Totally (TLY) provide frontline healthcare services, corporate fitness, and wellbeing services mainly to the NHS and today announced a total of 6 post -election contract extensions worth around £11m. Three care contracts valued at c.£8m include the delivery of support to reduce elective care waiting lists for an expanded range of specialities including Gastroenterology, Gynaecology and Ophthalmology. Three other contract extensions support urgent care services worth £3.5m and include the delivery of GP Out of Hours services and Clinical Assessment. May’s Trading update for the March 2024 y/e due to be reported shortly illustrate the challenges of £106m Revenue but with the dilemma of intensive cost and meeting onerous service delivery pressures. So, even with some cost reductions the EBITDA has improving to a MERE £2.2m. The gross cash is around £2.3m and its just about cash flow positive.
Comment: (Jon Lev) At 7.25p the mkt cap is£14.25m and recovered from its all-time low. This case remains for a private equity firm taking it over and delisting. We note Stonehage Fleming Investment Management have accrued a 14% holding.
Incanthera (AQSE:INC), the company specially focused on innovative technologies in dermatology and oncology, announced that the second production order for 250,000 units has been confirmed as the next step in its commercial deal with Marionnaud AG, part of the Watsons Group. INC said this clearly evidences the confidence and anticipation with which Incanthera, and its Swiss subsidiary, Skin + CELL A.G. is managing the production order cycle, in close coordination with Marionnaud, as the teams work collaboratively towards the launch and roll out of Skin + CELL in Europe.
Comment: INC is one of the top risers on Aquis this year, a situation of which one did not have to be Warren Buffet to work out back in January. Indeed, it was a 2024 stock of the year here on ZaksTradersCafe at 6p with an initial 15p target. The shares now stand at 28p.
Microlise Group (SAAS), a provider of SaaS based technology solutions to fleet operators and manufacturers, announced the launch of a series of new products, all of which are fully integrated with the Group’s wider product portfolio. SAAS said in line with its strategic goals, it continually strives to offer the best, most comprehensive suite of solutions to its clients and it is delighted to announce the launch of this series of new products. Safety, compliance, and asset tracking are all integral to the success of its clients’ businesses. It looks forward to updating the market with the launch of new and innovative products as they occur.
Comment: SAAS continues to be one of the more exciting small cap situations which remains under the radar. Perhaps a name change and a ticker change may help the market understand what the company does and the opportunity here.
ECR Minerals (ECR), the exploration and development company focused on gold in Australia, is pleased to announced an update on exploration activities across the Company’s Blue Mountain and Lolworth Projects in Queensland, Australia. ECR said it eagerly awaits the results of laboratory analysis which will guide its next steps for Blue Mountain and ideally it will support its view that this is a highly prospective gold project.
Comment: It is rather a shame that ECR shares were not able to hold onto gains in the wake of the recent exceptional Antimony results at Bailieston, Victoria. Nevertheless, the bulls have another bite of the cherry in the wake of today’s news.
Ananda Developments plc (AQSE: ANA), a company focused on becoming a leading provider of regulator approved CBD-based medicines for chronic inflammatory pain conditions, announced its participation in “The Pub Test” Investor Evening. This event is co-hosted by the Aquis Exchange and InvestorHub and will take place on Wednesday, 17th July 2024 at Samuel Pepys, Stew Ln, London EC4V 3PT, starting at 6:00 PM. ANA said it looks forward to meeting and engaging with interested parties, shareholders, potential shareholders, and stakeholders. This event is a fantastic opportunity to share its vision and answer any questions investors may have.
Comment: ANA has been one of the star stocks on Aquis this year, and finesses this with the event next week. The latest news regarding potential heart treatment is not only sizzle for shareholders and the market, but a real medical breakthrough.
i3 Energy (I3E), an independent oil and gas company with assets and operations in the UK and Canada, advised that due to the transition to T+1 settlement, trade date plus one business day, in the Canadian securities industries as of 27 May 2024 from T +2, trade date plus two business days, settlement, the record and ex-dividend date, in most instances, will now occur on the same day.
Comment: Director share buying near current levels, and of course ongoing production and dividends have helped the cause at I3E. Nevertheless, a re-rate here is certainly overdue, and as a minimum the stock should be on the right side of 10p. That said, anything below this level can be regarded as the zone to “buy and hold” from.
Oracle Power (ORCP), an international project developer, announced that it has received assay results from its recently completed Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling programme at the Northern Zone Intrusive Hosted Gold Project, located 25 km east of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia. ORCP said these latest results at the Northern Zone Gold Project have revealed shallower supergene gold mineralisation than anticipated and have delineated the south-west boundary of the gold system. The next phase of drilling will test extensions to the north-east, north-west and south-east, building on the diamond drill programme that encountered gold mineralisation up to depths of 450 metres and thicknesses exceeding 150 metres.
