Small caps news round-up
Surface Transforms was transforming its base of operations on Thursday, receiving a cash injection from a Liverpudlian investment fund and signing heads of terms for a lease on large new manufacturing premises. The AIM-traded producer of carbon-fibre reinforced ceramic materials said the offer, from the Merseyside Special Investment Fund, was for a combined package of £500,000 financial support via the Regional Growth Fund.
Petroceltic continued its refocus on Algeria on Thursday, announcing the completion of the sale of certain exploration licences in Egypt to its joint venture partner Edison International. The AIM-traded oil and gas exploration and production company had initially announced the sale plans on 23 December, for a cash consideration of $9.5m (£6.62m) after working capital adjustments of $5.8m.
Personal Group reported good trading in an update to the market on Thursday, but that could change in March as the company announced it was being dropped as the insurance provider to Royal Mail's workforce. The AIM-traded provider of employee benefits said the business was continuing to perform well with growth in new sales, top line revenue and bottom line profit.
Jarvis Securities was riding a wave of optimism in its full year results on Thursday, posting some positive numbers despite a mixed 12 months of trading to 31 December. During the year, the AIM-traded investment management firm saw revenue from continuing operations increase 4.1% to £7.61m, from £7.31m. Profit before tax was up 6.27% to £3.39m from £3.19m, and total profit was up 8.37% to £2.72m, from £2.51m.
Plant Impact revealed a significant expansion to its business on Thursday, announcing the establishment of a North American division in the US, and the appointment of Mike Eade as its commercial and marketing director. The AIM-traded crop enhancement research firm said the new subsidiary - a Delaware corporation - would establish its primary offices in the Research Triangle Park area of North Carolina.
European Metals reported some stong analytical results from its recent drilling at the Cinovec Lithium-Tin-Tungsten project north west of Prague, Czech Republic on Thursday, for the two remaining drillholes drilled in 2015. The AIM-traded firm said drillhole PSn01 returned a main intercept of 156 metres, averaging 0.46% lithium oxide. The mineralised intercept included a high-grade interval of 64 metres, averaging 0.63% lithium oxide.
Despite being on the verge of securing a crucial project partner, Madagascar Oil has warned it may delist from AIM in order to secure urgently needed funds from its major backers. After the providers of a $22m bridge loan refused to pony-up the final instalment, the oil producer and explorer was forced to go cap-in-hand to its major shareholders, which include many of those same lenders, to try and extract further investment.
BMR Group revealed the success of its open offer on Thursday, bringing in a little over half of the company's £750,000 target to fund the completion of its pilot plant and construction of its main tailings plant at the Kabwe mine in Zambia. The AIM-traded firm initially announced the open offer on 15 January, and made gross proceeds of £414,524 through the acceptance of 13,817,453 new shares at 3p per share.