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This week: Patisserie has IPO in the oven, NAHL makes a claim for AIM, Fitbug beefs up management team

Last updated: 23:48 01 May 2014 AEST, First published: 22:48 01 May 2014 AEST

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ABDP interim results,BRY AGM Statement,CRAW final results,FITB CEO appointment and US sales agreement,funding sorted,GBG trading update, proposed acquisition and placing,INCA final results,IFM two new movies,IOF figures, Board changes & Bond issue,MSG has three announcements,NAHL Group to float on AIM,NCT operations update,Patisserie Holdings Limited to float on AIM,RDT first day of dealings,TCN demand stabilising,RTG Board restructuring,SND H1 trading statement,UMTP to move to AIM

AB Dynamics (LON:ABDP)

AB Dynamics, a designer, manufacturer and supplier of advanced testing systems and measurement products to the global automotive industry, announced its Interim Results for the six month period to 28 February 2014. Revenues increased 14 per cent to £6.69m (H1 2013: £5.87m), PBT increased 9 per cent to £1.16m (H1 2013: £1.07m) and cash at 28 February 2014 was £4.55m (H1 2013: £3.04m). A maiden interim dividend of 1.0p per ordinary share was announced. Wiltshire council has formally resolved to grant planning permission for its new purpose built factory subject to completion of negotiations on an agreement under section 106 between the local council and the developer. A sixth SPMM order from China was placed and the Company invested in staff and product development in the Track Testing Systems Division. Tim Rogers, Managing Director of AB Dynamics, commented: “The Company has enjoyed a strong first half of the year, with improved revenues, profits and cash generation. We have an enviable and loyal client base and continue to add new customers. With our new facility with increased capacity likely to complete in the first half of 2016, our strong order book and continued product development, the Board is confident of a prosperous future and is therefore pleased to announce a maiden interim dividend of 1.0p per share."

Brady (LON:BRY)

Brady, the leading global provider of commodity, energy and recycling software for transaction processing and risk management, has held its AGM. At the AGM, Paul Fullagar, Chairman of Brady, made the following statement: "The Group has continued to make progress in the year to date, signing three new deals in Energy and two new deals in Recycling. Revenue and profitability in the first quarter have been in line with expectations. In particular, the Group is happy to report that the Brady Energy business unit has made significant progress signing deals in the Netherlands and Ireland for its Power Scheduling and Nomination solution, facilitating cross-border trading activities, as well as the first cloud delivery of the new Energy Trading and Risk Management Solution. Recycling signed a substantial deal at the beginning of the year with a Canadian metals recycler, which is already in production at the first sites. This was closely followed by a further contract signed with a start-up recycling company based in Puerto Rico. The Commodities unit is pleased to report a global trading company that signed a significant contract at the end of 2013 has successfully gone into production. I look forward to reporting further deal flow and business progress as the Group enters the traditionally busy second quarter. We will provide a further update at the interim results."

Crawshaw Group (LON:CRAW)

The results for the year ending 31 January 2014 showed an accelerating pattern of organic revenue growth.  Like for likes were up 11 per cent for the full year but 18 per cent in the second half of the period. FY2015 has started strong with like for like sales up 19 per cent in the first 12 weeks. Crawshaw attributes the performance to the excellent quality and value of its core products driving increases in spend from both existing and new customers. A final dividend of 0.43p took the total to 0.52p vs 0.20p for the prior year supported by a growing cash balance (£1.4m vs £0.8m) boosted by improved operating cash flows. Looking ahead the company has confidence that further controlled expansion of the existing shop model will be a key driver of future growth.

