While we wonder what the point of financial platforms / journalists / PR merely copying and pasting or telling us what we can already read, here are the RNS highlights of the day with commentary.
Invinity Energy Systems (IES), a global manufacturer of utility-grade energy storage, today provides an update on current activities and trading and confirms that it continues to make significant progress in delivering against each of the 12-month corporate priorities set out in September 2024.
Comment: We all like a company on a mission, and we have brave talk from IES in terms of it turning itself around. Nevertheless, half way through its corporate priorities plan, the shares have returned to where they were in September. Some PR TLC may be required.
First Class Metals PLC (FCM) announced the resignation of David Webster as director and Non-Executive Chairman with immediate effect. Mr. Webster has decided to focus his efforts towards The Seventy Ninth Group, particularly to address the recent allegations made by the City of London Police concerning the group. Whilst Mr. Webster was one of the four members of The Seventy Ninth Group questioned by the City of London Police, he was released on bail without charge, contrary to some media speculation. Additionally, whilst it remains the intention to complete the second stage of The Seventy Ninth Group’s investment into FCM it will not be proceeding at the current time. Further updates will be provided in due course.
Comment: For “media speculation” read defamation, and take on board from the example of FCM why so many companies choose to de-list, given they are a clay pigeon for every keyboard warrior and short seller, as well as the ongoing struggle to secure financing.
Gaming Realms (GMR), the developer and licensor of mobile-focused gaming content, announces the commencement of a share buyback programme up to a maximum aggregate consideration of £6 million. As referenced in the Company’s final results for the year ended 31 December 2024, announced today, the Company is debt free and has a strong cash position of approximately £13.5 million.
Comment: If FCM illustrates one side of the coin as far as the slings and arrows of the stock market, GMR with its massive cash pile and chunky share buyback, underlines how even when a company is going great guns, there is not sufficient appreciation.
Upland Resources (UPL) announced the appointment of HEP Law as its official corporate lawyers in Brunei. This engagement will strengthen Upland’s presence and operations in the region and provide comprehensive legal support to the company’s expanding interests. The appointment of HEP Law as corporate legal counsel marks a critical step in Upland’s expansion in the region, ensuring that Upland remains compliant with the evolving legal and regulatory landscape while advancing its business objectives.
Comment: Followers of UPL are good at making one plus one adding up to three, and so today’s RNS should help them assume that something very big is going to happen here, and very soon.
Huddled Group (HUD), said it marks the International Day of Zero Waste by launching a new-look website demonstrating how sustainability and savings go hand in hand across the group’s three businesses.
Comment: HUD appears so keen on its new look website one is almost forced to check one’s calendar to see whether we are in the year 2000 and the dotcom bubble, or 2025.
Smarttech247 (S247), a provider of managed detection and response services, is pleased to announce it has secured a significant extension to an existing contract with a major hospital in Ireland. The contract, valued at circa €500,000 over four years, will see the implementation of a leading Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) solution into the hospital’s existing VisionX MDR platform.
Comment: Given how bad the market is at appreciating / valuing cybersecurities companies, one would expect there to be only a muted response to today’s news, but one waits in hope.
Beowulf (AIM: BEM; Spotlight: BEO), the European mineral exploration and development company, announced the release of an interview with its CEO, Ed Bowie, where he discusses the Company’s Capital Raise and provides an update on developments at the Kallak Iron Ore Project in Sweden and the Graphite Anode Materials Plant in Finland. The interview can be viewed via the link below: https://www.brrmedia.co.uk/broadcasts-embed/67e68360a8f35502be8c8cee/beowulf-mining-company-updates/?popup=true
Comment: Given the massive turnaround for shares of Metals One in the recent past, one would have thought that given a decent push, a company with a similar geographical focus could be the next significant small cap winner.
Ariana Resources (AAU), the AIM-listed mineral exploration and development company with gold project interests in Africa and Europe, announces it has appointed Fortified Securities as a Joint Broker.
Comment: Given the recent rock ride that shareholders of AAU have had, one would wonder how and why this state of affairs has occurred: sometimes companies can be judged by the people who sing their praises.
Futura Medical (FUM), the consumer healthcare company behind Eroxon®, that specialises in the development and global commercialisation of innovative and clinically proven sexual health products, is pleased to announce the appointment of Harmesh Suniara to the Board as a Non-executive Director, with immediate effect.
Comment: Given how much the share price of FUM has wilted in the recent past, an appointment such as today’s was sorely required. However, it may be wise for bottom fishers not to jump the gun in terms of catching this falling knife.
Avacta Therapeutics (AVCT), a life sciences company developing next generation peptide drug conjugates (PDC) targeting powerful anti-tumor payloads directly to the tumor, today provided a business update on progress for the first three months of 2025 and a review of upcoming milestones. AVCT said “We made a strong start to 2025, continuing to make excellent progress against all of our strategic objectives. We are very encouraged by the Phase 1 data from FAP-Dox (AVA60000) so far, which continue to show an excellent tolerability profile and increasingly durable responses in salivary gland cancers. We are now enrolling in multiple dose expansion cohorts, including triple negative breast cancer with preliminary data targeted for later in 2025.”
Comment: It is perhaps rather unfair that the more progress AVCT says it is making, the lower the share price goes. This is as much a factor of the company’s comms strategy, and the ticking of the clock in terms of how long it will take, and how much it will cost AVCT to get over the line.
Westminster Group (WSG), a supplier of managed services and technology-based security solutions worldwide, is pleased to announce, further to the Company’s 4 March 2025 announcement, the appointment of Ms Jing Zhou to the Board as a Non-Executive Director with effect from 1 April 2025. Jing Zhou is a qualified solicitor in England and Wales, and a director of Pantheon A Family Office Limited, the Company’s largest shareholder.
