(Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices on Thursday.
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FTSE 250 - WINNERS
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IP Group, up 2.7%. IP Group's portfolio company Oxford Nanopore Technologies has raised GBP29.3 million of new capital. IP Group's stake in Oxford Nanopore will be 16% upon completion of the fundraising, it said, valued at around GBP264 million. Oxford Nanopore noted that funds were raised from both new investors and existing shareholders from the US, Europe and Asia Pacific. "We're delighted to see another successful fundraising for Oxford Nanopore which rounds off an impressive year of commercial success and technical validation of nanopore sequencing," said IP Group Chief Executive Alan Aubrey.
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FTSE 250 - LOSERS
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Tullow Oil, down 3.4%. The London-based oil & gas producer said it has discovered oil on the Kanuku licence off the coast of Guyana, South America, but less than expected. Early results from drilling at the Carapa-1 well suggest the finding of oil in Upper Cretaceous sandstones. Results show the four metres of net oil pay has a sulphur content of less than 1%. Chief Operating Officer Mark MacFarlane said: "While net pay and reservoir development at this location are below our pre-drill estimates, we are encouraged to find good quality oil which proves the extension of the prolific Cretaceous play into our acreage." He added: "We will now integrate the results of the three exploration wells drilled in these adjacent licences into our Guyana and Suriname geological and geophysical models before deciding the future work programme."
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OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS
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Eqtec, up 70%. The Cork, Ireland-based energy company said North Fork Community Power finalised and signed the legal documentation that allows the financial close of the proposed construction and operation of a 2 megawatts biomass plant at the North Fork project, US. Back in June, Eqtec said it will buy a 20% interest in North Fork Community Power on financial close of the project. On Thursday, the company said this acquisition has now been completed. Under the contract, Eqtec said it will invoice to North Fork Community Power a total of EUR2.2 million for the sale of equipment and the supply of engineering and design services. On commissioning - expected before the end of the first quarter of 2021 - the project is estimated to have a valuation of USD20 million, Eqtec said, and be capable of generating annual revenue of USD4 million.
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Tasty, up 35%. The restaurant operator said fourth-quarter sales to-date remain in line with expectations, and it remains confident that current market forecasts for 2019 will be achieved. In addition, Tasty has sold its dim t More London site for GBP2 million. The move is a part of the company's strategy of reducing exposure where it is experiencing increasing property and labour costs. The company said it intends to use the proceeds from the sale to pay off its remaining bank debt, to fund the working capital and selected restaurant refurbishment plans.
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Caspian Sunrise, up 17%. The Kazakhstan-focused oil & gas firm said deep well A5 at its Airshagyl structure at BNG, western Kazakhstan, has been flowing without artificial stimulation for four days. The well has been drilled to a total depth of 4,405 metres, Caspian said, and it now producing oil without interruption. Production is estimated to have steadily increased to a rate of 1,500 barrels of oil per day, with further increases expected. "This is the result we have been working to achieve for a long time," Executive Chair Clive Carver said. Caspian said it plans a 90 day flow test of the well, which will help quantify the reserves at Airshagyl.
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OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - LOSERS
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Anglo African Oil & Gas, down 8.7%, and Zenith Energy, down 12%. Zenith said it has appointed a Gabon government official as an advisor ahead of its planned acquisition of an 80% stake in Anglo African Oil & Gas Congo. Zenith has appointed Andre-Brice Boumbendje - currently employed by Gabon's Ministry of Hydrocarbons & Mines. In 2016, he was made diplomatic council for the Ministry of Hydrocarbons and became Gabon's representative at the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in Vienna. Boumbendje's appointment is intended to assist Zenith in managing government relations within central Africa's French-speaking countries and the Republic of the Congo in particular. The Republic of the Congo joined OPEC in June 2018, putting it among the oil cartel's newest members.
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By Evelina Grecenko; evelinagrecenko@alliancenews.com
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