Hybridan Small Cap Feast

A round up of the day’s news brought to you by the team at small-cap broker and advisor Hybridan.

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Amino Technologies 152.5p  £127m (AMO.L)

The software-led global media technology company that delivers modern TV experiences, announces a trading update for the six months ended 31 May 2021. The Group has traded well during the period with revenue for the first half expected to be approximately $45.3m (H1 2020: $38.0m), 19% ahead of the prior year. Improving quality of earnings and enhancing visibility continues to be an area of focus and of progress with the Group expected to report higher margin software and services revenue of approximately $10.0m (H1 2020: $9.7m), and an exit run rate Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) of approximately $13.8m (H1 2020: $10.1m), 37% ahead of the prior year. The Group has also made strong progress against its 2025 strategy, capitalising on the convergence of streaming services and traditional Pay TV. In May 2021 the Group acquired Nordija, a Danish streaming and Pay TV platform specialist. Nordija, which will be integrated into the Group’s 24i business, will enhance and scale the Group’s end-to-end video streaming portfolio and is expected to be earnings enhancing in the first full financial year of ownership.

Itaconix  13.98p  £60.7m (ITX.L)

The  innovator in sustainable plant-based polymers used as essential ingredients in everyday consumer products, updated on its commercial progress and current trading. Strong revenue growth in odour control, continued growth in detergents, and a small decline in personal care combined for overall unaudited revenues to increase by 39% for the first five months of 2021 over the same period in 2020. 

Kodal Minerals 0.305p  £48.3m (KOD.L)

Kodal has received formal correspondence from the Direction Nationale de la Geologie et des Mines (DNGM) in Bamako providing notification of acceptance of the Feasibility Study for the Mining Licence application at the Bougouni Lithium Project and has received the request to pay the application fee for the delivery of the Mining Licence. Kodal will pay the £135k application fee promptly to continue to advance the application process and maintain communication with the DNGM to monitor progress.

MTI Wireless Edge 65p  £57.5m (MWE.L)

Mottech Water Solutions Ltd, the Group’s subsidiary in the wireless irrigation control solutions sector, has secured a three year service contract with a major Canadian City.  The contract is estimated to be worth approximately CAD$ 300k. MTI’s CEO, Moni Borovitz, commented: “Canada has historically been an important and profitable market for Mottech and, with the opening of our office, it has the potential to be more valuable to the Group. Our newly set up Canadian business has started well with recent equipment orders and this service contract is an important part of our strategy to increase recurring revenues from service and maintenance and be closer to our end customers.  We believe we will see more business opportunities and increased revenue from equipment sales.”

Nightcap 25p  £46.4m (NGHT.L)

Update on the Group’s recent trading. All of the Group’s 19 premium bars are open and trading across London, Bristol and Birmingham, in compliance with government guidelines for group sizes and social distancing. Unaudited Group revenues for the three full weeks since the reopening of indoor hospitality, being 17 May to 6 June 2021 inclusive, saw growth of 92% when compared to Group revenues recorded in the equivalent weeks in the calendar year 2019 (16 of the 19 premium bars had been established and were open at that time) and a 53% growth when compared to Group revenues on a like for like basis for the same time frame. The strong sales performance since re-opening is significantly ahead of the Board’s expectations, given that the bars have restricted capacity due to social distancing requirements.  

Omega Diagnostics 60.5p  £110.5m (ODX.L)

Omega announces that it has begun the process of engagement with its European Notified Body seeking CE marking of the VISITECT® COVID-19 Antigen test, a rapid point-of-care diagnostic test for the detection of active COVID-19 infections as a self-test. The Company is agreeing the protocols required for utilisation studies and will update shareholders as this process progresses. The test is already CE marked for professional-use and the Company is targeting approval by the end of July to allow the test to be sold in Europe for home-use as well. As the global market for Antigen testing develops the Company believes self-test approval will be a key product differentiator, as has already been seen in the UK. The Company also announces that its technology partner, Mologic Ltd (“has successfully completed the necessary performance studies required for regulatory approval in the US and is now in the final stages of preparing a submission to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requesting Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for its rapid point-of-care COVID-19 antigen test, for use under both the Omega’s VISITECT® brand and Global Access Diagnostics brand.

