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Even a few of our detractors have now come around
AIM-listed Ariana Resources (AAU) has released its FY21 numbers this morning – and not a day too late! The highlight for me is the cashpile of £16.4 million at year-end: no funding worries here, then, and the final tranche of the special dividend arising from the part sale of Ariana’s Turkish assets is due on 3 October. But there is much more than that!
Any disruption to production is obviously a big issue for oil producers, and even more so when a company only has a small number of operations and it causes a significant impact on output.
It has all gone quiet at AIM-listed Ariana Resources (AAU) but I fancy that things are about to hot up, which may make the shares a short-term buy in advance. Of course, I seem always to find a justification for buying Ariana shares and my target price is not far off double the current mark at 3.75p. But the company is pregnant with news, much of which is due by the end of this month.
I commented only last week that whilst the receipt of $748,400 on a loan from Argentina was a welcome development, I wasn’t sure it was enough to keep the wolf from the door at AIM-listed Rurelec (RUR) – the carcass left behind after it was run into the ground by Peter Earl. Today, at 2.38pm, the company slipped out its results for calendar 2021. So how’s the cash position?
AIM-listed Haydale (HAYD) has offered up a trading update ahead of its full year to June 2022. Apparently all is well, with revenues ahead of expectations but is that really the case?
I’ve been a fan of Capricorn Energy (CNE), formerly Cairn, for some time now and my investment there has done pretty well, but I probably won’t be holding for much longer now that it has announced a merger with Tullow Oil (TLW).
AIM-listed jam-tomorrow IoT investment company Tern plc (TERN) has announced a recommended all-share deal to take over AM-listed Pires Investments (PIRI). The fanfare numbers are that Pires investors are getting a 54% premium to the previous closing price, with Tern’s shares priced at 15.5p, but that seems to me to be a spoof. One wonders why Pires' board took the deal…..
Aquis-listed TruSpine (TSP) is yet another of the disastrous recent IPOs to have sullied the London markets. Having joined the lobster-pot in August 2020 at 36p, the shares have utterly collapsed in the wake of an IPO subscription doing a runner and multiple delays to the approval of its Cervi-lok spinal stabilisation device, which was supposed to have seen FDA submissions completed in Q4 2020 and we were promised commercial sales in 2021. Here we are at the end of May 2022 and the FDA has not yet been satisfied, there is no sign of any sales and the shares are now just 4.3p in the middle. Ouch! But has the company run out of cash?
I have been bearish on AIM-listed Yu Group (YU.) almost since the dawn of time. Well, since the company ‘fessed up that it had effectively been making up its numbers and that there was a black hole in the accounts. So is it time to reconsider, in the light of yesterday’s apparently bullish AGM trading update? Not so fast…..
Radiation and bio-detection technology group Kromek (KMK) is “pleased to have received… latest order for our D3S-ID nuclear radiation detector… from a US federal entity”. What of a current share price response up to 12.75p?...
I’ve been taking a look through the annual report from Wyld, AIM-listed Tern’s second largest investment, for calendar 2021. Needless to say, there was no announcement form Tern over this…..
Analyst, Chris Puplava, argues that Fed rate hikes don’t always result in recessions. He believes there is no spare capacity to compensate for a slowdown and, therefore, the Fed is limited in its ability to control inflation. The November elections are always a factor, and he doesn't expect the Fed will tighten aggressively into the fall. Mortgage rate hikes, he argues, are already impacting the housing markets, as the interest rate pain threshold has been more pronounced with every debt cycle.
I recently covered Serinus Energy (SENX) as a speculative buy based on the likelihood that the results for the first quarter would be good and the company would have benefitted from high commodity prices and fairly low Capex.
It isn’t really surprising that any companies operating in the region where the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine is going on have taken a big hit to their share price since it all kicked off, but that can also present opportunities as long as you are prepared to take on the risks associated with that.
Serinus Energy (SENX) shares have performed pretty badly, considering that oil and gas is currently in a bull market, but I believe that the next set of operational and financial results could be a turning point for investors.
A couple of weeks back I wrote a piece here about how I was excited about the prospects of a small AIM oil company, Afentra (AET), where I hold a stake myself and which had just announced that it had potentially secured a stake in two blocks, subject to final due diligence. The company has now announced that it has entered into a sale and purchase agreement with the vendor, Sonangol, and has released a lot more information on the finer details of the proposed transaction – including the fact that it is expected to be funded from existing cash balances plus debt, and with no equity dilution to existing holders in order to complete the deal.
AIM-listed jam-tomorrow IoT investment company Tern plc (TERN) today provided an update in the form of its AGM statement. As ever, it is full of hyperbole but offers few hard numbers. The ShareProphets RNS Translation Service explains all…..
Over the weekend reports emerged in the Angolan press that its national oil company, Sonangol, had finally completed the bidding process for the licences that it was selling its stakes in, and that a small AIM company, Afentra (AET), had been successful in being selected for two of these blocks. I’ve been invested in Afentra for some time – as well as having covered it positively several times here going back to the days when it was called Sterling Energy, and like many others have been patiently waiting for some news whilst the shares remained suspended. Due to the size of any transaction resulting from its bids, it will constitute a reverse takeover and the shares were suspended accordingly, and will remain so until either a prospectus is published or it terminates its bids for the Sonangol assets.
AIM-listed online purveyor of ladieswear, Sosandar (SOS), has released a trading update for its full year to March 31 2022 – and the news is good. Expectations had already been raised, but this morning the company tells us that those newer forecasts have been beaten. So is all rosy in the garden of Sosandar?
I commented on the Interims to December from AIM-listed Barkby Group (BARK) yesterday, noting a massive black hole in net current assets to the tune of a whopping £12.4 million. So how is the company paying for this acquisition – and the comprehensive refurbishment by June 2022?
AIM-listed Catenae Innovation (CTEA) was suspended from trading on Friday morning as it was unable to publish its FY21 Accounts to September 30 by deadline day. I can’t say I didn’t warn you – the only surprise is that it has taken this long for a suspension.
Central Asia Metals (CAML) is one of those companies which I think is consistently undervalued by the market, and although it carries some degree of geo-political risk, I believe that too large a discount is applied for that.
AIM-listed jam tomorrow IoT investment company Tern plc (TERN) badly needs to get a fundraise away as the closing date for cashing in its first round of warrants at Wyld, listed on the Nasdaq First North joke market in Stockholm approaches. I reckon it has got at best a couple of weeks and probably only one week before disaster strikes. The only question for me is whether the disaster will be the collapse of Wyld or just a massively discounted bucket shop placing-induced collapse in Tern’s share price.
It is always a Red Flag for me when a company posts a profit but is burning cash, and that brings me to yesterday’s full year results for 2021 from AIM-listed Yu Group (YU.).
Hello Share Dabblers. This old punter has never recommended a furniture purveyor before. My own modest gaff doesn’t have much woodwork less than 100 years old and some of it is Elizabethan. The modern equivalent can’t hold a candle to it, in my predjudiced view. But most of the world doesn’t agree and plain, simple and chunky styles of new furniture seem to be selling well. Especially as Covid has kept more folks at home for longer. They’ve decided to pep up their living and bed rooms with newer-style furniture.
