Ananda (ANA) announced it has agreed to acquire MRX Global Ltd and its subsidiary, MRX Medical Ltd. MRX has invented a proprietary method to formulate cannabis medicines. Ananda also announces that it has raised £326,200. Subject to completion of the acquisition, Professor Clive Page and Jeremy Sturgess-Smith are being appointed as Directors of Ananda. The company said UK regulators and prescribers have made it clear that evidence for cannabis-based medicines is required to enable them to be prescribed on the NHS. It believes that the acquisition of MRX gives Ananda the opportunity to provide that evidence, and also has the potential to deliver near-term revenues.
Comment: We have an all-in-one update from Ananda with the fundraise, the acquisition, and board changes. The highlight though, is the way that MRX can take the group to near term revenues, something which could re-rate ANA significantly as such a scenario has yet to be factored into the share price.
EnSilica (ENSI), a mixed signal chip maker, announced a retail offer to existing shareholders to raise up to £0.5 million at an issue price of 70p. In addition to the Retail Offer, the company has conditionally raised £2.0 million before expenses. The company said the net proceeds of the Fundraise will be used to support it in responding to additional sector and contract momentum, which has exceeded original estimates.
Symphony Environmental Technologies (SYM), the specialist in technologies that make smart plastic and rubber products announced that its USA distributor of d2w biodegradable plastics technology for nutritional supplement bottles, Better Earth LLC has signed an exclusive supply agreement with TricorBraun for its BioBottles™ brand of polyethylene bottles for the nutraceutical industry. The company said working with partners such as Better Earth and – by extension – with global packaging leader TricorBraun – Symphony is well placed to capture a share of the US and Canadian bottle markets, with additional verticals in the bottle market still available to target.
Comment: SYM remains a totally underappreciated company, even though its smart solutions in the plastic and rubber space are essential in the waste crisis that only continues to worsen. The fact that this is a company which also has a North American footprint should be the icing on the cake for those who have so far overlooked this play.
Franchise Brands (FRAN), an international multi-brand franchise business, announced its audited results for the year ended 31 December 2022. Adjusted EBITDA increased by 80% to £15.3m (2021: £8.5m). Adjusted profit before tax increased by 98% to £12.8m (2021: £6.5m). Statutory profit before tax increased by 78% to £10.3m (2021: £5.8m). The company said 2022 was another significant and highly successful year for the Group, with a strong performance driven by record organic growth in the Group’s UK B2B division complemented by the transformational acquisition of Filta, which has performed ahead of expectations.
Comment: Interestingly enough, having met the company soon after it first came to market, it always seemed to be a winner. The fact that it can outperform in the current climate makes it all the more appealing.
Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas (ECO), the oil and gas exploration company, noted Africa Oil Corp.’s publication of an independent, NI 51-101 compliant report of qualified reserves and resources evaluator for Block 3B/4B Offshore South Africa. The company said after completing an extensive reprocessing of the 3D on 3B/4B, this CPR by RISC confirms 3B/4B’s potential and generates exciting prospectivity on this unique Orange Basin block. It is working closely with its JV partners on a potential farm out of up to a 55% gross working interest in the block, which will help accelerate the commencement of a two well drilling program on the licence.
Comment: Shares of Eco have been firming up in recent days, and today’s CPR and potential farm out revelations should allow this tentative recovery to continue after the overdone November sell off.
First Class Metals (FCM) the UK metals exploration company, announced that it has signed an agreement with Nuinsco Resources Limited in respect to the Zigzag lithium project in Ontario. The company said FCM is very enthused with the opportunity to have executed the agreement on this very prospective lithium prospect. FCM has now significantly augmented their portfolio of critical minerals within its exploration focus. Given the worldwide shift toward greener and cleaner economies, the acquisition of additional property assets such as Zigzag Lake is a strategic progression for FCM.
Comment: Today’s news is worthy of the buzz in the stock in recent days, and could even be enough to take the tightly held shares to new highs above 18p, if not today, over the next few days.
PetroTal Corp. (PTAL) announced various corporate updates, alongside news that it has been recognized by the TSXV as a top 50 performing issuer, ranking 4th in the energy industry sector. The company said it is confident it will be able to catch up with guidance in Q2 2023, should current export conditions continue, creating the platform not only to meet, but also surpass, current 2023 guidance. The field is now producing over 20,000 bopd, which recently propelled the company to reach over 12 million barrels of cumulative oil production and represents only 11% of the field’s estimated ultimate 2P recovery.
Comment: Although shares of PTAL have rallied well since the summer of 2021, they do apparently need fresh impetus, something that the 20,000 bopd production landmark should help drive. Catching up with guidance is now key.
Block Energy (BLOE), the exploration and production company focused on Georgia, announced completion of the farm-out of part of licence XIB to Georgia Oil and Gas Limited. BLOE said it is pleased to have completed the previously announced farm-out of part of XIB to GOG and to see the seismic obligation fulfilled. It looks forward to working on the seismic interpretation and progressing the project toward an industry farm-out.
Comment: Under-loved Block Energy sees its shares near the lows, despite on the face of it proceeding well on an operational from, something which is underlined by today’s news.
Verici Dx (VRCI), a developer of advanced clinical diagnostics for organ transplant, announced it has been granted two key patents in the United States that support and protect the company’s core technologies in RNA signature biomarker tests used for assessment of the prognostic risk pre-transplant (Clarava™) and post-transplant (Tutivia™) of acute kidney transplant rejection. The company said these significant new patents bolster its intellectual property portfolio and protect its proprietary methods of predicting and diagnosing sub-clinical and clinical acute kidney rejection.
Tlou (TLOU) announced its interim results for the six months ended 31 December 2022. The company said the past six months has seen good progress at the Lesedi Power Project. The transmission line work is going well, substation construction will continue during the year, the generation site is coming together and further production well drilling is set to commence. It remains focused on delivering first power and earning first revenue for the company as soon as possible.
Comment: Casual observers of the company may have thought that the company was already at first power and first revenue. That said, being in the run up to these events does explain the recovery in the stock post November, and arguably makes it worth chasing.
AFC Energy (AFC), a provider of hydrogen power generation technologies, updated on its H-Power Tower deployment programme following system validations in 2022. The company said it is great to see the strong market interest in AFC Energy’s new hydrogen power generators and particularly the uptake in the H-Power Tower launched last year. It continues to see growth in pipeline for 2023 and look forwards to working with new customers, both here and across Europe, to affirm hydrogen’s role in supporting the decarbonisation of hard to abate sectors like construction.
Firering (FRG), an exploration company focusing on critical minerals, announced that it has increased its stake in its flagship Atex Lithium Tantalum Project in Côte d’Ivoire to 90%. The company said the Atex project has the potential to become a significant lithium resource in West Africa in a relatively short period of time. The quality and potential of Atex was recognised by Ricca who is earning into the project and supporting us in fast tracking the project to DFS. This coupled with the success of our Phase I drilling campaign and start of the Phase II soil sampling programme announced at the beginning of this year, made its decision to increase our stake in the project to 90% an easy one.
Comment: As the saying goes, you can never have too much of a good thing. In the case of FRG this means it is up to 90% on Atex, an asset which has already proved itself to live up to the flagship description. One would imagine that today’s announcement could be a fresh driver for the stock from current levels.
Synergia Energy (SYN) updated concerning the Cambay C-77H well. The company said extensive evaluation of the artificial lift options for the C-77H well and future Cambay new wells has resulted in it electing to adopt a jet pump solution for the C-77H well. This was due to a combination of technical, cost and availability drivers. The company aims to have the jet pump solution for the C-77H well operational in the next 90 days.
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