We begin our weekly small company report with news that Yu Group PLC’s (LON:YU.) business update was well received by the market.
Shares in the independent supplier of gas, electricity and water to UK businesses rose 16% to 277.5 pence after the company reported strong order and revenue growth in the first half of the year.
Following the final results, Yu expects first-half revenue growth of 42% year-on-year to around £65 million, which translates into an adjusted profit (EBITDA) for the group, compared with a loss of £1.8 million in the same period in 2020.
Cora Gold Limited (LON:CORA) soars 43% after announcing the discovery of a “world-class intercept” at its Sanankoro gold project in southern Mali. The company reported 31.56 grams per tonne gold in a 19 metre intersection identified by drilling in Zone A of the project. Other notable intercepts in Zone A include 21 metres at 5.75 grams per tonne gold (g/t Au), 7 metres at 2.44 g/t Au and 19 metres at 2.07 g/t Au.
The results of the drill program to date are very encouraging, with good thickness and high grades in the oxide ore at shallow depths, Cora said.
Another stock that has made it onto investors’ buy lists this week is Orosur Mining PLC (LON:OMI), which is up 39% to 19.5p.
Shares rose after the company signed a letter of intent with Canada’s Meridian Mining to form a joint venture at Meridian’s Ariquemes tin project in Brazil. Orosur has 90 days to complete due diligence and finalize the joint venture proposal, after which the exclusivity period ends. Orosur said that the general terms and conditions of the joint venture have already been discussed between the parties.
Outside the mining sector, Ridgecrest PLC (LON:RDGC), which at first glance looks like a mining company but is an empty shell listed on AIM, soared 31% to 1.15p before its shares were suspended from trading pending a reverse takeover by Airline Invest, owner of Romanian low-cost carrier Blue Air.
If the transaction is completed, the current owners of Airline Invest will receive a 95% interest in Ridgecrest. The company’s name is expected to be changed to Blue Air Group upon completion of the transaction. When it comes to the name of an airline, Blue Air is especially appropriate, as many passengers are likely to dye the air blue this summer….
Chamberlin PLC (LON:CMH) shares rose 13% to 10.75 pence after HSBC bank announced on Thursday that it had acquired a 6.2% stake in the company.
RDGCThe company announced Friday that it would post a loss for the fiscal year that ended in May, but believes it is well positioned for a strong recovery having put most of the current fiscal year’s restructuring charges and non-cash write-downs behind it.
Gemfields PLC (LON:GEM) was the best performing small company this week, much to the surprise of the management team.
“The company notes the recent rise in the share price and confirms that there is currently no unpublished price-sensitive information relating to the company,” the company said in a stock exchange statement on Friday.
Gemfields is closely monitoring the COVID-19 situation around the world and has indicated that its operations in Mozambique and Zambia will not be disrupted by the pandemic. The company plans to hold three more gemfields auctions this year.
“Despite a welcome increase in the company’s share price, Gemfields continues to trade at a significant discount to its net asset value,” the company said.
Shares rose 46% to 13.35 pence.
Animalcare Group PLC (LON:ANCR), the global animal products company, fell 16% to 297 pence after 13.9 million shares traded at 285 pence each. The newly issued shares represent approximately 23% of the company’s existing capital stock.
Another stock that has lost value since the IPO is UK Oil & Gas PLC (LON:UKOG), which raised around £5 million from the share offering at 0.18 pence, down around 22% since the day before the IPO announcement.
The proceeds will fund the remaining portion of the drilling, completion and testing costs for the Turkey Basur-3 appraisal well and the planned 2D seismic acquisition.
Shareholders will have the opportunity to buy the shares at the same price (0.18 pence) in the open offer. However, given that the shares are currently trading at around 0.175 pence, down 27% this week, this offers only marginal upside.
Evgen Pharma PLC (LON:EVG) was the biggest faller of the week after announcing interim safety and futility results from the first 100 patients treated in the STAR COVID-19 trial.
Evgen stated that the analyses did not meet the preliminary futility criterion required to continue the study and that active treatment is unlikely to show a statistically significant overall improvement. Therefore, enrollment of participants in the study will be discontinued.
