Hybridan Small Cap Feast

Joiners: Visum Technologies has joined the AQSE Growth Market. The Company’s business is to own and operate an “on-ride” video and photographic camera system that it sells and/or licenses to customers (being theme parks, ride manufacturers, souvenir imaging providers, and other leisure operators). 

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7digital Group 0.2p  £4.8m (7DIG.L)

The global leader in B2B end-to-end digital music solutions, has entered into an agreement with eMusic.com, Inc. regarding the eMusic Live music livestream platform, a joint project of eMusic and the Company, which will expand the Company’s revenue-generating opportunities. The Company also announces that it has entered into an agreement with Tamir Koch, a director of the Company and a significant shareholder, for a 13-month loan of £500k. The monies will be used by the Company for working capital purposes.

Ashtead Technology 222p  £176.7m (AT..L)

Ashtead Technology Holdings, a leading subsea equipment rental and solutions provider for the global offshore energy sector, provides the following trading update ahead of its Annual General Meeting later today: The Group has made an excellent start to the year as the industry benefits from an increased focus on energy transition and energy security which continues to drive utilisation and pricing.  Revenues for the seasonally weaker H1 2022 are expected to be no less than £31m, representing growth of at least 25% on H1 2021, which was still impacted by the Covid pandemic. The EBITA margin for the period is expected to be higher than prior year and in line with the Board’s expectations. The Group will provide further details on its performance in its 2022 half-year results statement, which it expects to issue in September. 

Belluscura 86.5p  £104.9m (BELL.L)

The medical device developer focused on lightweight and portable oxygen enrichment technology, announces that it has commenced selling its X-PLOR oxygen concentrators direct to consumers from the following website: www.xploroxygen.com. The Company has also started a new partnership distribution programme directed at increasing the availability of portable oxygen concentrators to small, local durable medical equipment providers who are experiencing considerable delays in the wait for portable concentrators. Both initiatives are expected to significantly expand our distribution network across the US and to increase revenue and profits.

Catalyst Media Group 75p  £16.6m (CMX.L)

Update in respect of Sports Information Services (Holdings) Limited (SIS) in which CMG has an approximate 20.54% interest. Further to the Company’s last update of 30 March 2022 in its interim results announcement, regarding the Appeal Court’s judgement in respect of the case brought by The Racing Partnership Limited (TRP) and others against SIS’s subsidiary, Sports Information Services Limited (SISL), and others, SISL has informed the Company that its litigation with TRP has now been resolved amicably with the precise terms of such resolution being confidential between the parties. The Company understands that the unaudited profit before tax for SIS is in a range of £6m to £8m for its financial year ended 31 March 2022 versus a loss before tax for the prior year of approximately £7.8m (after adjusting such comparative for a change in accounting policy). This range reflects certain accruals and provisions relating to costs and settlement of the abovementioned litigation such that no further charges to profit are anticipated. CMG further understands that, following the settlement, SIS continues to hold substantial cash reserves and remains in a strong financial position.

Cornerstone FS 10.8p  £2.5m (CSFS.L)

The cloud-based provider of international payment, currency risk management and electronic account services to SMEs, announces its final results for the year ended 31 December 2021. Admitted to trading on AIM and raised gross proceeds of £2.7m through the placing of ordinary shares and convertible loan note facilities. Total revenue increased by 38% to £2.3m (2020: £1.7m). Gross margin improved substantially to 51.6% (2020: 29.8%). Onboarded 416 new clients (2020: 328). Strong strategic progress: Significant growth in revenue generated by direct clients, which accounted for the majority of Group revenue. Appointed a new team to market the Group’s services to businesses located in Asia that support high net worth individuals invest in the UK. Obtained authorisation as an Authorised Electronic Money Institution to enable expansion of service offering. Expanded internationally with the opening of an office in Dubai. Post period: Acquired Capital Currencies Limited, a well-established foreign exchange broker specialising in the provision of currency exchange and international payments. The Board continues to expect to achieve significant revenue growth for full year 2022, in line with market expectations. 

Forward Partners 47.5p  £63.9m (FWD.L)

FY Dec 21 results from the London-based investment firm specialising in supporting high growth, early-stage technology businesses. Ventures Portfolio Value increased by £30.5m from £86.6m to £117.1m, including £8.8m of new investments and £5.0m of realisations from successful trade sales of Heights and Wonderbly during the period. Growth in portfolio value – excluding new investments and realisations – of 25%, exclusive of Forward Advances. Profit after tax for the period of £16.5m. NAV per share was 104 pence. Strong cash position of £31.1m following listing on AIM in July. 21 investments made by Forward Ventures totalling £8.8m. 99 Advances totalling £9.5m were made by Forward Advances. Strong deal flow in 2022: a pipeline of exciting new investment opportunities in companies leveraging applied AI, marketplace and Web3 operating models and follow-on opportunities. £6.0m invested to date including 11 follow-on investments totalling £4.6m and 2 new investments in applied AI companies totalling £1.4m, Sonrai Analytics and Baselime. Challenging macroeconomic environment anticipated to impact valuations and individual performance of portfolio companies. Accordingly, FWD is estimating a mid-to-high twenties percentage point decline in the Venture Portfolio Value for H122. Despite the macroeconomic conditions, positive momentum seen across portfolio post-year end with strong rounds raised by Spoke, Silico and Gravity Sketch.