Capricorn Energy (CNE) has seen its share price weaken since it announced a tender offer as opposed to a special dividend, which many investors had been expecting, but remains one to hold.
For most of the last year, AIM-listed jam-tomorrow IoT investment company Tern plc (TERN) has survived because its supporters were truly sold on Tern’s portfolio being worth a multiple of the official NAV per share which allowed Tern to issue more and more shares like there is no tomorrow at a huge premium to NAV per share, even if at massive discounts to the prevailing share price. Until now.
AIM-listed jam-tomorrow IoT investment company Tern plc (TERN) announced yesterday that it is to participate in the Sure Valley Ventures UK Software Technology Fund, to the tune of an initial £90,000 and a total of £5 million over the next ten years. So where is the money coming from as the deadline for converting Tern’s first round of warrants in Wyld (due at the end of the month) ticks down to an inevitable discounted bucket-shop placing?
IGas Energy (IGAS) has been performing well recently in terms of the share price, but following the latest trading and reserves update it has taken a bit of a hit and pulled back more than 14%.
I noted yesterday that FY results from sub-Standard-Listed AIQ (AIQ) were due today. To leave one’s results to deadline day is of itself at Red Flag, but a brief nose through the numbers what a horrific shambles has been made of this VSA Capital/ Andrew Monk IPO from 2018. Fortunately, ShareProphets readers were warned right from the off.
Online fashion retailer Boohoo (BOO) has performed terribly for anyone who has been invested over the past year or so and has seen its share price drop by around 75% during that time.
AIM-listed graphene play Haydale (HAYD) announced its interim results to December 2021 this morning and despite the advertised £3.84 million of cash, yet another placing is surely inevitable. Revenues fell from £1.28 million to £1.19 million, pre-tax losses increased from £1.93 million to £2.46 million year on year – what’s not to like? But the real problem is the balance sheet.
AIM-listed jam-tomorrow investment company Tern plc (TERN) announced yesterday that investee Talking Medicines had raised £1.59 million from a fundraise – including £400,000 from Tern. The company trumpeted that the value of its investment had therefore headed north from £0.86 million to £1.79 million. Is it time for the TERNers to crack open the Ouzo?
As predicted on this fine website, AIM-listed Purplebricks Group (PURP)’s interims to October 2021 are suitably disastrous. But since the company isn’t bust (yet) the market has reacted with relief and the shares are marginally up on the day, at 20.3p – though a long way shy of the 50-60p they were at only last autumn, and a country mile off the £5 at peak Neil Woodford-ramp back in 2017. The opening preamble tries to polish the turd, but a peek at the formal accounts shows that it lost £20.2 million in just six months. During a housing boom where anything standing sold within hours and average prices roofed it as mortgages were almost free to a good home. Yikes – just how bad might it have been in a slump?!
AIM-listed Yu Group (YU.) has updated the market with a full year trading update for 2021, claiming a very strong performance for FY21, significantly ahead of market expectations….FY21 revenues, profitability….have all extensively exceeded management forecasts. So the coffers are burgeoning with cash, then? Er…..
I always find it hard to buy shares where I see fundamental good value and where I am intending to hold them as an actual investment rather than just a short term trade based on momentum.
Advance Energy (ADV) is proving to be probably my worst tip ever, given that I only covered it yesterday and the share price is currently down around 80% following an update on drilling which appears to be bad news, and I can only apologise to anyone who bought based on my piece yesterday. At least it has given my pea brained critics on twitter a day of onanismic delight.
A real buzz seems to have returned to the oil and gas sector in recent times and with commodity prices at their strongest for several years, and that even seems to be trickling down to the lower end of the market and the explorers now with some shares on a real rip.
Pharos Energy (PHAR) has been a terrible investment for anyone who has held longer term – including myself – and even more so from the days when it was called Soco International (SIA), but I still believe that it can turn things around.
Sub-Standard-Listed Cloudbreak Discovery (CDL) added yet more Red Flags to its profile this morning on the release of an RNS at 7a this morning entitled “Final Results for the Year Ended 30 June 2021”. Just for a start, releasing FY numbers during no-one-is-watching week as investors are away from their desks between Christmas and New Year is an automatic Red Flag. But the RNS did not contain the results – only a management summary, telling the reader that “A full copy of the results is available on the company website”. Except at 7.30am this morning, that was not the case.
The lower end of the AIM market seems to be littered with small companies that haven’t made any real progress over the years, in terms of shareholder returns, and I’m often left wondering what the point of them being listed is, given the additional costs that involves.
AIM-listed Mediazest (MDZ) offered up a trading statement yesterday and I wonder why. There were positive noises, of course, but this was a trading statement apparently covering the second half of the year ending 30 September 2021! Last year it offered up its year-end statement, including the second lockdown, on November 12th 2020. Why has it taken Mediazest an extra month in an environment somewhat less affected by Covid this year?
Hurricane Energy (HUR) is a company that I’ve been following and covering ever since the days before it drilled the Lancaster appraisal well; through the times when it looked like it could be a big AIM success story; and more recently when it was uncertain as to whether it would even survive.
AIM-listed graphene products company Haydale (HAYD) has released its full year results to June 30 2021. Amongst the highlights we are told of a “robust trading performance” and the “Summary of Results” shows that cash outflow from operations was down by 52% whilst cash at year end was up by 100% at £1.64 million. So all is well, right? Think again…..
Well surprise, surprise! AIM-listed Advanced Oncotherapy (AVO) has announced that the first fully operational LIGHT system has been delayed from the end of this year to the end of Q1 next year. I noted HERE that the delay announced this morning was pretty well baked in. Given that we have moved from “could slip into Q1 2022” to “around the end of Q1 2022” in the space of less than two and a half months, it seems to me that further slippage is highly likely. Indeed, despite this morning’s announcement, one wonders whether any progress has been made at all since the announcement of diabolical interims at the end of September. So there will be at least another quarter sans revenue……what about the cash?
The last time I wrote about Omega Diagnostics (ODX) was back in June when I got slated for suggesting that the company had missed the boat when it came to Covid testing, and that its Department of Health and Social Care contract wasn’t worth the headline figure you so often saw people banging on about!
Last Friday Aquis-listed Rutherford Health (RUTH) advised that it was in discussions to secure bridge financing and that a further announcement would follow this week. This followed the non-appearance of placing monies originally announced back in August which were repeatedly put back. Is the company out of cash yet?
Mode Global Holdings (MODE) is typical of many small technology companies in that it burns through cash at an alarming rate whilst trying to grow its revenues to any sort of meaningful amount.
In the past AIM-listed online ladies clothing purveyor Sosandar (SOS) boasted of EBITDA (bullshit earnings) in part because they were pretty close to real, bottom-line earnings and cash outflow. Not so any more! So we are told of EBITDA positive trading recently and the company boasts of revenue growth of 184% to £12.2 million, Gross Profits of £6.9 million, Net Cash of £7.4 million and that the EBITDA loss was £0.99 million in the six months to 30 September, So things are going gangbusters, right? Not so fast……
AIM-listed Gold producer in Turkey Ariana Resources (AAU) has announced the second investment of its wholly-owned subsidiary, the Asgard Metals fund: it is to put £200,000 into UK-registered Pallas Resources, along with a consultancy agreement worth up to £75,000 under which Ariana will provide technical consulting services to Pallas over a two-year period.
