(Alliance News) - The following is a round-up of updates by London-listed companies, issued on Monday and not separately reported by Alliance News:
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Litigation Capital Management Ltd - New South Wales, Australia-based provider of dispute financing solutions - Notes that number of applications increased 10% in the year to June 30, with 572 applications received. Conversion into active investments was also consistent at 3%, with an increase in high profile quality investments requiring increased resource allocation. "We look forward to the coming year with optimism and an expectation that global economic conditions will be very conducive to growth," says Chief Executive Patrick Moloney.
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Science Group PLC - Cambridge, England-based consulting services group - Says its subsidiary Frontier Smart Technologies agreed with Imagination Technologies Ltd to settle all future royalties associated with the use of the licensed technology in consumer electronics for a single payment of USD6.0 million. Frontier was acquired by Science Group in 2019. The original technology used by Frontier was developed by Imagination and Frontier has paid licence royalties to Imagination on a quarterly basis. For 2020, such royalty payments totalled USD1.0 million. The new agreement is effective from July 1 and is anticipated to be earnings enhancing in the second half of 2021 and beyond.
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Dolphin Capital Investors Ltd - real estate investment company - Draws down the second tranche of EUR13.3 million on Friday last week. This is a part of a loan facility of up to EUR15 million with two institutional private credit providers. The first tranche of EUR1.8 million was drawn down on June 4. An amount of EUR1.5 million has been already repaid through the proceeds generated from the sale of the company's interests in the LaVanta project. The total outstanding loan facility amounts to EUR13.5 million.
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MP Evans Group PLC - Tunbridge Wells, England-based producer of crude palm oil - Says crop and production continued to increase in the first half of 2021, with crop of fresh fruit bunches up 28% year-on-year to 702,300 tonnes. Production of crude palm oil rose by 29% in the half-year to 161,400 tonnes and production of palm kernels was up 25% year-on-year to 34,700 tonnes. In the six months to the end of June, the company realised an average price at mill gate of USD724 per tonne compared with USD541 in the first half of 2020, an increase of 34%. Prices for palm kernels averaged USD491 per tonne, higher than the USD298 per tonne in 2020.
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Seplat Energy PLC - Nigerian energy company - Says its subsidiary Westport Oil Ltd has raised a USD50 million offtake linked reserved based lending facility due April 2027. The offtake facility is subordinated to the USD110 million senior reserve based lending facility. The offtake facility is scheduled to commence repayment from March 2023.
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Predator Oil & Gas Holdings PLC - Jersey-based fossil fuel company - Places 26.0 million new shares at a placing price of 5 pence each to raise GBP1.3 million before expenses. The company intends to use the proceeds for MOU-1 drilling campaign, onshore Morocco, to further appraise, in consultation with its partner, the large MOU-4 target. "Our immediate priority is to incorporate the positive results of the MOU-1 well into the evaluation of the MOU-4 target to optimise the location for a step-out well," said Chief Executive Paul Griffiths.
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NQ Minerals PLC - Australian mining company - Reports overall production of lead concentrates in the three months to June 30 of 8,775 dry metric tonnes and zinc concentrates of 4,410 dry metric tonnes. Payable gross gold production totals 1,096 ounces and payable gross silver production stands at 242,798 ounces. Mining and processing operations at Hellyer mine located Tasmania realised provisional second quarter gross revenues of AUD19.8 million, about GBP11.3 million, operating profit from operations of AUD11.0 million and net income of AUD5.7 million.
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Kavango Resources PLC - exploration company focussed on Botswana - and Power Metal Resources PLC - metal exploration company - Report "encouraging" soil sampling results from PL036/2020 in the Kalahari copper belt. The companies say 150 kilometres of soil sampling lines have now been completed over the Acacia and Morula targets on the South Ghanzi project. Morula is now estimated to be at least 18 kilometres long and between 800 metres and 2.4 kilometres in width. The anomaly remains open along strike in both directions. In addition to this, a third sub-parallel geochemical anomaly has been identified immediately to the south of Morula. This target - called "Happy" - appears to be at least 5 kilometres long and 700 metres wide. Promising, in-soil copper readings have been recorded on all three targets.
