United Oil and Gas prevails despite pandemic

Liam Roche
-
0
United Oil and Gas prevails despite pandemic

United Oil and Gas expecting production levels to rise again in 2021

United Oil and Gas reflected on the year gone on Monday following a period of chaos caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The AIM-listed company announced that it has seen its production levels rise by nearly 25% for the year. This is despite a drop in demand for fuel due to the impact of lockdowns.

United Oil and Gas put it down to its acquisition of Rockhopper Egypt, along with other assets the company took into its control over the past year.

The group also gained ownership rights of licenses in Jamaica and in the continental basin in the UK’s North Sea.

For the year ahead, United Oil and Gas is expecting its production levels to rise again, with output expected at 2,500 to 2,700 barrels a day.

The group is expecting to double its spending, with most of its $6m investment set for a number of new wells in Egypt.

Chief executive Brian Larkin said: “2020 was a landmark year for United Oil and Gas, building on strong foundations to position ourselves as a full-cycle oil and gas company with strong production, diverse assets, an exceptional board and clearly defined avenues to deliver further material growth.”

“These were significant achievements despite one of the toughest years for our sector and wider markets caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“Building on this success is key for all at United Oil and Gas and we look forward to driving further activity and material growth in 2021 and beyond.”

Demand for online courses boosts Pearson sales

Liam Roche
-
0
Demand for online courses boosts Pearson sales

Pearson sees 25% surge in demand for programmes in its Global Online Learning division

Pearson, the education company, announced that robust demand for online learning courses enabled a 5% increase in its underlying revenue growth for the three months up to 31 March.

The FTSE 100 company also said via a trading update that it expects its revenue and profits to grow in 2021.

Pearson has adapted its marketing strategy by defining itself as a consumer-facing group, providing skills and training beyond its schools and college remit.

There was a 25% surge in demand for programmes in its Global Online Learning division, as people from across the world signed up for courses at virtual schools.

Only last week, Sidney Taurel, chair of Pearson, said he would step down after a row with shareholders ensued over the decision to pay chief executive Andy Bird a £7.2m sign on bonus.

Andy Bird, commented on the group’s start to the year: “It’s been a good start to the year for Pearson, delivering 5% sales growth in the quarter. This is despite a longer period of disruption from COVID-19 in the quarter compared to last year. I’d like to thank colleagues for their ongoing dedication and hard work,” Bird.

“We are building pace and momentum. We are making good strategic progress in our ongoing shift to digital, we are in the advanced stages of preparation for the forthcoming launch of our new college app and our organisational redesign is on track.”

“We continue to expect to deliver revenue and profit growth in 2021 and for our performance to be in line with our 2021 outlook as we benefit from improving trading conditions as COVID-19 restrictions ease. We are focused on executing our new strategy and believe that it will create sustainable and significant value for all of Pearson’s stakeholders.” 

Pearson was initially badly impacted by the pandemic as restrictions forced schools to close, while exams were also cancelled, causing its profit to fall by 40%.

New Main Market listing: PensionBee

Andrew Hore
-
0
New Main Market listing: PensionBee

PensionBee is the third company to join the High Growth Segment and the only one currently traded on this segment. The flotation will help to further raise the profile of the company and it enabled its customers to buy shares.
PensionBee was highlighted in a UK Investor Magazine article back in August 2016 as one of the ten UK start-ups to watch in 2016. (The list also included AI firm Darktrace, which will be gaining a premium listing in May.)
The FCA-regulated PensionBee has little more than a 0.1% share of its addressable market. Customer satisfaction ratings are high with 92% willing to re...

Alphawave chooses London for listing

Andrew Hore
-
0
Alphawave chooses London for listing

Alphawave IP has published its registration document ahead of a potential £3.2bn flotation on the Main Market. The Canada-based connectivity company has chosen the London market rather than a US stockmarket and it is moving its research and development headquarters to Cambridge in the UK.
Alphawave designs digital signal processing-based connectivity IP that enables data to travel faster, and the technology is included in network systems that process zettabytes of data. Management believes that Alphawave is the only non-US company offering the technology to global customers.
Alphawave has a si...

Revolting shareholders: Foxtons bonus upset

Andrew Hore
-
0
Revolting shareholders: Foxtons bonus upset

AGM season is in full swing and these days it is no longer certain that shareholders will back all the resolutions set out by a company. Nearly all the resolutions are passed but sometimes a significant minority of shareholders revolts.
If a company does not take note of the revolt, then it can grow in subsequent years. For example, there was a 21.5% vote against the latest remuneration report of veterinary practices operator CVS Group (LON: CVSG). The previous year there was a 11.1% vote against the same resolution and the year before it was 0.69%.
Government assistance has helped many compan...