Jade Road Investments* 6.5p  £7.5m (JADE.L)

Jade Road released final results today. As a consequence of unprecedented economic headwinds across Asia, major impairments across the asset portfolio have unfortunately become unavoidable. Net Asset Value decreased 36% to $68m.  Jade Road is set to pivot away from China and focus on the broader Asian SME subsector, which is showing greater resilience than larger companies in terms of recovery.  Jade Road’s core strategy remains: to build a base of income generating assets that covers overheads, management fees and finance costs, with a growing surplus to fund dividends. Post period, the company announced the partial disposal of their holding in Meize Energy. The original investment represented a 7.2% stake in Meize. Post this partial sale generating US$ 1.2m in cash, Jade’s residual holding will amount to 6.3% of the equity.

Tristel 350p  £165.3m (TSTL.L)

The manufacturer of infection prevention products, has submitted its De Novo request for approval to the US FDA. Tristel Duo ULT is used for the disinfection of ultrasound probes. Tristel Duo ULT is a high-level disinfectant foam that can be used on ultrasound probes used for intra-cavitary and skin surface diagnostic procedures. Ultrasound probe disinfection is one of Tristel’s most important areas of focus within the hospital infection prevention market and accounts for approximately 40% of the Company’s global revenue which analysts forecast at £28m for the current financial year. To the Company’s knowledge, Tristel Duo ULT is the first disinfectant to make a De Novo request to the FDA, reflecting the novelty of the product. Duo ULT is widely used throughout Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australasia and during the Company’s current financial year the product will have been used in over 8m disinfection procedures of ultrasound probes worldwide. The FDA’s De Novo review and approval process stipulates a 150-day decision timeframe. Additional data requests are commonplace, and the FDA website states that the average duration for review and approval is approximately 11 months.

Vast Resources 0.7p  £10.6m (VAST.L)

Update regarding its Takob joint venture projects at the Takob Mine in Tajikistan: Processing of 2 months worth of stockpiled ore commencing in July 2022. Refurbishment of the Takob processing plant nearing completion. New equipment on site and in the process of being commissioned. Vast will receive a participation equivalent to a 12.25% royalty over all sales of non-ferrous concentrate and any other metals produced from the Takob Processing Project. The royalty equivalent revenue from the Takob Processing Project will supplement the Company’s revenue from concentrate sales from the Company’s 100% owned Baita Plai Polymetallic Mine in Romania. At the Takob Tailings Project the Company continues to make good progress alongside its joint venture partner Formin TJK. The Company will report on the surveying, soil sampling and preliminary drilling work being conducted on the Takob Tailing Project in due course.

Windward 102.5p  £85.1m (WNWD.L)

The leading Maritime AI company, announced today the launch of its API Insights Lab, enabling customers and partners to integrate Windward’s Maritime AI™ directly into internal systems to enhance solutions, processes, and workflows with customised insights to fit their unique needs and risk appetite. The Insights Lab includes the full Maritime AI™ Insights Catalog and the following “off-the-shelf” API packages: Due Diligence and Compliance, Ocean Freight Visibility, Homeland Security, and Behavioural Analysis. The APIs utilise advanced GraphQL technology that enables users to integrate them with minimal effort and time, and easily receive the exact Windward data analysis they need to complete their due diligence and investigation processes.

What’s cooking in the IPO kitchen?

Immediate acquisitions (IME.L) is to re-join AIM via a Reverse Takeover of Fiinu Holdings Limited. Once complete the Company is proposing to change its name to Fiinu Group plc. Fiinu intends to be a provider of a consumer banking product, the Plugin Overdraft ®, which is designed to provide customers with an overdraft facility without having to change their current account or request an overdraft from their existing bank. Fiinu’s technology arm manages and develops the platform, using open banking, and once the platform is fully operational will also look to develop secondary revenue streams by licensing Fiinu’s intellectual property rights. Capital to be raised £8.01m. Target Mkt Cap c.£53m. Due 8 July.

LifeSafe Holdings, a fire safety technology business with innovative fire safety products, intends to join AIM. LifeSafe has developed what the Directors believe to be market disrupting, eco-friendly fire safety protection products to both protect (via fire extinguishers) and detect (via carbon monoxide, smoke and heat alarms) fires. At the centre of the Group’s product range is the FER1000 extinguishing fluid, which has been developed by LifeSafe to extinguish five different types of fire: electrical, paper, textiles, cooking oil, and petrol and diesel. The Group’s best-selling product using this patent pending extinguishing fluid is the StaySafe 5-in-1 fire extinguisher. It was launched on Amazon Prime in the UK in August 2021 and subsequently became Amazon Prime’s top selling fire extinguisher in the UK in the same month. In n the year ended 31 December 2021, the Group generated revenues of £670k and a loss post taxation of £1.5m. £3m to be raised. Due early July 2022.

*A corporate client of Hybridan LLP

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