Powerhouse Energy Group (PHE), a company pioneering integrated technology that converts non-recyclable waste into low carbon energy, announced that that Ben Scott Brier has been appointed as Chief Financial Officer of the Company. PHE said it was extremely pleased that Ben has been appointed as full time Chief Financial Officer. He brings a wealth of experience in financial and commercial operations and has already made a substantial contribution to the Company’s continued development and growth. His move onto the Executive team means that it now has a secure and stable board structure, that will allow it to make financial decisions quickly and efficiently in respect of projects and financing.
Comment: Today’s appointment at PHE should be a key piece of the jigsaw in terms of its board team being able to move forward on the milestones required after what has been a year of flux.
Longboat Energy (LBE), an emerging full-cycle E&P company active in Norway and Malaysia, announced that Longboat JAPEX Norge AS has farmed down two exploration licences on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. LBE said it was pleased to announce the successful farm down of the two Norwegian exploration licences and the full carry of the Lotus exploration well cost, which is in line with its strategy to retain exposure to high quality exploration wells but at minimum use of the Company’s equity capital, and it remains fully focussed on delivering on its plans to grow production and reserves in high quality assets in Norway and in SE Asia.
Comment: Today’s progress at LBE underlines how the company is fast shaping up to be a canny operator, in both its key Norway and SE Asia geographies.
SolGold (SOLG) provided an update on its exploration activities at the Espejo Project, part of the SolGold-ENAMI strategic exploration alliance in Northern Ecuador. The Espejo Project, situated approximately 20km northeast of the Company’s Cascabel Project, has identified a promising porphyry Cu-Au-Mo target. SOLG said the recent identification of another high-potential target at the Espejo Project, coupled with its discovery at Blanca Nieves, highlights the expertise and commitment of its geology team. It also emphasizes the patience and trust shown by its stakeholders in 2023 while it carefully evaluated and prioritized SolGold’s consolidated property list and effectively carried out its exploration program.
Comment: Given that gold has been touching all time highs, and SolGold shares have been at year lows has to be regarded as something of a disappointment given the efforts being made by the company on the exploration front.
UK Oil & Gas (UKOG) announced that the continued profitability of the Horse Hill oil field has enabled the field’s operator, Horse Hill Developments Limited, to make a payment of approximately £675,000 to the Company today, representing partial repayment of certain historic shareholder loans. The Company holds an effective 85.635% interest in the field and surrounding PEDL137 licence and a 77.9% direct shareholding in HHDL.
Comment: Given that it has been quite a while since UKOG tapped its shareholders for cash, one might have been forgiven that today’s news was a £675,000 cash call, rather than a payment.
Afentra (AET) announced the successful completion of the previously announced acquisition of interests in Block 3/05 and Block 23 from Sonangol, together with the publication of an AIM supplementary admission document and the proposed re-admission of the Company’s Ordinary Shares to trading on AIM. AET said completion of the Sonangol Acquisition is a major milestone for Afentra that reflects the efforts on all sides to get this transformative transaction completed. The effective date of the agreement ensures Afentra has benefitted from 18 months of net interest cash flow from the quality 3/05 asset which significantly reduces the cash payment at completion.
Comment: It has been pleasing that even in current stock market conditions, we had seen shares of AET make progress over the course of the autumn. This appears to be on the basis that this is a company which has managed cash flow intelligently.
Christie Group (CTG) issued a profit warning for the Dec 2023 year-end, confirming that transactions previously expected to exchange this year have slipped into 2024. There are two complementary business divisions: Professional & Financial Services (PFS) and Stock & Inventory Systems & Services (SISS). It recently won property Consultant of the Year’ at the LaingBuisson Awards. A deal to close in the new year is finding buyers for 29 residential caravan parks and properties by acting for the Administrators of various companies associated with Royale Life Group. At the Interims revenues were down by 1.6% to £33.1m due to this decline in transactional volumes with an Operating loss of £1.4m compared to £2.3m profit. The net debt is £1.1m is manageable as cash flow is improving. Last Dec there was net cash, a 3.75p dividend paid and it made £3.2m profit.
Comment: The shares are 95p with a £25m mkt cap are above the 52-week low. It is not a surprise they are working harder for less. A recovery next year seems inevitable, the pace of it is the speculation.
Lexington Gold (LEX), the gold exploration and development company with projects in South Africa and the USA, announced that its 2023/24 drilling programme at the Bothaville Project in the Witwatersrand Gold Basin, South Africa is now underway. LEX said it was pleased to announce the commencement of its 2023/24 drilling campaign at the Bothaville Project in the Witwatersrand Gold Basin. This strategic initiative involves a planned 2,000m+ drilling campaign aimed at validating and expanding the known gold mineralisation at Bothaville, within the Kimberley Formation. As it embarks on this exploration activity, it anticipates providing regular updates on its progress and other concurrent initiatives in the forthcoming months.
Comment: It may be said that with the stock having been on the back foot since the spring, it is perhaps timely that we would witness a turnaround as the company gets its drilling programme at Bothaville underway.
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