Comment: ORCP is clear doing better as an explorer developer in Australia of late. This commands attention as we wait on developments from its larger energy projects in Pakistan. That said, investors would like to see swift turnaround on the projects in Oz.
Ecora Resources (ECOR) updated on the Kestrel Q2 portfolio contribution ahead of its Q2 Trading Update to be published on 24 July 2024. ECOR said it had been notified that the saleable volumes within its private royalty area during Q2 2024 were materially ahead of expectations at 1.3Mt, driving Kestrel royalty income of US$26.6m. Consequently, the H1 volumes and portfolio contribution from Kestrel were also ahead of expectations at 2.0Mt and US$40.8m respectively.
Comment: Shares of ECOR have been in an extended bear market over recent months, and therefore it may take more than a single upbeat update to turn the price action around.
Graft Polymer (GPL), an innovative biopolymer drug delivery systems development company, announced the filing of two new provisional utility patent applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. These provisional patent applications pertain to the treatment of substance use disorders and mental health disorders using depot drug delivery systems. GPL said it was pleased to announce the filing of these two new provisional patent applications, which marked another step forward in its work to leverage the Company’s biopolymer expertise for the potential treatment of substance abuse and mental health disorders. Its strategic focus on healthcare, underscored by these applications and its recent corporate actions, demonstrates its commitment to innovation and growth in this vital sector.
Comment: Shares of GPL have already had an initial spike on IP hopes, and given the recent stirrings in the stock, one would expect a second run to the upside in the wake of today’s news.
Hydrogen Utopia International (HUI), a company specialising in converting non-recyclable mixed waste plastic into hydrogen and other carbon-free fuels, noted that Ohrid Organics Ltd has just put out an announcement that a supply agreement with Canopy Growth Germany GmbH, a subsidiary of Canopy Growth Corporation, has been secured. HUI has exercised its option to acquire 49 % of Ohrid Organics and the acquisition is proceeding.
Comment: A deal for Ohrid from one of the market leaders in the world is a big deal, and for HUI validated the strategy of using significant and scalable cashflow from its investment in a cannabis producer to achieve the rollout of its waste plastic to hydrogen plant plans.
Nightcap (AIM: NGHT), the owner and operator of 46 premium bars, announced that application has been made to the London Stock Exchange for 15,000,000 new shares are to be admitted to trading on AIM. These Subscription Shares have been subscribed for at an issue price of five pence per share to raise gross proceeds of £0.75 million for the Company.
Comment: A well leaked fundraise, and presumably rather sabotaged by being leaked. Apparently, some are allowed to undermine small cap companies in this way with impunity.
First Tin (1SN), a tin development company with advanced, low capex projects in Germany and Australia, announced that Australia’s largest tin producer Metals X Limited (ASX: MLX) has completed an on-market purchase of 60 million existing ordinary shares at a price of 4 pence per share from Clara Resources Limited. As a result, Metals X holds approximately 23% of the current issued ordinary share capital of First Tin. 1SN said it was pleased to receive Metals X’s endorsement of its tin assets. Having recently delivered a successful Definitive Feasibility Study for Taronga and a strengthened mineral resource estimate for Tellerhäuser, it looks forward to deepening its collaboration with Australia’s largest tin producer to optimise and accelerate the delivery of its growth projects, which will supply essential tin units to a world undergoing an energy transition and digital transformation.
Comment: While the market has never really appreciated 1SN’s merits, it is clear that those in the know and those amongst its peers have. The only fly in the ointment here is that the purchase price of the stock by Metals X was below the prevailing share price. However, it is the bigger strategic picture here which is more important.
Cobra (COBR), an exploration company advancing a strategy to lower the cost of critical rare earth production at the Boland Project in South Australia, is pleased to announce that diagnostic tests being carried out as part of ongoing in situ recovery bench scale testing of a high-grade core sample, have produced positive preliminary metallurgical results. COBR said these initial recoveries are very pleasing. Managing impurities and acid consumption are significant factors of rare earth processing costs and these results provide a pathway for cost-effective recovery – particularly when coupled with ISR mining.
Comment: Always a company of promise, it is a shame that to date COBR has not been able to illustrate to the market its merits as compared to many of its lesser exploration peers. Underlining the size and scale of its opportunity through proper channels would be a good start.
Onward Opportunities (ONWD), the investment company targeting opportunities in smaller companies within the UK, provides an update in respect of the six-month period ended 30 June 2024, ahead of publication of the Company’s unaudited HY24 interim results in September 2024. OMWD said the team is delighted to have continued its early performance with a NAV return of +9.2% for the first half of this financial year, contributing to our +21.6% in the 15-months since launch. It was particularly pleasing to see the work and support of colleagues and shareholders recognised recently with the ‘IPO of The Year’ award.
Comment: Shares of ONWD are up some 20% year to to date, even surviving the IPO of The Year award. While being an investment company is not quite flavour of the month on the London market, so far it has managed to obtain a positive profile.
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