Cloudbreak Discovery (CDL) only joined the sub-Standard List in June, but the stock has been a one-way ticket south ever since. Having listed at 3p and peaking at 5.5p, the shares are now just 1.425p. Anyone who purloined IPO shares has now lost some 53% of their cash in around five months. Is that some kind of record?
Quelle surprise. Who would have guessed it? The fraud Supply@ME Capital (SYME), now almost out of cash and still burning cash, has elected to pay the remaining November amounts due under its Mercator death spiral – which at announced as being a loan - by issuing more shares rather than in cash. Calling this deal a “loan” was the least of the lies told by Supply But it was a lie. With the shares at 0.1525p Mercator will have already forward sold – see volumes in the past couple of days – the £300,000 of shares it received at 0.135p. But there is a bigger elephant in the room.
JKX Oil and Gas (JKX) is a company that I’ve followed for a number of years but it has never quite lived up to expectations, nor performed anywhere near as well as its assets on paper suggest that it should have.
Aquis lobster-potted Rutherford Health (RUTH) – formerly Neil Woodford favourite Proton Partners – has announced a deal to open new health clinics in partnership with BUPA. Great, whizzo……but there is just one tiny little thing wrong here!
Aquis lobster-pot listed Rutherford Health (RUTH) has announced yet another delay in its acquisition of Proton Partners International Health Care Investments LLC, UAE. The deal, originally announced on 31 August 2021 – along with a placing which is also delayed – was due to complete 21 days on from a share swap deed dated 28 August. Then it was 11 October 2021. Now it is 16 November and the ShareProphets bookies are offering generous odds on yet another extension after that.
AIM-listed Gold (and Silver) producer in Turkey, Ariana Resources (AAU) has announced this morning that the Turkish government has approved the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report for the Tavsan Mine – to be Ariana’s second Gold/Silver producer. This is great news and the market has responded by marking the shares up early-doors by 11% although they have settled back to 4.45p since.
I am quite impressed today by two names that I do not own but probably should. That’s life in the investment world sometimes (actually quite often). But the key is to keep on looking.
AIM-listed ladies’ online fashionwear purveyor Sosandar (SOS) updated the market this morning with a highly positive trading update. Given that Tom Winnifrith was asking if a profit warning was due, this morning’s statement leaves one wondering if the Sheriff was wrong. Or was he?
Bacanora Lithium (BCN) is a company that I have covered a few times previously, most recently when major shareholder and joint venture partner Gangfeng made a takeover bid for it.
I’m surprised to see Central Asia Metals (CAML) showing some share price weakness prior to the release of its interim results next week, as I’ve no reason to suspect that they will disappoint the market – in fact I would expect them to be good!
The last time I commented on AIM-listed Mediazest (MDZ) in May, having previously noted a balance sheet calamity, I called for a statement from the company regarding its chairman, Mr Lance O’Neill and his relationship with Claremont Capital Assets Limited (CCAL) as a related party.Needless to say, we’ve heard nothing from the company about that. This morning, however, we have a trading statement. Given that its next reporting period end is September 30th, one has to wonder why….until you consider its car-crash of a balance sheet. I suggest this is all leading up to a bucket shop special.
Drat and double drat. There I was yesterday thinking that shares in AIM-listed Gold (and Silver) producer in Turkey Ariana Resources (AAU) were incredibly cheap at 4.4p and contemplating another purchase – but then other things got in the way and I didn’t add to my over-sized holding. And so today we got another round of drilling results, this time from Arzu Central, and the stock is up 6% to 4.65p. Somebody obviously likes the news…..
AIM-listed John Zorbas outfit URU Metals (URU) had a good day in the market yesterday as its shares shot up by 8% to 405p on news of developments regarding its “disposal” of the Zebediela nickel project in South Africa to Toronto Venture Exchange listed Blue Rhino (RHNO). Except as far as I can see it is not really a disposal as one might normally understand the word.
AIM-listed alternative energy supplier Yu Group (YU.) has updated the market this morning with a trading statement for the half-year to June. We are told of strong growth in bookings ad revenue with confidence in delivering profitable growth, but whilst cash balances are broadly flat (ie a little down) over the period there is again no discussion of net current assets. So is it just more of the same?
Energy services provider Lamprell (LAM) saw its share price take a big hit following the release of its annual results for 2020, which included a statement about the need to raise further capital via an equity issue – the exact amount and terms of which is yet to be announced.
When an AIM company changes its name it can often be to try and hide a dodgy past, generally where it has raised money consistently from shareholders but failed to actually deliver anything, but there are also times when it can signal a change to the business and a move in the right direction.
AIM-listed Yu Group (YU.) had its AGM this week. All the resolutions were passed, as one might expect, but the company talked of being profitable in the second half of last year and continued momentum from FY20 as 2021 got off to a good start. But profit – as we all know – is a matter of opinion; cash – where Yu’s dangers lie – is a matter of fact.
AIM-listed online ladies fashionwear purveyor Sosandar (SOS) has announced the placing I have long predicted, and a Primary Bid offering alongside. The fundraising, announced at 5pm yesterday – after hours, natch, was planned to raise £5.24 million at 20p per share and this morning it was announced that the placing and Primary Bid offer had closed, having been oversubscribed. My stance for the past few months has been wake me up after the next placing. So am I now a buyer?
Things were looking up at AIM-listed Rurelec (RUR) when I last commented here, but yesterday morning came bad news from Argentina. In honour of which our esteemed site editor has added a video to this article which will bring tears to your eyes. But first Rurelec and its news…
With apologies to Ian Hislop, seeing shares in AIM-listed jam-tomorrow (but never delivers) IoT Investment Company Tern plc (TERN) riding high suggests that either the market is now fully set for a big tumble or I am a banana. Tom Winnifrith was struck in yesterday’s Bearcast with the stock at 25p. But by market close they were sitting at an amazing 30.25p (mid) – an incredible 44% rise in one day for a company with last stated net assets (cash plus a portfolio of illiquid unlisted cash-hungry investments) of just 7.3p!
With the price of the yellow metal showing an improvement, having risen by the best part of $150 per oz since the March double bottom to reach $1831 at Friday’s close, the renewed enthusiasm has been reflected generally in gold stocks. And that includes AIM-listed Ariana Resources (AAU) which is now riding high at 5.2p. But my target is 7.5p.
AIM-listed jam-tomorrow IoT investment company Tern plc (TERN) held its AGM yesterday and posted a bullish update – obviously containing no figures - and the BBMs went mad pushing the shares up. But for me the real news was the result of the AGM.
Around six weeks ago I covered the IPO of a small mining company called Caerus Mineral Resources (CMRS) and noted that it looked interesting for anyone who liked these small, speculative type of plays.
Centamin (CEY) has always been one of my favourite gold producers, and although I may not be as bullish as fellow ShareProphets writer Nigel Somerville, I still expect the metal to do well over the next few years.
Private investors are often looking to buy into companies where the share price has fallen, rather than those which are near all time highs, but in some cases that is the opposite of what they should be doing!