Fitbug Holdings (LON:FITB)

Fitbug Holdings, the provider of online personal health and well-being services, announced that it has appointed Malcolm Fried to succeed David Turner as CEO of the Company with immediate effect.  Additionally, the Company has signed an exclusive retail sales representative agreement with Griffin International Companies, Inc. Under the terms of this two year agreement Griffin agrees to act as the Company’s sole and exclusive US sales representative to Target, Best Buy and Walmart specifically. Previous to this role, Malcolm Fried worked for Bloomberg LP for 13 years. Following Malcolm’s appointment David Turner will step down from his role as CEO of Fitbug Holdings PLC but will remain as a non-executive director. Fergus Kee’s role of Chairman will revert to a non-executive one. Paul Landau, founder of the Fitbug business, remains an Executive Director of the Company and CEO of the Company’s subsidiary Fitbug Limited. Fitbug Holdings also announced that it has agreed that the repayment date of all loans to the Company from NW1 Investments Limited and Kifin Limited, a Kirsh Group subsidiary, be extended to 31 July 2015. Other terms remain unchanged including the interest rate which remains at 5 per cent. The Company is also pleased to announce that it has agreed a further £1m from NW1 Investments Limited. The Loan is repayable by 31 July 2015 and will accrue interest at 5 per cent per annum, payable on a quarterly basis. 

GB Group (LON:GBG)

GB Group announced both a Conditional Placing at 137.5 pence to raise £11m, and that it has conditionally agreed to acquire the entire issued share capital of DecTech Solutions Pty Ltd, an Australian provider of fraud detection, credit risk management and customer management solutions for a total consideration of £20.5m. In an update to the Pre-Close Trading Statement issued on 7th April the Board is pleased to report that GBGroup has achieved a stronger set of results than was estimated at that time, which will be ahead of market consensus. The Board now expects to show an adjusted operating profit of approximately £7.2m (2013: £5.5m) representing a year on year increase of approximately 30 per cent.

Incadea (LON:INCA)

Incadea, provider of enterprise software and services to the global automotive dealership industry, announced its audited final results for the year ended 31 December 2013. Revenue increased 23 per cent to EUR36.0m (2012: EUR29.3m). EBITDA increased by 24 per cent to EUR7.7m (2012: EUR6.2m) and positive cash flow from operations of EUR1.8m, a significant increase of 55 per cent (2012: EUR1.2m). The Company has proposed a final dividend of 0.8 pence per share.  Trading during first three months of the year is in line with management expectations and the Board remains confident about meeting the financial performance targets for the year. Patrick Katenkamp, CEO commented: "… Substantial new contracts have been won and the management are hopeful that others will be signed in later in the year...”

Intandem Films (LON:IFM)

Intandem has announced its appointment as sales agent to two new films, Anti-Social and Missing William (starring Brandon Routh) bringing the slate up to a total of 26 titles. Anti-Social is the second collaboration between writer / director Reg Traviss and Manifest Film Sales; the first being Screwed. That is now seven films that Intandem will present at Cannes, the greatest number of finished films Intandem has ever represented at any market in its ten year history. Last year was one of significant Board changes at the company but working capital remains tight.

Iofina (LON:IOF)

Iofina announced their final results to 31st December 2013. Revenue was US$18,931,230 (2012: US$18,643,308); but the loss before tax was US$3,804,293 (2012: US$1,182,805). The Company separately announced that following an organisational review, the board has accepted the resignations of George Lantz and Gary Gatchell. With immediate effect, Jeffrey Ploen, Co-founder and current non-Executive Director, has been appointed Interim Chief Executive Officer and President, and Mike Coddington, Iofina Chemical's current CFO and the former Finance Director of the Company (2010-2013), has been appointed Finance Director. Dr. Tom Becker, current President and CEO of Iofina Chemical, will now have expanded responsibilities within the Company. Paul Chase-Gardener, whilst originally intending to retire at this year's Annual General Meeting, has now considered it best to do so immediately for an orderly transition of the board. Further, the two recently appointed non-executive directors and the Company's Interim CEO have reduced their compensation to £1.00 until further notice. The current reductions implemented have afforded the Company a reduction of circa US$650,000 per annum without negatively affecting field operations, as it focuses on bottom line performance. Iofina subsequently announced that it has completed a US$5m unsecured convertible bond. Net proceeds of the 6 per cent Bond (convertible at 40p) is to strengthen the Company's cash position, which stood at US$2.3m at the end of March, as it looks at expanding its production base.

