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PCI-PAL surrenders some recent gains as half-year losses widen

Last updated: 10:37 21 Feb 2019 EST, First published: 04:07 21 Feb 2019 EST

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PCI-PAL PLC (LON:PCI) saw some profit-taking in the wake of its interims, released today.

Shares in the secure card payments specialist have been on a good run over the last few weeks, rising from 17.5p to 25p at last night's close but gave back tuppence of those gains after the company saw half-year losses widen to £2.36mln from £1.66mln the year before.

Revenue in the second half of 2018 grew by 28% to £1.18 million, underpinned by a 23% increase in recurring revenue, which accounted for 84% (2017: 87%) of all revenue in the group.  

2.00pm: Gulf Marine Services bows to wishes of Ithmar Capital Partners

Oilfield equipment provider Gulf Marine Services PLC (LON:GMS) was sitting low in the water after it bowed to requests for a general meeting of shareholders.

Shareholders led by Ithmar Capital Partners accounting for more than 5% of the company's issued share capital called for a meeting so shareholders could vote on the proposed appointment of Faisal Bin Juma Belhoul to the board of directors as a new director of the company.

Shares in Gulf Marine were down 14.6% at 17p.

READ Gulf Marine plunges as it warns it is likely to breach banking covenants at year end

1.00pm: Argos reassures shareholders it has sufficient cash reserves

Argos Resources Limited (LON:ARG) has completed the reassignment to the company of the 100% working interest in licence PL001 in the North Falkland Basin.

The change came following the earlier notice to withdraw from the licence by its former partners, Noble Energy Falklands and Edison International.

“Now that the reassignment of the licence has been completed the company will work to secure other partners to participate in its development,” said Ian Thomson, the chairman of he Falkland Island-based exploration company.

The shares soared to 3.75p from 2.75p after the company assured shareholders it has sufficient cash reserves to meet its ongoing requirements.

11.45am: Premier Technical Services allays fears with a trading update

Premier Technical Services Group PLC (LON:PTSG) gave the traditional shoulder shrugging, “search me, guv” announcement in response to its precipitous share price decline in February.

The provider of façade access and fall arrest equipment services said it is aware of any reason for the slide in the share price from 145p on 5 February to 114.5p last night.

The shares rallied 5p to 119.5p today after the company said trading during the first six weeks of the current year has been strong, and recent acquisitions are performing in line with management expectations.

11.00am: Serco emerges a bit further from the doghouse

Outsourcing companies have been out of fashion for a while but Serco Group PLC (LON:SRP) received a bit of love on Thursday following its results.

The shares rose 5.9% to 121.8p after the company reported a 2% fall (on a constant currency basis) in revenue to £2,837mln in 2018 from £2,951mln in 2017.

The company raised revenue guidance for 2019 to £2.9bn-£3.0bn from £2.8-£2.9bn previously.

Profit before tax shot up to £74.1mln from £10.6mln in 2017.

10.15am: Vitec enjoyed boost from Winter Olympics

Photography and broadcast products specialist The Vitec Group PLC (LON:VTC) bragged of a record financial performance in 2018.

The shares rose 8% to 1,215p after the company reported a 38.3% increase in profit before tax to £37.9mln from £27.4mln the year before on revenue that rose 9.1% to £385.4mln.

The full-year dividend was smashed up to 37p from 30.5p the year before.

“Vitec continues to better align itself with new higher-growth markets by leveraging the brands and market positions that it has earned in more mature markets. As it stands, it is a well-invested global market leader with a strong balance sheet and compelling end markets,” said Peel Hunt, as it reiterated its ‘buy’ recommendation and 1,450p target price.

9.30am: Cracks appear in Purplebricks story while Centrica slides after losing shed-loads of customers

More than a third was wiped from the value of Purplebricks Group PLC (LON:PURP) as two senior executives departed following a warning on revenues.

Lee Wainwright, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the UK business, and Eric Eckardt, the US CEO, will shortly be leaving the business.

