Risers and fallers – 20/12/13

Risers: 

Empyrean Energy +5.26%

Empyrean Energy has today reported a significant increase in half-year net profit at £2.38m in comparison to £66,000 a year earlier. The US onshore oil, gas and condensate exploration company has said the improved results are due to an increased pace of drilling at its Sugarloaf project. Revenue for the HY was £3.83m compared to £1.62m last year. 

Magnolia Petroleum +5.21%

US oil and gas exploration company, Magnolia Petroleum, has today announced an initial production rate of ‘445 boepd’ for the Great White well in Oklahoma. The company owns a 10.21% net revenue interest in the Great White. 

Baobab Resources +4.08%

Baobab Resources has released a number of positive updates on its activities that has sent shares higher during early Friday trading. The company has revealed their 2013 drilling campaign has been completed for a total of 5,940 metres. Managing director, Ben James, has today said: ‘‘Baobab is pleased with the progress made this year in systematically addressing prioritised areas of perceived risk, which brings us several steps closer to the completion of the Bankable Feasibility Study in 2014. The results of the current programmes will significantly strengthen the Company’s position going into the next round of discussions with potential strategic partners during the coming months. The analytical results of the trench sampling are encouraging and indicate a higher grade cap to the Tenge deposit.’ 

Ottoman Fund +13.64%

Ottoman Fund has today reported a swing into FY pretax profit to £3.4m vs. a loss of £6.9m last year. The company has also posted a 3.1% rise in net asset value (NAV) per share due to a reversal of prior impairment charges. 

BHP Billiton +0.96%

BHP Billiton has today has its “neutral” stock rating reiterated by investment analysts at Credit Suisse. The company has a price target of 2250p on the stock. 

Fallers: 

Densitron Technologies -31.67%

Information display designer and manufacturer, Densitron Technologies, has today revealed it expects to report a loss for the current financial year which has been blamed on a delay in production orders. 

Daily Internet -17.65%

Hosting and cloud infrastructure provider, Daily Internet, has today posted a significant HY pretax loss of £401,000 compared to a loss of £173,000 a year earlier. The loss has been blamed on high expenses; however the company is keen to reiterate they are trading in-line with expectations. 

OpSec Securities -13.13%

OpSec Securities has today swung to a HY pretax loss of £2.2m compared to a £1.6m profit a year earlier. The company reported an 8% increase in revenue £27.4m. 

Spark Ventures -15.48%

Spark Ventures has today reported a pretax loss of £6.7m vs. a profit of £1m a year earlier. The company has also today posted a 29.6% drop in net asset value (NAV) per share during the half-year.