Clothing company SuperGroup (LON:SGP) boosted its underlying pre-tax profits by 13% to £15mln in the first-half of the year as it looks to turn round the business.
Since topping out at almost 1,900p in 2011, the shares have been hit by three profit warnings and several high-profile management cock-ups, including what it called “arithmetic errors” at its wholesale business.
The company behind the popular SuperDry brand said a number of positive factors contributed to its performance, including investment in design and the growing presence of the year.
Chief executive Julian Dunkerton said that while the trading environment remained “challenging and volatile”, SuperGroup’s sales performance has been encouraging.
“The economic outlook remains uncertain but I am confident in our strategy and our ability to maximise the opportunities we have in the UK and internationally and deliver our full year profit targets,” he said.
SuperGroup shares meanwhile dived 6% as it also revealed that it won’t be paying an interim dividend.
Stratex International (LON:STI) rose 15% after it agreed to sell its 30% stake in the Oskut project in Turkey to its partner Centerra for an eye-catching US$40mln.
The gold explorer, which invested just US$1mln of its own cash in the project, will use the money to fund a drilling programme on its acreage in Africa and to find new opportunities in Turkey.
The deal will see Stratex receive US$20mln up front and up to a further US$20mln through a 1% royalty agreement.
Christopher Hall, Stratex’s chairman, said to negotiate the initial US$20mln payment for a largely inferred resource was a great achievement in the current market.
Sound Oil (LON:SOU) meanwhile has struck a deal to sell its stake in the Bangkanai project in Indonesia to Salamander Energy for US$7.1mln in cash.
It will receive US$4.5mln immediately, while further payments will follow as the Bangkanai project progresses, with US$1.1mln due as Kerendan moves into production and US$1.5mln of royalties from any future discovery at Bangkanai.
The agreement follows the sale of its interest in the Citarum venture, also in Indonesia, agreed in October, and it seals Sound’s planned re-focusing on its assets in Europe and the Mediterranean.
Back on the earnings front, Agriterra (LON:AGTA), the agricultural and logistics company focused on sub-Saharan Africa, more than doubled revenues in the first half of its financial year.
Revenues in the six months to the end of November clocked in at US$11.4mln, versus US$5.3mln in the first half of the previous financial year.
Euan Kay, Agriterra’s executive director, said the first half of the year has been “highly successful” with its grain processing operations performing “extremely strongly”.
The group revealed that record maize meal sales were achieved from its maize processing operations, and new monthly milling records were set.
Goldplat (LON:GDP) has unveiled a maiden resource for its Anumso gold project in Ghana.
The exploration project is now deemed to contain 2.5mln tonnes of ore grading 2.04 grams per tonne gold, for 166,865 contained ounces.
It has also increased gold resources at the Kilimapesa project in Kenya, which is now estimated at 8.7mln tonnes grading 2.4 grams per tonne, for 671,446 ounces.
That means that Goldplat’s total resources from its exploration projects in Kenya, Ghana and Burkina Faso have now risen by around 25% to 931,071 contained ounces – the other 92,760 ounces are hosted in the Nyieme project in Burkina Faso.