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(Alliance News) - The following is a round-up of updates by London-listed companies, issued on Friday and not separately reported by Alliance News:
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Asia Dragon Trust PLC - invests in Asian equity markets - Net asset value total return 21% for year to August 31, outperforming benchmark, the MSCI Asia ex Japan Index, which only rises 15%. Net asset value per share at end of August is 556.60 pence, up from 474.39p a year ago. "Looking ahead, we remain cautiously optimistic about Asian markets in spite of the challenging operating environment, including fresh Covid-19 outbreaks caused by the delta variant, the intense regulatory scrutiny in China, and a build-up of inflationary pressures that could precipitate higher interest rates globally," it says.
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Henderson Far East Income Ltd - Asia Pacific-focused investor - Net asset value total return for year to August 31 7.2%, lagging FTSE All-World Asia Pacific ex Japan Index and MSCI AC Asia Pacific ex Japan High Dividend Yield Index which both return 17%. NAV per share stands at 299.58p at August-end, down slightly from 301.02p a year ago. Net assets grow to GBP452.6 million from GBP425.9 million. Pays total dividend of 23.40p for year. "Capital performance over the year was poor with yield, as an investment style, continuing to struggle in the current 'growth at any price' frenzy... However, the yield from the dividend reached 7.8%, notably outstripping the yield of the company's competitors in the AIC sector as well as the 12-month inflation rate of 3.2% at 31 August 2021," it notes.
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Cindrigo Holdings Ltd - renewable energy company previously known as Challenger Acquisitions - Pretax loss for financial year to June 30 stable at GBP132,000 versus GBP133,000 the year before. Says main activity in the period was continuing to progress reverse takeover of Cindrigo Ltd, which completed at end of July. "Following completion of the reverse takeover, the company has procured the transfer of all the assets and liabilities of Cindrigo Energy Ltd to Cindrigo Ltd and is seeking to wind up Cindrigo Energy Ltd in the Courts of British Columbia," it says.
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CYBA PLC - cyber security-focused acquisition company - Reports pretax loss of GBP849,130 for six months to June 30, widened from GBP735,478 year-on-year. "The majority of this comprises the expenditure relating to the admission of the company onto the Main market of the London Stock Exchange in March of this year. Furthermore, additional expenditure was incurred conducting due diligence on the Narf transaction," it explains. Says near-term goal remains completing the Narf deal. Separately on Friday says acquisition target Narf Industries LLC and Narf Industries PR LLC has won another contract for US Department of Defense. "Narf has begun the R&D phase and expects the effort to result in additional cybersecurity software and IP in which it will have a proprietary interest," it says.
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Scancell Holdings PLC - Oxford, England-based immunotherapies for treatment of cancer and infectious disease - Pretax loss of GBP16.8 million for year to April 30 is sharply wider than GBP6.8 million the year before. Firm books finance expense relating to derivative liability of GBP6.3 million, versus nothing a year ago. Development expenses also rise, to GBP6.4 million from GBP4.7 million. No revenue reported in either period. "Following the issue of shares and convertible loan notes earlier in the financial year, the directors believe that the company is well-funded and its diverse pipeline, based upon its proprietary platforms, is on track to deliver multiple value inflection points over the next 18 months," it says.
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Westmount Energy Ltd - invests in companies which operate in oil & gas related industries - Pretax loss for financial year to June GBP1.0 million, widening from GBP111,493 the year before. Books fair value loss on financial assets of GBP692,288 versus gain of GBP201,252 the year before. "Westmount's strategy remains one of offering shareholders exposure to high impact drilling outcomes in the Guyana-Suriname Basin via material indirect holdings in some key licences. In this context, and in spite of the access challenges, your board remains focused on investment opportunities and deployment of capital that gives additional exposure to drilling in this prolific emerging basin," it says.
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Grit Real Estate Income Group Ltd - pan-African property investment and management - EPRA net reinstatement value per share USD1.024 at June 30, down from USD1.171 a year ago. Dividend declared for year 1.5 cents, down from 5.25 cents year ago. "The board has decided against declaring a final dividend for the year ended 30 June 2021, but plans to resume payments in the current financial year ending 30 June 2022 with a view to the group's LTV meaningfully declining towards the board's near term target of 45%," it says.
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Marwyn Acquisition Co II Ltd - looking for make acquisition in sectors including media, technology and consumer e-commerce - Pretax loss for period stretching July 31, 2020 to June 30, 2021 GBP636,096 and total assets stand at GBP12.9 million at year-end. Firm was incorporated in July 2020 and listed in London in December. "During the period, the directors have continued to progress the company's strategy in seeking appropriate management partners and considering the optimal capital structure to execute the company's strategy," it says.
Marwyn Acquisition Co III Ltd, also incorporated July 2020, books pretax loss of GBP626,141 for same period.
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Fidelity Emerging Markets Ltd - long-term capital growth from exposure to emerging market companies - Net asset value per participating preference share total return 25%, just lagging MSCI EM (TR) Index which returns 26%. NAV per participating preference share USD13.99 at June 30, up from USD10.17 year ago. "We have seen moments of market turbulence caused by China anti-trust laws and regulation and more recently by beleaguered property developer China Evergrande. The board is confident that Fidelity, as an experienced emerging markets manager, aided by the insights of its teams based in China and throughout the Asia region will be able to navigate through volatile markets and deliver attractive returns to shareholders," it says.