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Myanmar Strategic Holdings Ltd - developer and operator of consumer businesses located in Myanmar and Vietnam - Says Yangon American International School, the company's first private K-12 international school, has been recognised as an official international baccalaureate primary years programme school by the international baccalaureate organisation.
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Adriatic Metals PLC - Cheltenham, England-based precious and base metals explorer and developer - Receives the exploitation permit for the Rupice underground deposit from the Bosnian Federal Ministry for Energy, Mining & Industry. The Rupice exploitation permit is the final permitting requirement for construction of the Vares silver project. "This is the last of the permits required before construction, which we anticipate to commence in the final quarter of 2021. In the meantime, we expect to deliver the deferred feasibility study and environmental & social impact assessment in the coming weeks, and we look forward to developing this world-class asset," says Chief Executive & Managing Director Paul Cronin.
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Thor Explorations Ltd - Vancouver, Canada-based gold exploration and development company - Starts the commissioning of its gold processing plant following the successful turning of the mills at its Segilola gold project in Nigeria. Remaining work is focused primarily on the gold room, elution and electrowinning circuit, power connection, instrumentation and control installations.
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East Star Resources PLC - London-based natural resource focused company - Agrees to acquire Discovery Ventures Kazakhstan Ltd. DVK has negotiated the rights to certain prospective gold and base metals exploration licences in the Chu-ili and Rudny Altai mineral belts through a joint venture agreement with Kazakhstan national mining company Tau-Ken Samruk JSC. East Star says the projects are located in "highly prospective" areas where historical exploration and old mining operations demonstrate highly mineralised systems. Exploration activity on priority targets has already commenced with field sampling and magnetic surveying and drilling is expected to commence in the coming months. Under the term sheet, East Star has also subscribed for four, 12-month convertible loan notes of USD175,000 each issued by DVK, the proceeds of which will be used to continue exploration at the projects.
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Sareum Holdings PLC - Cambridge, England-based molecule drug discovery firm - Raises GBP1.0 million before expenses, through a subscription by a "high net worth individual", for 14.3 million new shares at a price of 7 pence per share. The subscription price represents a premium of 4.5% to the closing middle market price for Sareum shares on Friday last week. Under the terms of the subscription, the new subscriber will also be issued one five-year warrant, exercisable at the subscription price, for every subscription share issued. Sareum says the warrants can only be exercised following the company's closing middle market share price being above 9p per share for five consecutive days. The net proceeds from the subscription will be used to progress the company's SDC-1801 and SDC-1802 TYK2/JAK1 inhibitor drug development programmes as well as for working capital purposes.
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Science in Sport PLC - Nelson, England-based nutrition company - Reports the launch of its new, reformulated 'Beta Fuel' product range, which is designed to optimise sporting performance through improved carbohydrate delivery. The new products are believed to be category-leading in carbohydrate fuelling.
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Apollon Formularies PLC - London-based medical cannabis pharmaceutical company - Says its medical cannabis formulations were shown to be effective in killing both hormone-resistant and hormone-sensitive prostate cancer cells in 3D cell cultures in third party independent laboratory testing. This finding is in addition to the results that Apollon formulations were successful in killing HER2+ breast cancer cells and triple-negative breast cancer cells. This testing was performed under a joint testing agreement with Aion Therapeutic Inc.
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Egdon Resources PLC - UK-based exploration and production company - and Union Jack Oil PLC - Bath, England-based oil & gas company - Report positive results of a carbon intensity study carried out on the Biscathorpe project covered by licence PEDL253 where Egdon holds a 36% operated interest and Union Jack Oil has 45% stake. The study was conducted on behalf of the PEDL253 joint venture by Gaffney, Cline & Associates Ltd, an international energy consultancy. "The results of GaffneyCline's independent modelling provides strong evidence that a future development at Biscathorpe could achieve a low carbon intensity rating," says Egdon Managing Director Mark Abbott.
