Keir Starmer backed Volodymyr Zelensky in a phone call on Wednesday after Donald Trump claimed the Ukrainian president was “a dictator without elections”. In the call, the UK prime minister gave Zelensky his support “as Ukraine’s democratically elected leader” and said it was “perfectly reasonable to suspend elections during war time as the UK did during World War Two”, according to a Downing Street spokesperson. The call followed a war of words between Trump and Zelensky, with the US president criticising his Ukrainian counterpart for postponing elections and incorrectly claiming Ukraine started the war with Russia. Zelensky was elected as president of Ukraine in May 2019. (Alliance News)
Comment: Given that the Starmer / Labour government has managed to get almost everything wrong in terms of policy and communications, one would assume that the latest backing of Zelensky will also prove to be misguided. It could very well be that Trump is looking to settle the conflict at current military lines, in order to prevent the risk of Russia taking over the whole of Ukraine should the war continue.
Valereum (AQSE: VLRM) announced that it has entered into a binding Heads of Terms for a £19 million capital investment from Valereum Inc., an entity formed for the purpose of the investment from DMC Markets Inc., the completion is subject to finalising satisfactory due diligence. In addition to the investment from DMC via Valereum Inc., acquiring 48.86% of Valereum Plc, there will be an additional £1 million investment from a UK institutional investor. The proceeds of the Investment will be used to make four strategic investments, to provide working capital to support the investments and Valereum Plc’s growth plans, and to fund and accelerate the rollout of its tokenisation and digital asset services.
Comment: One of the major errors that many small cap companies make is while they may have the correct strategy, they are not sufficiently funded to execute. As can be seen from the latest news at VLRM, this is not a problem the company is going to have.
Borders & Southern (BOR) announced the Result of its Placing and Subscription, PDMR Dealing. BOR said “In our last placing, we clearly stated that we were raising funds to meet our working capital requirements for one year (thus fully funding the company to the end of 2025). In our conversations with potential partners, it is clear to us that strengthening the balance sheet and providing working capital until the end of 2026 is the right thing to do. We remain encouraged by the industry interest in our relaunched Farm Out process and this strengthening of our balance sheet allows us to do the right deal and not just the first deal. We look forward to providing further updates on our industry negotiations in coming months.”
Comment: Shares of BOR had more than tripled from the turn of the year, something which clearly the company found too difficult to resist in terms of raising cash cement its near term requirements and mean that it can be relatively relaxed in terms of honing the best farm out deal.
Zenith Energy (ZEN), the listed international energy production and development company, is pleased to announced that the pre-hearing session of the ICC-2 Arbitration regarding the Sidi El Kilani concession against the Republic of Tunisia has now been held, and to confirm that the final hearings of the ICC-2 Arbitration will be held next week. ZEN said “Our primary objective remains to achieve legal redress for the very significant damages caused to CNAOG.”
Comment: With a recent funding and the initial positive arbitration verdict under its belt, we have the larger denouement imminent for ZEN. Given that this is set to be far larger than verdict number one, it will be interesting to see how and when the market starts to factor this in.
Ananda Pharma plc (AQSE: ANA) a UK-based biopharmaceutical company developing regulatory approved, cannabinoid medicines to treat complex, chronic conditions announced that “The detailed and intricate work to ensure our MRX1 CBD drug candidate meets the requirements for MHRA clinical trial approval is progressing well. These workstreams provide the foundations of Ananda’s house and must be built properly.”
Comment: Shares of ANA were up over 50% last year, as it successfully communicated the prospects for MRX1, and the need for the drug candidates it is developing. This year should see even greater gains as the clinical trials move forward.
Georgina Energy (GEX) a helium, hydrogen and natural resources development company in Australia, announced that it has now executed the Share Sale Agreement to acquire 100% of the issued capital of Oilco Pty Ltd which holds the permit EPA155 (Mt Winter). The Company has paid the A$50,000 deposit to Mosman Oil & Gas and has executed the confidentiality agreements necessary to complete the “ALRA” (Aboriginal Land Rights Agreement) to be lodged with the Northern Territory Department of Mining and Energy under the Petroleum Act 1984 (NT) to secure the granting of the exploration permit.