Wainwright is leaving the business for personal reasons; Eckhardt's reasons for leaving were not disclosed but the company did say there had been a slower than expected response to the group's second US marketing initiative, which wound up towards the end of January.

The board now reckons revenue for the current financial year will be in the range of £130-£140mln, down from its previous guidance of £165-£175mln.

Among the blue-chips, British Gas owner Centrica PLC (LON:CNA) was the worst performer, tumbling 11% to 122.15p.

"Centrica's financial performance in 2018 was mixed against a challenging external backdrop,” admitted Iain Conn, the chief executive officer of Centrica in the company's full-year results statement.

Revenue increased by 6% to £29.7bn from 2017 but the operating profit fell short of forecasts at £1.39bn. The full-year dividend was maintained at 12p.

Proactive news headlines:

Faron Pharmaceuticals Ltd (LON:FARN) says early results from a proof of concept trial for immunotherapy cancer treatment Clevegen are encouraging. There were noticeable increases in the body’s natural killer cells in the first two patients treated and no toxicity increase.

Sunrise Resources PLC (LON:SRES) told investors that a major international cement company has successfully completed tests using its natural pozzolan material, taken from the CS pozzolan-perlite project in Nevada. The company highlighted that, in the test work, its natural pozzolan replaced 20% of the cement in the concrete mix.

Tertiary Minerals PLC (LON:TYM) has added a new project to its portfolio, picking up the Paymaster exploration area in Nevada, USA. Existing exploration data for the area included grab samples with up to 21% zinc, 6.5% lead, 3.3% copper and 253 grams per tonne silver, plus ‘high levels’ tellurium and cobalt, which are described by Tertiary as “high-tech metals”.

InnovaDerma PLC (LON:IDP) said the second-half had started well after the beauty and personal care group navigated a tricky first six months. Chairman Haris Chaudhry said: “Our revised engagement strategy is delivering a marked improvement and we are therefore confident that the second half of the year will be disproportionately higher than in previous years.”

Avation PLC (LON:AVAP) has made good on its forecasts as it reported record profits and revenues for the first half of its financial year.

Keywords Studios PLC (LON:KWS),  the technical services provider to the global video games industry, has got the cheque book out again and has acquired GetSocial, a Dutch company that operates a cloud-based software platform.

United Oil & Gas PLC (LON:UOG) told investors that its Colibri exploration prospect, offshore Jamaica, has been estimated independently to host some 229mln barrels of oil potential. A new review of the Walton-Morant licence by consultant ERC Equipoise has upgraded the view of the exploration partnership with Tullow Oil.

OptiBiotix Health PLC (LON:OPTI) said its cholesterol product had been generally recognised as safe (GRAS) by an independent expert panel in the US. The company, which is developing products to tackle obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes, said sign-off for its Lactobacillus plantarum LPLDL probiotic strain represented a significant milestone.

Tekcapital PLC’s (LON:TEK) shares jumped in early deals Thursday as its portfolio firm, Lucyd, planned to launch a line of designer sunglasses in partnership with Richard Sherman, an NFL cornerback for the San Francisco 49ers.

Oriole Resources PLC (LON:ORR), the exploration company operating in Africa and Europe, has received a £40,000 R&D rebate from the tax-man.

Arc Minerals Limited (LON:ARCM) has sold its stake in Eritrea-focused copper explorer Andiamo Exploration for US$250,000. Emerald Ex is buying the 18.48% stake for cash with the transaction set to close on 25 February.

Scancell Holdings PLC (LON:SCLP) announced that, following the conclusion of a formal tendering process, the company has appointed BDO LLP as the company's independent auditor for the financial year ending 30 April 2019, effective immediately.

Base Resources Limited (LON:BSE) (ASX:BSE), the African mineral sands producer which is scheduled to release interim results on Monday, 25 February 2019, said its managing director, Tim Carstens, and CFO, Kevin Balloch, will host two investor and shareholder conference calls to discuss the results with investors and shareholders that day.

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