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Boohoo shares edge lower as margins ease over Christmas trading period

Last updated: 10:00 11 Jan 2018 EST, First published: 04:23 11 Jan 2018 EST

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Online fashion retailer Boohoo.com PLC (LON:BOO) reported a surge in revenue in the final four months of 2017 but shares fell as it said margins eased.

Group total revenue doubled to £228.2mln from £114.3mln the same period last year, and was up 93% on a constant exchange rates (CER) basis.

The gross margin eased to 52.5% from 53.1% a year earlier, while the retail gross margin dipped to 54.2% from 54.4%, reflecting its investment in customer offerings.

Shares edged down 3.2% to 200.40p.

Shares in venture capital firm FastFoward Innovations Limited PLC (LON:FFWD) gained 16.8% to 22.50p after a successful float of part-owned cannabis company Nuuvera Corp on the TSX Venture Exchange.

Nuuvera closed its second day of trading on the TSX at a price of C$6.85 per share, up from C$2.50 at the start of trading, boosting the value of FastFoward’s 3,000,000 shares in the company to about C$20,550,000.

 

“The board believes other investments held by the Company have similar potential,” FastFoward said.

1.00pm: AIQ shares rocket up, Game Digital declines

AIQ Limited (LON:AIQ) said it knows no specific reason behind the surge in its share price on Thursday but believes its £3.6mln fundraise could have been a contributing factor.

The special purpose acquisition company began trading on the main market of the London Stock Exchange on Tuesday, listing 50 million shares at 8p each to give it a market value of £4mln.

On Thursday it was trading at 100p each, up 173% on the day and12 times higher than its listing price.

"Whilst the company is not aware of any specific reasons that support this increase, however, the size of the fund raise (net proceeds of GBP3.6 million) and the clean nature of the special purpose acquisition company may have contributed to this rise," AIQ explained in a statement.

The company carries out acquisitions of target companies or businesses in the e-commerce sector with focus on areas in data mining, artificial intelligence technologies and social and online media.

Game Digital PLC (LON:GMD) shares fell 7% to 56p as it reported an increase in gross transaction value (GTV) over the Christmas trading period but said margins fell.

Group GTV rose by 5.2% in the 10 weeks to 6 January but growth was driven by lower margin hardware such as Nintendo Switch™, the continued adoption of PlayStation 4 and the launch of Xbox One X. Sales rose 26% over the period.

In the 23 weeks to 6 January, GTV increased 3.8% with sales up by 23% but margins dropped 100 basis points.

11.00am: Footasylum shares fall on profit taking

Footasylum PLC (LON:FOOT) was on the back foot even as the UK fashion retailer reported a jump in revenue over the Christmas period.

Shares have risen by 50% since the company joined London’s AIM market towards the end of 2017 so investors seemed to be profit-taking.

In its first trading update since joining AIM, the retailer posted a 33.4% increase in revenue to £89.8mln in the 18 weeks to 30 December.

In the 44 weeks to 30 December, revenue grew 34.7% to £173mln as the company opened new stores.

Shares fell 6% to 237.50p.

Tri-Star Resources PLC (LON:TSTR) shares gained after the technology and mineral processing company said its open offer was oversubscribed.

The offer intended to raise up to about £4.4mln, before expenses, through the issue of up to 44 million shares.

 “The open offer has significantly de-geared our balance sheet and provides your company with greater flexibility in completing the Oman Roaster Project, where plant commissioning starts next month,” said executive chairman Mark Wellesley-Wood.

9.30am: Lombard Risk gains on takeover offer

Shares in banking and compliance software company Lombard Risk Management plc (LON:LRM) jumped after agreeing to a £52.08mln takeover offer from Vermeg Group.

Under the terms of the deal, Lombard shareholders will receive 13p for each share in cash, representing a 98.5% premium to the closing price on Wednesday.

Vermeg, a financial software provider, has received irrevocable undertakings to accept the offer from shareholders accounting for around 38.8% of the issued share capital of Lombard.

It expects Lombard will continue to operate as it does today under its existing executive management team following completion of the acquisition.

