Dukemount (DKE) said it has been in discussions with the FCA following the suspension of the trading of the share capital on the Main Market on 1 November 2022. During this period the audit for 30 April 2022 has been finalised. The company said the process of lifting the suspension of the trading of the shares has taken time. This time has been spent enabling it to move to reposition Dukemount in a manner beneficial for stakeholders as a whole. The Board will now set about searching for a new target company and business to pursue as it repurposes Dukemount and will work with Peterhouse and its other advisors to facilitate this. This process will commence and be undertaken expeditiously and it hopes to update the market soon on the next steps for Dukemount.
Comment: This is a RNS that perhaps some might not have expected to see. However, it looks as though there may eventually be a result here, helped along by those good people at Peterhouse. We look forward to seengi the new reboot, given the pain associated with the previous incarnation.
Pires Investments (PIRI), the investment company investing in next generation technology with a focus on AI, announced that at its forthcoming AGM on October 9, it will seek shareholder approval to change its name to Mindflair plc.
Comment: The last time flair was a cool word was in the 1970s, and made Lionel Blair a household name via rhyming slang. It is to be hoped that the same kind of positive effect works for Mindflair.
hVIVO (HVO), the world leader in testing infectious and respiratory disease products using human challenge clinical trials, announced its unaudited interim results for the six-month period ended 30 June 2023. As at 30 June 2023, the Group’s weighted contracted orderbook increased to £78 million (H1 2022: £70 million), an increase of 11%. The company said the first half of 2023 has delivered another period of excellent growth and progress towards our goal of establishing a long-term sustainable growth model.
Comment: One could say that one can tell we are in a bear market, not from the valuations of underperforming companies, but the winners such as HVO. If we were in a bull market one would imagine the share price here would be multiples of where it is now. But at least the current rating continues to offer value.
Empyrean Energy (EME), the oil and gas development company, announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, West Natuna Exploration Ltd has signed non-binding key terms with Sembcorp Gas Pte Ltd, a Singapore based major gas buyer, that have been endorsed by SKK Migas – the petroleum upstream regulator in Indonesia, for a first long-term gas sales agreement for the Mako gas field. The company it was delighted that agreement has been reached between the operator of Mako and a major gas utility and that the agreement has been endorsed by the Government of Indonesia’s petroleum upstream regulator. The Mako gas field is the largest undeveloped gas discovery in the West Natuna Sea.
Comment: Shares of EME have had a long turnaround since the trials and tribulations of April 2022. The solidity of the RNS today gives the impression that the recent recovery may have further to go.
Coro Energy (CORO), the South East Asian energy company with a natural gas and clean energy portfolio, announces that the operator of the Duyung PSC has signed the non-binding Term Sheet with Sembcorp Gas Pte. Ltd. for a long-term gas sales agreement for the Mako gas field. Critically, the Term Sheet has been endorsed by the Indonesian petroleum upstream regulator (SKK Migas). The company said it was delighted to have now secured the GSA Heads at the Duyung PSC, approved by the buyer and, critically, endorsed by the Indonesian authorities.
Comment: Spot the difference between the Coro and EME RNS. Hopefully both stocks will win off the back of what looks to be a significant Indonesian endorsement.
Creo Medical Group (CREO), the medical device company, its unaudited results for the six-month period ended 30 June 2023. Revenue was of £15.7m (H1-2022: £13.6m, H2-2022: £13.5m), including £0.9m generated from Creo core products, equal to the same core products revenue generated in the entirety of FY-2022 (H1-2022 £0.5m, H2-2022: £0.4m) 15% increase in revenue vs. H1-2022 driven by Creo’s Core technology and growth in Creo’s Endotherapy consumable business. The company said the past six months have been hugely significant for Creo. It continues to be at the forefront of a paradigm shift, introducing advanced energy to endoscopy in new markets and procedures – facilitating an array of benefits to patients, clinicians and healthcare providers. This, combined with an increased focus on business efficiencies, is solidifying Creo as a platform for growth.
Comment: CREO looks to be a genuine recovery / turnaround situation, something which is all the sweeter given the sector it comes from. We look forward to more advances in the “paradigm” shift.