AIM-listed online purveyor of ladies fashionwear Sosandar (SOS) has offered up its full year trading update this morning. There is much to celebrate – particularly as this time last year the question might have been whether AIM-listed loss-making stocks would even survive! In fact the company seems to have made quite a success of the past twelve months as Covid restrictions closed the high street, giving online retailers a clear run. But is it all roses?
When it comes to Alaskan oil explorer 88 Energy (88E) the hype around its drills has always far outweighed the actual results that it has managed to achieve, as can clearly be seen if you look back at a chart over the past five years or so and the timing of the big gap downs in the share price.
There may be no limit to the stupidity of the lunatic fans of AIM-listed jam-tomorrow IoT investment company Tern plc (TERN) but the market’s early reaction to this morning’s FY20 results – a drop of 18% – suggests that you can’t fool all of the market all of the time. In short, the numbers are a calamity.
It was announced this morning that AIM-listed Catenae Innovation (CTEA) is to delay releasing its accounts to 30 September 2020 with the blessing of AIM Regulation, which has given the company until the end of June on the grounds of the Covid pandemic. I will come to this later, but we were also treated to a trading update……which was indeed a treat, if you are a bear.
The oil and gas market is quite hard to read at the moment, particularly when it comes to individual companies which are producing, as some have seen large share price rises whilst others barely seem to have moved despite the fundamentals appearing to be strong.
It’s not often that I take much notice of the smallest mining companies at the lower end of AIM, but every now and again one gets my attention as being worthy of taking a look at if you want to take a bit of a punt on shares in something more speculative than the popular producers.
The recent rise in the share price of 88 Energy (88E) has been very noticeable and it has held those gains so far in spite of the company putting out a statement that it knew of no reason for the rise, other than what had already been disclosed via RNSs.
When I last looked at fully-listed Hammerson (HMSO) last September, it had just raised money to, in effect, start again. But since then Bonkers Boris has locked the country up for a second and third time and as such there was simply no attraction for me to this property (lack of) income play.
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) seem to be the new buzz word in the UK markets at the moment, certainly amongst PIs on social media anyway, and it would also seem that a few AIM company directors are getting involved as well.
Newly (rushed) sub-Standard Listed Kanabo (KNB) has announced a cannabis production agreement with PharmaCann Polska, which is to supply cartiges containing Kanabo’s proprietry medicial cannabis for its VapePod inhalation device. The shares are up by 11% (last seen) on the news, to 20.5p – a long way off the ridiculous (ahem) high of over 40p at the IPO – valuing the company at some £47 million. That’s surely nonsense!
Quite often ShareProphets readers contact us asking for an opinion on a particular company, and I’m always happy to take a look – although there is no guarantee that the conclusions I come to will necessarily be what they wanted to hear about the company!
AIM-listed Haydale Graphene (HAYD) has offered up its interims to December 2020 today and whilst the company flags increased sales of functionalised inks graphene and points to falling admin costs and operating losses, these are on an adjusted basis. The unadjusted truth is that sales of £1.277 million were down from £1.347 million the previous year and the company lost £2 million in total comprehensive loss (although this is marked as being for the year – not that there was an cut’n’paste laziness!)
Pharos Energy (PHAR) has been one of the worst stocks that I’ve been invested in – not necessarily in terms of the share price performance, although that has also been awful, but more the way the company has been managed and the amount of money that I’ve seen them waste over the years.
When it comes to investing, I’ve always gone on the basis that you should always react to new information, not necessarily in terms of buying or selling, but certainly in assessing upside potential and risks – even when that emerges soon after you’ve made a decision as to whether or not a company is worthy of investment.
AIM-listed Haydale Graphene (HAYD) offered up a statement on Thursday telling of a sales representative agreement and a trading update. The former offered up visions of Tom Winnifrith’s (lack of) wooing Britain’s favourite chanteuse but the latter seems to me have been more a case of the dog that didn’t bark. What was the first elephant in the room?
Asiamet Resources (ARS) is a company that I’ve been a fan of based upon its assets, which look more attractive than ever at current copper prices, but currently I have some concerns as to where its share price might be heading shorter term.
On 10 July 2020, I published a devastating and detailed bear dossier on AIM darling Manolete (MANO) with the shares at 515p valuing it at more than £250 million. The company and its odious PR firm Instinctif responded with a pompous and unconvincing denial. I’ve warned you repeatedly since then and yesterday in the late afternoon came a shocking warning. The shares closed at 200p but as lies are exposed, worse, including a bailout placing, will come. So let’s start with the lies.
I haven’t commented on AIM-listed Cameroonian gas play Bowleven (BLVN) for some time – the last being back on 27 March last year when I asked are you brave enough to buy in the face of a big sell-off in oil and gas prices as the severity of the Covid crisis started to become apparent. The share price then was 2.17p in the middle and today’s news sees the shares up at 5.3p. I wasn’t brave enough to buy more….but my then existing holding is still there.
When I last wrote about AIM-listed Advanced Oncotherapy, at the end of October last year, it had just announced a placing at 30p per share to raise £7.7 million and my back-of-a-fag-packet suggested that despite the new money, it was placing ahoy. Well, yesterday that placing duly arrived with £6 million raised at a rather more impressive 40p. So will this be the last time the company passes round the hat?
I can understand why people aren’t rushing to invest in the travel sector currently as the situation looks very bleak with Covid worsening and further travel restrictions and lockdowns being added on a daily basis around the world.
Warren Buffett famously told us that those who rely on telling us about EBITDA are either trying to delude you or are deluding themselves. The first line of AIM-listed online purveyor of ladieswear Sosandar’s (SOS) trading update this morning tells us of a record quarter and continued substantial reduction in EBITDA loss. Hmph – not a good start, then, and the shares are off by 12% in early trading. But is there better to come?
Some time in the next week or so we should hear from AIM-listed Ariana (AAU) with another quarterly report from the Kiziltepe gold production plant in Turkey. Ordinarily I would suggest that it will come next week, but given the amount that is going on – especially with regard to the partial sale of assets to Ozaltin – Kerim Sener and his team might be forgiven if it takes a little longer. But with the stock having closed at just 5.05p in the middle on Friday, what news might we expect?
EnQuest (ENQ) is a company that I have followed for a long time and have previously been invested in myself, but over the past few years its shares have performed terribly and has never really recovered from the previous oil price slump, which bottomed out in 2016.
Tom Winnifrith ate his hat over Red Rock Resources (RRR), so it is only fair I ‘fess up – my list of five slam dunk sells for 2020 was, ahem, less than successful – mainly down to the performance of AIM-listed Catenae Innovation CTEA) which put on a whopping 140%, and AIM-listed URU Metals (URU) rubbed my nose in it further with a rise of 54%. So was I wrong?
Sub-Standard-listed AIQ has had a chequered history since it floated on the London Stock Exchange courtesy of Andrew Monk and VSA Capital. The founding executive directors’ full details had not been correctly disclosed, there was the mother of all shambles as IPO share certificates failed to arrive in a timely manner and at the same time a buying frenzy – perhaps by people who thought there was a relationship to Mama Captain (denied), the stock spent most of its first four months as a listed entity suspended and even a placing to address the IPO shambles was messed up. Meanwhile, the stock was trading (when not suspended) at a ridiculous premium to cash, with no business.
