Novacyt S.A. (NCYT), an international molecular diagnostics company, announced changes to the Board of Directors. Lyn Rees, Executive Director, has been appointed Chief Executive Officer and James McCarthy will step down from the Board as Acting CEO, both effective from 1 May 2024. James will remain with the Company for a period of time to officiate a smooth transition.
Comment: While the changing of the guard at Novacyt is not quite in the league of the White House, or Downing Street, the sentiment may be appreciated by the market. This is especially so given the way that the shares are currently near the low end of the recent trading range.
Oracle Power (ORCP), an international project developer, announced the completion of the Geotechnical Study and Electrical Resistivity Survey (ERS) in respect of the planned renewable power plant on the project site in Jhimpir, in the Sindh Province of Pakistan. F&M (Pvt.) Ltd completed the studies and submitted reports which confirm favourable conditions for development and provide guidance for construction and water management. ORCP said the studies have confirmed the favourable attributes for development of the site, and generated valuable data and insights, positioning us to advance to FEED studies and, in parallel, proceed to securing potential financial arrangements for on ground construction and development.
Comment: Given the size and scale of the Sind Province project, hitting the latest milestone is a significant development for ORCP. As yet, little of the prospects for Jhimpir are factored into the market cap of the company.
Panther Metals (PALM) the company focused on developing Canada’s next VMS camp and graphite deposit, is pleased to announce the appointment of Melissa Sanderson in the role of Strategic Advisor for Government Relations, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) to the Company. PALM said its appointment of Melissa “Mel” Sanderson, a global ESG powerhouse with the political connections and business acumen to develop the required diplomatic connections, is at this point in our Company growth, extraordinary. In sporting terms, Accrington Stanley have just signed Lionel Messi!
Comment: One of the more humorous RNSs of recent times from PALM, although Accrington Stanley is perhaps a rather harsh description of the company. Why not Burnley?
Corero Network Security (CNS), the distributed denial of service protection specialists, announced a new partnership with TierPoint, a provider of secure, connected IT platform solutions, to provide the backbone for its next-generation DDoS defence infrastructure. CNS said the $1.8m contract with TierPoint over a three-year period continues Corero’s significant new contract momentum in the cybersecurity space, further cementing the Company’s position as a preferred provider of innovative DDoS protection solutions for enterprises worldwide.
Comment: Shares of CNS have already nearly doubled from their lows this time last year. One would expect the tailwind of the latest contract win to accelerate the recovery here.
Mears Group (MER), a provider of services to the Housing sector in the UK, announces its preliminary financial results for the year ended 31 December 2023. Group revenues up 14% year-on-year to £1,089.3m (FY22: £959.6m). Profit before tax increased by 34% to £46.9m (FY22: £34.9m). MER said it believed that the Group is well-positioned for the future and is pleased that the strong trading momentum built in 2023 has continued into 2024.
Comment: MER illustrates to us that whatever sector a company occupies, making the picks and shovels (or providing the services) tends to be not only the safest way of avoiding cyclical downturns, but can be increasingly profitable.
Red Rock Resources (RRR), the natural resource exploration and development company with interests in gold, base metals, battery metals, and hydrocarbons principally in Africa and Australia, announces that it has raised a total of £260,000.04 at 0.051p. The Placing was arranged by Clear Capital Markets Limited. RRR said it was moving forward with production and pre-production activities in Burkina Faso, in order to start alluvial production and testwork at Bilbale. We are working to a tight schedule for operations to start within weeks, subject to the usual caveats.
Comment: While there have been some positive noises that the rinse and repeat era at RRR will give way to something more substantial, history so far appears to be repeating itself. At least our friends at Clear Capital have successfully shaken the tin in this occasion.
Mast Energy Developments (MAST), the UK-based multi-asset owner, developer and operator in the rapidly growing flexible power market, announced an update regarding business operational matters. MAST said it was pleased to have successfully completed the first phase work programme at Pyebridge, and that the site is now back into operation. It is looking forward to initiating the next 2nd Phase work programme shortly, which when successfully completed will see the site operating and generating income at its full expected efficiency, availability and profitability potential.
Comment: With shares of MAST recently coming off their lows, at least initially it would appear that the market is content with progress at Pyebridge, and what it could achieve in turning things around for the company.
Premier African Minerals (PREM) announced a subscription to raise approximately £2 million before expenses at an issue price of 0.17 pence per new ordinary share primarily for the Zulu Lithium and Tantalum Project. PREM said the final step in commissioning Zulu looks to be the changes to be made to the material flow through the flotation plant as described in our announcement of 10 April 2024. These changes expect to see the flotation plant able to accept the design tonnage and to remove the restrictions on potential spodumene concentrate production. The required piping and valves are expected to load for site by Tuesday 16 April, and the expectation is that fitment could be complete as early as the week commencing 22 April 2024.
Comment: It would perhaps be good to know how much cash in total PREM needs to get over the line, if indeed that is where it is heading. The micro stage updates, and dog ate my homework explanations really need to be followed by a “result” soon.
Mkango Resources (MKA) announced that it has closed a private placement to raise gross proceeds of £750,000 at a price per Subscription Share of 5p. MKA said it intends to use the net proceeds of the Subscription to acquire additional equipment for the UK recycling business to underpin HyProMag’s transition to first commercial sales of recycled NdFeB in the UK targeted for H2 2024, orders of long lead time equipment in Germany, and to fund ongoing recycling and corporate costs.
Comment: Rather disappointingly, shares of MKA have halved since their December peak, something which perhaps foretold the latest funding round. At least the timing on commercial sales is near enough on the horizon for holders to remain patient.
Kavango Resources (KAV), the Southern Africa focussed metals exploration company, announced the receipt of authorisation to export drill core samples from the Hillside gold project in Zimbabwe. KAV said this is an encouraging development for our exploration programmes in Zimbabwe. It is imperative it uses the full range of modern analytical tools and techniques to conduct high-quality exploration. Its objective is to make large-scale gold discoveries that can be brought into production and contribute to the 2030 Vision of turning Zimbabwe into an upper middle-income economy.
Comment: Unlike many of the companies releasing news of funding today, KAV is well funded and well focused under Ben Turney. The share price currently only values the company as similar to its cash strapped peers, something which continues to provide an opportunity for the bulls.
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