Rank Group (LON:RNK) shares ticked up 11.36% to 95.9p with £70.0m raise
Shares in the company which operates Mecca Bingo and Grosvenor Casino saw some light relief after it successfully raised £70m through a share placement and retail subscription.
The operator said it would use the funds to ‘strengthen the Company’s balance sheet’ and ‘provide ample working capital to operate through this challenging trading environment.’
Shares in the gambling company have shed more than 35% in value since the beginning of August 2020 after the business suffered as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The Group said it entered lockdown with ‘significant momentum to revenues and profits driven by its transformation strategy, a tightly controlled cost base and a strong balance sheet.’
The group reported underlying operating profit for 2019/20 of £51.1m which it said reflects the closure of nearly all of its venues businesses from mid-March through to the year end.
Rank expects to rebuild revenues through the year with an increase in footfall expected once social distancing and other supply constraints are reduced and customer confidence returns.
Business-to-business magazine iGaming Business said Rank’s revenue is likely to continue to be impacted as the British brick and mortar casinos and bingo halls have now been forced to close again in the latest national lockdown from 5 November until at least 2 December 2020.
Online Blockchain (AIM:OBC) shares soared 32.35% to 22.5p as it sees strong growth
The UK-based incubator and developer group said FreeFaucet.io, one of its cryptocurrency and blockchain properties, has surpassed 100,000 users and entered the top 10,000 global sites on foremost traffic rankings site Alexa within 18 months of its beta launch.
The company said the website has seen an accelerated increase in users with an average of 1500 new registrations per week, up from 1000 per week at the start of 2020.
"FreeFaucet's business model is predominantly based on advertising revenue. However, it is unique in that it reverses the thermodynamics of money by giving revenue from its advertisers back to its users," said Clem Chambers, Chief Executive of Online Blockchain.
He added, "Media consumers are starting to be viewed as the ultimate asset and beginning to be paid accordingly. FreeFaucet.io is at the forefront of this new wave of content incentivisation, which is evident from the site's growth to date."
Strategic Minerals (AIM:SML) shares jumped 21.43% to 0.425p after strong quarter
In recent weeks, the producing mineral company has seen a 46% year-on-year boost in sales volumes at the Cobre magnetite operation in New Mexico, USA for the quarter ended 30 September 2020 with sales revenue up by 55% and sales growth continuing ‘organically.’
The group said uninterrupted operations continue at Cobre as a result of effective zero contact on-site due to processes and policies enacted in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
During the period, the company also appointed NRG Capital to provide strategic and financial advice to advance the Redmoor tungsten Redmoor tungsten and tin project in Cornwall.
The quarter also saw the lodging of a Program for Environmental Protection and Rehabilitation for the Paltridge North deposit at the Leigh Creek Copper Mine project. The company said it expects this approval to be forthcoming in the December quarter 2020.
"Sales at Cobre continue to show excellent annual growth providing the Company the opportunity to repay outstanding liabilities and benefit from surplus cash generated from operations,” said John Peters, Managing Director of Strategic Minerals.
He added, “With copper prices around $3lb and the recent emphasis on the strategic nature of tungsten, the Board is confident that the underlying value in its projects will be realized."
88 Energy (AIM:8EE) shares increased 15.02% to 0.36p as it eyes up new farm-outs
In recent weeks, the Alaskan explorer has highlighted its recent progress for the quarter ended 30 September 2020, while it continues to advance two new farm-outs in Alaska.
The company completed its acquisition of XCD Energy, which holds a 100% Working Interest in the highly prospective Alaskan North Slope, back in August 2020. The merged entity has formed a diversified portfolio of exploration projects on Alaska’s North Slope.
The three key projects include Project Icewine, Yukon leases and Project Peregrine with the assets at various stages of development, the company previously outlined this summer.
The duo said the combined company will have increased scale, market presence along with higher funding capability and trading liquidity across the ASX and London AIM exchanges.
Commenting on the merger, XCD’s Chairman Peter Stickland said the deal was “compelling” for its shareholders due to the “demonstrated operational capability” at Alaskan North Slope.
In September, 88E unveiled new seismic data analysis at Project Peregrine, an area that the group acquired alongside its merger with XCD, boosting exploration prospects at the site.
Following the ‘very encouraging’ findings, 88 Energy said it has now opened a data room to potential exploration partners as part of the farm-out process for Project Peregrine. The company is targeting a deal before the end of 2020, which would allow drilling in early 2021.
JP Morgan Emerging Markets Investment Trust (LON:JMG) shares plummet 89.92% to 121.11p amid COVID-19 crisis
In recent weeks, the British investment trust dedicated to investments in emerging markets has warned investors over depleting revenue reserves after companies cut dividends.
As reported by Citywire, the £354m trust saw its net asset value (NAV) total return slump 9.1% in the year to 31 July vs a 0.6% decline in its benchmark MSCI Emerging Markets index.
In addition, the investment trust’s share price fell even further over the same period, down 16% after a ‘considerable widening’ in the trust’s discount from 1% to 9%, it noted.
Emerging market stocks with a zero to low yield of 0.5% - stocks which JMG tends to avoid - soared by an average of 25.5% over the year, while companies with a yield of 0.5% or above, stocks which are typically chosen by the trust run by Omar Negyal, declined 8% on average.
Negyal said Covid-19 induced ‘temporary style disconnect’ was felt in both banking stocks and the omission of stocks from the portfolio, which were the largest drags on performance.
‘Covid-19 has delivered huge challenges for banking institutions – not only have they been affected by the economic downturns but, in some regions, regulators have instructed banks to pause dividends to help preserve capital,’ said Negyal.