UK 19:27 Friday, 23 October 2026
Breaking news and expert analysis on fast-moving AIM and LSE listed shares
Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from ShareProphets). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
After hours Tungsten (TUNG) responded to a dramatic fall in its share price with a statement that was so weedy that it almost makes me tempted to go short, something I have not done before. If this was aimed at getting punters to buy the shares it failed. CEO and AIM entrepreneur of the year 2014 (another reason to short) Edmund Truell still has serious questions to answer.
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Comments
webpax
Problem is Tom, with these responses you are damned if you do and damned if you don’t. The response is bland but what is the alternative, a Quindell style share ramp type response?
Skatersav
The most substantive criticism relates to the balance sheet and cash burn. But, it’s common for a company to require multiple rounds of equity financing as it gets going. I don’t think it’s reasonable to take a pop at this company on the sole basis that it will likely require new capital at some point in the next 12 months – there are many companies on AIM that are in that position and these guys have proven they have access to capital!
As for the employee loan, it was declared and it’s not particularly material in the context of the company. Although I accept it doesn’t look good, there are lots of legitimate reasons why an employee might be extended a loan. For instance, you may want to attract someone to the business with equity, but the cash tax burden to the employee is too great and so you lend them the cash to pay the tax bill. That is perfectly common and I don’t think there is anything wrong with it (although you wouldn’t want to make a habit of it).
The viability of the business plan will only be proven or disproven with time, but let’s be clear… This is an aggressive business plan. I think it will work (even if the initial forecasts were too optimistic), and if it does work then the returns could be a multiple of the current share price. But it might not. Thems the breaks. But at this stage, nobody can say for certain what the NIM will be, what the uptake will be…As for Direct Insite, that’s a SAAS player with no bank, no deal with Insight, no analytics package and diminishing revenues. I don’t think it’s comparable.
Surely a 30%+ drop in the share price on the back of his (very one sided) piece is excessive, especially when we’ve already seen a major downgrade in forecasts priced into the share. If there were a claim of impropriety, I would understand the market reaction, but there’s nothing new here.
KewalRai
I wonder if the £719,000 loan to employees is either an advance of salary, loan for the cycle to work scheme or advance for season tickets?