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Atalaya Mining says full year guidance on track
Atalaya Mining (ATYM) said its full year guidance was on track following a positive operational start and improved power costs.
The European miner produced 12,139 tonnes of copper in Q1 2023, up from 11,461 tonnes in the same quarter last year. Atalaya said production previously anticipated for Q1 2023 is now expected in Q2 2023, as a result of the rescheduling of plant maintenance activities.
Alberto Lavandeira, CEO, commented:
“We have had a positive start to 2023, with significant improvements in Q1 compared to the same period last year”.
“Our operations are performing well, with a catch-up in throughput expected in April 2023 following the decision to bring forward plant maintenance activities into Q1 2023. Electricity prices have continued to fall from 2022 levels, which will have a positive impact on our unit costs”.
The shares have performed well during the last six months and prices are currently consolidating in a small range near the top of the recent uptrend.
ATYM Daily Candle Chart
CakeBox full-year profits in line with market expectations
CakeBox (CBOX) released an upbeat full year trading statement last week.
The cake maker reported better trading in the latter half of the year to end-March and predicted full-year profits in line with market expectations.
CakeBox expects to report a 5% increase in full year revenues to £33m after it added 10 new franchise stores in the second half, bringing the total number of stores opened in the full year to 20 – Cake Box stores across the estate stood at 205.
Co-founder and CEO, Sukh Chamdal said raw materials prices are stabilising:
“Just as during the pandemic, we have faced an unprecedented set of circumstances this year, with the war in Ukraine causing a rise in energy and raw material prices and a cost-of-living crisis impacting consumer confidence”.
“The business showed resilience during a difficult first half and, encouragingly, we have seen sales recover in the second half, with raw material prices stabilising”.
The market has responded positively to the trading statement and the shares look well positioned to retest their January swing highs.
CBOX Daily Candle Chart
CentralNic boasts best-ever first quarter
In a trading statement released on Monday, CentralNic (CNIC) said it has had an “outstanding start to the year” and achieving its “best-ever first quarter”.
The domain and marketing group saw gross revenues jump 24% to $194.9m in Q1 and adjusted earnings (EBITDA) rise 15% to $21.3m.
Year-on-year organic growth for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ending March 31 2023 stood at an impressive 45% and cash increased to $102.9m, up from $95m in the previous quarter.
CentralNic said its directors remain confident that it will trade “at least in line with current market expectations”.
CentralNic also said it renewed its partnership with Microsoft Bing to leverage its existing AI capabilities with ChatGPT.
CEO Michael Riedl commented:
“I am thrilled to announce that CentralNic has had an outstanding start to the year, achieving our best-ever first quarter. Our continued industry leadership and reputation for excellence have enabled us to secure key partnerships with some of the world’s leading technology companies, including Microsoft.”
There currently appears to be a disconnect between CentralNic’s strong updates and market expectations. The shares remain locked in a long-term range and are currently trading back at a key level of support – we will not rule out buying a second tranche.
CNIC Daily Candle Chart
Eckoh jump on “excellent progress” in North American market
Eckoh’s (ECK) share price has surged higher this week after it said revenue and profit will be “significantly ahead of the prior year”.
The payment security provider expects to deliver full year revenues of approx. £39m, up from £31.8m the year prior with adjusted operating profit coming in at £7.6m, up from £5.2m.
Eckoh said that it made “excellent progress” in the North American market, with a 34% organic increase in security solutions. This growth was driven by an “increasing focus on its largest growth market”, which resulted in further large contract wins, “increased cross-selling and strong renewals in the region”.
The market has responded positively to the update with the shares trading 20% higher on Monday.
Eckoh expects to announce its results for the year ended 31 March 2023 on Wednesday 14 June 2023.
ECK Daily Candle Chart
iEnergizer shock the market with plans to de-list
iEnergizer (IBPO) blindsided the market last Friday when it announced plans to cancel its shares from trading.
The business process outsourcing specialist said its directors had conducted a review, and believed the cancellation was “in the best interest of the company and its shareholders as a whole”.
Under AIM Rules, iEnergizer require 75% approval from shareholders. However, since EICR own 82.7% of the shares, the vote planned for May 16th will be a formality.
