Afentra shares rocket 71.82% to 25p as company resumes trading on AIM
Afentra stock resumed trading on AIM today. Trading had halted in October 2021 as the company entered negotiations with Angola's national oil company to purchase interest in several oil licenses.
Afentra called on shareholders to vote on the proposed acquisitions in offshore Angola from Sonangol Pesquisa e Produço SA. The purchase of blocks 3/05 and 23 from Sonangol was first announced on 28 April. Afentra expects the deal to finalise in Q4, subject to Angolan regulatory approval.
CEO Paul McDade commented:
"The market drivers that support Afentra's purpose and long-term growth strategy remain compelling, despite the current impact of a volatile commodity price environment, and we remain highly active and disciplined in our assessment of the opportunity landscape. We view these inaugural deals in Angola as the early building blocks in our long-term growth ambitions and look forward to rewarding our shareholders for their trust and patience."
TP ICAP shares rise 13.58% to 150.5p on interim profit increase and dividend increase
TP ICAP said pre-tax profit more than doubled in H1 to £72m from £28m the previous year. Company revenue increased 15% to £1.08b from £936m, driven by strong performance in its Rates business. TP ICAP also increased its dividend by 13% to 4.5p from 4p the previous year.
TP ICAP reported global broking revenue of £636m in H1, up 8% from £589 the previous year. Global broking revenue per broker increased 14%. The company reported increased revenues across its entire asset class. Adjusted EBIT increased 15% in H1 to £142m from £123m in constant currency.
Nicolas Breteau, CEO, commented: "We have delivered high single digit revenue growth. We have also grown revenue across all our asset classes and increased our market share. A strong performance from Rates, helped deliver an uplift in profitability."
S&U shares rise 11.54% to 2320p as 1H performance exceeds expectations
In a trading update for the period 26 May-31 July 2022, S&U reported that both its motor and property bridging divisions continued to outperform its expectations. The company said its receivables currently stood at c. £370m vs. £340m in May, and profitability in the period exceeded H1 2021.
S&U will announce half-year results on 27 September 2022.
"Advantage Finance, our motor business based in Grimsby, continues its excellent post-pandemic progress to historic levels of growth and credit quality." the company said.
For Aspen, the company's property bridging division, "growing reputation and the introduction of new products mean that it is attracting more experienced and expert borrowers, which have seen average gross loan size increase to around £875,000 so far this year, helping both the receivables and revenue growth." S&U said.
Still, S&U cautioned: "...although growth currently exceeds budget and expectations, we judge it sensible in light of current uncertainty about economic prospects, to temper optimism with caution, particularly in our underwriting policy."
88 Energy shares fall 16% to 0.53p on A$10m fundraise via discounted shares
88 Energy proposed to raise A$10m (£5.8m), with the ability to accept over-subscriptions of up to A$5m (£2.8m). The placing price of A$0.009/share represents an 18% discount to its closing price on Tuesday. 88 Energy said the proceeds would be used to strengthen the company's balance sheet, provide sufficient capital to finance new ventures, and purchase long lead items required for drilling at Icewine East in 2023.
88 Energy also delivered an update on its Icewine East project, located on Alaska's North Slope. The company said a maiden independent resource estimate showed a substantial prospective resource of 1.03 billion barrels of oil on site, recoverable from multiple reservoir zones.