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United Oil & Gas PLC - London-based oil & gas company - Makes progress on the drilling of the Al Jahraa-8 development well in the Abu Sennan concession, onshore Egypt. United holds a 22% working interest in the licence, which is operated by Kuwait Energy Egypt. "We are delighted to be able to announce yet another positive result from the Abu Sennan licence. This latest success from the AJ-8 development well will not only provide an uplift to our low-cost production base, but also demonstrates the deeper potential that exists within the Bahariya formation targets. Encountering over 30 metres of net pay in the Bahariya Formations is significantly above our pre-drill expectations and will likely be targeted further in subsequent drilling campaigns," says Chief Executive Brian Larkin.
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Caerus Mineral Resources PLC - exploration & resource development company operating in the Republic of Cyprus - Starts the phase II drilling programme at Troulli, the flagship property in the suite acquired from the recent takeover of PR Ploutonic Resources Ltd. The goal of the programme is to expand the coverage over the high-grade epithermal gold zone and targeting the underlying copper-gold sulphide mineralisation. Phase II drilling aims to further define the limits of the surface epithermal gold mineralisation, which previously returned grades of up to 5.1 gold per tonne over 12 metres.
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Palace Capital PLC - London-based property investor - Completes the sale of Bridge House, High Street in Weybridge, Surrey, as part of its GBP30 million programme of non-core disposals. The asset is unencumbered and therefore the net proceeds of the GBP3.7 million sale, which is at a 6% premium to book value, will revert to the company. Following the latest disposal, Palace has now completed GBP9.4 million of strategic sales since the start of the new financial year in April. Proceeds will be used for acquisitions, which are in line with the company's strategy to create and maximise value from assets in those regional towns and cities which display the right growth fundamentals that can deliver value creation alongside Palace's asset management expertise.
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Marlowe PLC - London-based safety services and software provider - Buys governance, risk & compliance software-as-a-service platform Core Stream Ltd for an implied enterprise value of GBP18 million. The acquisition broadens Marlowe's digital and ESG service offerings and further deepens the firm's relationships with leading blue-chip organisations. In the year to the end of March, CoreStream generated adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of GBP1.5 million on revenue of GBP4.1 million.
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Sensyne Health PLC - Oxford, England-based healthcare technology company - Says it considers a potential dual-listing on Nasdaq. The company continues to explore strategic opportunities, including making acquisitions, that leverage its organic growth and create additional shareholder value. Any decision to list in the US would complement the company's primary listing on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange and Sensyne remains committed to being a UK-headquartered company.
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Bluebird Merchant Ventures Ltd - Korean company focused on gold development - Says the legal transfer of the Southern Gold holding in both South Korean projects - purchased on June 29 - was finalised this week. The company says it plans construction work to commence at Kochang gold mine, with the refurbishment of the main entrance to the mine.
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One Media iP Group PLC - Iver, England-based digital content provider - Buys some composition and recording rights to the catalogue of over 200 tracks of country music star Don Williams. No financial details of the deal were disclosed.
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Futura Medical PLC - Guilford, England-based drug manufacturer - Says last week it met with the US Food & Drug Administration for a pre-submission meeting to define and confirm the detail of the work required for OTC classification in the US for MED3000, a treatment for erectile dysfunction. On Monday, Futura confirms the US FDA has agreed to the design of the non-clinical, human factors study, subject to the issue of the final meeting minutes. The study will test the ability of subjects to self-diagnose their ED, correctly select the product based on label information and test their ability to correctly use the product without supervision of a doctor. The US regulator has asked for a minimum of 15 subjects to complete the study.
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Trinity Exploration & Production PLC - Leeds, England-based exploration & production company - Says a new Galeota exploration & production licence, on the east coast of Trinidad, has been issued by the Ministry of Energy & Energy Industries. Contemporaneously, Trinity has agreed new and improved commercial terms with its partner on the Block, Heritage Petroleum Co Ltd.
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Jade Road Investments Ltd - Hong Kong-headquartered investment vehicle - Says its 85%-held Future Metal Holdings Ltd confirms mineral resources of the Zhuangpeng mine, located in Shanxi province in China, of 35.95 million tonnes with an average grade of 21% dolomite oxide. The estimated net present value of the asset is CNY487.47 million, about USD75.5 million, using the discounted cash flow method with a 9% discount rate.
