logo-loader

Marks and Spencer's share price gets a bit too skinny

Last updated: 10:03 09 Jan 2020 EST, First published: 04:15 09 Jan 2020 EST

Mobile phone

The fall from grace of Marks and Spencer Group PLC (LON:MKS) continues, with the shares down 9.7% at 197.45p after a trading statement.

“Marks was punished a for growth drop at its struggling clothing & home division that was, admittedly, almost twice as bad as expected,” observed Ken Odeluga at City Index.

“Getting the mix right in a way that shakes off CEO Steve Rowe’s put down that M&S styles are “too old” wasn’t achieved in Q3. There were signs that M&S stock buyers may have flipped too quickly to “too young”. The hope is that eventually, the right balance will be struck,” he added, in reference to M&S’s admission that it had stocked too many pairs of skinny jeans (i.e. more than zero).

1.45pm: CloudBuy plunges after proposing to quit AIM

Shares in eCommerce marketplaces builder CloudBuy PLC (LON:CBUY) plunged 63% to 0.825p after the company proposed delisting from AIM.

The proposal needs to be approved by shareholders but if it is the delisting is expected to become effective on 7 February.

A general meeting to vote on the proposal will be held in Aldermaston on 27 January.

12.30pm: Galliford Try boasts of healthy cash position

Contractor Galliford Try Holdings PLC (LON:GFRD) jumped 6.2% to 153p after it revealed it ended 2019 sitting on pots of money.

The company ended 2019 with cash of £225mln following the sale of its housebuilding and land divisions.

Galliford Try emphasised it was ‘well-capitalised’ going into the second half of its financial year with average month cash balances forecast to be £100mln.

11.30am: Plant Health Care in a growth spurt

It was “better late than never” for Plant Health Care PLC (LON:PHC) as its shares surged 7.1% to 9p on regulatory news from Brazil.

The agricultural products provider has now received the licence to import unlimited amounts of Harpin ????β into Brazil; the company had originally expected to receive the green light last year.

“We are now free to explore ways of ramping up sales to sugar cane in Brazil even faster. With more than eight million Ha [hectares] of sugar cane planted in Brazil, this is a huge opportunity for the company,” said Chris Richards, the chief executive of Plant Health.

10.30am: Providence Resources names Alan Linn as new chief executive

Providence Resources PLC (LON:PVR) has named Alan Linn as the company’s new chief executive, sending the shares 7.3% higher to 3.325p.

Linn joins from UK onshore shale firm Third Energy and he has previously held senior positions at Lasmo, Cairn Energy, Tullow Oil, ROC Oil, and with Afren during its restructuring.

He is a qualified chemical engineer and lives in Ireland.

9.30am: Maintel and SIG plunge after profit warnings

A profit warning and dividend cut from Maintel Holdings plc (LON:MAI) wiped a quarter off the telecoms company’s share price, down at 295p in early trade on Thursday.

The company, aside from having a general moan about political and economic uncertainty in the run-up to the General Election, said that the protracted delay in the announcement of the new public sector procurement frameworks significantly reduced the number of available bids during 2019.

It also noted that two of its partners lost four contracts between them in 2019, which hit revenues and therefore earnings.

Also shedding a quarter of its value was SIG PLC (LON:SHI), the insulation and interiors specialist, after it lowered profit expectations for 2019.

The shares plunged to 89.6p as it said well-publicised difficulties in the UK construction sector had continued to hit profitability, on top of which the company had struggled to sustain sales rates during a period of rapid organisational change for SIG.

This deterioration in sales accelerated during December, with sales per working day in the month around a quarter lower than November, SIG revealed.

Proactive news headlines:

ECSC Group PLC (LON:ECSC), the provider of cyber-security services, has unveiled five major contract wins across a range of sectors. The contracts have a combined revenue value in excess of £750,000. The revenue will be recognised throughout the duration of the contracts, which vary between one and three years.

IQ-AI Limited’s (LON:IQAI) subsidiary, Imaging Biometrics (IB), has signed a global distribution deal for imaging analysis software designed to detect chronic liver disease (CLD). Under the agreement with US firm AI Metrics, IB will receive non-exclusive global rights to market and distribute the product, known as LSN.

Columbus Energy Resources PLC (LON:CERP) executive chairman Leo Koot described himself “very pleased” as drilling operations for the Saffron exploration well, on Trinidad’s south-west peninsular, completed successfully. The AIM-quoted oiler, in a statement, said that the well was drilled down to a depth of 4,634 feet as planned, and, logging work is presently ongoing. Interpretation results are anticipated in the coming weeks.

