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(Alliance News) - The following is a round-up of updates by London-listed companies on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, issued on Friday and not separately reported by Alliance News:
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C4X Discovery Holdings PLC - Manchester-based drug company - Chief Executive Clive Dix appointed a member and deputy chair of the Steering Board of the UK Vaccine Taskforce, the group set up by the UK government to lead UK efforts to find and manufacture a Covid-19 vaccine. Appointment will not impact his day-to-day role as CEO.
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Somero Enterprises Inc - US-based construction machinery maker - Implementing further precautionary actions to reduce costs and conserve cash due to ongoing uncertainty. Furloughing 20% of workforce, cancelling of all bonus and profit-sharing payments for 2020, curtailing discretionary spending and additional capital expenditure. Expects USD5 million in savings through new measures. Expects net cash of USD24 million at June 30. Trading has fallen 25% below levels required to achieve market expectation of USD90 million in revenue for 2020. Remains profitable and cash generative. Difficult at this time to provide further guidance on performance.
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MP Evans Group PLC - Indonesian palm oil producer - Sees little effect on operations from virus outbreak, will all estates and mills working normally during the last three months. Crop of oil-palm fresh fruit bunches for five months to May 31 275,900 tonnes from group estates, up 16% year-on-year. Crops from the smallholder co-operatives up 17% at 70,300 tonnes. Produced 106,000 tonnes of crude palm oil during the five months, up 35% year-on-year. Average price of crude palm oil USD659 per tonne, up from USD533 a year ago. Confident to deliver crop growth and improved results.
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Yew Grove REIT PLC - Irish commercial property owner - Second quarter rent collections above expectations at 97%. Agrees a temporary rent deferral with a repayment plan on an additional 1.9% of the unpaid balance, bringing the total to 98.9%. In talks over remainder of rent collections.
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Caledonia Mining Corp PLC - Jersey-based gold producer - Seeks a voluntary delisting from the Toronto Stock Exchange, effective from June 19. Shares will continue to be listed and trade on NYSE American LLC. Depositary interests representing shares will also continue to trade on London's junior AIM stock market.
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LSL Property Services PLC - Newcastle-based estate agency - Underlying operating profit for three months to March 31 up 62% to GBP3.4 million year-on-year. Revenue decreased by 6% on a like-for-like basis due to tenant fee ban and reduced March trading. Net bank debt at March 31 of GBP42.1 million. Generated an underlying operating profit of GBP1.6 million in April versus GBP2.9 million a year ago. April revenue reduced by 56% year-on-year due to virus disruption. Well positioned financially to meet highly stressed conditions. At May 31, 207 Estate Agency branches out of a total of 231 branches opened and 41% of furloughed staff returned to work. Seeing early indication of positive sales activity.
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IGas Energy PLC - London-based oil & gas producer - Temporarily shut-in of sites during May and June will have a positive impact on cash flow of GBP500,000, but will reduce production by 600 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Places 40 employees on furlough. Will monitor oil price and furlough scheme to see when production should be restarted. Reviewing costs in light of volatile oil price. Cash balances of GBP2.2 million and net debt of GBP10.8 million at May 31.
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Fulcrum Utility Services Ltd - Sheffield-based utility services - Reaches relationship agreement with shareholders Harwood Capital LLP and Bayford Group regarding composition of the board and to carry on business independently of Harwood and Bayford. Harwood owns 11% stake and Bayford has 13% interest. To appoint Jeremy Brade, partner at Harwood, and Jonathan Turner, chief executive officer and owner of Bayford, to board. To amend Articles of Association in order to incorporate additional protections. Harwood withdraws tender offer for Fulcrum.
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Global Petroleum Ltd - Melbourne-based oil explorer - To delist from the Australian Stock Exchange in order to streamline stock listing and compliance costs. Does not have any direct Australian interests and four of its six board members are now based in the UK. Australian institutional and retail investor interest in the company is low and has remained so despite continued efforts to attract and retain investors based in Australia. Maintaining two listings, AIM and ASX, adds additional costs to the company's business.
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Braveheart Investment Group PLC - Barnsley-based investment company - Buys further 22,145 ordinary shares in PhaseFocus Holdings Ltd. Upon completion of the transaction, Braveheart will own 43% of PhaseFocus. Braveheart has issued 700,000 new ordinary shares at 29 pence per ordinary share as non-cash consideration for the PhaseFocus ordinary shares.
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By Tapan Panchal; tapanpanchal@alliancenews.com
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