Oncimmune 210p  £145m (ONC.L)

Trading update from immunodiagnostics developer, primarily focused on the growing fields of immuno-oncology, autoimmune disease and infectious diseases.  FY21 revenues in line with market expectations with capital available to increase capacity for future contracts. FY21 revenues of £5.6m (8x increase on FY20). Successful equity placing to deliver 4x scale up in ImmunoINSIGHTS business development and operating capacity. FY22 revenue growth expected to be predominantly driven by continued strength of ImmunoINSIGHTS services business. Strong start to FY22 anticipated from contracts signed in the final quarter of FY21 and contracts expected to be signed in Q1 FY22.

Panthera Resources 13.75p  £12.5m (PAT.L)

The diversified gold exploration and development company with assets in West Africa and India, advises that the assay results for the recent drilling at Paimasa, Nigeria will be delayed while certain samples are subject to re-assay by accelerated cyanide leach (LeachWell). The decision to re-assay many of the samples reflect anomalies between the fire assays and certain check assays that were performed with Leachwell.  The Leachwell sample size is considerably larger and should provide a more reliable assay where there is a coarse gold fraction.

Xpediator 66.5p  £94.2m (XPD.L)

AGM update from the provider of freight management services across the UK and Central and Eastern on the Group’s trading performance for the first five months of 2021. Demand for the Group’s services across all three divisions has been strong, with those parts of the Transport and Logistics & Warehousing divisions that were impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, now all trading positively. As with many logistics businesses, trading at Xpediator is seasonal with the majority of profit made in the second half of the year. That said, given current positive trading trends, the Board believes the business is well placed to exceed market forecasts for the financial year ending 31 December 2021.

Zephyr Energy 3.9p  £44.8m (XPD.L)

The Rocky Mountain oil and gas company focused on responsible resource development, is pleased to announce that it intends to achieve carbon-neutrality across its operational footprint by 30 September 2021.  This industry-leading pledge is a major first step towards near-term delivery of hydrocarbons produced with an operational “net-zero” carbon impact, and the Company’s Board members are unanimously committed to this initiative. As an integral part of this undertaking, Zephyr has agreed to collaborate with the Prax Group, a British multinational independent oil refining, trading, storage, distribution and retail conglomerate dealing in crude oil, petroleum products and bio-fuels, headquartered in London, United Kingdom. The Prax Group, which has trading offices in London, Singapore and the United States of America , will work with Zephyr to measure, reduce and mitigate greenhouse gas  emissions across Zephyr’s businesses, with mitigation efforts primarily focused on the purchase of sustainability/decarbonisation offsets (called Verified Emission Reductions or “VER”) from reputable pre-vetted developers of sustainable projects.  This exercise will include Zephyr’s current corporate activity, its non-operated production assets in the Williston Basin, North Dakota, US, and its upcoming appraisal drilling project in the Paradox Basin, Utah, US.

What’s cooking in the IPO kitchen?

Baltic Classifieds Group PLC, the leading online classifieds group in the Baltics, announced their intention to IPO and the intended publication of a registration document. Should BCG proceed with the IPO, the Company will apply for admission of its entire issued Ordinary Share Capital to the Premium Listing Segment of the LSE.

The UK Residential REIT, a proposed closed-ended real estate investment trust established to invest in a diversified portfolio of affordable, privately rented residential real estate assets in attractive locations outside of London, announces its intention to IPO onto the Premium Listing Segment of the LSE. URES is targeting Gross Issue Proceeds of 150m before expenses by means of a placing, offer for subscription and intermediaries offer of 150m Ordinary Shares plus an Issue of up to 50m Consideration Shares in connection with the acquisition of Seed Assets at an issue price of £1.00 per Ordinary Share. Expected market capitalisation following the completion of the acquisition of Seed Assets of £200m.

Nord Gold plc, the internationally diversified pure-play gold producer, announces the intended publication of a registration document and its potential intention to undertake an IPO. Should Nord Gold proceed with the Offer, the Group will apply for admission of its Shares to the Premium Listing Segment. The Company has also applied for admission of the Shares to trading on the Moscow Exchange.

Victorian Plumbing Group Limited the UK’s leading online retailer of bathroom products and accessories, announces its intention to seek admission of its ordinary shares to trading on AIM. Group has grown rapidly in recent years and is now the UK’s leading online specialist bathroom brand by revenue in 2020 and the second largest retailer of bathroom products in the UK with an estimated 14.2% of the bathroom market by revenue in 2020. The Company’s growth trajectory was maintained in the current financial year, delivering results of £140.7m revenue, and £20.1m adjusted EBITDA for the six months ended 31 March 2021.

