SMALL-CAP WINNERS & LOSERS: Ferrexpo third-quarter output declines

Mon, 07th Oct 2024 10:53

(Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers among London Main Market small-caps on Monday.

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SMALL-CAP - WINNERS

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Argo Blockchain PLC, up 8.5% at 9.22 pence, 12-month range 7.40p-36.00p. The stock looks set to snap a six-day losing streak. Shares in the cryptocurrency miner have been pushed higher on Monday by a more robust bitcoin price. Bitcoin traded at USD63,271 around 1045 BST, 0.7% higher than it stood at the stroke of midnight.

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Petra Diamonds Ltd, up 3.4% at 33.50 pence, 12-month range 25.00p-74.00p. The company announces it has received South African government clearance for the sale of the Koffiefontein mine. Petra said it will avoid incurring closure-related costs of USD15 million-USD18 million. The diamond miner in South Africa and Tanzania expects the deal to close before the end of October 2024. It announced a deal for the sale of the asset in December.

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SMALL-CAP - LOSERS

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Ferrexpo PLC, down 3.1% at 43.92p, 12-month range 38.15p-92.90p. The iron ore pellets producer in Ukraine reports weaker output in the third-quarter, as it wrestles with "a very challenging operating and macroeconomic environment". Total commercial production weakens 16% on-quarter to 1.4 million tonnes, while pellet output alone falls 14% to 1.3 million tonnes. Interim Executive Chair Lucio Genovese says: "For Ferrexpo's operations, the third quarter presented a very challenging operating and macroeconomic environment. As we highlighted in the interim results, the requirement to import 80% of our electricity from our western neighbours remains in place, and the resulting high tariffs continue to have a negative impact on our costs. This has been exacerbated by elevated shipping freight rates and additional war risk insurance premiums. To mitigate the pressure on margins, our strategy has been to focus on sales of higher quality iron ore products to customers in close geographical proximity." Genovese has been interim exec chair since July 2023, after Jim North stepped down from the chief executive officer at the end of June 2023.

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By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor

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