The good news is that we did not have to wait until after-hours on New Year’s Eve for the latest set of Interim Results to September from AIM-listed John Zorbas POS URU Metals (URU). But the numbers are, as predicted, truly awful – it is Red Flags ahoy from this technically insolvent joke company.
Just over a year ago I covered a ‘mining’ share as a speculative buy, and it was very different to the natural resources companies that I normally cover, as it was mining Bitcoin rather than any metal or other commodity.
People often try to tell me that it isn’t possible to make money by actually investing in AIM oil and gas companies and that they are only worth trading, but I would have to disagree based on some of those that I’ve picked out over the years as having long term potential.
AIM-listed jam-tomorrow (or never) Internet of Things investment company Tern plc (TERN) has seen its shares continue to crater – the shares are now, at 6.7p, well below the last placing price of 7.5p. Meanwhile investee FVRVS Limited (Fundamental VR) has filed its 2019 accounts……and…..oh dear!
As any regular readers here will know, I’ve been a fan of Serica Energy (SQZ) for many years and during that time have watched it grow into a mid-tier oil and gas producer, and I believe that now is the time to consider investing in the company once again.
This year a lot of private investors seem to have been focussing on any stocks even loosely associated with Covid, plus those in the tech sector, and more recently mining has also seen a resurgence, gold in particular, but oil and gas has very much remained unloved and out of favour. That gives you a great opportunity and this is no fisherman’s tale…
Fully-listed Egyptian Gold-producer Centamin (CEY) has released RNSs showing that its top brass have been dipping into their own pockets to buy its shares in the wake of last week’s updated mine plan. As discussed HERE and HERE there is plenty to suggest that the offering of a very attractive dividend has much to commend the shares and now Chairman James Rutherford and CEO Martin Horgan have shown the way.
Fully-listed Golden Prospect (GPM) has announced that the Subscription Trustee has exercised all the outstanding subscription shares for Golden Prospect (GPSS) and raised £4.77 million for the company as a result. Good news for the company, and perhaps a little good news for former holders who did not pony up the 46.14p per subscription share to convert into ordinary shares – although we will have to wait and see just how much will be returned to former subscription shareholders, as we are not told. But it is not such good news for ordinary shareholders who will be diluted and thus the potential NAV per share as of Tuesday night drops from 67.56p to 60.43p.
Another little bit of good new today from AIM-listed Turkish gold-producer Ariana Resources (AAU) adds to the investment case here. It has agreed to sell the satellite projects around the Kiziltepe processing plant to the joint venture for $2 million, payable over 20 months, conditional on the completion of the dealt to bring Ozaltin into the joint venture currently involving Ariana and Proccea.
The last time I looked at online ladies wear purveyor, AIM-listed Sosandar (SOS), my conclusion remained wake me up after the next placing. Will it be any different this time?
RockRose Energy (RRE) was one of the real success stories amongst AIM listed oil companies prior to being taken over for nearly £250 million, and now its executive chairman, Andrew Austin, has made a return to AIM with a new venture which listed last week.
These days I generally tend to avoid taking risks on oil exploration drills, but on occasions I still can’t resist taking a position, of a size that reflects that risk, and when the drill looks particularly interesting.
At 6.22pm on Friday – no-one-is-watching o’clock – AIM-listed Immunodiagnostic Systems (IDH) released its Interim results to the end of September. Getting the numbers out in November seems a decent enough effort, but why on Friday night when everybody has gone home for the weekend? My first thought was to wonder what they are hiding……
Buying shares in a large company which seems to be going through a rocky patch is always a risk, as in some cases these companies never actually manage to recover, but if you do get it right it can be very lucrative and Covid appears to have helped to create some good opportunities. Energy provider, Centrica (CNA) has performed terribly over the past six or seven years and anybody who has held it as a long term investment during that period of time will be sat on a sizeable loss. Even prior to the arrival of Covid it was already in a downwards spiral with high levels of debt and falling profitability, but the virus accelerated that and even though the markets and many energy shares have recovered to some degree in recent months, Centrica is still trading closer to the lows with a share price of 44.8p…
AIM-listed and due for an imminent placing Yu Group (YU.) released a Director Dealings announcement this morning. Given that it has already admitted it needs more cash, my spoof sensors were set ablazing.
AIM-listed jam-tomorrow investment company Tern (TERN) has seen its shares come crashing back down again: there is still no news from Wyld (quelle surprise) and another stack of cash has headed off to the great computer in the sky over at Device Authority – not that Tern has announced that either. Having raised £1.5 million back in July, I wonder how much cash will be left over by Christmas.
AIM-listed Advanced Oncotherapy (AVO) has announced a fundraise at 30p to raise £7.7 million (before expenses) – as predicted HERE by yours truly. Time for another glass of Ouzo, methinks.
Back in August I wrote about Shanta Gold (SHG) as being worth a look at around the 16p level, and with a chance of a good profit over the coming months.
Looking through the leaders and laggards for today I see that TSX-listed (VLE) and Standard-listed (VLU) Valeura is having a good day, with its shares up by 23% last seen. This is on the back of an agreement to sell shallow conventional gas assets in Turkey for $15.5 million and up to $18 million. With apparently $31 million of cash on its balance sheet as at 30 September and no debt, the market capitalisation sits at just £21 million (according to ADVFN). So it is a buy, right? Or is it?
Unexpected negative events, especially geo-political ones, can present great buying opportunities at times, as the market tends to severely over-react, even when there is no immediate specific impact on a company itself.
This morning AIM-listed Catenae Innovation plc (CTEA) has issued two RNSs covering a new joint venture with BHA Medical – to which is it issuing 10 million warrants at 2.5p, and a further 2 million warrants at 2.5p to “other parties”….whoever that may be. Catenae’s shares are up to 2.8p on the news, so BHA and person or persons unknown are already in the money.
Currently you could easily argue that there is a longer term investment case for numerous oil and gas producers, based on the assumption that commodity prices will improve over the next few years, and could even spike in the same way that we’ve seen in the past after prolonged periods of low demand.
AIM-listed Catenae Innovation (CTEA) is rapidly losing its Covid appeal. Having ended the pre-Covid period at around 0.26p per share, the company jumped on the Covid bandwagon and saw its shares roof it to peak at over 9p. But since the end of August Catenae’s lustre had dulled and now the shares are at 2.3p. It seems that what goes up must come down and as such there seems to be a long way to go. One reason could be related to its bandwagon Onsite-ID App, which we were led to believe would see some results as part of Newcastle Premier Health’s Access Planning Control. So what has happened? On 25 August we were told:
Once again AIM-listed online ladieswear purveyor Sosandar (SOS) has offered up a trading statement which at first glance looks extremely positive. But once again, there are also questions……
Share in AIM-listed jam-tomorrow investment company Tern plc (TERN) ended last week at 7.7p – a 10% premium to the last stated net asset value per share of 7p. It was a better week, having seen the share price hit a low point of just 6.25p at the beginning of September. Of Tern’s net assets of £20.1 million at the interim stage, its principal investee Device Authority (DA) accounts for £13.8 million – or 68.7% and last week DA’s accounts appeared at Companies House. Oh dear……
AIM-listed Block Energy (BLOE) seems to have made a pretty decent effort at addressing the problems I raised HERE. On Thursday, an RNS appeared which seems a pretty good overview of where things are and announced the departure from the board of NED and former technical director, Mr Roger McMechan…
Former cash-hungry Woodford dog, AIM-listed Eve Sleep (EVE) has released its interims this morning. On the face of it there is plenty to cheer but a deeper look still offers plenty to worry about for shareholders.