The director’s decision to destroy 70% of the businesses market capital overnight is highly disappointing.
To site the regulatory burden of listing on AIM (an exchange with the lowest regulatory hurdles in Europe) and the lack of freefloat as the primary reasons for de-listing seems wholly deceptive.
The last day of trading in iEnergizer’s shares on AIM would be on May 24th, and the cancellation would take effect at 0700 BST on May 25th.
After cancellation, a matched bargain facility will be established to assist shareholders wishing to trade in the shares.
The matched bargain facility would be in place for at least one year after cancellation and would be reviewed annually after that.
IBPO Daily Candle Chart
Learning Tech drop despite strong full year numbers
Learning Technologies (LTG) has fallen into the category of unloved and underappreciated as it dropped on strong full-year numbers.
The online learning group said full-year 2022 revenues and profit were ahead of expectations, as had previously been announced in January.
Revenues more than doubled to £596.9m and profit before tax increased three-fold to £40.5m.
The integration of the GP Strategies acquisition appears to be going to plan, with Learning Tech posting organic revenue growth of 5% and operating margin expansion of 3 percentage points to 12.2%.
Learning Tech CEO, Jonathan Satchell said:
“We remain confident of meeting our goal of £850m run-rate revenues and £175m run-rate EBITDA by the end of 2025.”
Despite the strong numbers, the market remains sceptical that earnings per share (EPS) will continue to grow with Broker Peel Hunt publishing an EPS downgrade.
The shares are currently trading within a key long-term support zone and we will be looking for this to hold.
LTG Daily Candle Chart
RWS drop on “softer” activity levels
Our position in RWS Holdings (RWS) has not got off to the best of starts with the shares dropping on a weak trading update.
The translation specialist said adjusted profit before tax for the year to end-September 2023 is expected to be at the lower end of market expectations, reflecting a 6.8% decline in organic sales during the first half.
RWS sited “softer” activity levels and slower decision-making from some clients as reasons for the profit warning.
Whilst this profit warning is disappointing, we stand by the long-term catalysts which are likely to underpin future demand for RWS’ services:
1. The increasingly complex regulatory landscape in the industries many RWS clients work in.
2. The improving internet availability in non-English speaking emerging markets.
3. The incremental rise of digitizing content and personalised international customer service.
RWS Daily Candle Chart
Totally jump on contract wins for urology services
Totally’s (TLY) share price has had a welcome bounce after announcing it won new insourcing contracts for the delivery of urology services for the Saolta University Health Care Group.
The contracts, worth a combined £2.1m, will support an endoscopy waiting list initiative targeting the reduction of waiting lists through the delivery of diagnostic colonoscopy, gastroscopy and flexible sigmoidoscopy procedures between May 2023 and December 2023.
All procedures will be delivered during weekends when hospital facilities are not otherwise in use, maximising the potential number of patients that can be seen within the existing hospital infrastructure.
Totally CEO, Wendy Lawrence said:
“No patient should have to wait excessively for diagnosis and treatment of conditions which, under normal circumstances, would be routine. Totally provides additional healthcare capacity to ensure that operating theatres and existing hospital infrastructure can be maximised to support as many patients as possible”.
The positive newsflow is welcomed after several months of disappointment following key contract cancellations. We will be looking for the shares to build on this positive short-term momentum.
TLY Daily Candle Chart
Warpaint London rally on full year results
Warpaint London (W7L) continues to go from strength to strength as the shares climbed on bullish full year results.
The mid-market makeup company said 2023 has started strongly, with first-quarter sales rising 40% to a record £18.5m and with margins stronger than in full-year 2022.
The final dividend was raised to 4.5p from 3.5p, taking the total pay-out to 7.1p compared with 6p.
Chairman Clive Garston attributed Warpaint’s strong performance to the strategy of “increasing our presence in larger retailers in all our major markets, both through growing sales to existing customers and entering into new relationships”.
“I am optimistic that the strong performance we have seen in 2022 and into 2023 will continue and that we have the right offering and strategy in place to continue to deliver profitable future growth, despite the backdrop of macroeconomic uncertainty” Garston added.
The shares rallied back to trend highs on release of the numbers and Warpaint remain one of our standout performers this year.
W7L Daily Candle Chart
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