Small cap news round-up
Gym Group muscled its way into the black in 2016 and has started 2017 well as it continues to push its disruptive no-contract model as part of its plans for rapid expansion.
For the calendar year, the company turned over £73.5m, an increase of 22.6% o the previous year, with adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation up 33% to £22.7m.
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Shares in LPA Group fell on Tuesday after the electromechanical manufacturer warned that margins in the first half of the year are expected to be lower than last year due to reduced aerospace activity and the collapse of one of its oil customers.
Chairman Michael Rusch said the company remains “cautious at this point in the year” but expects good progress for the year as a whole, given that its order book for the next three years remains close to record levels.
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West Africa-focussed mineral exploration and development company Kodal Minerals announced the results of the recently-completed trenching campaign and update on high-grade rock chip samples returned from the ongoing exploration programme at the Bougouni Lithium Project in Southern Mali on Tuesday.
The AIM-traded firm also announced the commencement of reverse circulation drilling at the project with drilling planned to target extensions to the “excellent results” returned previously from the Ngoualana prospect as well as complete reconnaissance testing of those new priority targets.
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Eastern Mediterranean-focussed high-end residential resort investor Dolphin Capital Investors announced the completion of the disposal of its 60% interest in Pearl Island, the private island development off the coast of Panama, to Grivalia Hospitality on Tuesday.
The AIM-traded firm said it received the €27m cash consideration on 13 March, of which €2m would remain in escrow for a period of 12 months post-completion to cover any potential breach of DCI's warranties or undisclosed indebtedness.
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Coal of Africa provided its interim financial statements for the six months to 31 December on Tuesday, continuing its record of no fatalities from the same period in 2015 and no lost time injuries recorded during the year.
The AIM-traded firm posted a decrease in its loss for the period to $12.97m from $14.3m, with the board reporting “consistent progress” in the regulatory requirements for its projects.
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AIM-listed multi-commodity explorer Sula Iron & Gold has raised about £500,000 to extend an ongoing diamond drilling programme at its Ferensola gold project in Sierra Leone.
The company raised £500,000 before expenses in a placing of 128.59m new shares priced at 0.40p each, a 13% discount on the closing middle-market price on Monday.
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Shares in RapidCloud International surged on Tuesday, as the web-solutions provider announced that founder Chee Han Wen ‘Raymond’ has resigned as chief executive and a member of the board with immediate effect.
Raymond has been replaced by Chew Man Fai as interim chief executive, who has also been appointed to the board as executive director.
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Metminco announced on Tuesday that it received an updated and improved mineral resource estimate for the Miraflores gold deposit in Colombia prepared by Metal Mining Consultantsbased in Denver, Colorado, in accordance with the guidelines of the JORC Code.
The AIM-traded firm said the updated mineral resource estimate, which was undertaken to provide the basis of the detailed mine plan for the Miraflores Feasibility Study, replaced the previous JORC statement completed by MMC that was released to the market on 21 July 2016.
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Shares in Kalibrate Technologies are down more than 8% as investors reacted to a partially currency-driven drop in first-half revenue, accompanied with a swing to pre-tax loss for the period.
The company posted a first-half pre-tax loss of $700,000, from a profit of $130,000 a year before. It said revenue declined 11.7% to $14.1m, from $15.9m.
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Shares in Premier African Minerals are up almost 4% after it confirmed Circum Minerals, in which it holds a 2% stake, had its mining licence for the Danakil Potash Project approved.
The licence was approved by the Council of Ministers of the Government of Ethiopia.
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Retail software company Eagle Eye and TCC Global, a retail marketing company, have teamed up to deliver digital loyalty campaigns for European retailers.
The digital solutions will provide data to TCC to produce customer loyalty campaigns in a bid to grow sales for retailers, while retailers will redeem data in order to provide cost savings to customers.
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Shares in STM Group are up almost 3% after it posted a slight rise in full-year pre-tax profit, despite it warning the Government's proposed new QROPS policy has led the company to lower its 2017 revenue expectations by about £1.1m.
Revenue for 2016 was up 8% to £17.4m, from £16.2m. This led to a pre-tax profit of £2.8m, from £2.7m. Recommended total dividend was 1.5p a share.
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Drug developer C4X Discovery is to raise £7m in order to strengthen its balancing sheet amid discussions for partnerships and strategic collaborations.
The company aims to capture the increasing value related to pre-clinical licensing deals by focussing on disease areas with high partnering interest with the current areas of focus being inflammation, neurodegeneration, immuno-oncology and diabetes.
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Online distribution and digital product company Crossrider announced its final results for the year ended 31 December on Tuesday, with revenue of $56.5m, down from $84.6m in 2015.
The AIM-traded firm said the decrease was primarily due to the expected decline and decision to cease investment in the web apps platform.
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Natural gas developer Saffron Energy’s off-take contract with Royal Dutch Shell has been extended to 1 October 2018 with a deal for a further one-year extension.
As part of the agreement, Saffron's subsidiary Northsun Italia provides off take gas for all Shell Energy Italia’s gas fields in Italy.
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Solid-state battery technology innovator Ilika announced a two-year collaborative project with Galvani Bioelectronics to develop a solid state battery for miniature medical implants on Tuesday.
The AIM-traded company's ‘Stereax’ batteries have a high power density, a long battery life and can be produced in miniature form, the board said, making them particularly suitable for such micro-devices.
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London-listed investor Black Sea Property is to buy the UniCredit Bulbank building in Bulgaria for €10.52m, subject to approval from the Italian bank’s management and supervisory board.
The company’s subsidiary, BSPF Bulgaria, was successful in its tender offer to buy from UniCredit Bulbank an office building in Ivan Vazov Street in the capital Sofia.
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Shares in Thalassa are up more than 3% after it said advanced preparation of mobilisation for WGP Group Ltd's North Sea projects in spring 2017 was now well underway, with operations expected to begin as scheduled in April.
"Further to last December's revenue outlook for 2017, the board (of Thalassa) anticipates that WGP revenue from seismic operations will be between $15 and $16 million, up between 30% and 40% as compared to corresponding estimated revenue of $11.6 million for 2016," it said.
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Shares in Stadium Group were ahead about 7% thanks to an improved full-year pre-tax profit, even though its revenue ticked a little lower, with an order book at record levels at period's end.
"Our order book at the year-end was at record levels, up 36% on the previous year end at £25.8m," noted chairman Nick Brayshaw.
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Shares in Surgical Innovations rose more than 8% after it returned to full-year pre-tax profit.
"Management have now demonstrated a track record of financial success, and built a robust platform for future development of the business," said executive chairman Nigel Rogers.