LionTrust ESG Trust PLC announces the publication of the Prospectus in connection with the IPO on the Premium Segment of the Main Market. The Company is targeting an initial issue of £150m by means of an Initial Placing, Offer for Subscription and Intermediaries Offer of Ordinary Shares at an issue price of 100 pence per Ordinary Share. In addition, pursuant to the Prospectus, a placing programme will allow the Company to issue up to an additional 250m Ordinary Shares and/or C shares, in the 12 months from the date of publication of the Prospectus and following Initial Admission.

UK SPAC (formerly Mountfield Group and now an AIM Rule 15 Shell) has applied for admission to the AQSE Growth Market. The Company recently raised £3.1m in a placing, giving the Company flexibility in pursuing a reverse take-over transaction. The Directors of the Company are currently in the process of identifying and assessing reverse takeover opportunities with a particular focus on the European medicinal cannabis sector. The Directors are working closely with specialists in this industry in order to evaluate opportunities. Due 11th June.

MADE, a digitally native lifestyle brand in home has announced its intention to IPO onto the Premium Listing Segment of the LSE. MADE’s mission is to make high-end designer furniture and homeware products accessible to everyone. Their gross sales, net revenue and Adjusted EBITDA were £109.5m, £82.4m and £1.8m, respectively, for the three months ended 31 March 2021 and £315m, £247m and (£5.1m), respectively, for the year ended 31 December 2020. The Offer would comprise a primary offer to raise proceeds to further develop growth in existing markets, improve service through reduction of lead-times offered to customers, scale its homeware range and give the Group increased working capital flexibility. MADE would seek to raise approximately £100m of primary proceeds. Expected June.

Marex Spectron Group expected intention to float on the London Stock Exchange. Marex have a broad service offering, primarily across energy, commodity and financial markets through its Market Making, Commercial Hedging, Price Discovery and Data & Advisory businesses, and has strong positions across its core energy and commodities markets, executing around 35m trades and clearing over 175m contracts in 2020. Headquartered in London, the Group was formed in 2011 and currently has 19 offices worldwide with around 1,000 employees and more than 12,000 clients across Europe, Asia and America. In the year ended 31 December 2020, the Group’s net revenue increased by 17.7% from $352.2m to $414.7m, and adjusted operating profit before tax increased by 15.2% from $53.4m to $61.5m. Should Marex proceed with an IPO, the current expectation is that the shares would be admitted to the Premium Listing Segment of the LSE and the offer would comprise of an offer of existing shares to be sold by certain existing shareholders of the Company.

Elcogen Group has announced its intention to IPO on AIM. They are a manufacturer of ceramic anode-supported, low temperature solid oxide cell technology. Elcogen has two core product lines, ElcoCell and ElcoStack. Both product lines are used by customers to integrate into their own end products or systems either for distributed power generation (fuel cells), green hydrogen production (electrolysers) or syngas production (co-electrolysis). The Group operates in Estonia and Finland with headquarters in Tallinn, Estonia. Company financials and deal details TBC. Due in June 2021.

Clarify Pharma, an investment vehicle specialising in biotech and life sciences companies seeking to prove the safety and efficacy of psychedelic-based substances, announced its intention to apply for admission of its Ordinary Shares to trading on the Access Segment of the AQSE Growth Market. The flotation is expected to value Clarify Pharma at approximately £10.5m. The Company plans to raise approximately £5m. Due 11th June.

Voyager Life, the health and wellness company established to supply high-quality Cannabidiol (CBD) and hemp seed oil products, announces the Company’s intention to seek admission to trading on the Access Segment AQSE Growth Market. Admission is expected to occur before the end of June 2021. Voyager was incorporated in November 2020 as a health and wellness business focused on CBD and hemp seed oil products. The Company’s directors believe that a significant opportunity exists in the CBD market due to the forecast growth and ongoing regulatory changes.

Thor Explorations (TSXV:THX) seeking a secondary listing on AIM. The Company is targeting Admission during Q2 21. Segun Lawson, President & CEO, stated: “Thor Explorations has advanced significantly, in both project development and capitalisation since the acquisition of Segilola in 2016. This year, the Company is well positioned to achieve two major milestones with the commencement of gold production at Segilola in Nigeria and a maiden resource at Douta in Senegal, as well as continuing to progress our highly prospective Nigerian exploration portfolio on the Ilesha Schist belt.”

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