Hurricane Energy (HUR) promised so much but it looks like it will end up joining the long list of failed companies in the natural resources sector following recent updates, including the interims today.
I have warned and warned and warned that AIM-listed Haydale (HAYD) needed more money and having jumped on the Covid-Bandwagon at the beginning of July and seen its shares slide from 8.45p on 20th August to last night’s close at just 5.1p, this morning the company announced a bookbuild at just 3.5p to raise £3 million. The only question is whether it should be Ouzo on my Cornflakes or my Rice Krispies.
Previously writing on SRT Marine Systems (SRT), in July with the shares at 37p I concluded I continue to wait for some meaningful net cash generation to be shown before reconsidering my decision to avoid. The shares last closed at 41.5p, but are currently back below 37p on the back of results for the company’s year ended 31st March 2020…
Gary Newman was – quite rightly – never a fan of AIM-listed oiler Block Energy (BLOE) – despite its apparently large fan-base on the Bulletin Boards. Now, it seems as though some shareholders – apparently representing around 20% of the stock – have had enough. I gather they want to know what is going on, but can’t seem to get management to engage. Given the apparent shambles, it is hardly surprising.
AIM-listed online womenswear outfit Sosandar (SOS) has announced its full year numbers to March. Whilst revenues were up to £9 million from £4.4 million, losses were also up at £7.8 million against £3.5 million last time. With a market capitalisation, following this morning’s share price gain to 18.75p, sitting at £31 million, that seems a pretty juicy rating. But things have changed as Covid-19 smashed retail in the high street and online did rather better. How are things looking now?
Gold is all the rage at the moment and looks set to remain strong, even if we do see some pullbacks or it not advancing to the price levels that some are predicting. So, it is no surprise that there is so much focus at the moment on any company operating in the gold sector, either producing or even just early stage explorers. With such a big recent rise in the gold price, many miners have followed it upwards, so if you are only just getting into gold now, the trick is to try and find value, and if something does look cheap, to understand why it might be trading at a lower market cap than you would expect. One ShareProphets reader has recently asked me to take a look at Tanzanian gold producer Shanta Gold (SHG), as to him it seemed relatively cheap and he wondered if there was a good reason for it being so…
Regular readers here will know that I’ve been a fan of Russian gold miner Highland Gold (HGM) for quite some time and it has been my share of choice for exposure to the yellow metal, and one which I hold myself. I covered it as a buy at 227p back in late February, and then again at 222p very recently as one of my tips for the MineProphets event, so I was clearly very bullish on it and especially so given the steeply rising gold price we have seen of late…
The AIM market is full of companies which have never managed to achieve anything of note despite operating for years, and often it isn’t that hard to spot when they are going to raise more funds imminently.
AIM-listed alternative energy supplier Yu Group (YU.) yesterday offered up a half-year trading statement ahead of interims on Wednesday 30 September (deadline day to avoid suspension – a bit of a Red Flag). Having always advertised plenty of cash but turning out to be running short in the net current assets department, is it any different this time? I fear not…..
When it comes to new technology that is yet to become common place, being amongst the first to get involved doesn’t necessarily guarantee success, especially for early investors in smaller companies.
The Bidstack (BIDS) saga is one which I have watched unfold but have made little comment on myself, other than thinking that the valuation that it reached was bonkers and writing as much in an article on ShareProphets last May.
AIM-listed Prof. Conroy lifestyle outfit Karelian Diamonds (KDR) offered up some good news this morning in that it it has secured vehicular access rights to its Lahtojoki diamond project. Well, it would be, but Karelian hasn’t any cash to spend on exploration so why the shares are up 24% is a mystery.
Just because a company has traded at much higher share price levels it doesn’t mean that it will do so again, and that is particularly true of oil companies at the moment.
I have an old legacy holding in an SEIS fund run by Ingenious. I wrote about it briefly before after I received a letter from Smith Williamson to inform me that the custodian, Reyker Securites, was in special administration. I’m still not sure why Ingenious was beaten to the mark by the administrators, but there we are. Recently we have had to submit claims for what is ours in terms of cash and stocks and a further letter from Smith & Williamson arrived the other day asking if I wanted to claim an interim payment. Naturally, I was keen……
Longboat Energy (LBE) is a company that I actually like and hope does well longer term but, having seen its share price double, I’m finding it hard to see where the value is up here and would be inclined to at least bank some profit...
Fully-listed Egyptian gold miner Centamin (CEY) has produced its Q2 report this morning and the numbers read well – the only thing missing was a hint as to the size of the forthcoming interim dividend. But despite the Covid crisis, Centamin is awash with cash and everything seems to be proceeding in line with expectations.
AIM-listed online ladies fashionwear purveyor Sosandar (SOS) has released a trading statement covering its reporting Q1 from 1 April to 30 June. As per the trading and Covid-19 update provided last month, on the surface this morning’s statement appears reassuring, but is it?
Yes you did read that ciorrectly, interest rates at MINUS 4%.
There is a lot of focus on oil companies of all sizes at the moment, with many investors speculating on their future recovery now that commodity prices have improved, but I would probably be more focussed on those which largely produce gas.
AIM-listed online ladies-wear outfit Sosandar (SOS) has updated the market on its forthcoming FY results and the company’s response to Covid-19. On the surface there is much to celebrate – which perhaps is why the shares are up a very impressive 36% as I write. But there are a few niggles to concern…..well, actually, rather a lot.
AIM-listed Rurelec (RUR), the shambles of a carcass left behind by Peter Earle, has offered up its FY19 results this morning and the news is almost good. Actually, compared to the technically insolvent POS its current management inherited, it is something of a miracle just because it has survived so long...
In today's podcast I tempt fate - as I am about to record a video with Matt Earl - in defending Boohoo's (BOO) boss. I discuss the shares vs cash debate, Rolls Royce (RR.), sharp share price moves, ref Skinbiotherapeutics (SBTX) and what the real unemployment number will be as furloughing is wound down. And now for a long training walk for the Woodlarks walk in 2 weeks time. We are now at 36% of target: please donate today HERE
Hello, Share Swampers. As the virus continues to dampen the city, the big question still remains. Should we be in cash or shares? Of course, the answer lies in between the two poles. You certainly need enough cash to carry you through this dodgy period, however long it might last. But if you follow the golden rule of always having at least 10% of your bag in cash this should not be a worry to most of us.
Over the past couple of months it has generally been a good idea to avoid resource stocks unless you’re either buying for the long term or are happy to try and trade high volatility, but one metal that is showing signs of strength is copper.
Covid-19 has had a big impact on many companies and quite a number of them now look priced to pretty much completely fail and go bust.
