Network International Holdings (NETW) shares ticked up 9.16% despite profit fall
Shares in the payments solutions provider rose today despite the Group saying it had been ‘significantly impacted’ by COVID-19 during the twelve months ending 31 December 2020.
Network saw a sharp fall during the period as profit from continuing operations fell by 90% to $5.6m while revenue saw a 15% year-on-year decline to $284.8 million during the year.
Despite feeling the impact of the pandemic, the Group told investors that it ended the year with positive momentum across both businesses. While the number of processed payments volume came to £33.54bn, a 23% decline from 2019, transactions rose by 0.8% to £758.1m.
Whilst trading and revenue was naturally subdued during the year, we started to see a number of positive indicators as we exited 2020, including the progressive recovery of volumes and transactions and a pickup in the pace of new business,” said CEO, Nandan Mer.
Mer added that, “The pandemic has also accelerated the move away from cash, towards card and other forms of digital payments, which will help to drive our growth.”
Premier African Minerals (PREM) shares soar 56.25% to 0.188p following speculation
Shares in the multi-commodity mining and natural resource development firm continue to jump this Monday following speculation over the Company’s progress in Zimbabwe.
Shares have more than doubled since last week when the Group issued a statement on Friday addressing the speculation by stating that it had nothing to report regarding the exclusive prospecting order (EPO) applications in respect of its Zulu Lithium Private asset.
On Friday, Premier told investors that it will notify the market “as and when the Company receives any official communication pertaining to the status of Zulu's EPO application.”
Cambria Africa (CMB) rise again, gaining 35.63% at 0.59p following strong trading
Shares in the Company have gained nearly 20% over the past 10 days following a recent trading update in which Cambria informed investors that it continues to expect FY20 NAV to remain at or near the $7.17m levels reported with its interim results for 29 February 2020.
Cambria said operating subsidiaries and divisions Tradanet, Millchem and Autopay operate at near or above cash flow break-even levels, albeit based on substantially lower revenues.
Significant components of the Company's NAV include a $2.5 million valuation of Paynet Zimbabwe's Headquarters and its adjacent plot with main road frontage and its investment in Radar Holdings Limited valued at $1.74 million. Meanwhile, the Group noted that cash and cash resources outside Zimbabwe at the end FY 2020 amounted to $1.8 million.
The Company said it has been granted an extension for its Annual Report due to the effect of the ongoing pandemic. The Group said it will publish this ‘by no later than 31 May 2021.’
Tekcapital (TEK) shares jump 17.24% to 17p following US FDA 510(k) clearance
Shares in the UK intellectual property group jumped as much as 31% this morning after the Group announced that its portfolio company Belluscura has now been granted 510(k) clearance from the US FDA for its Portable Oxygen Concentrator (“POC”), X-PLO2R™.
X-PLO2R™, which is expected to be commercially launched in 2021, has patented technology which delivers up to 95% pure oxygen to patients 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Tekcapital, the UK intellectual property investment firm which holds c.17.8% interest in Belluscura, has described the US FDA clearance as ‘a transformative development’.
To date, Belluscura, which operates as a UK-based medical device company focused on developing oxygen enrichment technology, has exclusively licensed, acquired or jointly invented 18 patents and applications in the field of concentrated oxygen generation.
According to data collected from Global Market Insights, the medical portable O2 market is expected to grow from $1.6bn in 2018 to US $2.4bn by 2025 with a CAGR of 8%.
PureTech Health (PRTC) shares fell 5.79% to 391.25p as tech stocks tumble
Shares in the clinical stage biotherapeutics company were down on Monday as investors continued their heavy selling of technology stocks. Amongst those hit were tech giants such as Facebook Inc, Apple Inc and Amazon.com which fell between a range of 1.3% and 3%.
Rising bond yields seem to have made investors question the high prices of some tech stocks, despite the US being close to passing $1.9tln in extra stimulus for the economy.
“Tech stocks are far from having corrected fully (after) their sharp rise, as is the case of Tesla, ... as higher long-term interest rates compete with the dividend sometimes paid by such stocks,” commented Sebastien Galy, Senior Macro Strategist at Nordea Asset Management.