Clarify Pharma in line for Aquis quotation

Andrew Hore
-
0
Clarify Pharma in line for Aquis quotation

Clarify Pharma is likely to be one of the next in line to float on the Access segment of the Aquis Stock Exchange. It has directors and investors in common with NFT Investments (LON: NFT) and Dispersion Holdings.
The stated strategy of Clarify Pharma is investing in alternative therapies and sciences. The focus is psychedelic medicine companies with clear paths to revenues. This could include clinics, biopharma companies and medical technology businesses.
There is already a website up and running (www.clarifypharma.com) and it has details of advisers and share capital ready for the Aquis quota...

ikigai launches first fintech in the UK to combine everyday banking and wealth management in one app

UK Investor Magazine
-
0
ikigai launches first fintech in the UK to combine everyday banking and wealth management in one app

This week Maurizio Kaiser and Edgar de Picciotto, co-founders of ikigai, join the UK Investor Podcast ahead of launching their crowdfunding campaign.

With more and more young people getting into investing in the wake of the pandemic, it’s never been more important to engage with new investors – especially as millennials are hitting their prime earning and spending years. 

ikigai is a brand new fintech and the first app in the UK to combine wealth management and everyday banking tools in one place. Here, we discuss their mission and vision for ikigai, how they’re helping a growing audience of affluent millennials, and why they’re reimagining the future of wealth. 

In this podcast you’ll also hear more about their crowdfunding campaign, launching on Crowdcube and aiming to raise £1.2 million. As a listener, you can also gain exclusive early access to their private phase and become a shareholder in ikigai. 

Find out more on their crowdfunding page here.

When investing your capital is at risk.

Covid policies raises government debt to highest point since World War Two

Liam Roche
-
0
Covid policies raises government debt to highest point since World War Two

UK public debt at 97.7% of GDP

Britain borrowed more money than at any point since World War Two as it attempted to deal with the damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

That is according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which said that the UK borrowed £303.1bn in the year ending in March. That is up from £57.1bn the year before, an increase of £246.1bn.

While the thee level of government borrowing was historically large, it was not as much as some anticipated it could be. Subsequently, the Treasury told financial markets on Friday morning that it would be issuing £43.3bn less debt in 2021/22 than initially planned, according to the Financial Times.

The budget deficit remains wide, however, as tax revenues plummeted and spending on health and furlough schemes rose due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Tax revenues fell while public spending on health services and furlough schemes surged.

Last year the UK government borrowed as much as 14.5% of GDP, an amount last surpassed after World War Two, when the UK borrowed 15.2% of everything produced in the economy.

The level of borrowing pushed the UK’s total accumulated public debt to 97.7% of GDP, the highest level since the early 1960s.

Michal Stelmach, senior economist at KPMG, said thee surge in debt was necessary to stave off further harm to the economy which could have resulted during the pandemic.

“Doing otherwise could have created long-lasting scars which would be far worse for fiscal sustainability,” he said.

Covid-19 cases well down for second week in a row

Liam Roche
-
0
Covid-19 cases well down for second week in a row

Last week 1 in 610 people had Covid-19

The number of people with Covid-19 has significantly fallen for the second consecutive week according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Over the course of last week 1 in 610 people had Covid-19, down from 1 in 480 the week before.

There were also sharp falls in cases in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

England, as of now, has finished the second stage of its route out of lockdown, as hospitality business and non-essential shops have now reopened.

The ONS’s figures come as the UK has been removed from the list of 20 countries worst impacted by the pandemic.

The successful vaccine roll-out, in addition to the third nationwide lockdown, has brought the daily death tally down from its peak of just under 2,000 to the single digits.

Over 33m have now received their first dose of the vaccine, 11m of which are fully vaccinated.

The FTSE 100 stayed quiet despite UK retail sales hitting a nine-month high.

Joe Biden pledges to cutting US carbon emissions by 50% by 2030

Liam Roche
-
0
Joe Biden pledges to cutting US carbon emissions by 50% by 2030

Other leaders from around the world made commitments to reduce emissions

Joe Biden announced yesterday that America is committed to halving its carbon emissions by 2030.

The President made the pledge during a global summit where the world’s leaders met virtually.

Biden began his address by saying: “The science is undeniable.”

“The cost of inaction just keeps mounting… we have to step up,” he added.

Since Biden replaced Trump in January 2021 he haas made a concerted effort to put climate change at the forefront of the nation’s agenda. The pledge is goes further than previous commitments by nearly double.

Biden continued: “Scientists tell us this is the decisive decade. This is the decade we must make decisions that will avoid the worst consequences of the climate crisis.”

Biden delivered a warning that it would be up to nations to come together to to solve the climate crisis.

“This is a moral imperative and an economic imperative… but also a moment of extraordinary possibilities.”

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson heaped praise on the move by the US President.

“It is vital for all of us to show that this is not all about some expensive, politically-correct green act of bunny hugging,” Johnson said.

“Let’s use this extraordinary moment and the incredible technology we are working on, to make this decade the moment of decisive change in the fight against climate change – and let’s do it together.”

The President of China Xi Jinping, who has come under much scrutiny over his country’s emissions, also spoke at the summit.

“strive to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060,” Xi said.

He added: “Mother nature has nourished us and we must treat nature as our root – respect it, protect it.”

President Joe Biden will also put forward a plan to raise taxes on America’s wealthiest people, including the largest-ever rise on taxes on investment gains.

The proposal is aimed at funding $1trn in childcare, universal pre-kindergarten education and paid leave for workers, Reuters reported.

1...9989991,000...1,824Page 999 of 1,824