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Market movers: Plus500, Pan African Resources, Rambler Metals, Richland Resources, Hummingbird Resources, Sports Direct

Last updated: 03:09 19 Feb 2014 EST, First published: 04:09 19 Feb 2014 EST

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The recent performance of CFD broker Plus500 (LON:PLUS) is a pretty fair reflection of the renewed interest in buying shares on the stock market.

A float on AIM last year was followed by a surge in users and subsequently the share price, which is now edging towards four times July’s listing price.

The company has certainly benefited from the increased appetite for shares in smaller companies and Wednesday’s preliminary results showed how the listing enticed more punters to use it services.

It claims the IPO increased brand awareness as investors became familiar with the name on their trading travels – as well as raising US$75mln in the process.

It was a record year for revenue and profit. Revenue increased 105% to $115.1mln, while net profit leapt almost 200% to US$50.6mln.

Active user numbers meanwhile rose 47% to 85,795 last year.

Plus500 was the first CFD (contract for difference) provider to offer instruments for Bitcoin and demand was strong from those wishing to bet on new IPOs such as Royal Mail (LON:RMG) and Twitter

Chief executive Gal Haber said: “We are delighted to announce our maiden full year results since listing in London.  

“The IPO has provided a positive catalyst for our business, particularly within the European and Australian markets where our strong presence and innovative marketing initiatives are generating significant levels of activity across our platform.”

Investors lapped up the impressive numbers, sending the share price up 17% to 388p in early trade.

Elsewhere on AIM, Pan African Resources (LON:PAF) was on the rise as it unveiled a 40% jump in profit for the six months to end December after the precious metals company more than doubled the amount of gold sold.

Net profit rose to £17.3mln from £12.4mln as the amount of gold sold jumped 123% to 100,172 ounces. The higher gold sales outweighed a 22% drop in gold prices over the period.

“We have delivered a sound set of interim results, despite external pressures from a weakening gold price and cost increases,” the company said. 

Pan African bought Evander Mines last February which effectively doubled the size of the company.

Rambler Metals & Mining (LON:RMM) shares were steady as it confirmed a production rise amid tough operating conditions recently in the freezing cold of Canada.

Production of copper concentrate totalled 6,818 tonnes in the second quarter, which is a 3% increase on the previous quarter and a 71% jump from the same quarter the year before.

It came as freezing conditions swept across North America, hitting Canada further to the north particularly hard.

The company reiterated its full-year production guidance despite this.

As Richland Resources (LON:RLD) updated on its operations fourth quarter, the company said it is focussing on bringing high value areas of the mine back into production.

The gemstone miner is getting back on track in Tanzania after illegal mining had led to the closing off of large sections of the mine as the operation became too unsafe to continue.

In the fourth quarter, tanzanite production totalled 1.095mln carats, up from 795,162 carats in the same period of the year before. Grades also improved to 166.05 carats per tonne, from 102 carats in the year before.

It was trading flat as was Hummingbird Resources (LON:HUM), which announced it is still on track to deliver first production from its Dugbe 1 gold project in Liberia.

The comments came as the gold exploration and development company reported that losses had narrowed in the six months to end November.

The FTSE 100 was driven higher by Sports Direct (LON:SPD) after the sporting goods retailer said its sales grew 11.2% in the 13 weeks to January 26 and that it is confident of meeting, or exceeding, its full-year profit target.

Gross profit over the same key Christmas period rose 14.6% to £280.7mln. The shares started the morning up 5%.

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