Clipper Logistics PLC (LON:CLG) told investors it is in advanced talks with Arcadia Group over a transportation contract for their store delivery network. If finalised and secured, the contract envisages Clipper making nearly 3,000 deliveries per week starting in August 2020. "Clipper has an enviable track record of developing solutions to meet the needs of retailers in a changing environment,” Steve Parkin, Clipper executive chairman said in a statement. “I am delighted to be working closely with Arcadia on this solution and in developing a longer-term partnership."
AfriTin Mining Ltd (LON:ATM) said mining operations at the Uis tin mine have now returned to full scale following the easing of coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown measures in Namibia. The lockdown has resulted in delays to planned throughput increases, and optimisation work has now been resumed to allow the operation to reach design capacity. Meanwhile, an internal review has identified staged modifications that could potentially increase the net present value to US$122mln, and the internal rate of return to 60%. Additionally, the company has now despatched its fourth shipment of tin concentrate.
Faron Pharmaceuticals Oy (LON:FARN) has reported “continued progress” for two of its clinical-stage programmes, Clevegen and Traumakine, ahead of a virtual R&D day on Tuesday. For Clevegen, a precision cancer immunotherapy targeting Clever-1 positive tumour-associated macrophages in selected metastatic or inoperable solid tumours, Faron said the World Health Organisation (WHO) has approved bexmarilimab as the International Nonproprietary Name (INN) for the treatment. INNs are designed to make communication about pharmaceutical drugs more precise and avoid prescribing errors. Faron also said an additional cohort has been added to Part II of the ongoing MATINS trial which is exploring the potential of bexmarilimab (Clevegen) in patients with anaplastic thyroid cancer. Meanwhile, the firm announced that its Trumakine product, which is designed to help treat Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) and is being used in two global, adaptive trials investigating potential coronavirus (COVID-19) treatments, will now be subject to a third trial to investigate whether the company’s IV IFN beta-1a can treat coronavirus.
Union Jack Oil PLC (LON:UJO) has revealed the highlights of a GaffneyCline authored Carbon Intensity Study on the West Newton project, onshore East Yorkshire. The group said the study had positive conclusions including an AA rating for carbon intensity for its potential upstream crude oil production, confirming it is significantly lower than the UK average and also when compared to other onshore analogues. According to the GaffneyCline report, West Newton could produce the equivalent of just 5 grams of CO2 per megajoule of energy created and that could be reduced further, to 3.5, with the application of gas-to-grid technologies.
Eckoh PLC (LON:ECK) has told investors that trading in the current financial year is encouraging, with revenue and profit comparable to the previous year as it posted its full-year results. Financial results for the twelve months ended March 31, 2020, showed a 16% increase in revenue to £33.2mln, with gross profit marked at £26.3mln, up 9%, and pre-tax profit reported at £3.3mln, up 171%. The company ended March with £11.6mln of net cash. The group, which handles secure payments and customer contact, said that notwithstanding the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic it is confident of its future prospects.
Genedrive PLC (LON:GDR), the diagnostics group, has moved into a cash surplus after the Global Health Investment Fund (GHIF) converted its US$8mln bond into new shares. At present, the bond and accrued interest are valued at US$9.46mln. GHIF will be allotted 7.1mln new shares and £685,000 in cash to reflect the balance of accrued interest. Following completion, Genedrive will have gross cash balances of US$8.6mln and debt of US$2.6mln.
Alien Metals Ltd (LON:UFO) shares rose after the Mexican miner said it was close to beginning two sampling programs and hopes to complete an adjacent acquisition later this month. Underground sampling at San Celso project is also beginning, with the aim of verifying historic work and identifying possible new target zones to help finalise planned drill hole locations Over at Los Campos, an initial exploratory underground program is designed to verify the condition of the underground workings, extract initial samples and map the outline of the core area of the historic mine.
ClearStar Inc (LON:CLSU) said its revenue run rate experienced a “significant uptick” from the end of May as the labour market and employers began to slowly recover from the effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. In a statement to be made at the background and medical screening specialist’s AGM on Tuesday, ClearStar chairman Barney Quinn said while the company has not yet returned to its pre-pandemic run rate, the increased sales were “extremely encouraging” and they expected the growth to continue as the US market continued to recover. He added that the company had not lost any customers during the period and has “continued to make progress in onboarding new customers and generating new business”, notably the onboarding of three new financial institutions, the latest of which was a sizeable household name that was now generating revenue for the group.
Bidstack Group PLC (LON:BIDS) said it has received a Gold Standard 1.1 certificate from the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB), the UK industry trade body for digital advertising. Launched in 2017 to improve standards in digital ads, the Gold Standard focuses on three key areas; reducing ad fraud, improving the digital advertising experience and increasing brand safety. Bidstack, which specialises in in-game advertising technology for video games, said the certificate should provide “further confidence to global advertising agencies when allocating client spend to the new "native in-game" digital advertising category” offered by the company.
