasimham said.

The company is expecting the coming quarter to be a bit slower in comparison with strong results from 2020 and the year before.

“We are encouraged by the progress we have made to strengthen the foundations of the business and reposition ourselves for sustainable growth. We expect to exit 2022 with a revenue growth run rate in the mid-single digits as we make our way towards our medium-term adjusted operating profit margin target in the mid-20s by the mid-20s,” Narasimham said.

The Reckitt share price is down by 9.28% during the morning session.

Quantum Blockchain Technologies share price explodes amid resurgence in crypto

Liam Roche
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2
Quantum Blockchain Technologies share price explodes amid resurgence in crypto

Quantum Blockchain Technologies Share Price

The Quantum Blockchain Technologies share price has soared by 40% on Monday as the crypto market staged a rally. Over the past month the crypto-focused company, listed on the AIM market, is now up by 22.5% per share to 1.20p. Investors will be hoping it is the beginning of a mini-resurgence for the group, formerly known as Clear Leisure, that reinvented itself as a crypto firm.

About Quantum Blockchain Technologies

Quantum Blockchain Technologies has commenced its R&D and investments programme in blockchain technology, including cryptocurrencies mining and other advanced blockchain applications.

Quantum’s R&D will focus on Cryptography, bringing together the most advanced implementation techniques and functions, along with quantum computing technologies and AI deep learning, to develop a new and disruptive approach to blockchain technology.

The company’s investment programme is focused on selecting the most innovative and out-of-the-box start-ups in the blockchain and cryptocurrencies sector, with whom Quantum will work alongside to develop exciting synergies.

Therefore, it is logical that the Quantum Blockchain Technologies share price will be in line with the value of the cryptocurrency market.

Crypto

Fortunately for the Quantum Blockchain Technologies share price, crypto is on the move again.

The price of bitcoin surged by 11.07% overnight, reaching its highest point in over one month, above £28,000. 

It follows a reversal in the crypto market to a more bullish sentiment following mass sell-offs across April, May and June. 

Bitcoin’s rally coincided with other cryptocurrencies, including Ether, up by 8.14% in the past 24 hours, and Chainlink, up 14.47%.

Quantum Blockchain will seek to capitalise on the need for more energy-efficient crypto mining methods in the near-future, especially as concerns are being raised over the high amounts of electricity used by bitcoin miners

Mode PLC: Bitcoin and Open Banking with Jonathan Rowland

UK Investor Magazine
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0
Mode PLC: Bitcoin and Open Banking with Jonathan Rowland

The UK Investor Magazine Podcast is joined by Jonathan Rowland, Chairman of Mode PLC.

Mode PLC provides Bitcoin and Open Banking services to it’s users and is a unique position here in the UK.

Mode have recently partnered with The Hut Group (THG), one of largest e-commerce groups in the UK, for Mode payments integration meaning 30+ THG brands will display Mode as a payment option at their online checkout.

Mode has also just launched their new payments solution in BETA so Mode app users will be able to utilise business payment solutions.

From a regulatory perspective, Mode became the fifth company to achieve AMLD5 registration with the FCA and Jonathan discusses how this demonstrates the strength of their business.

Register for the Mode PLC Investor Presentation here.

Scottish Mortgage share price dips as Tencent comes under pressure

Liam Roche
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0
Scottish Mortgage share price dips as Tencent comes under pressure

Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Share Price

The Scottish Mortgage share price is down by 0.87% following a further crackdown by China on its technology sector which caused a drop in the share price of Tencent, one of the fund’s prominent holdings. The set back comes as Scottish Mortgage was beginning to establish some momentum following a sharp fall towards the beginning of the year.

Over the past month the Scottish Mortgage share price is up by 1.65%, while since the beginning of the year the FTSE 100 company has added 9.36%. With 18.68% of the fund – 5.83% being Tencent – consisting of Chinese companies, investors may be concerned over the measures taken by the government, and what it means for the Scottish Mortgage share price.

Tencent

Over the weekend, the State Administration of Market Regulation (SAMR), China’s market regulator, announced that it was blocking Tencent from acquiring copyright agreements with labels, as well as fining the company £56,000 with regard to its previous acquisition of China Music Corporation in 2016.

The regulator said Tencent would have received an unfair competitive advantage.

As a result of the ruling, Tencent will lose exclusive music deals with major labels including Universal Music Group, Sony Music and Warner Music.

Another of Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust’s major holdings, Alibaba, also came under pressure, receiving a $2.8bn for abusing its market power.

The Tencent share price closed 7.72% on 26 July, while the Alibaba share price has fallen by 4.14%.

The Scottish Mortgage share price, along with other China and emerging markets-focused investment firms, have taken hits as the Chinese government comes down on big tech. It could cause investors to consider the pros and cons of investing in the region moving forward.

Bitcoin soars overnight as short sellers feel the squeeze and Amazon rumours continue

Liam Roche
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0
Bitcoin soars overnight as short sellers feel the squeeze and Amazon rumours continue

The price of bitcoin surged by 11.07% overnight, reaching its highest point in over one month, above £28,000.