Equals (EQLS), the fintech payments group, announced its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2023 and an update on trading for 49 trading days for the period from 1 July 2023 to 8 September 2023. Adjusted EBITDA more than doubled to £9.8 million compared to same period last year (H1-2022: £4.9 million). The company said this is an outstanding set of results with record revenues combining with improved gross profit retention to yield enhanced profitability. These results, enable us to announce our intention to pay our maiden dividend of 1.5 pence per share in respect of the financial year 2023.
Comment: An absolute knockout performance from Equals, with the only omission being the way that more private investors have not latched onto this company. Perhaps they only like stocks that are more of a punt.
Great Southern Copper (GSCU), the company focused on copper-gold exploration in Chile, provided an update of its regional exploration programmes at Especularita including the results of its recently completed stream sediment sampling survey. The company said the results from the survey have delineated new target areas for follow-up exploration. Multi-element zonation patterns identified in the data are consistent with the geochemical signatures for porphyry Cu, epithermal Au, and intrusive-related Cu-Au types of mineralisation. Using these results, the company will now commence a regional follow-up mapping and sampling campaign with the aim of delineating prospect-scale targets for scout drilling.
Comment: Shares of GSCU have tripled since July and with very little fanfare, or engagement in the market. Nevertheless, if this RNS is anything to go by there should be decent follow up here, even after recent gains.
Itaconix (ITX) reported a 32% improvement in Revenue for the Interim to end June 2023 with $4m along with its lowest ever EBITDA loss at $0.4m. The growth for this sustainable polymers developer is coming from cleaning products as the dishwasher detergents business continues to prosper. Further growth for its proprietary technology in plant-based polymers used to decarbonise everyday consumer products will be from new and higher margin products. The customer project pipeline is expected to deliver larger revenues and Itaconix benefits whether these are branded or own brand sales. The net cash of $10.9m after Februarys’ £10.5m fund raise at 255p and the 50 into 1 share consolidation should fund Itaconix to profitability in 2025.
Comment: The share price has drifted back to 180p giving a £24m Mkt Cap and look set to recover, given the disconnect between the market valuation and the stock price. There may also be the issue of the company’s business model, with some in the market not appreciating what a polymer is, let alone a sustainable plant based one.
Reabold Resources (RBD), the oil & gas investing company, announced that it has agreed to increase its interest in LNEnergy Limited by a further 1.6%, through the subscription of 18 new ordinary shares for a cash consideration of £250,000, at a price of £13,889 per share, funded from existing cash resources. This takes Reabold’s total shareholding to approximately 17.6% of LNEnergy’s enlarged share capital. RBD said following the positive permitting progress on the Colle Santo gas field announced last week and the subsequent acceleration of the work programme in Italy, it is delighted to be able to further increase its interest in LNEnergy. The 65Bcf field is development ready and is expected to generate significant cash flow once on stream, whilst providing crucial domestic energy resource for Italy.
Comment: The market continues to punish RBD via its share price, despite the solid enough looking strategy the company is delivering, such as topping up its stake in LNEnergy. The key here is the reminder that significant cashflow is expected, and its importance to Italy’s energy security.
Oracle Power (ORCP), an international project developer, announced the completion of its technical and commercial feasibility study, relating to its green hydrogen and green ammonia project in Pakistan. The company said the study’s results are very encouraging and on a par with industry expectations as observed in other green hydrogen projects announced worldwide. Following successful completion of the Study, Oracle Energy will now proceed with negotiations for firm offtake agreements with selected partners and finalise ongoing joint venture/equity partnership discussions.
Comment: ORCP may be surprising some with its progress regarding to the commercial feasibility study. This may be enough to finally end the recent bear run in the share price.
Cornerstone FS (CSFS), a foreign exchange and payments solutions company, announced its unaudited interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2023. Revenue increased by 90% to £3.6m (H1 2022: £1.9m) through the continued expansion of the Group’s payments capabilities and offering, and on-going investment in the sales function. Operating profit of £0.1m (H1 2022: £3.0m loss). Profit before tax of £23k (H1 2022: £3.0m loss). The company said it has been an excellent six months, delivering substantial revenue growth and achieving a first half-year period of profitability and operating cash generation. This has been driven by its enhanced sales efforts and focus on more fully commercialising its platform alongside important action to carefully manage its cost base as it grows.
Comment: Going from the red to the black is always a key moment in the life cycle of a company, even if the swing to profitability here has been marginal. It will be interesting to see whether the shares continue their recent recovery.
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