Previously writing on innovation management software and services company Sopheon (SPE), in June with the shares at 620p I questioned its arguing financial performance illustrates the “initial success” of its efforts and concluded that I’d review again on the half-year results detail but suggest my prior cash flow and valuation perspective remained valid and thus still, at best, on the watchlist. That looks sensible with the shares most recently closing at 585p – and what of now the half-year results detail?

Previously writing on footwear brand Dr. Martens (DOCS), in April with the shares up towards 155p I noted CFO ‘retires’ & trading warning but CEO Kenny Wilson reckons he looks forward to sharing more details at the full year results! and concluded that it remained a 2021 IPO Roll-Call of Shame avoid/sell. The shares most recently closed at 156.3p… but are currently heading towards 140p on the back of the results Kenny Wilson reckoned he was looking forward to sharing more details at!

On Monday ready meals group Parsley Box (MEAL) announced sellout of 4,000 Platinum Jubilee-targeted hampers, with CEO Kevin Dorren “delighted to be working with so many highly regarded brands” on them. However, there were no financials included and today a “Trading Update”, and the shares down to 17.5p, a £12.7 million market cap.

Alcoholic drinks company Distil (DIS) states that it “is pleased to provide an update on trading for the financial quarter ended 31 March 2022”, but what of the shares currently responding approaching 17% higher to 1.4p?…

Bodged bullshit earnings plus what? Historically EBITDAM is EBITDA but also subtracting from the “cost base” either management or management excess. But a spokesperson says that PensionBee (PBEE) views this as a key metric in today’s FY trading statement and predicts adjusted EBITDAM profitability by December 2022.  

Previously writing on data science-specialising marketing and consulting company Jaywing (JWNG), last month with the shares at 10.5p I suggested previous results didn’t provide confidence of secure foundations being in place and ahead of updated financials news I avoided. What then now of results for its year ended 31st March 2021, with the shares currently at 12.75p?…

Data science-specialising marketing and consulting company Jaywing (JWNG) “is pleased to announce that it has won a new contract with Skipton Building Society to act as its strategic and brand agency partner”. Why then are the shares currently 8.7% lower at 10.5p?…

Sportsbook, casino and gaming online marketing company B90 Holdings (B90) has announced 2020 calendar year results including “the company now has a much more stable financial platform to grow from”. So why are the shares, at 11p, currently more than 8% lower?…

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?

Marketing company M&C Saatchi (SAA) has updated commencing that it is “pleased to announce that the group has continued to trade well and profitably in the opening few weeks of the second half of 2020. New business remains strong” – and the shares are currently at 64.4p, more than 5.5% higher…

Marketing and consulting company specialising in data science, Jaywing (JWNG) has updated including that it “is pleased to announce that it has appointed Caroline Ackroyd as Chief Financial Officer with effect from 7th September” and “has also continued to win new business and the April to June quarter has been profitable at EBITDA level” – and the shares have currently responded lower to 2.65p…

“MISSION (AIM: TMG), the alternative group for ambitious brands, today provides the following trading update for the six months ended 30 June 2020” – and, despite this emphasising “robust trading performance in challenging market conditions, ahead of our initial projections at the outset of the pandemic… net bank debt significantly reduced during the period”, the shares are currently, at 61.5p, more than 3% lower. I’d mark this marketing group down just for uselessly describing itself as “the alternative group for ambitious brands”, but why else has it been marked down?...

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?

Be Heard Group (BHRD) “notes the recent movement in Be Heard's share price, and can confirm that it is in advanced discussions with MSQ Partners Limited regarding a possible cash offer of 0.5 pence per Be Heard share”. The shares have currently responded around 0.20p higher to circa 0.46p, capitalising the group at around £5.75 million...

A “COVID-19 update” from marketing company M&C Saatchi (SAA) includes “all group companies continue to operate and serve our clients, with the majority of offices currently operating a remote working policy… we continue to pitch for new business and there are still some areas where demand for our services remains steady, e.g. our talent and influencer businesses” and that it “remains confident about the liquidity status of the group for the foreseeable future”. The shares are currently still above 31p, however…

Hello, Share Crazies. This old punter has a weakness for companies with rather exotic names. But that’s not the reason I commend Blue Prism (PRSM) to your further research today. I just happen to think that robotics is the way forward. And Blue Prism uses intelligent robotic software to decrease the number of boring jobs that we humans have to do...

Well it looks like it's hats off to Tom Winnifrith: AIM-listed Sosandar (SOS) has reported full year numbers to March 2019 and the bald numbers are that it clocked up a loss of £3.5 million and ended the year with cash of £3.6 million. I think we can see how the maths is heading! But I’m not so sure the numbers are quite that bad...

Indian fashion retailer Koovs (KOOV) has just released its interim results and they don’t look pretty, but to be fair to the company that was largely expected.

I would imagine that most Lionsgold (LION) holders were somewhat less than impressed when news came at the end of last week that its shares were being cancelled.

