24/05/2023

Lift Global Ventures Plc (AQSE:LFT) updated on Miriad Limited, Lift’s digital financial marketing and IR consulting investee company run by expert analyst and stock market commentator, Zak Mir, which was acquired by the Company in September 2022. LFT said it was delighted to launch ‘Zaks Traders Cafe’, a uniquely positive and helpful platform which gives clients access to one of the largest followings among UK stock market commentators. As part of the only dedicated standalone PR and IR listed entity, Miriad offers a one stop shop professional solution, which ends the need for multiple retainers for partial or box-ticking offerings, and therefore can be extremely cost effective for companies. This is why the launch of ‘Zaks Traders Cafe’ represents a disruptive event for the sector, with a bespoke product delivered by a growth company CEO, that fellow CEOs can trust.

Hydrogen Future Industries plc (AQSE: HFI), a developer of a proprietary wind-based green hydrogen production system, updated on the complementary components of the system under development, alongside other corporate updates. The company said it is making excellent development progress, now from facilities in both the USA and UK. It is delighted to welcome the accomplished Dr Nicholas Blake to the Advisory Board and looks forward to benefitting from his expertise as it gears up for subsequent testing phases with a larger diameter commercial system. It believes its system can achieve a breakthrough in green hydrogen production economics and looks forward to reporting further updates as the testing programme advances.

Comment: It now appears that HFI is starting to accelerate progress as far as green hydrogen production, something that is sorely needed in times where energy security is sought. Dr Nicholas Blake’s arrival should add confidence in the market regarding HFI’s prospects.

Contango Holdings (CGO), the London listed natural resource development company, advised that the production of washed coking coal commenced on Tuesday 23 May 2023 at its flagship Lubu Coking Coal Project in Zimbabwe. This followed dry and wet runs of the wash plant over the preceding days and the integration of the screen with the broader processing facilities. The company said this is a landmark moment for Contango. It is no small feat to bring a mine into production and something most junior mining companies never achieve. It appreciated this process has taken longer than expected, but it is now producing a high-quality coking coal product and very soon will be a revenue generating company. It has achieved this during turbulent markets and without significant dilution at the plc level, which is testament to the team assembled in country and the attractiveness of the Lubu Project.

Comment: It felt that the wash plant too longer to arrive than the Channel Tunnel took to build. However, now that it is up and running we really could see CGO live up to the potential its myriad backers have been looking for, especially with regard to being a revenue generating company and without “significant” dilution.

Celadon Pharmaceuticals (CEL), a UK-based pharmaceutical company, announced that it has entered into a contract for the commercial supply of its pharmaceutical-grade high-THC cannabis product with a leading UK medicinal cannabis company. Under the terms of the contract, Celadon will sell a minimum of £3 million worth of product over the next three years, with the first shipment expected in Q4 2023. The company said it was delighted to have entered into a sizeable first contract so soon after achieving GMP certification in January. It builds on the positive momentum we are seeing across the business and is testament to the hard work of our employees.

Comment: Momentous news from Celadon, should be more than enough to silence the bears (admittedly just one bear who clearly does not understand the business). The “minimum” £3m contract should underline how large the medical cannabis business will be in coming years, and how well CEL has done to get where it is today through all the red tape and cost.

Corcel  (CRCL), the extractive industries exploration and development company, with interests across battery metals and oil and gas, announced that it has signed its first oil and gas acquisition with the purchase of a 90% interest in Atlas Petroleum Exploration Worldwide Limited, that has working interests in several historically producing oil assets in the Kwanza Basin, onshore Angola. CRCL said it was delighted to announce this first acquisition in its oil and gas strategy, providing a strong initial platform on which to progress its pan-Angola/Brazil growth strategy.  The metrics on this acquisition are compelling for Corcel shareholders and the window is now open for rapid further consolidation onshore Angola alongside new asset acquisitions in Brazil.

Comment: Shares of CRCL have been trying to stage a recovery so far this year, and it could very well be the case that the trigger to get them off the ground in a sustained way has come from today’s first oil and gas acquisition.

Future Metals NL (FME), announced the commencement of its drill programme at the Panton North project. Panton North is located adjacent to the company’s wholly owned Panton Project and is subject to a Farm-In Agreement with Octava Minerals. FMET said it has secured all necessary approvals for drilling at BC1 and Panton West. It was also successfully approved for EIS funding of A$147,000 from the Western Australian State Government to co-fund drilling at the Panton West Prospect.

Comment: Although shares of FME have some diehard fans on social media, it is noticeable that the company has not been able to successful engage with investors, despite what appears to be a solid story, as demonstrated in today’s RNS.

Falcon Oil & Gas (FOG) announced that it has filed its Interim Financial Statements for the three months ended 31 March 2023. The company said it was in a strong financial position, debt free with cash of $16.3 million at 31 March 2023 (31 December 2022: $16.8 million). FOG said it has a continued focus on strict cost management and efficient operation of the portfolio.

Comment: It would have been pleasant to have a little comment from the company in today’s RNSs, if only to underline the company’s cash position and being debt free. We look forward to latest news on the ground, after what was revealed in March.

Coral Products (CRU), a specialist in the design, manufacture and supply of plastic products, reported that the unaudited group management accounts indicate that revenue for the year to 30 April 2023 is expected to be over £35m (2022: £14.4m) which is slightly ahead of market expectations.   Adjusted EBITDA for the Group is expected to be not less than £3.5m (2022: £1.8m) which is ahead of market expectations. The Group maintains a robustly healthy balance sheet with cash and cash equivalents of circa £5 million as at 30 April 2023. The company said that in spite of the challenging trading conditions in the second half of the year, it has had a successful year, completing a further 4 acquisitions, which has led to the Group more than doubling the revenue base together with a near doubling of Group EBITDA.

Comment: It would appear that while many companies moan and groan about Brexit, supply chain, cost of living crisis, and even the weather, Coral has got on with the job and delivered a stellar performance. All of this from a company based in Manchester.

Marula Mining (AQSE: MARU), an African focused mining and development company, announced the establishment of a wholly owned Kenya operating subsidiary company; Muchai Mining Kenya Limited. The company said the decision to establish Muchai Mining Kenya follows a period of significant in-country work and comes after careful consideration of various opportunities in the region.

Comment: Another day, another RNS from Marula, as the company continues to consolidate its already strong portfolio in Africa. One would expect the share price to resume the stellar progress we have witnessed since the turn of the year.

Kendrick Resources (KEN), a mineral exploration and development company with vanadium, nickel and copper projects in Scandinavia, announced its final set of results from its 19-hole maiden diamond drill programme over the Stormyra nickel – copper deposit in Espedalen, Norway. The company said its drill programme over Stormyra has been very successful with impressive peak intercepts reported from the three sets of results including 6.85% Ni Eq over 1.25m, 3.39% Ni Eq over 11.6m and 2.59% Ni Eq over 3.65m. These latest results have continued the trend and more importantly have demonstrated that the proposed southerly extension of the orebody defined by geophysics has been confirmed by its recent drilling.

Comment: Kendrick has gone from being perhaps the dark horse of the Colin Bird stable, to one of the most prospective. One would expect another attempt at share price recovery in the wake of today’s news.