Milestone Group (LON:MSG)* 

The provider of digital media and technology solutions announced that its subsidiary, Oil Productions Limited T/A Relative, was commissioned by Sudler & Hennessey, part of Young and Rubicam Group, and part of WPP, to work alongside their London office on the development of the Peace by Piece (peacebypiece.animalsasia.org) campaign for Animals Asia Foundation, which seeks to help rescue and rehabilitate over 130 moon bears in Nanning, China.  The micro-site developed by Milestone’s subsidiary has been entered to the Cannes Lions awards, the largest annual awards show for the creative communications industry to be held in June 2014. The mobile optimised site includes an interactive map, an illustrated look and feel for the bear farm allowing users to explore the sanctuary's various areas and to sponsor a 'piece' of the rescue. Milestone made a second announcement in the last few weeks that it was going to provide training for Poplar HARCA (Poplar Housing and Regeneration Community Association). Poplar HARCA is to provide a pilot of the Spirituality for Kids (SFK) resilience and emotional intelligence training to a number of vulnerable groups of young adults who are part of their hardest to engage residents. Poplar HARCA is a Private Registered Provider and Registered Charity that owns and manages around 9,000 homes and community spaces in East London.   In February 2014, Milestone announced that it had expanded the scope of its licence with Spirituality for Kids International Inc. to incorporate additional training materials for young people. Milestone also announced that it has acquired all rights and title to the publication, Disorder UK Magazine (Disorder), for a consideration of £1. The magazine was originally founded in 1999 by Davide Wheller as a fanzine on the principal that new talent is vital to the UK's arts and culture industry. Anthony Webb, having joined the Milestone team in April 2014, will help expand and commercialise the magazine and the brand, bringing a number of new revenue streams to the Company. Davide will be responsible for ensuring that the magazine continues to publish bi-monthly with increasing readership levels. He will also be working closely with Milestone's wholly owned subsidiary, Relative, to develop a digital offering to complement the printed version of the magazine. 

NAHL Group (TBC)

NAHL Group, the UK consumer marketing business, recently announced its intention to float on AIM.  The group is focused on the UK personal injury market, advertising through its core brand - National Accident Helpline. Having been established in 1993, the Group's business has grown to become the largest outsourced marketing services provider to the personal injury market - a market which is valued at approximately £3bn in fees generated mainly by law firms. The Group's core business model is based on enquiry origination through direct response marketing, connecting claimants, who have been injured in non-fault accidents, with specialist law firms. In the year ended 31 December 2013, the Group generated revenues of £39.7m and operating profit of £9.8m (excluding commission received from a discontinued ATE insurance product of £9.4m). This profitability represented a 43 per cent. increase over the prior year. The Group has a historically high level of cash conversion, with net operating cash inflows of £10.4m in the year ended 31 December 2013.

Northcote Energy Limited (LON:NCT)

Northcote gave an update on its Zink Ranch Project, located in Osage County, Oklahoma. The first two recompletions have been completed (55 per cent working interest and 45.45 per cent net revenue interest) – and initial production rates will be provided in due course. Northcote has had its cost for these two recompletions carried by North American Petroleum (LON:NAPP 0.75p/£3.61m) under the farm-out agreement announced 14 March 2014. These recompletions are the first two of 31 planned workovers or recompletions scheduled for in the 2014 continuous work programme across all projects. Northcote's Chief Executive Officer Randall Connally said, "... This is a direct increase in value for the Company and with 12 more wells to re-complete in this manner we expect this one programme to make a material contribution to our 250 BOE/d goal. We look forward to initial results from these first two recompletions, and will report results to the market in due course." 