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Goldplat PLC - gold recovery services company in South Africa and Ghana - Provides Mayflower Gold and Papillon an extension to August 23 to complete the readmission to trading on the London Stock Exchange. The move follows the initial consideration receivable by Gold Mineral Resources Ltd, Goldplat's subsidiary, is in the form of a secured debenture of USD1.5 million to be satisfied by cash and/or the issue of shares to that value in Papillon Holdings PLC, payable on Papillon's re-admission to trading on the LSE following completion of its proposed reverse takeover of Mayflower Gold.
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Access Intelligence PLC - London-based software-as-a-service products provider - Reports annual contract value base increased by 25% to GBP24.7 million in the six months to the end of May. Over the 12 month period to May 31, ACV increased by 29%. First-half revenue increased by 17% year-on-year to GBP11.0 million. The company recorded a widened pretax loss to GBP3.4 million from GBP2.9 million posted the a year earlier, as recurring administrative expenses grew to GBP8.3 million from GBP6.8 million. "Growth has been capitalised on with significant investment in product innovation and operational scale accelerating expansion into North America and APAC for the second half of the year and the future," says Non-Executive Chair Christopher Satterthwaite.
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Yellow Cake PLC - Jersey-based uranium-focused company - Reports continued improvement in the market for uranium, with the spot price increasing 12% year-on-year to USD30.65 per pound on March 31. The value of the company's uranium holding of 9.86 million pounds has increased 39% to USD302.12 million as at March 31. Yellow Cake reported pretax profit growth to USD29.9 million for the year to the end of March from USD12.5 million posted the year prior.
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Ruffer Investment Co Ltd - London-based investment firm - Reports net asset value per share on June 30 of 281.32 pence, up from 245.81p posted the year before. Says the share price of 287p, represents a 2.0% premium to NAV. The company declared dividend of 1.90p, up from 1.85p paid the year before.
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AltynGold PLC - London-based miner - Says average grade in the second quarter of 2021 improved by more than 11% quarter-over-quarter to 1.98 grammes per tonne. The company is working on further grade improvements in the upcoming quarters. The quantity of contained gold increased by more than by 13% quarter-over-quarter. The company says it expects further increases over the coming quarters. Revenue increased by more than 26% quarter-over-quarter despite a fall in gold prices during last month, the increase was mainly driven by higher gold grades achieved.
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ECR Minerals PLC - Fulham, England-based exploration & development company - Reports progress on drilling the Creswick gold project in the Victoria Goldfields, Australia. The project is 100%-owned by ECR's wholly owned Australian subsidiary Mercator Gold Australia Pty Ltd. Diamond drilling along the Dimock Main Shales trend has continued to delineate gold mineralisation along the strike zone in a southerly direction from the first drill hole at CSD001.
To date six holes have been completed, four holes have been fully assayed, with final gold assays now received for holes CSD001, CSD002, CSD003 and CSD004. All holes drilled to date have hit multiple and significant zones of quartz and all holes with assays returned have intercepted gold, with the best results from CSD003 drilled where there were no historic workings.
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Invesco Asia Trust PLC - investment firm - Posts net asset value per share as at April 30 of 420.70p, up from 279.64p reported the year ago. NAV total return stands at 56% while shareholder return is 56%. This is ahead of the company's benchmark, the MSCI AC Asia ex Japan Index, which returned 35% over the same period. Invesco Asia Trust share price on April 30 was 386.00p, representing 8.2% discount to NAV. The company will pay a dividend of 15.10p for the year, up from 7.0p distributed the year before.
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Schroder Real Estate Investment Trust Ltd - investment company - Reports net asset value per share increase of 4.1% and a NAV total return of 5.3% per share for the quarter to June 30. Also, declares further 3% quarterly dividend increase to 0.675 pence per share. The trust says its portfolio valuation increased by 2.6% net of capital expenditure over the quarter, driven by the performance of industrial, which represents the largest component of the portfolio by value.
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By Evelina Grecenko; evelinagrecenko@alliancenews.com
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