|
The following is a round-up of earnings and trading updates by London-listed companies, issued on Tuesday and not separately reported by Alliance News: ---------- Firering Strategic Minerals PLC - Zambia and Ivory Coast-focused mining company - Says it has completed hot commissioning of Kiln 2 which is now entering the approximate three-month optimisation phase, having produced saleable material, at its Limeco Resources Ltd producing lime asset in Zambia. Reports progression towards sustained multi-kiln production, which strengthens the asset’s operating leverage, cash generation potential and strategic and financing optionality. Says that commercial momentum continues to build, underpinned by successful product validation, orders such as a recent 600t one from ‘a major international mining group operating in Zambia,’ and further opportunities which remain under discussion. ‘Engagements with additional prospective customers are ongoing, and Limeco is now well positioned to compete in tenders for longer-term supply contracts,’ Firering says. Adds that it has exercised the third tranche of the option agreement announced in May, 2024, to acquire a further 5.5% interest in Limeco for a 36.2% total holding. ---------- European Metals Holdings Ltd - developing Cinovec lithium project in Czech Republic - Geomet sro has received regional rezoning approval for the Cinovec project, as per the application submitted to the Usti nad Labem Regional Assembly by the Czech Ministry of Industry & Trade. European Metals says the rezoning defines Cinovec’s areas and corridors for lithium mining and processing, as well as the area for storage and processing of materials, and for planned tailings management facilities. Says support continues for the project, exemplified by the Czech government’s up to €360 million grant announced in November and by Cinovec’s being ‘formally recognised at both the European and national levels as essential to Europe’s energy transition.’ Executive Chair Keith Coughlan comments: ‘With the rezoning, the excellent definitive feasibility study which was recently released and the benefits from considerable financial support with the recent EU and Czech government grants, the cornerstones are now in place for the rapid advancement of the Cinovec project towards final investment decision and ultimately, production. The project continues to receive strong support at local, regional, national and European levels and comes at a time of renewed positive outlook for lithium and building momentum for the Cinovec project in the Czech Republic.’ ---------- Orosur Mining Inc - South America-focused minerals explorer and developer - Completes maiden mineral resource estimate for the Pepas deposit at its Anza Project in Colombia. Says the MRE, which assumes extraction via an open pit mining scenario, comprises an estimated 1.1 million tonnes at a grade of 5.46 grams per tonne for 201,000 ounces of gold in the indicated mineral resource category and 0.19 million tonnes at a grade of 2.99 g/t gold for 19,000 ounces of gold in the inferred mineral resource category. Resource is contained to a vertical depth of around 100 metres, with mineralisation starting at surface. The MRE and open pit shell were generated with a gold price of $3,000 per ounce and a reporting cut-off grade of 0.92g/t. ‘The company’s decision to focus its efforts on moving the Pepas deposit toward an MRE has been justified with this result,’ says Chief Executive Officer Brad George. ‘We will now immediately move Pepas into the economic study and permitting stage, while at the same time expanding our exploration effort to begin testing other prospects within the Anza project.’ ---------- Blencowe Resources PLC - developing the Orom-Cross graphite project in Uganda - Says additional test work confirms that graphite concentrates from the Orom-Cross Project are suitable for the manufacture of synthetic industrial diamonds. Says this ‘further [validates] the quality, versatility and downstream optionality of the company’s graphite feedstock.’ Notes that all diamonds produced were mono-crystalline, so they have a higher-value structure than polycrystalline alternatives, and that the diamonds had an average particle size of 50 to 60 microns, with oversized diamonds up to 350 to 500 microns. Highlights that the testing ‘achieved a diamond conversion yield of 53.6wt%, exceeding the typical industry benchmark of approximately 50%,’ supporting the possibility of cost-competitive production outside China. ‘Production of industrial diamonds provides Orom-Cross with another significant value-adding enhancement opportunity beyond sale of graphite as concentrates and Blencowe will be seeking offtake opportunities in this sector ahead as it continues to drive towards first production,’ the company says. ---------- S&U PLC - Solihull, England-based specialist motor and property financier - Says the ‘upsurge’ it predicted in December has continued strongly, and that it confidently expects this to be reflected in its annual results in April. ‘All this despite a British economy showing few signs of buoyancy under a shaky and vacillating government,’ S&U says. ‘Ironically, this appears to have stimulated international investor interest attracted by substantial recent reductions in private commercial and personal debt.’ Motor finance business Advantage Finance ‘has continued its strong revival...and produced excellent results,’ with loan advances for the year ended February 6 up 65% on-year, while capital receivables and customer accounts are ‘slightly’ down but ‘reflect an improvement in customer quality, arrears and therefore in overall margins’. Property lender Aspen Bridging ‘has delivered a record year, despite the recent misguided regulation of the private residential market’. Capital receivables have increased 21% on-year to around £188 million, indicating that ‘credit quality at Aspen remains high.’ S&U adds: ‘Looking ahead, longer-term products and small-scale development finance offer exciting opportunities.’ ‘The travails of the past two years, faced particularly by Advantage, and occasioned in part by a period of intensified regulatory scrutiny, have been unprecedented,’ comments Chair Anthony Coombs. ‘Happily, it is now clear that, in overcoming them, S&U and its loyal people are building the foundations for an even more successful future.’ ---------- AFC Energy PLC - Cranleigh, England-based provider of hydrogen power-generation technologies - Signs joint development agreement with Japanese construction, mining, forestry, and industrial heavy equipment manufacturer Komatsu Ltd and its affiliate, Industrial Power Alliance Ltd. The JDA has a contract value of around $2 million, subject to the delivery of certain milestones, AFC notes. AFC and Komatsu will collaborate ‘to design and integrate AFC Energy’s proprietary ammonia cracking technology with a Komatsu industrial internal combustion diesel engine to assess the feasibility of a new ammonia fuelled engine platform capable of scaled production.’ AFC says this could provide the latter’s customers with an alternative, sustainable solution for their construction and mining plant equipment fleets. Adds that sucessful operational delivery would show that an internal combustion engine can be run on liquid ammonia with minimal changes necessary, bringing its technology to a new vertical with a significant addressable market. ---------- Switch Metals PLC - mining explorer focused on developing battery and technology metals mines in the Ivory Coast - Identifies additional tantalum-rich alluvial targets at its Issia project in Ivory Coast following completion of a targeted alluvial work programme. Says that 28 priority drainage basins exceed a technical cut-off grade, covering around seven square kilometres of prospective ground, adding near-surface, free-dig resource growth potential alongside work already underway toward a maiden mineral resource estimate. The company says the shallow alluvial targets are amenable to low-cost mining and gravity processing, and that follow-up work will include systematic pitting and bulk sampling to support early-stage cashflow development planning. Says the new targets sit within its 112 square kilometre Badinikro licence, which was the initial focus of its exploration programme. This adds ‘further near-surface upside in addition to the eluvial and colluvial targets currently being advanced toward a maiden [MRE].’ ---------- Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals PLC - London-headquartered biopharmaceutical company - Raises £2.5 million through a direct subscription by private investors. Issues 313,333 new shares at £7.50 each, with investors also receiving three-year warrants exercisable at £9 per share. Primarily earmarks the net proceeds to fund ongoing phase 1 trials of its CAR-T therapy HG-CT-1 for relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukaemia, in both adults and paediatric patients. Says the fundraise follows a positive recommendation from the independent Data Safety Monitoring Board to continue dose escalation in adults, alongside US Food & Drug Administration clearance to begin a phase 1 trial in patients aged 12 to 18 years. ‘Following the positive recommendation from the DSMB to continue the adult trial at the next dose level and the receipt of FDA clearance to initiate the paediatric study, the company remains focused on executing its clinical programme,’ says CEO Vladislav Sandler. ‘In parallel, we have implemented measures to reduce operating costs, including outsourcing the manufacture of HG-CT-1 to a specialised third-party provider.’ Hemogenyx says it remains focused on the HG-CT-1 trials, but continues to advance its CDX and CBR product candidates where possible and expects to report further progress in due course. ---------- Eleco PLC - London-based software provider for the construction and built environment sectors - Acquires all shares in Kivue Ltd for an enterprise value of £2.3 million, comprising around £1.8 million in cash and around £460,000 in equity. Reading, England-based software provider Kivue specialises in project portfolio management solutions, with a ‘market reputation...of an intuitive, easy-to-use and highly agile PPM solution that can quickly demonstrate value’. It mainly serves the private sector but has had ‘some success with public sector clients’. ‘Kivue, with its Perform offering, complements our existing BestOutcome’s PM3 solution which is used to manage strategic programmes and multiple portfolio management projects by project management offices and project managers,’ CEO Jonathan Hunter. ‘The addition of Kivue will further expand our reach into a senior manager and c-suite audience for larger enterprise projects. We are impressed with the calibre of customers which Kivue services, as well as the commercial knowledge, experience and talent of its team.’ ---------- Asia Strategic Holdings Ltd - London-based developer and operator of consumer businesses in emerging Asia - Reports its results for the financial year ended September 30. Group revenue increases 8.2% to $32.1 million from $29.7 million the previous year. Pretax loss narrows to $6.4 million from $10.7 million. Net loss narrows to $6.3 million from $11.0 million, ‘primarily reflecting the absence of a one-time $4.6 million goodwill impairment at Wall Street English Vietnam’ from financial 2024. ‘The main cause of the losses in FY25 was a foreign exchange loss of $2.8 million, due to heightened currency volatility in key markets, and a plant and equipment write-off of $0.5 million, due to earthquake damage,’ Asia Strategic says. Looking ahead, it sees itself as ‘well-positioned to navigate the year ahead with resilience’. ---------- Europa Oil & Gas Holdings PLC - West Africa, UK and Ireland-focused oil and gas exploration, development and production company - Raises approximately £3.5 million gross, as intended, through a conditional placing of 291.7 million shares at 1.2 pence each. Will also issue one warrant per four placing shares, with a 2p per share exercise price. Says the funds will ‘extend [its] cash runway to ensure that the Barracuda prospect is drilled and provide additional financial resources for the company’s ongoing working capital needs.’ Placing price represents a discount of approximately 20% to Europa’s closing price on Monday. Additionally, Europa announces a retail offer to raise up to £350,000 through issuing up to 29.2 million shares, also at 1.2p each. Agrees that one warrant will be granted for every four retail offer shares, with the same exercise price as the placing shares. Retail offer has a minimum subscription of £100 per investor. ---------- Huddled Group PLC - Nottingham-based investor in e-commerce brands - Raises £705,000 via direct subscription via the issue of 40.3 million shares at 1.75p each, with Executive Chair Martin Higginson subscribing for 7.9 million shares worth £137,500 in total. Also completes retail offer, which raises £38,653 through issuing 2.2 million shares at the same price. Total gross proceeds of the fundraise are around £740,000, which ‘will be used to further strengthen the group’s stock and working capital position across its various brands, as well as provide additional working capital to fund the expansion into new channels such as KwikSales and marketplaces such as Amazon and Temu.’ Huddled also says it is drawing down £525,000 from the debt facility announced on Friday, and that it will use the funds for the same purpose as the subscription and retail offer. ---------- Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
|