Comment: There has been a decent recovery at GEX, and as stated previously, while the company continues to focus on progressing its projects, and ignoring the naysayers, the recovery should continue.
Blencowe Resources (BRES) announced the completion of an initial hydropower study for its Orom-Cross Graphite Project in Uganda. The study confirms the availability of abundant, low-cost, and renewable hydropower from the Ugandan national grid, providing a strategic advantage for the Project’s future mining and processing operations. This marks a major step towards Blencowe’s commitment to sustainability and its ambition to deliver a net-zero graphite operation.
Comment: BRES reminds the market of its green credentials, which exist over and above the solid prospects for Orom-Cross, and recent strong funding news.
Genflow Biosciences (GENF) an emerging leader in the field of longevity research, focused on developing therapeutic solutions for the prevention of age-related diseases announced today that its exclusive, out-licensed patent application for “Variants of SIRT6 for Use in Preventing and/or Treating Age-Related Diseases” has successfully progressed through the Supplementary European Search Report without further questions from the European Patent Office (EPO).
Comment: GENF has had plenty of time and money to develop SIRT6, and yet so far the stock market has not rewarded the company with the kind of re-rate that today’s news reminds us it should have had.
Greatland Gold (GGP) provided results from the maiden underground drilling campaign at the West Dome Underground target at Telfer. GGP said “The exceptional drilling results from the maiden underground drilling campaign validate the exciting opportunity we identified at the West Dome Underground during our acquisition due diligence. This underground drilling campaign is the first since driving across to gain access beneath the West Dome.”
Comment: With gold rallying as if the world is heading for World War III, it is perhaps disappointing that GGP shares have not rallied more, and are not at least on the right side of 10p. That said, today’s RNS should help the cause.
Pantheon Resources (PANR), the oil and gas company developing the Kodiak and Ahpun oil fields in close proximity to pipeline and transportation infrastructure on Alaska’s North Slope, is pleased to announce the appointment of accomplished energy executive, Max Easley, as Chief Executive Officer, succeeding Jay Cheatham. Mr. Easley will be appointed as a member of the Pantheon Board of Directors effective 28 February 2025, while Jay will continue to serve the Company as a Non-Executive Director for a period of handover to Max.
Comment: PANR has apparently been a direct winner of the MAGA / drill, baby, drill philosophy that has been delivered by the new Trump administration. It makes sense that the company beefs up the board to greet this new, highly favourable environment.
AdvancedAdvT (ADVT), the international software solutions provider for the business, compliance, and resource management, today announced a pre-close trading update for the full year to 28 February 2025. The Group has demonstrated strong performance since announcing its interim results on 14 November 2024. As a result, the Board now anticipates Adjusted EBITDA for the full year to 28 February 2025 will be materially above the current market expectations.
Comment: ADVT has certainly been the strong, silent type as far as its communications with the market. This should ensure that the aftermath of today’s fundamental upgrade has a disproportionately solid effect on the share price over the near term.
Ceres Power (CWR) noted the media statement by Robert Bosch GmbH earlier today regarding a realignment of its operations and investments in stationary fuel cell power technologies. The result of this is that Bosch will discontinue its operations relating to the industrialisation and preparation for production of decentralised power-supply systems based on solid oxide fuel cells. As a result of this broader revised strategic decision at the group level, Bosch has informed Ceres that it will seek to end its partnership with Ceres in an orderly way, while continuing to meet its contractual obligations.
Comment: It would appear that CWR’s sugar daddy Bosch has decided that it is no longer in love enough to head for the green heaven both companies were previously heading for. Solid oxide fuel cells are apparently could be a technological dead end, even though there are US peers in the space who are still pressing ahead with the concept if only on the basis that they are not as green as they may seem.
ZOO Digital Group (ZOO), the localisation and digital media services partner to the global entertainment industry, today provides an update on trading and outlook for the financial year ending 31 March 2025. The Board currently expects full year FY25 revenues will be at least $50.5 million, which is up 24% on the prior year. The full year revenues will result in a return to EBITDA profit of at least $1.0 million, compared to a loss of $13.6 million last year. As a result, FY25 revenues and EBITDA are expected to be below market expectations.
Comment: The stock market has traditionally been wary of media companies, with ZOO unfortunately proving such cynicism to be correct.
