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(Alliance News) - The following is a round-up of updates by London-listed companies not separately reported by Alliance News:
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Shepherd Neame Ltd - Faversham, Kent-based brewer and pub chain - Cuts annual pretax loss to GBP16.4 million, narrowed from GBP21.0 million the year before. Revenue shrinks to GBP86.9 million, down 26% year-on-year from GBP118.2 million. Notes that beer volume has been resilient throughout the pandemic and new on-trade customers have been obtained since re-opening. Highlights encouraging start to the new financial year, with strong demand for food and accommodation since July. Drinks trade is also recovering since the return to offices in London from September.
"We are greatly encouraged by the customer response since re-opening and are confident that beer and pubs remain every bit as core to British life as pre-pandemic," says Chief Executive Jonathan Neame. "We face challenges ahead, particularly with supply chain and inflationary pressures. That said, we are confident that the long term fundamental drivers for the business remain strong, including the ongoing infrastructure investment in our heartland, anticipated local population growth, changes in consumer and workplace trends, and our position at the centre of the community."
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Nostrum Oil & Gas PLC - oil & gas company - Extends forbearance agreement to Nov 26 from Nov 9 previously. The exploration and production company, which operates in the Caspian Basin area in eastern Europe, entered forbearance talks back in August 2020 after failing to pay interest due on its 8.0% senior notes due 2022 and 7.0% senior notes due 2025. It then struck a deal in October 2020. At the time, Nostrum said the forbearances included agreeing not to accelerate the notes' obligations as a result of the missed interest payments. Since then the expiry of the forbearance has been extended several times.
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Amte Power PLC - developer and manufacturer of lithium-ion and sodium-ion battery cells - Awarded small grant by Scottish government as part of its aim to achieve zero emissions from heavy duty vehicles such as buses, lorries and construction vehicles. The project will involve AMTE designing a specific battery module for the Ultra Energy cell. Chief Executive Kevin Brundish comments: "The electric vehicle market has not surprisingly been a significant focus throughout COP26. The Scottish government have been at the forefront of this debate and we are delighted to be participating in the zero emission heavy duty vehicles project."
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System1 Group PLC - marketing and brand consultancy based in London - Files a complaint for trademark infringement against System1 LLC over the infringing use of its name. "The company takes the protection of its unique intellectual property very seriously and believes such ongoing and expanding use by the opposing party is likely to cause significant confusion with System1 Group PLC and its registered marks and, moreover, constitutes intentional infringement, in violation of relevant US federal and state trademark laws as well as trademark laws in the UK, the EU and other countries," the company explains. The consultancy firms adds it believes it has a "compelling" case against the opposing party.
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Travel Chapter Holdings PLC - Bideford, Devon-based online holiday rental platform - Postpones proposed initial public offering due to "market volatility". The travel firm was initial planning to float on the London Stock Exchange's AIM market in mid-November. "Although Travel Chapter received considerable institutional investor support for the group's business model, growth strategy and management team, the board and shareholders have decided that proceeding with an initial public offering in this period of market volatility is not in the best interests of the group and its stakeholders," the company announces. Travel Chapter owns the brand holidaycottages.co.uk.
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Crossword Cybersecurity PLC - Richmond, England-based cyber security and risk-focused technology commercialisation company - Partners with Darkbeam to help improve Crossword's third-party risk management platform, Rizikon. Crossword will integrate Darkbeam's cyber risk ratings into the platform, helping organisations to further minimise the risk of digital threat. Rizikon users will be able to see the headline cyber risk rating on each supplier's scorecard. Crossword Sales Director Sean Arrowsmith says: "We are very pleased to partner with Darkbeam and help Rizikon customers further understand and manage the cyber risks that may exist in their supply chains. All too often these risks are unknown and only exposed when a cyber event occurs."
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Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd - Bangladesh-based pharmaceutical company - Is to begin selling the world's first generic version of Merck's coronavirus pill, molnupiravir. The drug is the first anti-viral pill for Covid-19 that can be taken at home and was recently developed by US firms Ridgeback Biotherapeutics LP and Merck & Co Inc. Beximco's branded generic version of molnupiravir will be marketed as Emorivir. The drug is for people who have had a positive Covid test and have at least one risk factor for developing severe illness, such as obesity, being over the age of 60, diabetes or heart disease. The UK's Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said the drug is safe and effective at reducing the risk of hospital admission and death in people with mild to moderate Covid who are at extra risk from the virus. As an oral treatment that can be administered at home, molnupiravir has the "potential to have a significant impact on the treatment paradigm for Covid-19", Beximco states.
"The launch of a generic version of molnupiravir, the world's first oral antiviral drug to treat Covid-19, is another example of Beximco Pharma's ability to rapidly respond to make affordable treatments available to patients suffering from Covid-19. This is a great achievement for the company and one which we believe could play an important role in combating the pandemic, especially in low- and middle-income countries where access to vaccines has been limited," comments Managing Director Nazmul Hassan.
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Induction Healthcare Group PLC - healthcare technology company - Wins two-year contract to provide communications services to support the virtualisation of the UK benefits system. The contract, awarded by the Department of Work and Pensions, includes options for the department to extend the agreement term for up to a further two years. The contract value is for up to GBP2.6 million for the initial two years, totalling up to GBP5.2 million for the full four years. Chief Executive of Induction James Balmain comments: "This is our first major contract outside of the healthcare space and exemplifies the versatility of Induction's platforms as we look to expand from the secondary healthcare market".