Arecor Ltd has inked an agreement with FTSE 100 firm Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC (LON:HIK) to develop a new, ready-to-use injectable medicine. The new product, to be announced prior to launch, will use Arecor’s Arestat drug formulation technology and is expected to be submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration for regulatory approval in 2021.

Pembridge Resources Plc (LON:PERE) has released production statistics from the Minto copper mine, as the ramp-up in mining operations continues at the Yukon-based project. Operation resumed at the Minto mine back in October 2019 and in the remainder of the year some 104,005 tonnes of ore was processed, with average head grades of 2.27% and 95.1% average copper recovery.

Providence Resources PLC (LON:PVR) has named Alan Linn as the company’s new chief executive. Linn joins from UK onshore shale firm Third Energy and he has previously held senior positions at Lasmo, Cairn Energy, Tullow Oil, ROC Oil, and with Afren during its restructuring.

W Resources PLC (LON:WRES) told investors that it has sold its first shipment of tungsten concentrate from the La Parrilla mine, and, it confirmed that the proceeds have been received.

Circassia PLC’s (LON:CIR) revenues in 2019 were in the middle of its guidance of £60-65mln while cash at the year-end was higher than expected. The Inhaled drug specialist said sales in the middle of the range represent an annual increase of about 31% and include a modest contribution from Duaklir, which was launched in the US at the end of October. Circassia also announced the appointment of Michael Roller as chief financial officer to replace Julien Cotta, who has stepped down after eight years in the role.

Redx Pharma PLC (LON:REDX) said its second fibrosis drug candidate will enter the clinic in the first half of next year. RXC007 has been designed to target ROCK2, a nodal enzyme in cell signalling pathways associated with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a chronic lung condition with a poor prognosis.

Alien Metals Limited (LON:UFO) is preparing to submit applications for permission to drill at its Los Campos and San Celso Silver projects in Mexico. The exploration and development company added that its technical director, Bill Brodie Good, will be conducting a site visit to these projects imminently and will be holding meetings with service providers and potential joint venture partners.

Itaconix PLC (LON:ITX) saw a sharp year-on-year increase in revenue in 2019. In a short trading update, the polymers specialist said unaudited revenue for the year just ended was £1.1mln, up 59.6% on 2018. Loss before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation was in line with management’s expectations.

InnovaDerma PLC (LON:IDP) saw its revenues for the half ended December 31, 2019, advance 28% year-on-year, led by the performance of its Skinny Tan beauty range. The company, which posted sales of £5mln, up from £3.9mln, reminded investors that its financial performance would be heavily second-half weighted, “reflecting the peak tanning season”.

MetalNRG PLC (LON:MNRG) will blend material from waste dumps and mined ore to optimise gold production at its project in Arizona. Drilling will be carried out to delineate additional metal at the Gold Prince mine, which will be combined with ore from Level 6 and waste at Gold Ridge, the company said.

Seeing Machines Limited (LON:SEE) is teaming up with US chipmaker and telecoms firm Qualcomm Inc (NASDAQ:QCOM) to develop driver monitoring systems (DMS) for the world’s automakers. The AIM-listed tech firm said the two companies will be focusing specifically on in-vehicle infotainment systems, areas of the car which allow the driver or passengers to control functions such as music, navigation or answering phone calls, usually through a touchscreen.

Avation PLC (LON:AVAP) has delivered the first of two Airbus A321 aircraft to VietJet Air as part of a transition from a prior operator. The firm said the aircraft will be leased to the airline for eight years, after which it will be returned following a major airframe maintenance check.

Solo Oil PLC (LON:SOLO), a gas-focused production and development company targeting attractive growth opportunities within the European gas market, announced that it has appointed Strand Hanson Limited as its broker, in an interim capacity, with immediate effect while the company continues discussions with ONE-Dyas BV on the proposed reverse takeover transaction first announced on 9 October 2019.

ADM Energy Plc (LON:ADME), an AIM-listed oil and gas investing company announced that it has appointed Fox-Davies Capital as the company's Lead Broker, and Fox-Davies Capital DIFC as financial adviser, with immediate effect. Osamede Okhomina, CEO of ADM, said: "As ADM moves forward to execute on its business plan to build on its existing asset base, we are delighted to be working with a specialist broker with a deep knowledge of the industry and the African Markets.  As a broker, Fox-Davies Capital's wide network of relationships with specialist oil investors in Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa, will complement the work of our existing advisers and help the Company to maximise its potential

ARway.ai announces multiple new SaaS developer contracts in both the United...

ARway.ai (CSE:ARWY, OTCQB:ARWYF) Chief Executive Officer Evan Gappelberg joined Steve Darling from Proactive to announce multiple new SaaS developer sign-ups for its augmented reality experience platform, focusing on AR indoor navigation. These partnerships represent significant milestones in...

1 hour, 28 minutes ago