Welcome to taking stock on.... Wednesday 4th August 2023
Taking Stock: Is a look at today's top business news & investment views plus we cover the winners, losers, the most read company news & the most followed. Today this includes:
What % of your total portfolio value does your biggest investment take up?
RISERS
Codex Acquisitions - Restoration of Listing
Codex Acquisitions plc is a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) seeking suitable acquisition targets in the clean and renewable energy sector.
LISTED IN OCTOBER 2022.
Enteq Technologies - SABER System Field Trial Update
The SABER system met test objectives during extensive drilling, successfully generating steering forces to change the direction of the well at angles typically expected by the industry for many applications. Delivery of this performance confirms in the Directors' belief the technical ability of the SABER system to provide a competitive commercial solution.
FALLERS
RM plc : Interim Results for the six months ended 31 May 2023
Financial highlights
Revenue of £87.6m, down 11% (H1 2022: £97.9m), with strong progress in RM Assessment and International (RM Resources) partially offsetting lower trading volumes in Consortium (RM Resources), which was impacted by the late launch of the ecommerce platform and a more challenging trading environment in schools
Statutory profit up to £6.8m (H1 2022: loss of £5.9m) reflecting lower costs associated with the IT implementation and gains on asset disposals
Operating within our covenants with Adjusted Net Debt2 of £52.0m (HY 22: £41.5m) reflecting lower profits, normalised working capital and exceptional spend delivering business transformation activity including the independent business review and disposal of operations
Current trading and outlook
As a result of the turnaround actions which have taken place in the RM Technology division, we would expect to start to see the results come through into revenue growth for the business in the second half, and small single digit growth for the full year.
We expect the strong performance in the RM Assessment business to continue in the second half of the year and therefore, the year as a whole.
We now expect to deliver Group adjusted operating profit on or around breakeven for the full year, and in excess of £10million of identified annualised cost savings to benefit in FY24.
MOST READ RNS
Polarean Imaging - Holding(s) in Company
Amati Global Investors Limited - reduced to 10.92% from 11.98%
Ondo InsurTech - Southern Water agreement
Second water company to introduce LeakBot - Southern Water agreement announced
Ondo InsurTech , the London-listed leader in claims prevention technology for home insurers, is pleased to announce an agreement with Southern Water to drive water efficiency within their area.
Southern Water will carry out an initial pilot in the coming months and introduce LeakBot to over 1k customers within their area, with the aim of achieving similar water reduction results as the Portsmouth Water trial carried out earlier in the year.
RNS WORTH READING
Atlantic Lithium Ltd - Director/PDMR Dealings
Executive Chairman Neil Herbert and Finance Director and Company Secretary Amanda Harsas, as Directors and persons discharging managerial responsibilities ("PDMR") of the Company, have purchased in the market a total of 490,000 ordinary shares of no par value each ("Ordinary Shares"), equating to an aggregate value of £84,659, as follows:
Volex - Tesla selects Volex as a NACS coupler manufacturer
Volex plc (AIM: VLX), the specialist integrated manufacturer of critical power and data transmission products, is pleased to announce it is a licensed partner of Tesla for the North American Charging Standard ("NACS") EV Charging system. Volex is a selected global manufacturer of the authentic NACS coupler and is stocked and ready to immediately supply automotive OEMs and charging infrastructure suppliers.
Volex PLC - Director/PDMR Shareholding (19TH JULY)
Velocity Composites - Proposed Placing and Subscription
Proposed Placing of and Subscription for 15,500,000 New Ordinary Shares to raise £6.2 million & Proposed REX Retail Offer to raise up to £0.5 million
Use of proceeds
The net proceeds of the Fundraising will be used for:
· Capital expenditure;
· People (engineering, software and business development); and
· Working capital for expansion
Gfinity - Fundraising, board changes, change of adviser
Summary
The Board of Gfinity plc (AIM:GFIN) is pleased to announce that the Company has today conditionally raised £450,000 through a Company arranged Subscription at a price of 0.06 pence
Current trading and use of proceeds
On 31 March 2023, the Company announced its half year results for the six-month period ended 31 December 2022. These results reported revenue of £4.1 million, an adjusted operating loss of £0.8 million and a period-end cash of £1.7m, supplemented by a post period-end placing and subscription, raising £2.0 million before expenses.
As at 4 August 2023, the Company's cash amounted to approximately £205,000.
The Directors are targeting cash break-even and attracting a monthly audience of 10m+ monthly active users over the next six months. Gfinity has invested extensively in its tech content platform and, more recently in the deployment of artificial intelligence ("AI"). Combined with more effective use of "ad-tech" to boost CPM rates and direct advertising, the Board believes it can create a market leader in the gaming digital media space.
TOP BUSINESS STORIES
The UK is set for five years of "lost economic growth", with the poorest hit hardest, a think tank has warned.
The National Institute for Economic and Social Research said a triple blow of Brexit, Covid and Russia's invasion of Ukraine had badly affected the economy.
It added that the spending power of workers in many parts of the UK will remain below pre-pandemic levels until the end of 2024.
UK 'at risk of recession next year', thinktank warns
The National Institute of Economic and Social Research said the country is on course to experience five years of "lost" economic growth. It said the "triple shocks" of Brexit, COVID and the war in Ukraine had all contributed to the dire forecast.
The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr) said by 2024 income inequality will have grown, along with unemployment and levels of debt.
Researchers, writing in the thinktank's latest quarterly outlook, said "elevated housing, energy and food costs" would continue into next year, while gross domestic product (GDP) - a key indicator of a country's economic output - would likely "barely grow".
Inflation to remain above Bank of England’s target until 2025, think tank warns
Inflation may remain above the Bank of England’s two per cent target for the next few years as price increases have increasingly spilled over into the wider economy, a think tank warned today.
According to forecasts from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR), inflation is forecast to fall to 5.2 per cent by the end of this year, before falling to 3.9 per cent by the end of 2024.
Beyond next year, the think tank forecasts inflation to fall to 2.3 per cent in 2025, with it remaining marginally above the two per cent target until at least 2027.