European Metals Holdings Ltd (LON:EMH)(ASX:EMH) has been granted an updated preliminary mining permit for the eastern part of the Cinovec lithium deposit by the Czech Ministry of the Environment. The permit has been issued for a period of eight years. A preliminary mining permit is a necessary legal pre-qualification before obtaining a final mining permit. The approval covers an area of 0.201 square kilometres and means that, in combination with previously granted preliminary mining permits, the entire Cinovec ore reserve is now permitted.
Thor Mining PLC (LON:THR) (ASX:THR) has completed the field component of the due diligence for its acquisition of American Vanadium Pty Ltd, a company which holds interests in uranium and vanadium-focussed projects in Colorado and Utah. Thor announced on June 1, 2020, that it had signed an option agreement to acquire American Vanadium, subject to satisfaction of due diligence requirements. The non-field component of the due diligence is also nearing completion with finalisation pending assay laboratory results, the group added. A total of 21 samples were collected in the field component, including four outcrop samples and 16 samples from historic mining dumps, all of which appear to host uranium, Thor said in a statement, while outcrop samples appear to host vanadium.
Circassia Group PLC (LON:CIR) has reported slight signs of improvement in some areas after sales across all its markets were affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. “While it remains highly challenging to predict revenue trajectory, early signs of recovery in certain markets offer some signs of encouragement,” the company said in a statement alongside its results for the year to December 31, 2019. The group is now focused on selling its NIOX asthma diagnostic In China, Europe, the US and elsewhere following the return of two COPD treatments to AstraZeneca in May. In the year to end-December 2019, NIOX sales rose by 27% to £34.6mln out of total sales of £62.4mln which included £27mln from Astra’s COPD drug Tudorza.
88 Energy PLC (LON:88E) confirmed it has so far had received acceptances of 37.58% in its takeover offer for fellow Alaska explorer XCD Energy. The offer remains open until June 25 and, to date, the proposal has been accepted by shareholders with a total of 262.96mln shares and 21.5mln listed options, representing 18.3% of those in issue. Significantly, 88 Energy noted that XCD directors – which previously recommended the offer to shareholders – have now provided their acceptances for their shareholdings.
Tekcapital PLC (LON:TEK) said its investee company Guident, which is developing in-car apps for autonomous vehicles, has appointed three new members to its scientific advisory board. They are professors Naphtali Rishe and Hayder Radha and Dr Marielle Gross. In a statement, Guident's chairman and CEO Harald Braun said: “Their combined experience and knowledge in artificial intelligence software for autonomous vehicles and bioethics will provide valuable insight as we expand the development of our remote monitoring and control centre for AVs and land-based delivery drones." In the same announcement, investors were also told that Guident had secured a US patent to protect its intellectual property around the "methods and systems for emergency handoff of an autonomous vehicle". This patent teaches new methods to improve the safety of autonomous vehicles and land-based delivery drones, the company said.
Touchstone Exploration Inc. (LON:TXP) (TSX:TXP) has announced that on June 15, 2020, the conditions precedent were satisfied in respect of its previously announced US$20mln, seven-year term loan agreement with Republic Bank Limited. Touchstone said it withdrew US$15 million to satisfy obligations relating to prepaying the company's former C$20mln credit facility and has the option to withdraw the remaining US$5mln available balance prior to June 15, 2021.
Iconic Labs PLC (LON:ICON), a multi-divisional new media and technology business, has announced that it has received a notice of exercise from European High Growth Opportunities Securitization Fund in respect of the exercise by the investor of its conversion rights under convertible bonds issued in respect of the first tranche drawn down under a financing and settlement agreement for the aggregate principal amount of £170,000 resulting in the issue to the Investor of 1,700,000,000 new ordinary shares in Iconic Labs.
Capital Drilling Limited (LON:CAPD) announced that following shareholder approval at its annual general meeting held on June 12, 2020, it is changing its name to Capital Limited and trading in the group's shares under the new name will commence tomorrow, June 17, 2020, at 8.00am. The group's ticker symbol will remain "CAPD".
Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas’s (LON:ECO) emergence as a successful explorer in frontier regions is not reflected at all in the current share price, according to SP Angel which has initiated coverage on the stock with a 'strong buy' rating and a 110p target price. The junior’s two large discoveries at Orinduik, offshore Guyana, made in 2019 will be followed by two further wells planned for next year while drilling offshore Namibia is also due to accelerate this year. According to house broker SP Angel, the discoveries on the Orinduik Block have been misunderstood by the market.
finnCap Group PLC (LON:FCAP) has announced that, with effect from today, its registered office is located at 1 Bartholomew Close, London EC1A 7BL.