Yesterday Hydrogen Future Industries plc (AQSE: HFI), a developer of a proprietary wind-based green hydrogen production system announces that Hannah Woodley has been appointed as a Non-executive Director of the Company with immediate effect. Ms Woodley has 20 years’ experience across equity capital markets and investment banking including with investment banks such as Singer Capital Markets, Panmure Gordon, and Collins Stewart (now Canaccord), and through her consultancy business, Woodley Consulting Limited. She is currently Commercial Director at Asset Match, an online marketplace to buy and sell shares in UK private companies via periodic auctions.
Comment: The arrival of someone who is clearly an overachiever / wunderkind, is clearly both timely and a shot in the arm to HFI. One would expect the newsflow and the market’s response to it to be magnified with Woodley’s arrival.
RiverFort Global Opportunities (RGO), the investment company listed on AIM, announced its audited final results for the year ended 31 December 2023. Cash balance of circa £1.1 million at the period end, rising to a current balance of circa £2.6 million through the partial redemption of its debt and equity linked portfolio for £2.15 million.
Comment: Given the way that small caps have been thirst for cash at any price over the period, one might have thought that RGO would be making money hand over fist. An acknowledgment of this is the SVEN deal which is about as logical as McDonald’s going into the used car business. However, one presumes that the powers that be at RGO presumably think that anything is easier than lending money to a dwindling AIM market.
First Class Metals (FCM) announced that operations update field work commenced. FCM said it was as ever, enthusiastic with the speed at which FCM has started the field season, all thanks to EGS support. The review of the Sunbeam Property core, the geophysics survey over Kerrs and the preparation for work at Dead Otter herald an exciting field season for First Class.
Comment: Given the recent bumps in the road for FCM, the current field season really has to be a winner for the company and its shareholders. While there can be little doubt regarding the energy devoted to its projects, a win or two really needs to be forthcoming sooner, rather than later.
Synectics (SNX) after the recent interim trading update to May reported a strong first half and consequently the full year to November is comfortably within expectations. Today, SNX report a $10m contract with a major gaming resort in South-east Asia for its proprietary software platform for advanced security and surveillance systems. Delivery of the Contract is anticipated to commence late in the current financial with completion expected before the 2025 year-end. Synectics’s ‘dataveillance’ engine combines feeds from CCTV cameras and many other systems across multiple sites into one simple interface, allowing operators supported by AI to identify and respond promptly to anomalous events or potential threat. Forecast for the full year may have room for an upgrade are for turnover of £52.9m against £49.1m with PBT of £3.5m (£3m) giving an EPS of 16.8p so a prospective P/E of 12.5x with a well-supported yield of 2.6% as net cash is around £5m. Further out in 2025 the P/E can be expected to be under 8x.
Comment: (Jon Lev) Uncertain times seems to create a need for gambling as well increased security and SNX’s £31.3m valuation at 176p seems moderate. (Zak Mir) A $10m contract for a £31m market cap company is nothing to be sniffed at, and should continue the rally for the shares which has been in place since December from below 100p. 250p as an end of 2024 target, versus 176p, at the moment seems possible.
Microlise Group (SAAS), a provider of SaaS based transport technology solutions to fleet operators, is pleased to announce a significant new partnership with Société de Transports Alimentaires et Frigorifiques (STAF), a leading player in the transport of mass distribution and agri-food in France. The 5-year contract, with a contract value of £1.35m, builds on Microlise’s international expansion strategy by increasing the Company’s presence in France.
Comment: One of the better new companies on AIM, and has done really well to make sure that hardly anyone knows about them. Perhaps changing the name to something related to what the company does might be the start of a re-rate?
BSF (BSFA) said it has received notification from its CFO, Graham Duncan, being a person discharging managerial responsibilities, of the purchase of shares: 100, 000 at 5.8p for a consideration of £5,750.
Comment: A bright spark on Twitter / X suggested that director share buying at BSF rules out the possibility of a fundraise. But a few grand here and there does not necessarily do this, or make up for the way that having been a stock market darling at the start of 2023, the company let all the goodwill slip through its hands.
Quantum Blockchain Technologies (QBT) announced that The Court of Appeal rejected all of the Sipiem defendants’ appeals with the exception of a minor claim. As a result, all damages awarded to CL17 as announced on 1 November 2022 were upheld by the Court, with the sole exception being the reduction of liability for one of the former directors by an amount of €105,412, reducing the total damage award to c.€6.1m QBT said that it was extremely pleased with the Venice Court of Appeal result, which confirms previous ruling while extending the scope of its enforceability. QBT subsidiary CL17 will now focus on the collection of the €6.083m plus interest and adjustments for inflation. CL17 has also been awarded €134,166 for legal expenses. The Company will ensure that CL17 proceeds with maximum effort to seek and collect the funds from the defendants.
Comment: A great result indeed, and it would perhaps have been greater still if more in the market knew what the claim was about, and what the chances of QBT getting €6m in its coffers and when actually were.
Xtract Resources (XTR) announced the results of a second stage review of pre-concentration options for the Bushranger project in the Lachlan fold NSW, Australia prepared for the Company by Altrius Consulting Pty. XTR said the forecast shortage of copper together with increasing demand has finally convinced the industry, that new copper resources have to be found on an urgent basis. The Bushranger project, whilst marginal at previous prices, becomes as previously reported NPV positive at USD10,000 per tonne copper. The project has the benefit of a high-grade component, which can be optimised and integrated into future mining plans.
Comment: It is a fair point to suggest that after the initial excitement regarding Bushranger, the merits of the project faded from view. It is fair to suggest that now with copper on the front foot, this project could be back in business.
AFC Energy (AFC), a provider of hydrogen power generation technologies, announced it has successfully delivered its highest power rated 200kW H-Power Generator to date, utilising its latest generation S+ Series liquid cooled fuel cell technology, marking an important landmark for the Company. AFC said this is a significant milestone for AFC Energy reflecting two years of accelerated technology development and engineering works culminating in this successful first operation. AFC Energy now is uniquely placed to offer its customers and partners the full range of power solutions from 10kW through to 500kW across its H-Power platforms giving maximum choice when sizing generators for specific power needs.
Hydrogen Utopia International (HUI), a company specialising in turning non-recyclable mixed waste plastic into hydrogen and other carbon-free fuels, announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Alister Future Technologies (AFT) Ltd is anticipated being awarded a grant of up to EUR 300,000 under the EU Just Transition Fund EU Community and Enterprise Grants Scheme, which is co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union.
Comment: One of the obvious advantages of HUI being EU focused was and is the prospect of getting on the EU grant gravy train, something which it has successfully demonstrated today.
Blackbird (BIRD), the technology licensor, developer and seller of market-leading cloud native video editing platform, Blackbird, and developer of the multiplayer editor in a browser, elevate.io, announced its AGM statement.
Comment: As a current user of Videopad, I was really looking forward to switching to elevate.io. Perhaps a little more hand holding may be required in order to make the switch? It may also be useful to know when we shall know how well the launch of elevate has gone and when it will contribute to BIRD’s bottom line? Otherwise, we are in danger of being in Chill Brands territory.
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