Comment: Shares of WSG have already been a very firm market in recent weeks, with the latest appointment underlining the way that things are starting to get serious in terms of the company’s recovery / turnaround.
Jubilee (JLP), a diversified metals processor in Africa, with copper operations in Zambia and also chrome and PGM operations in South Africa, announced its unaudited interim financial report for the six months ended 31 December 2024 (H1 FY2025). Group revenue up 51.0% to US$141.5 million (H1 FY2024: US$93.7 million) driven mainly by increased production of chrome concentrates during the period. Group EBITDA down 6.8% to US$13.6million (H1 FY2024: US$14.6 million) impacted by softer chrome prices during the period.
Comment: Given all the moving parts at the company it can be said JLP is delivering a resilient performance, one that should be increasingly appreciated, especially at the current modest valuation.
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) announced a proposed c. £52.5m investment by Yew Tree Consortium and selling of shares in the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One™ Team. The proposed transactions expected to enhance Group’s liquidity by over £125m.
Comment: One of the worst London IPOs of all time, continues to remind us why and how it remains one of the worst IPOs of all time. Although we need all the listed companies we can get, this is one where de-listing would be the decent thing to do.
Helium One Global (HE1), the primary helium explorer, provided the following update on its southern Rukwa Helium project in Tanzania. HE1 said “It is a huge achievement for the Company to have progressed from flowing first helium to surface in August 2024 (following the extended well test at Itumbula West-1), to receipt of a ML in just over six months. This reflects the dedicated team we have in place, as well as the established relationships we have in-country, and I would like to extend my sincere thanks to the Mining Commission and the Ministry of Minerals for their continued support.”
Comment: It looks as though investors will still have to keep focused on HE1’s US asset in terms of waking up and smelling the helium for a while yet, rather than Tanzania.
Critical Metals (CRTM), an investment company established to target opportunities in the critical and strategic metals sector, announced its interim results for the six-month period ended December 2024. CRTM said “We are firmly focussed on unlocking the inherent value potential of Molulu. Whilst financial constraints during the period under review have limited our operational activity, we remain confident in Molulu’s value proposition as an exciting copper asset in a sector experiencing renewed Western interest and solid copper prices.”
Comment: The good news for fans of CRTM is that at the current share price / valuation, any progress on Molulu could trigger a decent turnaround for the stock.
Blencowe Resources (BRES) updated on its 6,750m drilling program at its Orom-Cross graphite project in Uganda. The campaign, which commenced in January is focussed on: Stage 1 – Gathering geotechnical information to support mine design. Stage 2 – Infill drilling on the existing two deposits aiming to convert significant volumes of existing Resources to Reserves. Stage 3 – Step-out exploration at two new exploration targets to expand the overall Resource base. Orom-Cross currently holds a JORC Resource of 24.5Mt @ 6.0% TGC, and the Company is targeting a substantial upgrade.
Comment: As can be read in the RNS, BRES continues to move ahead strongly in terms of the operational side, with the only thing missing being the share price appreciation in the market. That said, if financing concerns are holding the stock back, such concerns appear overdone.
Power Metal Resources (POW), the London-listed exploration company with a global project portfolio, provided an exploration update for the Drake Lake Silas Uranium Property. Drake Lake-Silas is located in the Central Mineral Belt of Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada. The update concerns work undertaken by Power Metal and Fermi Exploration. Fermi is the uranium-focused joint venture comprising Power Metal’s portfolio of uranium licences, of which Drake Lake-Silas is a constituent.
Comment: Given how under-rated POW shares are generally accepted to be, it would appear that further demerger / floating off of assets in the Guardian Metal (GMET) are in order.
Thor Energy (THR) announced an independent assessment of prospective resources for naturally occurring hydrogen and helium for the HY-Range project on RSEL 802 licence in South Australia.
- Prospective resource results vastly exceed Company expectations
- Prime position in Australia’s natural hydrogen/helium hotspot – HY-Range includes a regionally scarce fully granted license within South Australia’s hydrogen and helium fairway.
- Management to accelerate the exploration programme following these results to unlock HY-Range’s full potential
- Thor Energy effective 80.2% net interest in RSEL 802 through previously announced Go Exploration transaction.
Comment: Given how hot helium / hydrogen is these days, one would have thought that THR moves in this area should lead to a turnaround in the stock given that we have been bumping along the bottom over the past couple of months already.
New Frontier Minerals (NFM) annouced the receipt of results from the geophysical survey completed at the Harts Range Heavy Rare Earths, Uranium and Niobium Project (Harts Range), located 140km north-east of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. The 1:10,000 scale interpretation of geophysical data was conducted by Southern Geoscience Consultants which identified a total of 46 targets with 18 ranked as high priority for HREE-Nb-U mineralisation, warranting further follow-up.
Comment: Despite the dual listing, NFM remains perhaps rather unfairly relatively under the radar, despite the 123% share price rise last year, and holding its own so far in 2025.
Disclaimer & Declaration of Interest:
The information, investment views, and recommendations in this Zaks Traders Cafe interview are provided for general information purposes only. Nothing in this interview should be construed as a promotion or solicitation to buy or sell any financial product relating to any companies under discussion or referred to or to engage in or refrain from doing so or engage in any other transaction. Any opinions or comments are made to the best of the knowledge and belief of the commentator but no responsibility is accepted for actions based on such opinions or comments. The commentators may or may not hold investments in the companies under discussion.