I have dropped a note to our good friends the Oxymorons and Chocolate Teapots, of AIM Regulation and the FCA respectively, with regard to AIM-listed IQE (IQE) head honcho Dr Drew Nelson and his recent dealings with Equities First Holdings. It seems to me to be a certainty that he has not come clean over his loan that isn’t a loan, under which he is “obligated” to repurchase the shares he sold yet these deals are non-recourse (so he’s not “obligated” at all), where we were told he had cash put aside to meet margin calls but settled one with more shares, and where his margin call appears to have been reported well after the fact – or it was not the first – when, if I understand the rules correctly, all margin call matters and any other developments in relation to his EFH loan which isn’t a loan should be reported to the market within a few days.
We have heard nothing more from AIM-listed IQE over when head honcho Dr Drew Nelson received the dreaded margin call from Equities First Holdings (EFH) in relation to his non-recourse sale-and-repurchase deal involving (now) over 12 million shares. Yet as I noted on Monday, it seems pretty clear that we have not been told the whole truth and I shall be writing to AIM Regulation on that matter later today. But looking back, it seems there is something else which doesn’t quite match what we were told.
AIM-listed lifestyle company Karelian Diamonds (KDR) has issued what must be the most ludicrously ramptastic RNS this morning. It is, and has been for ages, technically insolvent and yet this morning it has issued a statement telling the market that it has been granted new diamond exploration reservations in Finland. Given that it has no money, or at least it has negative net current assets last measured at MINUS EUR 1 million as at last November, what’s the point? It can’t explore what it already has!
Roll up, roll up – buy now, pay whenever you like! AIM-listed Conroy Gold and Natural Resources (CGNR) seems to be behaving more like a cheap furniture shop, rather than a serious company when it comes to raising money. On Thursday afternoon it updated on the placing way back in February, under which (unbeknown to the market) most of the cash it said it had raised didn’t arrive. Updates last month detailed some cash which finally dribbled in and on Thursday we learnt that another £50,000 had arrived. Good news……just £100,000 to go out of a £302,500 fundraise.
Pest control and hygiene company, Rentokil Initial (RTO), wasn’t looking particularly strong even prior to the arrival of Covid-19 and was trading at a very racey valuation, in my opinion.
This morning AIM-listed Turkish gold miner Ariana (AAU) served up a resource update which looks very positive and the shares – like anything to do with gold – are up on the news to 3.4p last seen.
AIM-listed Internet of Things jam-tomorrow play Tern (TERN) has seen its shares miraculously rise from a low point of just under 4p last month to (last seen) today’s mark of 8.5p. So has Tern offered up a big contract from one of its investees? Er……no! I do know Tern still needs more cash, and that the BBs are full of a progress update from investee Wyld suggesting big things. But of course, there has been no RNS from Tern – something we have seen before ahead of placings which I would argue were on the back of wild speculation which remained uncorrected by Tern. Is it happening again?
That AIM-listed Catenae Innovations (CTEA) is in a state of technical insolvency is surely beyond question. Last night at 5.30pm – no-one-is-watching o’clock – the company announced the appointment of a new sole Broker in the form of Brandon Hill Capital and miraculously, this morning it has announced it has joined a consortium with the objective of building an identity documentation system to record an individual’s Covid-19 test status. Yes folks, this technically insolvent POS is trying to jump on the Coronavirus bandwagon! But this morning’s RNS has to questionable on at least one point…..
After last week’s jam-tomorrow ramparoonie, today AIM-listed Haydale (HAYD) offered up a calamitous profit warning. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear…..
Current market conditions are bad for many companies, with the oil and gas sector having been hit particularly hard as commodity prices have crashed, but this can create opportunities for some companies.
My views on Block Energy (BLOE) haven’t exactly been popular over the past year as it was a favourite with private investors, but unfortunately so far everything has played out as I feared that it would do.
A “Coronavirus (COVID-19): Update” from “leading direct marketer of promotional products in North America, the UK and Ireland”, 4imprint (FOUR) – and the shares currently approaching 4% higher towards 1900p… so some positive news?...
At the start of this year a small AIM outift called Pembridge Resources (PERE) was getting a lot of attention and there were all sorts of predictions being made as to how high the market cap should be based on its share of a copper mining operation.
AIM-listed Haydale (HAYD) has announced an initial four-year distributer agreement with Dalian Yibang Technology Co Ltd (DLYB) offering exclusive distributer rights to market Haydale’s electrically conductive graphene-enhanced masterbatch in China and Taiwan. All well and good – and it does indeed appear to be good news – but for all the jam tomorrow, what about cash today?
Lots of large companies are currently reducing or even completely scrapping their dividend payments, and whilst some of them will still be seen as attractive investments for capital growth, it leaves income funds in a bit of a quandary.
Shares in ShareProphets AIM-China Filthy Forty play Walcom (WALG) are STILL trading despite further warnings this morning that the company has insufficient funds to settle bank loan repayments due this month and in any case will run out of cash in a week. Surely we should have had a suspension pending financial clarification announcement by now.
Maybe I admire Tim Martin of JD Wetherspoon (JDW) a bit less but I understand what he is up to. Across the land not everyone is rallying around praising the NHS and saying "we are all in it together." Businesses are desperate to hoard cash and are forced to behave in ways that are not always very pleasant. I do not think some folks realise just how bad the Government's reaction to Covid 19 rather than the virus itself will be for the economy, for businesses and for its own finances. Mr Martin needs to draft an RNS for 7 AM to say whether he has been misleading beer suppliers or misleading investors.
AIM-listed oil and gas play Bowleven (BLVN) delivered its interim numbers to the end of calendar 2019 this morning. Having updated briefly earlier this month and concluded that it had more cash than its market capitalisation, let’s see how the real numbers compare. And what of the Etinde gas asset off the coast of Cameroon in this crunched oil price environment?
I upgraded AIM-listed Turkish gold miner Ariana Resources (AAU) to strong buy a week ago in the wake of its shares crashing along with everything else, but critically noting that the cash to see off the bank loan was in the kitty. Now, with a proposed corporate action to bring in $30 million still under consideration, comes news that the company has taken delivery of £1.6 million in dividends from its Turkish subsidiary. All good news – and the shares are now back up to 2.8p – a gain of 44% on my strong buy. So buy, sell or hold now?...
AIM-listed jam-tomorrow IoT investment company Tern (TERN) has offered the market a Covid-19 update. Emphasising its recent £0.8 million fundraise several times (but not mentioning it was trying to get £3 million and failed magnificently) Tern wants us to think the portfolio is well prepared…..let’s see what the ShareProphets RNS Translation Service thinks!
With the current state of the markets there isn’t a lot that I would exactly be rushing to buy at the moment, as I think that even the good companies that have strong enough balance sheets to survive relatively unscathed, could well go a fair bit lower yet.
AIM-listed Neil Woodford dog Eve Sleep (EVE) released FY19 results this morning. My immediate thought is who would buy a bed right now, amid fears of Coronavirus, job losses and with the UK in near total lockdown? But these are last year’s numbers, before the invisible invader was around and it looks to me as though Eve will need even more cash, despite its laudy claims that the latest rebuild strategy has left the company operationally profitable. Let’s take a look at what that actually means……
I wouldn’t be rushing to buy shares in any companies at the moment, and probably even less so in anything natural resources related, unless you are prepared to take a fair amount of risk and have a very long-term time frame. The safest option is to just sit on cash and wait for not only the markets, but also the world economy, to turn around whenever we do finally see the back of this virus. You won’t get to buy in at the bottom if you wait for the trend to change, but you shouldn’t also suddenly find that the shares you bought are now another 50% lower! However...
