Petrofac (PFC) shares see light relief, rising 8.43% to 101.63p following UAE ban
Shares saw some light relief today despite slumping in recent days after the group was notified that it has been suspended from competing for new contracts in the United Arab Emirates after a former executive pleaded guilty to bribery over past work in the country.
The additional pleas were reported from the former employee under the Bribery Act 2010 in relation to historic contract awards in the United Arab Emirates in 2013 and 2014.
The news marked a blow for the company with UAE representing the group’s largest market for new work with the area accounting for $14 billion or 31% of its bidding pipeline.
Petrofac will continue to execute two EPC projects for Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) currently under construction. ADNOC said it recognises the long-standing nature of the pair’s relationship and has confirmed that its decision will be reviewed on a periodic basis.
B90 Holdings (B90) shares soar again to 125.75% to 27p after being reinstated to AIM
Shares in the group which operates within the gaming industry soared again today following its return to AIM yesterday when the group also posted a fundraising and 2020 results.
The company said it had raised €1.84m (that’s around £1.58m). The proceeds are expected to enable the company to focus on launching new products, expand its geographical presence. as well as enter into new marketing agreements for the existing markets.
B90 released results for the six months ended 30 June 2020, in which it stated that it had seen a fall in revenues to €0.321m from €0.52m in 1H19, primarily due to the impact of the pandemic which caused the cancelation of the vast majority of sporting events globally.
The group completed its acquisition of the remaining 49% in Quasar Holdings ltd, which wholly owns Bet90 Sports Limited, resulting in a full ownership of Bet90 Sports Limited.
Commenting on the group’s half-year results, Paul Duffen, Executive Chairman of B90, stated, “2020 started as planned, completing the acquisition of 49% of the issued share capital of our trading subsidiary Bet90 Sports Ltd, not previously owned by the Group.”
B90 added that while the funds raised provide it with further working capital and strengthen the balance sheet, it continues to remain reliant on being able to manage its creditors.
Mobile Streams (MOS) shares jumped 41.30% to 0.325p after securing major contract
The company said it has signed a major contract with software firm Quanta Media Group (“QMGH”), for the use of its Streams data platform in a deal worth up to £0.48 million.
The deal, which is over 4 years with a minimum £10k per month for at least a year, is expected to increase monthly Streams revenue from April 2021 to an estimated £25k per month, representing an increase of 178% since December 2020.
Mobile Streams noted that the partnership with QMGH will enable it to identify further opportunities to generate significant additional revenue from the MOS legacy business.
“We are extremely pleased to be able to announce this major contract. It’s a great win for the Streams data business which has shown exceptional growth since the start for the year.
“We feel there is substantial scope to grow our partnership with QMG to drive additional revenue from our legacy business assets, said Non-Executive Director, Nigel Burton.
Webis Holdings (WEB) shares rose 35.48% to 4.2p following return to profit
Shares in the group have increased by over 50% since the global gaming group outlined to investors in its half-year results posted last month that it had seen a return to profitability.
Turnover reported was US$7.4m (2019: US$ 8.1m), but with gross profit also increasing significantly to US$ 2.67m (2018: US$ 1.79m), a growth of 49% versus the prior year.
This resulted in a profit on the period of US$ 0.72 million (2019: loss of US$ 0.21 million).
The group said the turnaround of almost $1m in profit over the six months “reflects the changing business mix in the operation, again improving our overall margin derived from more "retail-style" wagering activity, especially on-line. This is encouraging for the future.”
The global gaming market reached a valuation of $135.8bn in 2020, accounting for a staggering 53.3% of the digital media industry. Market forecasts project 10.2% annual growth through 2025, with sales rising across consoles, mobile games, and esports.
OneSavings Bank (OSBG) shares fell 4.63% to 440.2p after identifying £28.6m fraud
Shares in the specialist lender and retail saving group fell today after it issued a trading update in which it stated that it is carrying out an investigation into what it believes is an isolated incident as quickly as possible so it can publish its full-year results on April 8.
The group had recently become aware of potentially fraudulent activity by a third party, where its funding line is secured against lease receivables and the underlying hard assets.
‘Until the investigation has progressed sufficiently, we will not know to what extent the receivable has been impaired, with a maximum potential credit loss of £28.6m as at 31 December 2020. This has consequently led to a short delay in the Group publishing its preliminary results for the year, which will now take place on 8 April 2021,’ it noted.
Commenting on the investigation, CEO, Andy Golding, stated, “Whilst I am disappointed at the very recent discovery of a potential fraud at one of the non-bank lenders we provide secured funding to, we believe that this is an isolated incident and are committed to expediting our investigation and publishing our full preliminary results on 8 April 2021.”