TRADING UPDATES: UK Oil & Gas annual loss widens on impairments

(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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UK Oil & Gas PLC - London-headquartered exploration and production company - Posts pretax loss for the year ended September 30 last year of GBP20.9 million, widening from GBP5.4 million a year prior. Revenue increases to GBP908,000 from GBP213,000. Books GBP10.7 million impairment expense, up from GBP2,000 the year before. Does not declare a dividend, unchanged from the year prior. "I have experienced many oil price downturns in my career, but none have been as unexpected or severe as 2020. Fortunately, the company and industry have been resilient enough to survive and adapt and to witness the hoped for bounce back in oil price. We all hope this will be long lived," says Chief Executive Stephen Sanderson.

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Bank of Cyprus Holdings PLC - Cypriot banking firm - Announces successful launch end pricing of EUR300 million unsecured and subordinated tier 2 capital notes. The notes were priced at par with a fixed coupon of 6.625% per annum, payable annually in arrears and resettable on October 23, 2026. "The issuance of the notes further optimises the group's capital structure and is expected to increase the group's total capital ratio by about 100 basis points to 19.7% pro forma for Helix 2," says company.

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TBC Bank PLC - bank operating in Georgia and Uzbekistan - Says three company directors withdraw notice not to stand for re-election. Nikoloz Enukidze, Nicholas Dominic Haag and Eric Rajendra will all now stand for re-election.

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Arena Events Group PLC - bespoke turnkey temporary structure builder - Says NewCo's bid for Aztec Shaffer, of which Arena is a party, has been approved at the sale hearing at the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. Last Wednesday, Arena said it won a tender for the operating business and assets of event rental company Aztec Shaffer for USD25.6 million. The total value of the bid was USD25.6 million funded by Arena's equity contribution of USD3.4 million for its 50% equity stake in NewCo and a debt financing package from the co-bidders totalling USD18.3 million, the company said. Arena and the co-bidders will now move to complete the Aztec Shaffer acquisition, with completion expected by the end of April. This will include the payment of Arena's equity contribution of USD3.4 million for its 50% stake in NewCo.

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nmcn PLC - Nottinghamshire-based engineering and construction - Concludes GBP8.9 million facility with Reflex Bridging Ltd, secured against the company's property development projects. The facility is for a period of up to 18 months.

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Savannah Resources PLC - lithium project in Portugal and heavy mineral sands project in Mozambique - Says Portugal regulator Agencia Portuguesa do Ambiente declares conformity of Mina do Barroso lithium project environmental impact assessment. "We are delighted with APA's conclusion that the EIA for Mina do Barroso is in conformity with its content requirements," says company.

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Duke Royalty Ltd - provider of alternative capital solutions to businesses in Europe - Says it will issue 100.0 million shares on Monday after getting the nod from its shareholders as part of its plan to raise GBP35 million.

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Tavistock Investments PLC - Berkshire-based investment manager - Says just over 50% of share capital would not accept possible Team offer, up from 42% announced on Thursday.

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Benchmark Holdings PLC - Sheffield, England-based aquaculture genetics, health and nutrition company - Says the maximum residue limit for its novel sea lice treatment has been ratified under European law. "The ratification of the MRL is a further stepping stone towards commercialisation following the announcement of our first customer agreements for CleanTreata announced in March," says Chief Executive Trond Williksen.

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Cadence Minerals PLC - UK-based mineral resources investor - Says investee Macarthur Minerals moves ahead with mine design for Lake Giles iron project in Western Australia. "Macarthur has been working with mining consultants Orelogy and geotechnical engineers from Pells Sullivan Meynink on the mine design for the Lake Giles iron project. Orelogy has completed preliminary pit optimisations, designs, scheduling and project layouts to support an operation targeting production of 3 [million tonnes per annum] (dry) magnetite concentrate," says Cadence.

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Tirupati Graphite PLC - London-based graphite producer with operations in Madagascar and India - Raises GBP10 million via a 11.1 million share placing, at GBP0.90 each. Says the price represents a discount of 8.6% to the closing price of GBP0.985 on Thursday. Says the proceeds will be used to "expedite the company's modular medium-term development plan to take advantage of the strong market demand for its products". "We are delighted to have received such strong support in completing this oversubscribed placing, which further strengthens our confidence in our strategy and enables us to fast track our development plans to fulfil the increased demand for our graphite products," says Chief Executive Shishir Poddar.

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Schroder British Opportunities Trust PLC - established to invest in a portfolio of public and private equity investments consisting predominantly of UK companies - Invests in Cera Care Ltd as part of funding round. Cera is a technology-enabled home care provider based in the UK. Says the new financing will be used to advance Cera's technology platform, as well as further scale its service platform through the acquisition of small- and mid-sized home care service providers in the UK. Says the investment was led by healthcare focused private equity firm Evolve HealthCare Partners

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Sherborne Investors (Guernsey) B and C - funds set up with the specific policy of investing in one company, decided by investment manager Sherborne Investors Management LP, the investment vehicle of activist investor Edward Bramson - SI B posts net asset value at December 31 of GBP24.6 million, down from GBP34.3 million a year prior. SI C posts NAV of GBP421.5 million, down from GBP546.3 million the year before. No dividend was declared for year ended December 2020.

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By Greg Roxburgh; gregroxburgh@alliancenews.com

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