AIM-listed Trafalgar Property (TRAF) has made a total shambles of being a housebuilder in a housing boom. It listed on AIM in 2013 and at the last count was sporting just £14,000 of cash as at 18 December and recorded shareholder funds of MINUS £2.9 million at the end of September in its interims released at 4.23pm on the Friday before Christmas. Now it wants to utilise its property development skills to move into hydroponics – growing vegetables in test-tubes! Oh....
I am still sitting on my shares in AIM-listed Bowleven (BLVN) which I picked up during the corporate handbags as the old management was given the boot. For a short while I looked very clever indeed as the shares headed north, allowing me to top-slice and last year a special dividend of 15p per share added to my returns. But things haven’t quite worked out as I had hoped….
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. AIM-listed jam-tomorrow (if ever) Internet of Things investment company Tern (TERN) has announced a placing at just 6p to raise just £0.8 million as predicted HERE to keep the lights on as its auditor is surely raising going concerns. That is a whopping 22.6% discount to last Friday’s close and 35% down on my tip of the year to sell when the shares were 9.25p. But there is more....
With markets in turmoil over the corona virus, it is a terrible time to be rattling the tin for cash-guzzling AIM stocks. And that brings me to jam-tomorrow Iot investment company Tern (TERN): how much cash has it got left and when's the placing?
The Wagnerian opera of the eventual demise of ShareProphets AIM-China Filthy Forty play Walcom (WALG) continues, as we learnt today that the bailout rescue loan from its CEO is still not in the bank, but apparently more orders and perhaps more importantly measures from the Shanghai government in response to the corona virus mean that the company will survive until a week on Monday in the continuing absence of the CEO’s largesse.
I said many times that Kier Group (KIE) would be Neil Woodford’s last gamble and so it proved. Having been a heavy buyer all the way down from around £10 he threw every last penny he could muster as he always knew best. But he did not know best and this morning’s interims statement shows that even with new management on board there is a very long way to go before investors see anything like real profits and dividends again.
AIM-listed jam-tomorrow IoT investment company Tern plc (TERN) has announced the sale of one of its investees, Seal Software. This is good news, and well done Tern…..but I wouldn’t get too excited if I were a shareholder, especially as this morning’s release is classed as the equivalent of an RNS Reach – in other words a marketing release...
Having made a total shambles of its half-year trading statement to the end of December, contradicting itself the very next day, AIM-listed Haydale (HAYD) has offered up dire interim results. The company will need more cash – and given the fiasco last time, that spells bad news for shareholders.
Gold stocks seem to be very much on the radar at the moment, with the price of the yellow metal looking very strong against a back-drop of worldwide concerns over coronavirus and investors looking for a safe haven.
Looking at the chart for Pharos Energy (PHAR) I wouldn’t blame you for coming to the conclusion that it is best avoided as it has been on a steady downwards trajectory for several years and with little sign of any relief.
With commodities being hit hard by concerns over coronavirus, and further weakness likely as deliveries of metals and hydrocarbons are starting to be put on hold by China, I’ve been looking towards opportunities in other sectors.
I wondered how long it would take before people started trying to cash in off of the back of coronavirus and pushing shares in small AIM listed companies that are supposedly going to make a fortune from this outbreak.
One day short of four months on from its first announcement, AIM-listed Vast Resources (VAST) has at long last confirmed receipt of the first tranche of the death spiral funding it said it would not do. So yesterday’s announcement that the cheque really was in the post this time appears to have been true. Quite why it has taken so long remains a mystery, but whatever: let the death spiral commence. But how much actual cash does Vast gain from this charade?
This week private investors seem to be very excited about shares in a company called 7digital (7DIG) and the share price has rocketed, but at this stage I’m finding it hard to see how a rise of this magnitude is justified or sustainable.
AIM-listed former Neil Woodford doggie favourite Eve Sleep (EVE) has offered up a trading statement. On the face of it the news appears favourable, with cashburn slashed by 51%, the EBITDA (bullshit earnings) loss heavily reduced by 43% and £7.8 million of cash in the bank at year-end. We are also told that the company reached break-even at an operating level in the last four months of the year. All good, but is there yet another fundraise around the corner?
Making a profit on small oil and gas exploration and appraisal companies largely comes down to timing your buys and sells correctly, rather than just holding onto your shares through the ups and downs. With many of these companies the actual risk of holding for a drill often isn’t worth it, especially with exploration plays, but good money can still be made in the lead up to drilling activity, and by leaving some profit to run in the case of some of the safer appraisals. Buying when there is a general lack of interest and no immediate operational activity, and then being patient, is often the best way to get in at a good price – even if not necessarily the lowest price, as that generally comes down to a large slice of luck...
AIM-listed online Women’s wear peddler Sosandar (SOS) delivered a Christmas trading update this morning. Bearing in mind that I was previously very bullish on the company, but lost faith as management strategy appeared to change with the wind, I was fascinated to see if I was still comfortable with having sold out, or had perhaps been too much of a pessimist.
Self-styled “leading B2B media business” Bonhill (BONH) has updated including that it “now expects EBITDA for the year to be £2.3 million, being lower than market expectations as approximately £0.25m of custom marketing contracts which had been expected to be delivered in December 2020 will now be delivered in Q1 2020” but that “the outlook in both the UK and US is greatly improved, reflected in the current level of bookings being received” – so a current more than 5% share price fall, to a £17 million market cap fair?...
AIM-listed Vast Resources (VAST), a company about which I have been a perennial bear and issued a sell call in the run-up to Christmas when the debt funding didn’t appear, has released interims to 31 October this afternoon. At 3pm on a Friday! What horrors do we find?
Although my main focus is in the oil and mining sectors, I do also follow quite a few shares which don’t fall into this category, with Hostelworld (HSW) being one of them.
Pembridge Resources (PERE) today issued a production update for the latest quarter up to the end of 2019, and based on the figures contained within that, many are struggling to understand why the company isn’t valued more highly.
A ShareProphets reader has requested that I take a look at Aminex (AEX), which is a bit of a blast from the past, as I can remember a time, quite a few years back, when this Tanzanian focussed company was popular with private investors and was going to be the next big thing in oil and gas.
Rockhopper Exploration (RKH) was one of the most popular shares on the AIM market at one time, but in recent years it has fallen totally out of favour and its share price has plummeted. It is nearly a decade since this oil explorer first announced a big discovery at its Sea Lion prospect in the North Falkland basin and its share price rocketed, hitting highs of in excess of 550p per share and a market cap in the hundreds of millions...
At first glance Argo Blockchain (ARB) seems to be very different to the type of companies that I normally cover within the natural resources sector, but the actual economics of the business isn’t all that dissimilar.
AIM-listed Bowleven (BLVN) issued its annual results to June 2019 on Friday morning and the headlines are not that great. In short, the Etinde asset off the coast of Cameroon has been written down by around a quarter and the path to possible commercialisation has been extended. In other words shareholders are being told they will have to wait longer and will get less than originally hoped for.