Patisserie Holdings Limited (TBC)

Patisserie Holdings Limited, which operates a UK branded café and casual dining group offering premium cakes, pastries, snacks, meals and hot and cold drinks across five differentiated brands, recently announced its intention to float on AIM.  The Group operates under five differentiated brands across England and Scotland: Patisserie Valerie, Druckers - Vienna Patisserie, Philpotts, Baker & Spice and Flour Power City Bakery.  The Group's strategy is focused on continuing to deliver growth through enhancing the existing store estate and opening new stores, funded by internally generated cash flow. Independent research conducted by Javelin has identified over 250 further potential sites in the UK with similar characteristics to those currently trading. The Directors consider the existing estate and openings opportunities currently available to be significant and, consequently, acquisitions of further brands are only likely to be considered opportunistically.  Reported EBITDA for 52 weeks ended 30 September 2013 was £12.0m (up 25.1 per cent. over the prior year).

Rosslyn Data Technologies (LON:RDT)

Rosslyn Data Technologies, a provider of a cloud-based enterprise data analytics platform, recently announced its First Day of Dealings onto AIM. The Company raised approximately £10m (before expenses) at a price of 33 pence per share.  The Company provides analytical services by combining four key technologies: data extraction; cleansing; enrichment; and visualisation, through a single cloud platform enabling users with detailed data to make more informed decisions. Rosslyn's RAPid platform is the Group's primary product available to its multinational customers, including Aberdeen Asset Management plc, Babcock Corporate Services plc, Xerox Business Services and Coca-Cola Enterprises, Inc.

Sanderson Group (LON:SND)

The software and IT services business specialising in multi-channel retail and manufacturing markets in the UK and Ireland provided an update for the six months to March 2014. The period reflected a full contribution from Catan Marketing (acquired August 2013). The Group made a further acquisition, One iota, in October 2013.  Revenues were up 24 per cent to £7.9m and 4 per cent on a like for like basis. 55 per cent thereof were generated from pre-contracted recurring revenues. Adjusted operating profit increased 21.5 per cent to £1.2m and cash balances grew to £5m from £4.5m despite the investment in acquisitions. The progressive dividend policy will continue. Looking ahead the order book stands at £2.46m vs. £1.58m and the company detects some improvement in business sentiment from its customers. With the acquisition of One iota 'mobile and ecommerce' stands to be an important growth driver for the Group and accounted for 30 per cent of order intake in the period.

The Rethink Group (LON:RTG)

The Rethink Group, a talent management and recruitment services company, has announced the formation of an operational “Executive Board” and a re-structuring of the main board of directors which has now been streamlined to 5 members. The new Executive Board will focus on executing the Group's ambitious three year growth strategy, as recently detailed in the Group's final results, through the development and delivery of Talent Management and Recruitment services. This follows on from the  final results to 31 December 2013 which showed Net Fee Income from continuing operations up 7.6% to £19.6m and a return to profit at the adjusted basic earnings per share level at 0.742p from a loss of 0.678p.

Tricorn Group (LON:TCN)

Further to the trading statement of 11th February which indicated that H2 revenues to 31st March 2014 would be down 15% on H1, Tricorn, the tube manipulation specialist has issued a further update on for the full year. Since the prior statement demand has generally stabilised and in some instances is starting to show signs of a slight improvement. As a result, second half revenues are expected to be marginally up on earlier guidance. In the US the business brought out of the administration by Tricorn suffered from customer resourcing decisions made at that time. The statement suggests that restructuring in the Energy division, new customer growth in the US, development in China and new prospects across the group give hope for a return to long term growth. Preliminary results will be released on 10 June.

Union Medtech (LON:UMTP)

Union Medtech, the ISDX quoted investing company in the medical technology area, has recently announced its intention to move to AIM.  The group will be renamed Rex Bionics on Admission.  It has conditionally acquired the entire issued share capital of Rex Bionics Limited (RBL), a New Zealand based developer and manufacturer of hands free robotic exoskeletons for use by wheelchair users.  Consideration for the acquisition will be shares in Union Medtech.  

Australian Strategic Materials signs US$600 million LoI

Rowena Smith, CEO and managing director of Australian Strategic Materials Ltd (ASX:ASM, OTC:ASMMF), joins Jonathan Jackson in the Proactive studio to discuss the company’ s Dubbo Project, in Central West New South Wales. This project aims to extract and process critical minerals and rare earth...

10 hours, 33 minutes ago