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Netcall PLC - Bedford-based customer engagement software provider - Redeems GBP3.5 million of its existing GBP7.0 million loan note with BGF. The loan note was issued by the company to part fund the acquisition of MatsSoft in August 2017 and is repayable on or before March 2025. The interest cost resulting from the early redemption is GBP300,000 and the repayment will reduce the annual interest costs of the loan note from GBP600,000 to GBP300,000, Netcall explains.
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Castillo Copper Ltd - Perth, Australia-based exploration company - Says it is seeing "significant advances" in progressing its operations in Queensland and Zambia. Has samples collected and assessed for the extent of pegmatite outcropping at Picasso Lithium project, Western Australia. At its Luanshya project in Zambia, notes work now focused on formulating the inaugural drilling campaign. "We are pleased to report that we have made significant advances on several fronts in our copper operations in Queensland and Zambia. Specifically, the team on site at the Arya Prospect have overcome harsh conditions to progress our pioneering drilling campaign forward," comments Managing Director Simon Paull.
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Faron Pharmaceuticals Oy - Turku, Finland-based clinical stage biopharmaceutical company - Awarded EUR3.8 million in damages in arbitration case against Rentschler Biopharma. The Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce ruled in favour of Faron. Faron was seeking damages from Rentschler for the termination of an agreement concerning the manufacturing of acute respiratory distress syndrome drug Traumakine. In October 2019, Rentschler had terminated the agreement to manufacture the active ingredient in Traumakine. After investigation, Faron concluded that the termination of the agreement breached the underlying agreement between the parties.
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BlueRock Diamonds PLC - Kareevlei diamond mine in the Kimberley region of South Africa - Reiterates confidence in achieving targeted production guidance of 22,000 to 26,000 carats, having produced 19,362 carats as at November 3. Says the Company is focused on completing an expansion project aimed at increasing tonnages at Kareevlei to provide the economies of scale to turn the mine into a "highly cash generative asset". Highlights "significant cost and operating efficiency benefits" anticipated once the new plant is running at capacity.
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Genedrive PLC - molecular diagnostics company - Narrows annual loss to GBP700,000 from GBP19.4 million the prior year. Revenue falls back below the million mark to GBP687,000 from GBP1.1 million. Notes short term outlook is centred on launch of two POC products: AIHL and CoV-POC. "We are at an exciting phase for the company with both the AIHL and CoV-POC products about to enter their commercial stages. Our balance sheet is strengthened following the recent equity raise and we are well placed to drive shareholder value going forwards," explains Chief Executive David Budd.
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AEW UK REIT PLC - UK commercial property investor - Buys 12 acre Central Six Retail Park in Coventry for GBP16.4 million. The purchase price reflects a net initial yield of around 11%, with an anticipated reversionary yield of circa 12.5%, AEW highlights. "At present the retail warehouse sector is providing some interesting opportunities, often underpinned by alternative use value, and occupied by tenants that have shown resilience during the pandemic. We are pleased to add this asset to the portfolio and will continue to target acquisitions where we believe valuations offer the opportunity to deliver both strong income and capital performance," says Portfolio Manager Alex Short.
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SVM UK Emerging Fund PLC - investor in small listed companies in the UK - Outperforms interim net asset value benchmark in a resilient first half. In the six months ended September 30, net asset value gained 17% to 145.7p per share, compared to a return of 8.4% at 125.00p on Mar 31 in the IA UK All Companies Sector Average Index. Growth was underpinned by positive contributions from Watches of Switzerland, Alpha FX Group, Dianomi, Reach and Dechra Pharmaceuticals. "The sharp recovery in the UK economy is creating value in some disruptive businesses," notes Chair Peter Dicks.
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Fidelity Special Values PLC - aims for capital growth by investing in special situations - Hikes full year dividend to 6.67 pence, an increase of 15% over the dividend of 5.80 pence paid in the prior year. The payout uplift follows net asset value growth of 56% for the year ended August 31, outperforming the benchmark index, which returned 27%. NAV per share hit 304.79p at year end, from 199.81p the previous year. "The year under review was an extraordinary one, in terms of the global and external factors affecting the companies in which we invest, the broader market, the daily lives of our shareholders, and their personal investments. This in turn led to extraordinary changes in investor confidence and sentiment leading to a remarkable, if uneven, recovery of asset prices," comments Chair Andy Irvine.
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Amryt Pharma PLC - biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel treatments for rare diseases - Last Wednesday, reaffirms full year revenue guidance in range between USD220 million and USD225 million. The forecast revenue range would represent annual growth between 20% and 23%. Amryt posts third quarter revenue of USD56.5 million, up 15% year-on-year. Gross profit grows to USD29.3 million from USD22.3 million a year before. "Overall, the results demonstrate the strong growth we are experiencing across our business and represent our seventh consecutive quarter of positive earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation generation and this performance has been delivered despite the challenging Covid pandemic," says Chief Executive Joe Wiley.
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Standard Life Investments Property Income Trust Ltd - commercial property investor - Last Thursday, maintains third quarter dividend at 0.8925 pence per share. For the quarter, net asset value per share rises to 93.1p on September 30, from 88.3p on June 30. Says portfolio valuation increased by 4.7% on a like-for-like basis during the three months.
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Asia Wealth Group Holdings Ltd - Asia-focused investor in wealth management businesses - Last Friday, posts a slight rise in interim pretax profit to USD123,000 from USD117,000 a year before. The improvement was principally attributed to higher revenue, which climbed 5.1% to USD940,000. States that the group is "continuing to forge new revenue generating relationships, as well as expanding revenue creating opportunities", and is seeking new partnerships with firms in the same and new sectors.
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By Will Paige; willpaige@alliancenews.com
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