Science Group PLC (AIM:SAG) was 4.5% firmer at 465p after it said it has continued to perform well despite component supply constraints and foreign exchange headwinds.
The science and technology-based consultancy has raised profit guidance without actually providing any numbers, which is not very scientific of it.
“The board anticipates further upside in the group’s 2021 profitability forecasts,” the statement said, with the board adding that it is the third upgrade to its profitability expectations it has delivered this year.
3.25pm: Market gives thumbs-up to Feedback’d hook-up with Quest Teleradiology
Feedback PLC (AIM:FDBK) shares were 14% higher at 0.825p in afternoon trading as investors digested the details of its memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Quest Teleradiology.
The pair will market Feedback’s Bleepa clinical communications platform in the large and growing Indian healthcare market, the UK and internationally.
Bleepa offers the opportunity to expand Quest’s existing teleradiology service by allowing clinicians and radiologists to discuss cases directly, alongside the traditional teleradiology reporting model.
2.35pm: Ascent Resources boosted by higher gas prices
Ascent Resources PLC (AIM:AST) headed 11% higher to 4.6p after it flagged the recent significant increase in global gas prices.
Central Eastern Gas Hub spot prices are currently circa EUR105.0 / MWh (megawatt hours) while Central Eastern Gas Hub pricing for the first quarter of 2022 futures are currently EUR104.725 / MWh. This is a 905% increase from the EUR11.4 / MWh price as set out in the company’s 10 September 2020 announcement, Ascent noticed.
The onshore energy and natural resources company said it now expects, at current gas prices and production levels, the PG-10 and PG-11A production wells at its Petisovci gas project in Slovenia to generate net production revenues (after extraction, processing and handling costs) of at least EUR100,000 per month, net to Ascent.
1.40pm: Shell to use Seeing Machines’ driver fatigue monitoring technology
Seeing Machines Ltd (AIM:SEE, OTC:SEEMF) motored 11% forward to 10.2p after signing a deal with Shell to provide driver safety technology.
The international oil giant has a huge fleet of vehicles covering 500mln kilometres a year. The technology will be installed where “fatigue and distracted driving are considered to be a safety risk”, Seeing Machines said.
Max Verberne, general manager of Aftermarket at Seeing Machines, said: “We are delighted to be working with Shell, who are genuinely focused on safety, to deliver Guardian as they work towards improved protection of their employees and the communities through which they drive.
12.45pm: Arecor Therapeutics higher after patent victory
Arecor Therapeutics PLC (AIM:AREC) advanced 11% to 420p after some positive patent news.
The company said its European patent EP2457590 on polysaccharide vaccines has been successfully upheld following opposition appeal proceedings filed by GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals SA (GSK) at the Boards of Appeal of the European Patent Office.
Arecor’s European patent EP2457590 protects novel compositions of a specific type of vaccine, called polysaccharide vaccines. Such products are known to degrade over time, leading to gradual loss of potency. Arecor’s novel compositions protected by this patent, prevent such degradation and enable the development of improved polysaccharide vaccines.
11.50am: Oracle Power signs co-operation agreement with PowerChina International Group
Oracle Power PLC (AIM:ORCP) jumped 12% to 0.375p after it signed a non-exclusive co-operation agreement with PowerChina International Group.
The pair plan to jointly develop a green hydrogen production facility in Pakistan.
Green hydrogen is generated from renewable sources and is widely regarded as one of the most important energy sources to support the transition to a carbon-neutral future.
PowerChina, one of the largest Chinese state-owned enterprises, has partnered with Oracle to set up a hydrogen facility in Pakistan to produce hydrogen with electrolysers powered by photovoltaics.
10.55am: Market sceptical over one-sided JV agreement signed by MobilityOne
Mobilityone Limited (AIM:MBO) slipped 3.7% to 13p after announcing a joint venture agreement in Australia.
The e-commerce infrastructure payment solutions and platform provider said a subsidiary has entered into a joint venture with One M Tech Pty to explore e-commerce and e-payment business opportunities in Australia.
MobilityOne will whack roughly GBP53,000 into the joint venture to provide all of the starting capital, in return for which it will receive a 51% stake in the joint venture.
10.00am: ASOS slumps after profit warning and departure of CEO
ASOS PLC (AIM:ASC) was 6.7% lower at 2,596p after a profit warning that brought an abrupt end to the reign of chief executive Nick Beighton.
“ASOS has enjoyed a huge boost to trading over lockdowns, albeit for less-lucrative casual wear as its core demographic was stuck at home. A reluctance to leave the house meant return rates were lower, resulting in XL margins. However, the tailwinds are easing and the ASOS bubble has burst,” said Sophie Lund-Yates, an equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
“Higher labour and freight costs are just one problem, but ASOS has also had trouble getting hold of the right stock, so in some cases, although demand has strengthened, the group couldn’t meet it. Supply chain problems are going to continue for the foreseeable future, which is some explanation for why next year’s sales outlook is so disappointing.
9.05am: Cadence Minerals surges after Amapa iron ore project financing news
Cadence Minerals PLC (AIM:KDNC), up 22% at 21.25p, was London’s top riser on Monday morning after a financing announcement related to the Amapa iron ore project.
The company has received confirmation from the secured bank creditors that they have obtained approval from their credit committees concerning the proposed terms of the settlement agreement, thus paving the way for Cadence to vest an initial 20% in the project.
“We have a clear path and process to get Amapa recommissioned, licensed and back into production,” said Kiran Morzaria, the chief executive officer of Cadence.
ReNeuron Group PLC (AIM:RENE), up 17% at 111p, was the second-best performer after it published what it describes as “extremely compelling” data that provides “clear pre-clinical proof-of-concept” that its exosome drug delivery technology can effectively deliver therapeutic proteins to the specific region of the brain affected by neurological diseases.
Work carried out by the University of Salamanca, Spain, assessed whether the stem cell-derived technology could carry its payload to the corpus striatum – a region of the brain affected by stroke, Parkinson’s Disease and Huntington’s Disease.
The scientists found that the therapeutic exosome-based combination delivered therapeutic protein at “a functional activity level much greater than that seen when simply supplying the protein alone”.