Shares surged 90.8% to 12.50p.

Surgical Innovations Group PLC (LON:SUN), the maker of technology for minimally invasive surgery, saw its shares edge higher after reporting a 44% increase in revenue for the year.

Revenue came to £8.7mln for the year to 31 December 2017 and the company achieved 10% in organic growth in the existing business.

The group added that the integration of Elemental Healthcare Limited, acquired in August 2017, continues in line with its plan. Following the acquisition, the reaction of both distributors and suppliers to both businesses has been “very positive”, it said.

Shares rose 12.4% to 4.08p.

Architect and interior design company Aukett Swanke Group PLC (LON:AUK) was under the cosh after swinging to a full year loss.

The group reported a loss before tax of £325,000 for the year to 30 September, compared to a profit of £927,000 last year, as revenue fell 11.7% to 18.40mln.

Aukett blamed the impact of Brexit uncertainty on developers of commercial properties. 

Shares fell 20% to 2p.

Petro Matad Ltd (LON:MATD) shares fell after the Mongolian oil explorer postponed the acquisition of a 2D seismic programme in the Tugrug Basin.

The 2D programme, designed to identify additional prospects and leads for potential drilling beyond 2018, has been delayed due to harsh winter weather in Mongolia.

Shares dipped 2.9% to 9.75p.

Proactive news headlines:

Banking and compliance software company Lombard Risk Management plc (LON:LRM) has agreed to a 13p a share takeover offer from Vermeg Group. The shares shot up to 12.5p from last night’s close of 6.55p on the news. The terms value Lombard at around £52.08mln. Vermeg has received irrevocable undertakings to accept the offer from shareholders accounting for around 38.8% of the issued share capital of Lombard.

ValiRx Plc (LON:VAL) has received positive news regarding its US patent application for its lead therapeutic compound, VAL201.

Connemara Mining Company PLC (LON:CON) has reported high gold grades from one of three holes drilled recently at its Mine River prospect in Wicklow and Wexford in Ireland.  Assay results from the hole at the Tombreen target indicated an 8m section grading 4.53 g/t gold, which included 2m at 16.1 g/t. No Big Pic yet.

Oil and gas services group ADES International Holding Ltd (LON:ADES) told investors it has successfully extended two existing rig contracts in the Gulf of Suez area. The contracts for the Admarine II and Admarine IV rigs are with the Gulf of Suez Petroleum Company (GUPCO), a joint venture between BP PLC (LON:BP) and the Egyptian General Petroleum Company, was due to expire at the end of 2017.

Supply shortages helped Aussie-based mineral sands miner Base Resources Limited (LON:BSE) achieve record prices for its spread of base metals. Base produces ilmenite, zircon and rutile from the Kwale mine in Kenya and a combination of two bulk rutile sales and higher zircon prices increased the average revenue per tonne to a record US$323 per tonne (US$271) in the three months to December.

Kromek PLC (LON: KMK), the radiation detection technology company focusing on the medical, security and nuclear markets, has announced the immediate appointment of Cantor Fitzgerald Europe as joint broker to the company. Cenkos Securities will remain as Kromek’s nominated adviser and joint broker.

Harvest Minerals Limited (AIM:HMI), the AIM listed fertiliser development company, has announced that Shard Capital Partners will replace Mirabaud Securities as joint broker to the company.  Beaufort Securities remains as joint broker to the company.

Horizonte Minerals Plc (LON:HZM) (TSX: HZM) announced that it has completed the second and final tranche of its equity fundraising after successfully placing 60,587,500 ordinary shares in the Canadian portion, raising gross proceeds of C$3,635,250. When combined with the £7mln announced on 19 December 2017, the company said it has raised a total of £9.2mln, an increase on the previously announced quantum of £8.5mln.

HemoGenyx Pharmaceuticals PLC (LON:HEMO), the biotechnology company developing novel therapies to transform bone marrow, or blood stem cell, transplantation for the treatment of blood diseases, said it has welcomed New York Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul to its labs at the SUNY Downstate Medical Center Biotech Incubator.

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