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Bluebird Merchant Ventures Ltd - Korean-focused gold development group - Makes pretax profit of USD8.0 million for first half of 2021, swinging from loss of USD638,051 year-on-year. This is driven by USD8.3 million gain on acquisition of joint venture. No revenue reported in either period. The first half of 2021 was "devoted solely" to agreeing a deal with Southern Gold Ltd, it says. This was announced in June. "Further to the last announcement on 19 July 2021 the company can announce that the prospectus process is progressing for the issuance of the balance of outstanding shares to Southern Gold at 3.6p per share," it says.
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Roquefort Investments PLC - London-based investor in early-stage medical biotechnology businesses - Reports pretax loss of GBP301,232 for first six months of 2021, widened from GBP7,624 a year ago. Post period end, enters into deal to buy Lyramid Ltd for GBP1 million. Will be seeking to carry out placing to raise GBP3 million to finance the cash component of the consideration, pre-clinical drug development and working capital.
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Dukemount Capital PLC - investor in the sustainable and flexible energy markets - Pretax loss for year ended April widens to GBP913,827 from GBP331,649. Revenue grows to GBP3.3 million from GBP2.4 million, but cost of sales jumps to GBP3.5 million from GBP2.3 million. "The loss was primarily as a consequence of fees in relation to the maintenance of the company's listing, costs incurred on completing our development projects and pursuing transactions," it says.
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Black Sea Property PLC - property developer in Bulgaria - Net asset value per share at June 30 1.20 cents, down from 1.23 cents at end of December. Revenue in half-year rises to EUR207,147 from EUR129,476, but pretax loss widens to EUR593,746 from EUR72,420. "During the period, the trend for high domestic demand in the hospitality segment continued from 2020...Nevertheless, the expected occupancy levels were adversely influenced due to significant Covid restrictions impacting international travel," it says - though adds domestic demand helped occupancy levels reach 75% in July and 82% in August.
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Caracal Gold PLC - gold producer with operations in East Africa - Pretax loss for first half of 2021 GBP362,000, widened from GBP165,000 a year ago. Says it achieved "a full transformation" in period. "The acquisition of Kilimapesa, which is Caracal's flagship gold asset, allows the company to not only gain a foothold into the highly prospective, yet underexplored, East African gold region but also build the starting block of our gold portfolio, which in the future, will include multiple assets located across the region, also home to Barrick Gold and AngloGold Ashanti," it says.
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Rambler Metals & Mining PLC - Canada-focused copper and gold producer, explorer and developer - Revenue for first half of 2021 grows to USD13.4 million from USD12.7 million year-on-year, while pretax loss slims to USD4.8 million from USD7.6 million. Production costs for period slashed to USD10.4 million from USD14.1 million. Also notes improvement in commodity prices in period, with average copper selling price improving to USD3.35 per pound from USD2.61 and gold up to USD1,801 per ounce from USD1,649. "We look forward to crystallising our improving performance into positive cashflow at the end of 2021 from which all of our stakeholders will benefit," says President & Chief Executive Toby Bradbury.
Separately says it has completed USD22 million 3-year senior secured debt financing with NewGen Resource Lending Inc. Says loan note will be closed in three tranches, with first tranche of USD12.4 million this Friday, USD1.8 million next Friday and USD7.8 million by December 31. Bradbury says financing is "a significant milestone for Rambler". "It enables us to complete the redevelopment of the Ming Mine and bring the operation into an efficient and sustainable production in the near term. We are appreciative of the support provided by NewGen and West Face in the structuring of this package," he added.
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New Century AIM VCT PLC - venture capital trust - Net asset value per share up to 121.6p at August 31 from 103.0p at end of February. Says this 18% growth outperforms FTSE AIM All-Share index, which rises 7.9% over same period. Makes six further investments in the period, investing in Arecor Therapeutics PLC, Belluscura PLC, Lunglife AI Inc, Sulnox Group PLC, Trellus Health PLCand Truspine Technologies PLC.
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UK Mortgages Ltd - aims to provide stable returns through the application of "relatively conservative levels of leverage" to portfolios of UK mortgages - Net asset value per share at June 30 77.79p, down from 80.59p a year ago. NAV total return for year 3.0%. "The year has been eventful, but ultimately one of significant progress, leaving the company very well placed to capitalise on what remains a very favourable macro environment for mortgage related assets," it says.
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Limitless Earth PLC - makes investments in firms that show potential to generate returns through capital appreciation - Net assets at end of July GBP1.9 million, down GBP2.0 million at end of January. Total income for six months to July 31 GBP18,788, up from GBP13,430 year-on-year. Pretax loss widens to GBP102,839 from GBP20,579. "In addition to its current portfolio of investments, during the reporting period, the company looked at new potential investments and opened a series of due diligence on potential new investments some of which are ongoing. The board continues to actively source new investments," it says.
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IMC Exploration Group PLC - Dublin-based exploration company focused on Ireland - Pretax loss for financial year to June 30 GBP338,480, widened from GBP251,947 a year before. This reflects growth in administrative expenses as well as firm taking GBP43,484 intangible assets write-off. "We expect that 2022 will be a milestone year for the Company and, in addition to completing the Karaberd purchase, the company is also reviewing further projects including discussions with a major international company on how best to extract the mineral resources in IMC's Avoca spoils and tailings' heaps in an eco-friendly and cost-effective manner," company says.
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By Lucy Heming; lucyheming@alliancenews.com
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