It follows a reversal in the crypto market to a more bullish sentiment following mass sell-offs across April, May and June.

Bitcoin’s rally coincided with other cryptocurrencies, including Ether, up by 8.14% in the past 24 hours, and Chainlink, up 14.47%.

While it is not immediately obvious what caused the upwards surge, there are a few contending possible factors.

Firstly, there is the ‘B’ word conference which caused an initial spike, as Jack Dorsey, Cathie Wood and Elon Musk discussed bitcoin’s credentials in front of the world.

Last night’s move could be a continuation in the momentum established after Musk made a series of revelations regarding his rocket company SpaceX, bitcoin and a potential u-turn by Tesla.

Then there are rumours continuing to circulate that major business institutions are set to take steps to incorporate bitcoin into their operations.

It has been reported elsewhere that Amazon is planning to accept bitcoin payments by the end of 2021, in addition to exploring the possibility of creating a token of its own.

“This isn’t just going through the motions to set up cryptocurrency payment solutions at some point in the future – this is a full-on, well-discussed, integral part of the future mechanism of how Amazon will work,” a source told City AM.

“It begins with Bitcoin – this is the key first stage of this crypto project, and the directive is coming from the very top… Jeff Bezos himself.”

Another possible cause is investors, who are short on bitcoin, betting the price off the cryptocurrency would fall further.

Such investors, when the price goes higher against their expectations, are forced to cut their losses and exit their positions.

“I think the extent of the jump was probably driven by over-leverage shorts,” said Vijay Ayyar, head of business development at cryptocurrency exchange Luno.

Monument Therapeutics raises £2.625m in seed funding from o2h Ventures

Liam Roche
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4
Monument Therapeutics raises £2.625m in seed funding from o2h Ventures

Monument Therapeutics will focus on applying digital biomarkers to neuroscience drug development

Monument Therapeutics, the stratified medicine company, confirmed on Monday that it has raised £2.625m in seed funding to spin out of Cambridge Cognition.

The new company’s focus will be on applying digital biomarkers to neuroscience drug development with the aim of matching patient sub-groups with approximately targeted compounds.

Monument Therapeutics applies a novel drug development strategy, leveraging digital assessments of cognition to match patients with new pharmaceutical treatments.

The company has a pipeline of promising drug development programmes, with the most advanced two being for cognitive impairment in schizophrenia and post-operative cognitive dysfunction (“POCD”).

Schizophrenia affects around 20m people across the world, however there are no approved treatments for the common and disabling cognitive impairment associated with the disorder.

POCD is a condition arising from major surgery, which can result in cognitive impairment for patients over the age of 65 both immediately (50-80% at discharge) and persistently (10-30% six months post-surgery). Almost 250m major surgical procedures are performed globally every year but there is no dedicated treatment for POCD.

In both approaches, Monument Therapeutics is de-risking development by repurposing drugs with a favourable safety profile and proven mechanisms of action, and combining these with proprietary cognitive stratification tools licensed from Cambridge Cognition.

To develop these programmes as an independent company, Monument Therapeutics has secured £2.625m in funding from a consortium of experienced technology and life science investors led by Catapult Ventures’ Greater Manchester and Cheshire Life Sciences Fund and Neo Kuma Ventures, with participation from o2h Ventures, Wren Capital, and angel investors.

Jenny Barnett, Cambridge Cognition’s Chief Scientific Officer, who has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Monument Therapeutics, said: “A major challenge when developing drugs for patients with psychiatric and neurological conditions is that clinical diagnoses are usually imprecise: two people with the same diagnosis may have little overlap in their biology or symptoms.”

“Fortunately, digital phenotyping can help to stratify these patients, much as areas such as oncology have done with genetic testing. In pursuit of this goal, Monument Therapeutics has put together a team with deep drug development knowledge coupled with unique digital biomarker expertise to bring innovative stratified treatments to market. We are grateful to Cambridge Cognition for incubating the company and for the funding received from the incoming investors.”

Heathrow calls on UK government to open up following $4bn in losses

Liam Roche
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0
Heathrow calls on UK government to open up following $4bn in losses

Heathrow expecting pent-up demand for holidays to bring passenger levels up to 21.5m people in 2021

Heathrow Airport has called upon the UK government to open travel to to passengers who have been vaccinated as its pandemic-induced losses reached £2.9bn.

Prior to the pandemic, Heathrow was one of the busiest airports in Europe. However, during the first half of 2021, fewer than 4m people travelled via the London airport. The number would have been surpassed in less than three weeks in 2019.

The airport is expecting pent-up demand for holidays to bring about a surge in passenger levels, up to 21.5m people, for the remainder of 2021.

During the fist six months of 2021, Heathrow’s revenue came in at £348m, down from £712m compared to the same period in 2020, meaning its loss before tax increased by 18% to just over £1bn.

Heathrow also revealed it had increased liquidity to £4.8bn.

The airport said that changes to the quarantine and testing requirements for passengers arriving in the UK were “encouraging”, however it said the rules for international travellers are continuing to hold back the UK economy from making a full recovery.

The airport has called upon the UK government to open it up to tourists who have been vaccinated from both Europe and the US.

