Hybridan Small Cap Feast

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EnSilica 68.5p £51.5m (ENSI.L)

The mixed signal chip maker announces that it has conditionally raised £2.0m by way of a placing and at a price of 70p per new ordinary share. Net proceeds will be used to support the Company in responding to continued contract momentum including: EUR5m contract to develop a novel chip to address the next gen mass market satellite broadband; supply contract with leading European OEM worth excess of US$30m; and a US$3.6m contract with a tier 1 automotive company. Management is currently pursuing an estimated pipeline of c.£250m.

Franchise Brands 227p £295.8m (FRAN.L)

The international multi-brand franchise business, announces its audited results for the year ended 31 December 2022. Revenue increased 72% to £99.2m (2021: £57.7m), adjusted EBITDA increased 80% to £15.3m (2021: £8.5m), adjusted profit before tax increased by 98% to £12.8m (2021: £6.5m) and the Company held net cash of £8.0m (2021: £6.5m). The Group completed of the acquisition of Filta in March 2022 and expects greater opportunities for organic, acquisitive and international growth.

IQE 32.28p £259.8m (IQE.L)

The supplier of compound semiconductor wafer products and advanced material solutions provides a trading update. The Group has seen weaker demand leading to inventory build-up throughout the supply chain. This reduction in customer orders and forecasts is expected to decline revenue by approximately £30m for H1 2023 year-on-year. The near-term market softness is expected to be temporary and a return to year-on-year growth is anticipated in H2 2023 and management expectations for FY22 results remain in line.

Jarvis Securities 142.5p £63.7m (JIM.L)

The parent of Jarvis Investment Management and operator of a number of retail stockbroking brands providing nominee, certificated, SIPP and ISA accounts, announces its results for the year ended 31 December 2022. Revenue declined by 11.8% to c.£12.6m (FY21: c.£14.3m), profit before tax decreased by c.20% to c.£6.1m (FY21: c.£7.6m) and profit for the period reduced 20% to c.£4.9m (FY21: c.£6.2m). General share transaction volumes remain below average across the whole industry so the group have seen a reduction in line with that. However, the Group are confident that business will emerge financially stronger as a result of this upcoming year.

N4 Pharma 2.1p £4.9m (N4P.L)

The specialist pharmaceutical company developing Nuvec®, a novel delivery system for cancer treatments, announces its audited results for the year ended 31 December 2022. No revenue was generated by FY22 (FY21: £nil), operating loss was reduced to £1.029m (FY21: loss of £1.84m) and cash stood at c.£1.9m (FY21: £1.78m) having raised £1.05m at the end of 2022. The Company has filed its own patent on using Nuvec® to enhance the performance of viral vector. The Company is well funded to deliver its siRNA programme and will development outreach  working alongside a US company.  

Oriole Resources 0.13p £3.5m (ORR.L)

The exploration company focussed on West Africa, announces its final results for the year ended 31 December 2022. Incoming funds totalling £0.90m have allowed for £0.84m of direct exploration expenditure in Cameroon, operating loss decreased by 63% to £0.53m (2021: £1.44m). Loss for the year remained at £1.56m, due ti £1.4m impairment of the legacy asset Thani Stratex Resources. Early soil sampling on the Eastern CLP licences project in Cameroon has identified multiple gold-anomalous zones, rock-chip sampling of quartz veins and the host rocks at Mbe have also returned grades of up to 134.10 g/t Au. Sampling and mapping of the area will continue in order to identify drill targets for the 2023/24 field season. 

Seraphim Space Investment Trust 9.35p £46.8m (SSIT.L)

The world’s first SpaceTech investment company, announces its interim results for the period ended 31 December 2022. The Company has invested £13.4m during the period (£4.4m in new investments and £9.0m in follow-on investments). NAV per share decreased by 7.2% over the period, from 99.97p to 92.74p. The Company had investments in 29 SpaceTech companies with an aggregate value of £181.2m and remains well-capitalised to support high potential current portfolio companies and new investments with cash reserves of £40.9m.

Symphony Environmental Technologies* 10.5p £19.4m (SYM.L)

The global specialist in technologies that make plastic and rubber products smarter, safer and more sustainable, announces that its USA distributor of d2w biodegradable plastics technology, Better Earth LLC (Better Earth) has signed an exclusive supply agreement with TricorBraun for its BioBottles™ brand of polyethylene bottles. TricorBraun is a global packaging company. TricorBraun sold over 8bn containers in 2022 and is working jointly with Better Earth, supporting its exclusive agreement with a sales and marketing campaign in the US and Canada. Symphony is well placed to capture a share of the US and Canadian bottle markets, with additional verticals in the bottle market still available to target.

WANdisco £13.10 £880.3m (WAND.L)

The data activation platform provides a trading revision. Following investigations, significant and potentially fraudulent irregularities with regard to received purchase orders and related bookings, as represented by one senior sales employee, have been discovered. This will significantly impact the Company’s cash position and the Board now expects FY22 revenue could be as low as USD9m and not USD24m. The Company has requested that its shares be suspended from trading on AIM while it conducts an investigation. 

Xeros Technology Group 4.9p £6.52m (XSG.L)

The creator of technologies that reduce the impact of clothing on the planet, announces the signing of a further licensing agreement for its XFilter filtration technology with a global component manufacturer with headquarters in Europe. This licensee supplies electro-mechanical components to washing machine manufacturers including Haier, Whirlpool, Midea, Miele and Bosch. Under the 5-year agreement, it is licensed to manufacture and sell filters incorporating Xeros’ proprietary XFilter technology on a worldwide basis.

What’s cooking in the IPO kitchen?

Fadel Partners, a developer of cloud based brand compliance and rights and royalty management software, working with some of the world’s leading licensors and licensees across media, entertainment, publishing, consumer brands and hi-tech/gaming companies intends to join the AIM market. FADEL has two solutions, being IPM Suite and Brand Vision. Expected Admission date is late March 2023.

Onward Opportunities Limited intends to join the AIM market. The Company’s investment objective is to generate returns for Shareholders through investments in equity and equity-related instruments of UK smaller companies that are predominantly listed or admitted to trading on markets operated by the London Stock Exchange. Expected Admission date is mid-March 2023.

Essentially Group plc, its strategy is the acquisition, holding and development of companies active in the health food and beverages market,  intends to join the AQSE Growth Market. On 1 September 2022, Essentially Group UK acquired Essentially Holdings Ltd (and its wholly owned subsidiary, Essentially Juices Manufacturing LLC (EJM)), EJM is active in the UAE and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia fruit and vegetable juice market. Expected Admission date  17th March 2023.

MBH Corporation plc, an investment holding company with subsidiaries in multiple industries including the construction, education, leisure, healthcare, food & beverage, property, engineering and transport sectors, intends to join the AQSE Growth Market. MBH is currently traded on the Dusseldorf and Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Expected Admission date 13th March 2023.

PanGenomic Health Inc, currently traded on the Canadian Securities Exchange market intends to dual list on the AQSE Growth Market, as a springboard to expand footprint of its personalised and self-care digital health platforms in the UK/EU markets. The Company has three platforms: Nara App, Mindleap.com and the PlantGx Platform. PanGenomic Health Inc is currently traded on the CSE. 88.6%  of the total issued shares will be floated. Admission is delayed.

*A corporate client of Hybridan LLP

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