AIM-listed Haydale (HAYD) has announced that it has got a grant of £120,000 from a package worth £249,600 and the shares have raced ahead by 21% to 32p. Of course, the RNS announcing the funding was an RNS reach and therefore does not affect the dire financial position of the company, which I fear may be doomed. Shareholders would be well advised to look skywards in gratitude and view the rise as a welcome opportunity to exit.

I continue to hold a small parcel of shares in AIM-listed Sosandar. I had been hoping to offload a few more at 50p but in the wake of a placing at 32p and the market sell-off that seems somewhat optimistic for some time to come. Tom Winnifrith sold all his shares some time ago and has commented on the update from the company and the placing at 32p HERE and HERE. So I thought I would throw my 2p worth in as well.

Time Out Group (TMO) is a name that most people will be familiar with, as many of you will have used it when travelling around the world to make the most of wherever you are staying, and to discover local attractions and restaurants.

I came in for a fair bit of criticism when I covered Indian fashion retailer Koovs (KOOV) negatively and suggested it was a sell or avoid back at the start of July. Since then the share price has pretty much halved from the 20p level that it was trading at, so I feel that my criticism of the company was justified, and my view has been vindicated – hopefully some of you who have read my articles and were holding at the time also saved yourselves from seeing the value of your investment halve. A number of people have been asking me what my view is of the company now that the share price has dropped back to around 10.6p to buy, so I felt that it was time to take another look.

Having IPO’d at 4.5p last week, shares in ‘restaurant yield management platform’ company BigDish (DISH) yesterday - on the back of a “BigDish UK Growth Strategy” announcement - closed up at 5.375p; Good news as this was a UK Investor Show Dragon's Den pick from myself…

AIM-listed Haydale (HAYD) has issued another RNS Reach announcement to add to the one released on June 19^th. But we all know (don’t we?) that RNS Reach announcements are effectively marketing ploys, not hard news of cashflow. And we also know that Haydale has to get a placing away in order to get its accounts signed off as a going concern.

Whenever a company doubles in share price in a short space of time it tends to get my attention, and I look for reasons that justify such a sudden increase.

QUIZ plc (QUIZ) has today listed on AIM, reckoning this “marks an exciting new phase in QUIZ's growth and development as a leading international omni-channel fast fashion brand”. In this part one, I review the current position and in part two the growth prospects and valuation…

Distil (DIS) is a company which I have been following closely for a couple of years – as well as holding shares in it myself.

Fresh meat and food-to-go retailer, Crawshaw (CRAW) has updated on trading including “we have continued to build on the progress noted in our last update with the improvements in sales and customer numbers being maintained through December as planned” and “we continue to be encouraged by the customer response to the recent changes we've made”. So why are the shares currently approaching 8% lower, at 23.5p?...

Following contract wins announced at the start of the month, Digital Barriers (DGB) is now “pleased to announce that it has secured a $2.1 million contract for its unique ThruVis standoff threat detection camera”. The shares are currently up a tad to 36.5p in response, but…

A “Q3 Trading Update” from developer, publisher and licensor of mobile real money and social games, Gaming Realms (GMR) commences with the headline “Strong revenue growth and maiden profitable quarter”. Sounds good, but is the reality such?...

So far I have been wrong about Purplebricks (PURP), but despite that I still view it as over-valued at the moment.

The title is something of an exaggeration but I note the general lack of interest in Brainjuicer (BJU), one of the more interesting businesses on AIM. The company’s H1 results announced today show profit increasing at a mere 38% pace, so perhaps they deserve a little more attention!

My friend Paul Scott made a brilliant call to buy boohoo (BOO) shares with conviction at 24p, shortly after a profit warning in January 2015. With the shares surging to 80p now, it’s been an incredibly successful trade.

It has been announced that CFO of unique cash-burning machine (sorry, “unique… provider of enterprise-ready, non-stop software solutions that enable globally distributed organizations to meet today's data challenges of secure storage, scalability and continuous availability”) WANdisco plc (WAND), Paul Harrison, is to join JUST EAT plc with effect from 26th September. He is stated to be “looking forward to joining”. I bet…

Purplebricks (PURP), the hybrid online and 'local property expert'-based estate agent, has announced results for its year ended 30th April 2016, noting that “we continue to scale and anticipate that the UK business will move into profit in the current financial year” and that it is to launch in Australia. With the shares currently slightly lower, at 130p, in response, the following reviews…

Online electrical retailer AO World (AO.) has announced results including that “the consistent focus we place on delivering amazing customer service along with the investment we have been making in our brand continues to deliver huge benefits to the business” and that “trading in the current financial year has started well”. The shares though are now down 6%, to 157p, on the back of the announcement. Hmmm, let’s take a look...

As it “continues to transition its core business away from traditional communications services, such as public relations, towards social and digital communications”, Next Fifteen (NFC) has announced results driven by a continued strong performance from its North American business and improving UK trading, with EMEA and APAC stabilising. With me having concluded in January that at an approaching 90p share price there looked to be some growth and income value on offer here and reviewing again in August at 114.5p, the following updates with the shares currently 119p.