(Alliance News) - The following is a round-up of updates by London-listed companies on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, issued on Monday and not separately reported by Alliance News:
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Open Orphan PLC - pharmaceutical services - Subsidiary hVIVO enters contract with Nasdaq-listed diagnostics firm Quotient to use MosaiQ system and MosaiQ Covid-19 antibody microarray to screen for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, which is produced when humans are infected with Covid-19.
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Avacta Group PLC - biotherapeutics - To ship Affimer reagents for the development of a point-of-care saliva-based Covid-19 antigen test strip by Cytiva, for CE Marking in Europe and US Food & Drug Administration approval. Will also be sent to Adeptrix, which is developing Covid-19 laboratory test to run on hospital mass spectrometers.
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BlueRock Diamonds PLC - diamonds - Recommences operations at Kareevlei diamond mine in Kimberley, South Africa. Expects to start operations at full capacity by the end of May, but expansion plans on hold.
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Chesterfield Resources PLC - mineral exploration - Plans to resume drilling operations on its Troodos West licences by mid-June, following government of Cyprus providing a detailed four-phase roadmap out of lockdown, which is spread over the next two months up until July 14.
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Blencowe Resources PLC - mining - Recommences key metallurgical test work on Orom-Cross graphite project in Uganda, after being on hold for six weeks since late March due to lockdown. Due to restart 59-hole diamond drilling programme, which is designed to deliver a maiden JORC resource during the middle of 2020.
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Phoenix Spree Deutschland Ltd - real estate - Rent collection for April at 98% compared to 99% in January. Refinances EUR16.4 million in debt acquired as part of acquisition of Brandenburg apartment complex. Will pay second dividend of 5.15 cents per share, remain confident in long-term outlook.
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Petro Matad Ltd - Mongolian oil explorer - Executive directors, non-executive directors and senior managers to take salary cut averaging 50%, backdated to the start of second quarter of 2020. Professional advisers to reduce its fees by up to 45%. To focus on securing Block XX exploitation licence and retaining its Block V exploitation licence.
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Anglo African Agriculture PLC - agriculture investment - Trading subsidiary Dynamic Intertrade remains fully operational despite South Africa lockdown, due to providing essential services as a food manufacturer. Expects revenue for six months ending October 31 to double year-on-year. Progress with Comarco transaction protracted due to general market environment.
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iEnergizer Ltd - media and technology services - Continues to trade effectively in lockdown imposed by government of India. Business operating at 80% to 90% efficiency to its clients. Balance sheet, net cash position and long-term customer relationships remain strong.
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Cake Box Holdings PLC - cakes retailer - Following initial trial of limited number of stores operating Click & Collect service and delivery in partnership, now has 79 franchise stores open, offering a limited menu of products. Expects to have full high street estate open by early June.
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Midwich Group PLC - audio-visual distributor - Delivered strong performance in 2019, with growth in revenue and rise in profit. Challenging trading conditions over the past two months, expected to continue until lockdown conditions in Europe and North America are "significantly eased".
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By Dayo Laniyan; dayolaniyan@alliancenews.com
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