CMC Markets (CMCX ) shares ticked up 4.17% to 462.25p as group raises guidance
CMC, which provides online trading and institutional platform technology solutions, said the entire business has ‘continued to perform very strongly’ from 1 January to 24 March 2021.
Its full year results are expected to be published on 10 June 2021. Ahead of this, and as a result of a strong performance, net operating income for the financial year FY21 is expected to be slightly ahead of the upper end of the current range of consensus of £399.61m.
The group said that this, combined with continued cost control, is expected to provide positive operating leverage. Meanwhile, the group said it continues to see ongoing high monthly active client numbers, which for the full year will amount to over 75,000 clients.
CMC said has built the Board's confidence that this new cohort of clients will contribute meaningful revenue streams for the Group into the next financial year and beyond, raising the Board's expectations for FY 2022 to deliver net operating income in excess of £330m.
Webis Holdings (WEB ) shares rose 26.44% to 5.5p following return to profit
Shares in the group have more than doubled 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.
88 Energy (88E ) shares were up 15.00% to 1.725p on the back of recent raise
Shares in 88E have risen by over 35% since it raised $6.48m on Monday at a 225% premium to a prior placing as it continues to advance the Merlin-1 exploration well in Alaska.
The Alaskan-focused explorer said it had entered into a share subscription deal with ELKO International, one of the major contractors for the current drilling operations at Merlin-1.
88E said ELKO is buying 360 million new shares at a price of $0.018 cents a share, a price marked at a 225% premium to a prior placing undertaken by 88E back in February 2021.
The fundraising occurs as Merlin-1 is drilled down towards its primary Nanushuk targets. To date, the Merlin-1 surface hole has been successfully drilled to 1,512 feet, as planned.
Commenting on Monday’s raise, Managing Director, Dave Wall, stated, "The endorsement of the project by ELKO as we enter the critical phase of the drilling is encouraging and will serve to fund the Company's share of the recently announced cost overruns.”
Tandem Group (TND ) shares rose 12.17% to 645p as it sees profitability increase
The British-based retailer, which offers a range of sports, leisure and mobility products, has released its preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2020 in which it states that profitability has increased significantly throughout the period despite revenue dipping 4.6%.
The Board noted that, following ‘a further strong year’, there is capacity to again increase the group’s dividend. Tandem has therefore proposed to pay a final ordinary dividend of 5.50 pence per share with the addition of the interim dividend of 3.12 pence per share.
Looking ahead, the company said it remains ‘optimistic’ about its outlook for 2021 after witnessing what it describes as ‘an encouraging start’ to 2021. This includes year to date revenue in the 11 weeks to 21 March 2021 at c.90% ahead of the same period last year.
Ferrexpo (FXPO ) shares fell 8.50% to 351.6p despite last week’s solid results
Shares in the FTSE 250 iron ore pellet producer fell on Thursday despite having gained over 5% in value since publishing its full year results for the 12 months ended 31 December 2020.
In its results published last week, the group posted a 13% increase in revenue to US$1.7 bn which it said was a reflection of rising production volumes and destocking process in 1H20.
Underlying earnings rose 46% to $859m from $586m in FY19. The group, which said it expects to increase production levels from 2020, has also proposed a special dividend.
In respect of the strong performance in 2020 and with transition to net cash position and continued healthy iron ore prices, a further special interim dividend is being proposed of 39.6 US cents, making the total dividends paid in 2020 72.6 US cents (FY19: 19.8 US cents).