Welcome to taking stock on....Monday 24th July 2023
It's a look at today's top business news & investment views plus the winners, losers, the most read & the most followed including:
A comment from a viewers who suggests
“Building stakes in durable large-caps with competitive advantages and long growth runways is a better strategy (for the majority of investors) to make money than trying to fish around for minnows that you hope will become sharks”
Companies mentioned:
Ondo Insurtech
Kromek
Intelligent Ultrasound
Itsarm
Berkeley Energia
S4 Capital
Canadian O'Seas Petroleum
Mind Gym
WINNERS
Itsarm #ITS - Proposed Board Changes & withdrawal of petition
Itsarm plc today announces that its board of directors (the "Board") has entered into various conditional agreements which together form a proposal that gives the Company a viable alternative to the proposed compulsory liquidation announced by the Company on 5 June 2023.
AIM Rule 15 cash shell status
Subject to the Withdrawal, the Proposed Directors intend to enter into an acquisition or acquisitions which would constitute a reverse takeover under Rule 14 of the AIM Rules for Companies (the "AIM Rules"). At this time there is no certainty as to the exact structure, identity or timing of such a transaction(s) but the Proposed Directors are assessing a number of potential opportunities.
The Company has been an AIM Rule 15 cash shell since the disposal of its trading business on 27 March 2023. If the Company is unable to enter into a transaction which qualifies as an AIM Rule 14 transaction by 27 September 2023, the Company's Ordinary Shares will be suspended from trading on AIM, pursuant to Rule 40 of the AIM Rules. Admission to trading on AIM would then be cancelled six months from the date of suspension.
LOSERS
Berkeley Energia #BKY - Quarterly Report June 2023
Whilst the Company's focus is on resolving the current permitting situation, and ultimately advancing the Salamanca project towards production, the Company and BME will continue to strongly defend its position and take all necessary actions to preserve its rights.
During the quarter, Berkeley Energia Limited announced the Company's wholly owned Spanish subsidiary, Berkeley Minera España had submitted a contentious-administrative appeal before the Spanish National Court.
S4 Capital #SFOR - Trading Update
Net revenue in the second quarter was below budget with May and June in particular, reflecting the challenging macroeconomic conditions and clients, especially those in the technology sector, remaining cautious and very focussed on the short term. We continue to see longer sales cycles, particularly for larger transformation projects. Some impact has been seen in each of the Practices, but it is particularly evident in Content. Like-for-like net revenue growth for the Company is expected to be c.5% in the first half.
The slower topline growth has resulted in the Company's Operational EBITDA and Operational EBITDA margin being below budget, but showing reported progress on the prior year. Based on the slower market growth in the first half, we now target full year like-for-like net revenue growth to be in a range of 2-4%, as opposed to 6-10% previously. We now target Operational EBITDA margin of 14.5-15.5%, as opposed to 15-16% previously. As in prior years, 2023 will again be significantly second half weighted reflecting our seasonality.
Net debt at 30 June 2023 was approximately £115 million. The first half figures do not include expected cash consideration on prior year combinations, which will see net debt rise by the year-end, in line with our targeted range of £180-220 million. The balance sheet remains strong with sufficient liquidity and long-dated debt maturities. There will be no further merger payments next year and as a result the net debt position is expected to improve significantly in 2024.
Most Followed
Destiny Pharma
Most Read RNS
Canadian O'Seas Petr #COPL - Announces Cole Creek JV Letter of Intent
COPL and an established energy company have entered into an LOI for the negotiation of definitive agreement(s) for a Joint Venture to develop and exploit its oil reserves and resources at its Cole Creek project in Converse and Natrona Counties Wyoming.
RNS Worth Reading
Intelligent Ultrasnd #IUG - Trading Update
Financial highlights:
· The Group expects to report that revenue for the period to 30 June 2023 has grown by 3% to £6.1m (H1 2022: £5.9m)
o H1 2022 revenue figures included £1.4m of one-off orders from the NHS in the UK, so on an adjusted like-for-like basis, revenue in H1 2023 is expected to have increased by 35% (H1 2022 adjusted: £4.5m)
· The Group's clinical AI products continue to gain traction and revenues are expected to have more than doubled to £0.7m (H1 2022: £0.3m)
· Cash at bank on 30 June 2023 was £3.4m (31 December 2022: £7.2m), impacted by working capital seasonality in H1
· Cash utilisation in H2 is expected to be materially lower and the Group remains on target to reach profitability with its current cash
The company will publish its half-year results in August.
Mind Gym #MIND - Director and PDMR Dealing
MindGym , the global provider of human capital and business improvement solutions, announces that it has been notified that on 20 July 2023, Sebastian Bailey, Co-founder and President of the Company, purchased 825,000 ordinary shares of 0.001 pence in the Company ("Ordinary Shares") at a price of 35.07 pence per Ordinary Share (£289,327).
Following this transaction, Sebastian will hold 10,341,373 Ordinary Shares in the Company representing 10.32% of the Company's issued Ordinary Share capital.
Kromek #KMK - Final results
Financial Summary
§ Revenue increased 44% to £17.3m (2022: £12.1m)
§ Gross margin improved to 51.6% (2022: 46.7%). Improvement largely due to sale mix and easing of supply chain challenges
§ Adjusted EBITDA loss reduced to £1.0m (2022: £1.2m loss)* and positive for H2
§ Loss before tax was £7.3m (2022: £6.1m loss)
§ Cash and cash equivalents at 30 April 2023 were £1.1m (30 April 2022: £5.1m). Fundraise of £8m (gross) post
Top Business Stories
UK firms grow at slowest in 6 months as rate hikes weigh: PMI
Britain's private sector is growing at its weakest pace in six months in July as orders for businesses stagnate in the face of rising interest rates and still-high inflation, a survey showed on Monday.
The S&P Global/CIPS composite Purchasing Managers' Index showed a preliminary reading of 50.7, down from 52.8 in June in the biggest month-on-month drop in 11 months.
Although above the 50-level that separates growth from contraction, it was the weakest reading since January.
The loss of momentum was most severe in manufacturing - which accounts for about 10% of economic output - where the PMI dropped to 45.0, its lowest since May 2020, from 46.5.
Before election, UK's Sunak commits to 1 million new homes promise
Rishi Sunak will commit to a promise to build 1 million homes by the next national election, tackling a lack of housing stock that has alienated some younger voters who are often forced to pay high rents and are unable to buy.
Housing minister Michael Gove will set out further measures on Monday to unblock the planning system and build homes in the "right places" where there is local consent to reach the 1 million target that was set out at the 2019 election.
Twitter's boss has unveiled the social media site's new logo, featuring a white X on a black background, which will replace its blue bird.
In a tweet on Monday morning, Linda Yaccarino said "X is here! Let's do this."
"Tweets" will also be replaced, according to Twitter's owner Elon Musk, and posts will be called "x's".