Markets experienced a downturn this week, with the AIM All-Share index dropping over 3% and the FTSE 100 blue-chip index falling around 2%. The decline intensified midweek due to a broad sell-off in equities.
Sports gambling small cap Mobile Stream plc (LON: MOS) surged to the top of the AIM movers list with a 46% increase. The company’s 23% owned Mexican casino and sportsbook venture has completed its beta testing phase and has started onboarding clients.
Carclo plc (LON: CAR), a main market-listed engineering firm, saw its share price rise by 35% following the announcement that its operational restructuring in the US is advancing ahead of schedule.
Industrial investment company CEPS (LON: CEPS) reported a rise in interim pre-tax profit from £977,000 to £1.23 million. All three of its businesses contributed positively to this increase. While CEPS is interested in resuming dividend payments, it currently favours share buybacks as it builds up revenue reserves. The share price surged 32.4% to 24.5p.
Safestay plc (LON: SSTY) saw its share price rise by 24% after announcing a 23% increase in adjusted earnings for the first half of the year
Oil and gas company Zephyr Energy (LON: ZPHR) announced strong results from the production test of the State 36-2R LNW-CC well in Utah’s Paradox Basin, with peak production rates reaching 2,100 barrels of oil equivalent per day, which is notably high for an onshore US well. The share price climbed 13.2% to 4.3p.
Commercial lender Funding Circle Holdings PLC (LON: FCH) surged nearly 30% following the release of its half-year results on Thursday. Loan originations rose by 47% year on year to £692 million, and net income increased by 32% to £79.1 million.
Daniel Holliday has increased his stake in eEnergy Group (LON: EAAS) to 6.2%, resulting in a 3.25% rise in the share price to 6.35p.
Ilika PLC (LON: IKA) shares ended the week up a robust 10% after receiving favorable safety results for its Goliath solid-state battery prototypes. Independent testing by University College London revealed that the Goliath P1 cells demonstrated superior safety compared to traditional lithium-ion batteries. The evaluation included a nail penetration test to simulate a catastrophic failure scenario.
Canaccord Genuity has reduced its stake in womenswear retailer Sosandar (LON: SOS) from 5.15% to 2.36%, while Schroders has raised its stake from 8.18% to 12.2%. The share price of Sosandar increased by 2.63% to 9.75p.
FALLERS
Next Fifteen Group (LON: NFG) reported a significant setback as its subsidiary Mach49’s largest customer chose not to renew their three-year contract. This contract was expected to contribute over £80 million to the group’s revenues for 2025-26, representing one-eighth of the previously forecasted revenue for that year. The impact will also be felt in the second half of the year ending January 2025.
The broader trend of reduced spending by technology customers is contributing to this shortfall. As a result, full-year pre-tax profit is projected to fall well below expectations. Interim figures are due to be released on 17 September. Following the announcement, the share price plummeted 49.2% to 420.75p, marking its lowest point since 2020.
Xeros Technology Group PLC (LON: XSG) was among the major fallers on AIM, with its share price dropping 40% after a substantial downgrade in revenue forecasts. The company revealed that delays in the rollout of its laundry technology with Indian partner IFB Industries, now postponed to 2025, along with uncertainties regarding French microfiber filtration regulations, have negatively affected its financial outlook.
Invinity Energy Systems (LON: IES) is experiencing delays, even though the long-duration energy storage market is expanding. More time is needed to develop the next-generation Mistral product and reduce costs. There is uncertainty regarding when revenues will be recognized. While revenues for 2024 were initially projected at £36.3 million, they are now expected to be lower. Jonathan Marren will replace Larry Zulch as CEO. As of the end of June 2024, the company had £49.2 million in the bank. The share price fell 39.7% to 11.75p.
Ashtead Technology Holdings PLC (LON: AT.) saw its share price fall by 25% following a trading update for the six months ending 30 June. While revenues soared by over 60% year on year, largely due to the ACE Winches acquisition, organic revenue growth was a more modest 16%. Investors were displeased with the tighter profit margins experienced during the period, impacting their perception of the subsea equipment rental and solutions provider.
Galileo Resources (LON: GLR) is refining the mine design and optimization model for its 75%-owned Luansobe copper project in Zambia to facilitate discussions with potential partners. The optimization scenarios for open-pit mining include either extending the pit depth to 220 meters with a 0.25% copper cut-off for producing 70,000 tonnes or reducing the pit depth to 160 meters with a 0.5% cut-off for producing 40,000 tonnes. There is also potential to expand the resource. The share price fell 9.52% to 0.95p.
Agricultural products supplier Camellia (LON: CAM) reported slightly eased trading conditions in the first half of 2024, though challenges remain. Revenues rose by 7% to £105.1 million, and the loss decreased from £15.1 million to £9.7 million. There will be no interim dividend. The loss from tea decreased, while profit from nuts and fruits more than tripled to £3.2 million. The engineering division returned to profitability. The company holds £24.1 million in net cash and an investment portfolio valued at £37.6 million. The full-year loss is expected to range between £10 million and £12 million. The share price declined 4.27% to 4260p.
