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Have to disagree, the shares on offer to the staff are a reward for reaching targets. Setting up operations overseas is not cheap and are potentially fraught with difficulties. Having good staff incentivized to perform well is critical to successful performance and retaining staff. With regard to the buyback the sp was undervalued, with surplus cash a lways a good time to buy.

With regard to the number of shares in issue, I would be happy with a share split, say five for one. That's down to the CEO and the board. they know what they are doing, so happy to leave it to them.

More accurate to have said limestone quarry.

The sp has dipped slightly on release of the results. Nothing to be overly concerned with. The bottom line has taken a hit from interest payments which is to be expected. Also importantly, due to the timing of the CRH deal in early Jan, more than £20m in associated costs.

Going forward, the view is that interest rates are on the way down this year. With regard to H1 and Full Year bottom lines for this year, we know that some of the CRH deal costs have already been accounted for. Plus we can expect to see increased revenues as a result of that initial deal. Throw into the mix the recent additions to the board and I'm happy to hold. That said we won't see the full benefit of the whole CRH deal and Interest rate reductions until Full Year 2025. By then, it is quite possible that the sp will have gone back over 100p.

Agreed on Peter Johnson. I note that he was a CEO of Rugby Group, manufacturers of cement in Rugby, with their own limestone mine in Southam. A useful addition to the board.

Also Francesca Medda seems to have been involved all over the place with her multi-talents. Sigmaroc have highlighted her experience including in public finance, ESG and innovation, which indicates why she's joining the board.

No mention of Europe again today. Have fears about the National Bank of Belgium demanding much more in the way of capital reserves for Equals European company based on the submitted business plan. Could be wrong, which would make me happy. The emergence of the second interested company, which has been set up to fund fintechs in later stage expansion, is not that reassuring to me. There is no guarantee the business plan will work what. In such circumstance 140p would look good.

I'll wait out for April 16, in the hope of finding out what is driving this.

Not much of a surprise as The CEO said at the recent online investor meeting that JSE were very happy. The backup system would be a bonus He also mentioned that JSE were in regular contact with other exchanges. Didn't make any notes but believe he mentioned Hong Kong, Australia and Singapore. Beeks are onto a winner with Exchange Cloud, quite likely the next contract comes from one of the above, whilst western exchanges and regulators dither.

Very bullish report from Beeks this morning. Back to profitability, debt down and investment in improving platforms for clients including reducing costs for Beeks. Also another Proximity Cloud contract from a major international Tier 1 bank.

2024 is a significant year with 25% underlying growth. The CEO now sees greater than expected growth for 2025.

The greatest growth driver long term is likely to be Exchange Cloud. Three contracts already but regulatory approval is slowing progress. The Johannesburg exchange contract is in full operation and now effectively, a proof of concept trial for other exchanges and importantly regulators.

The company must be interested otherwise there would be no extensions. That would suggest that there a significant variance in the asking price between the two parties. Not seen anything yet, confirming that the business plan was wholly approved by the Bank Of Belgium. That is a slight concern, would not stop white label activity but what about Solutions? I could be worrying over nothing. Hopefully the picture will be clearer by April.

It looks as if the last fundraise was to finance the work on this project. If they keep on regularly picking up contracts as they are doing, it is possible they might have to raise more capital. That is likely to put a dampener on the sp short-term. Which is good for those wishing to accumulate this stock. As soon as we see this business becoming cash positive, the brakes will be off. Though I would guess at possibly two years away, definitely worth the wait.

The deal with CRH is a game changer. Assuming the rest of the deal goes through, Sigmaroc look like being the largest lime producer in Europe. As I understand it CRH are committed to buying Lime from them. The price of lime is not going to collapse as it is required for the green revolution. The Sigmaroc team have done really well to negotiate this and get the deal through. An eventual main market listing would be the icing on cake, who knows, but would definitely push the sp up.

I've got my wish.

Is it a coincidence that the sp has been rising?

A professional presentation with Q & A on InvestorMeet last night. These two really do know the company inside out. I was particularly interested to learn about Europe. Equals have presented a plan to the NBB which is awaiting approval. IST seems proud of the thought that's gone into it, in putting it together. Can't wait to get going, looking for around £10-15m in revenues from Europe next year. There is a lot of pent up demand apparently. USA not forgotten about entirely, but emphasis will be on growing Europe in the short-term. The future of Equals does look very exciting, also a look at moving to the main market is likely, when the business is considered big enough.

Good news this morning. Despite delays with Exchange Cloud the company is ticking over.

With regard to NYSE, it seems that no movement likely before next year, most likely after the Johannesburg Stock Exchange contract has been installed and in operation. In my view, it could well be that permission from the authorities is not yet given. Presumably they want to see the successful operation of Exchange Cloud first, before giving approval. The current low level of the share price would also suggest that.

A good start to the day, bought a few more @99p. A great deal of work and investment now required for Oonex, to make European expansion a success. Will probably take a while, plans have been made. Let's hope IST and the team make a success of it.

This contract secured with partner IPC. That's two of the top twenty exchanges secured. A slow regulatory process to actually getting revenues. With the message that installation can be done with existing stock, it suggests that this will be quicker to get into operation than the NYSE contract

I've just read this Q &A article titled Fintech in Belgium: Overview:

https://uk.practicallaw.thomsonreuters.com/w-030-2906?contextData=(sc.Default)&transitionType=Default&firstPage=true

Some of this would appear to relate to the Oonex acquisition. It does seem likely that regulatory approval will be more a case of when, rather than if.

Am happier for a broader spread of EQLS ownership. That surely must be the purpose of a Capital Markets Day, to attract new investors?

Seemed to go well, nice clear slides, with a good number of interesting contributions.

My main interest was the direction Equals are headed. What I heard sounds very promising.

The Oonex acquisition still awaiting regulatory approval but plans are already being developed. Belgian IBANs to begin with but plans to issue Netherlands and Irish in time. IST can't wait to have Solutions available across Europe. On being questioned, Oonex is expected to be profitable from around Mid 2024. (Which most likely, will depend on a fairly speedy approval. The cost of getting the Belgian business moving in the right direction is expected to be around £1m.

The plans for the USA is to be White Label providing the platform for Banks etc; who have the necessary licences to allow transactions.

There is also a plan for the UAE, presumably White Label again.

Considering the above, no surprise that Solutions and White Label are expected to be the major drivers of growth in the years ahead.

Am not going to jinx the National Bank of Belgium decision by acquiring more stock now, though some are buying. I would anticipate that a favourable decision will attract further buyers for EQLS.

Have missed this, which was announced on the Equals website on the same day as the Oonex deal and the full year results coming out.

No details on the numbers.

https://blog.equalsmoney.com/equals-group-to-acquire-hamer-hamer-ltd

https://hamerandhamer.com/ This link suggests that that FCA approval has been granted.

90 days up to May 15.

Looking forward to what comes out of tomorrow's Capital Markets Day with regard to future plans.