TRADING UPDATES: SkinBio trading as expected; Sylvania output up

(Alliance News) - The following is a round-up of updates by London-listed companies, issued on Wednesday and not separately reported by Alliance News:

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Sylvania Platinum Ltd - Platinum group metals producer and developer with assets in South Africa - Says in the first three months of the year ending June 30, dump operations produced 20,173 platinum group metals ore ounces, up 5.8% from 19,072 ounces in the previous quarter and in line with expectations. Adds dump operations recorded USD19.7 million in net revenue in the quarter, down 19% from USD24.4 million in the quarter prior. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation fell by 64% to USD2.8 million from USD7.8 million in the previous quarter. Says mineral resource estimate for Volspruit North & South orebodies are under review. Maintains strong cash reserves, which increased 2% over the quarter.

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Atrato Onsite Energy PLC - London-based renewable energy investment trust - Completes acquisition of 34 mega-watt rooftop solar portfolio. Has invested GBP121 million since April 1 to increase solar photovoltaic capacity by 91 MW. Says 20MW Nissan project was energised earlier this month, and is now fully operational.

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Orcadian Energy PLC - North Sea-focused oil and gas development company - Says UK North Sea Transition Authority prepared to agree to an extension to second term of licence P2244, but notes the extension is conditional on the assignment of an interest to the proposed, unnamed, operator, and the appointment of the proposed operator as the operator of the licence. Says the assignment of the interest to the proposed operator must be completed by March 31. Chief Executive Officer Steve Brown says: "We are delighted that the NSTA provided such a prompt response to our licence extension request, and we are working diligently on the necessary documentation so that we can progress this deal as quickly as possible."

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Firering Strategic Minerals PLC - developing mineral assets portfolio in Ivory Coast - Starts part two of auger drilling at Atex project in the Ivory Coast. Says campaign will target three new pegmatite zones. Plans to drill a total of 840 holes for around 5,000 metres of auger. Adds that its reverse circulation drilling campaign is in the final stages of planning for the final quarter of the year, which will "seek to build upon some of the significant assay results obtained from our previous 3,000 metre diamond drill campaign". Chief Executive Officer Yuval Cohen says: "The success of any exploration campaign is measured by the start of a new campaign. We have been encouraged by the results of our campaigns to date and are optimistic that the results of the next phase of our auger drilling and the start of the RC drilling will further strengthen the potential of the Atex project taking us one step closer to becoming the first lithium producing project in [Ivory Coast]."

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Ecora Resources PLC - South and North America-focused royalty and streaming company - Says portfolio contribution in the three months to September 30 is USD5.8 million, down from USD14.7 million in the previous quarter. Says commodity prices were "broadly flat", with copper averaging around USD3.80 per pound and alloy grade cobalt averaging USD17.84 per pound. Net debt at September 30 was USD68 million. Chief Executive Officer Marc Bishop Lafleche: "The third quarter was very much in line with our expectations and reflective of the transition phase of the portfolio. We can expect to see income volatility as mining at Kestrel moves in and out of the private royalty area, and our latest information would suggest the next material volumes are due to come in [the first quarter of 2024]. Steelmaking coal has been one of the stand out commodity performers in [2023] and should prices remain elevated this would boost earnings in [2024]."

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SkinBioTherapeutics PLC - Newcastle-based life science company focused on skin health - Says trading for the year ended June 30 was in line with market expectations. Cash at June 30 was GBP1.3 million, slightly ahead of GBP1.1 million originally expected. Says its partner Croda International PLC will start studies of its SkinBiotix product in the final quarter of 2023, and results expected at the beginning the year. Adds that it has launched a consumer study of a novel acne formula in the UK, with results expected in the first quarter of 2024. Chief Executive Officer Stuart Ashman says: "This study is potentially a major step towards the commercialisation of a new probiotic treatment that could address the root causes of conditions like acne. Acne, and related irritable and inflammatory conditions are not just skin deep - there is considerable evidence to suggest that it is caused by an imbalance in the gut-skin axis, where the absence of certain strains of bacteria and the over presence of others can stimulate excessive sebum production. Our probiotic formulation aims to correct this imbalance in the same manner as our psoriasis product AxisBiotix-Ps." Says it will release its full year results at the end of November.

By Sabrina Penty, Alliance News reporter

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