The airport’s chief executive John Holland-Kaye, said: “Replacing PCR tests with lateral flow tests and opening up to EU and US vaccinated travellers at the end of July will start to get Britain’s economic recovery off the ground.”

“The European markets not only are open with each other, but they’ve also opened up to the United States, which they see as being a relatively low-risk country,” said Mr Holland-Kaye. “They’re allowing people who have been double-vaccinated to come from the US. That’s seen a massive uplift in the number of travellers from there.”

FTSE 100 makes sluggish start to jam-packed week ahead

Liam Roche
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0
FTSE 100 makes sluggish start to jam-packed week ahead

The FTSE 100 faltered on Monday morning, down 0.4% to 6,9931, after mixed trading in Asia overnight linked to a further crackdown by China on its technology sector.

“This set a downbeat tone to what could be a defining week for the markets as some of the biggest US companies report their second quarter earnings and the US Federal Reserve delivers its latest update on interest rates and financial stimulus,” says AJ Bell financial analyst Danni Hewson.

“That meeting on Wednesday isn’t expected to see any rate increase but could see at least the suggestion of a tapering of support for the economy as the Fed weighs inflation risks,” Hewson added.

A second estimate of US GDP for the second quarter will also draw attention later in the week, while a number of major UK companies are set to report, including the banks.

“Expectations for the UK banking sector have been lifted in recent weeks by a strong showing from their American cousins and the decision to give them the green light to start paying dividends again. These heightened expectations could be tough to match.”

FTSE 100 Top Movers

Miners Antofagasta (1.64%), Rio Tinto (1.64%) and Anglo American (1.16%) are leading the way on the FTSE 100 one Monday.

While trailing the pack of UK companies is HSBC (-1.83%), Standard Chartered (-1.74%) and Vodafone (-1.62%).

Castillo Copper returns up to 9% copper in Big One Deposit assays

Liam Roche
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0
Castillo Copper returns up to 9% copper in Big One Deposit assays

Castillo Copper share price well down during morning session

Castillo Copper Limited (LON:CCZ) confirmed on Monday that the initial assays for drill-holes BO_315-317RC returned up to 9.19% Cu and verified extensions to known mineralisation at the Big One Deposit in Mt Isa’s copper-belt.

Additionally, visual inspection of samples from drill-holes BO_322-27RC identified further copper mineralisation, with the best intercept of 26m found in BO_326RC.

The Castillo Copper share price is down by 8.37% during the morning session on Monday following the announcement.

https://twitter.com/CastilloCopper/status/1419549304688099329?s=20

Highlights

  • Initial assays for drill-holes BO_315-317RC verify up to 9.19% Cu and clearly extends known mineralisation – the best intercepts are summarised below:
    • 9m @ 1.42% Cu from 88m including 4m @ 3.06% Cu from 92m & 1m @ 9.19% Cu from 92m (BO_317RC)
    • 5m @ 1.06% Cu from 141m (BO_316RC)
    • 3m @ 1.22% Cu from 65m (BO_315RC)

Encouragingly, visual inspection shows new drill-holes have potentially intersected copper mineralisation up to 26m – the best intercepts are shown in Figure 1:

Figure 1: Best Intercepted Mineralisation

Borehole From (m)To (m)Apparent Thickness (m)
BO_322RC5773.516.5
BO_323RC829715.0
BO_324RC415312.0
BO_326RC13416026.0
BO_327RC60688.0
BO_327RC81908.0
BO_327RC90999.0

Assays for samples from priority drill-holes BO_318RC1 & BO_326RC, which exhibited visual copper intercepts up to 34m & 26m respectively, should be back shortly as the laboratory is fast-tracking the analysis

  • Holistically, a closer examination of the initial assay results by Castillo’s geology team, highlights the following interpretations:
    • Factoring the new data points into the preliminary geological model for the Big One Deposit suggests the underlying system is larger than initially envisaged;
    • There is now increasing evidence that copper mineralisation is potentially structural as it extends beyond the trachyte/dacite dyke; and
    • Using geophysics has enabled significantly better targeting and, in turn, optimised the results of the drilling campaign so far

Simon Paull, Managing Director of Castillo Copper, said: “It is encouraging there is a strong correlation between visual mineralisation and the assays, as the Board optimistically looks forward to receiving further results. Otherwise, the progress of the drilling campaign is taking shape, especially verification the underlying copper system at the Big One Deposit is likely to be larger than our geology team’s initial expectations.”

Castillo Copper is an Australian-based explorer, primarily focused on copper across Australia and Zambia.

This Disruptive Technology share now has a game changing application

UK Investor Magazine
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0
This Disruptive Technology share now has a game changing application

Unless you are of school age you may have already heard this company say that before… . For over twenty years it has been specialising in suppling and developing technologies that make plastic and rubber products smarter, safer, and sustainable. It’s a big sector to play in and there have been disappointments along the way but at last new approvals make the development of mass market application seem an inevitable game changer.
Last year the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, [FDA] approval its d2p additive for its antimicrobial food contact technology packaging allowing it to be used in wr...

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