RNS Hotlist March 2: Angus, Avation, CentralNic, First Class, Fulcrum, Immotion, Neometals, Orosur, Poolbeg, Quantum Exponential

CentralNic Group (CNIC), the internet company, announced that it has been recognised as one of the fastest-growing companies in Europe for the second year in a row, following the Financial Times' seventh annual FT 1000 report. CentralNic has enjoyed a compound growth rate of 78% over the past 9 years, since it IPO-ed on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange, taking it from $4m in revenues to over $700m today. In 2022 CentralNic's organic growth was 60%, leading to an overall 77% revenue growth. The company said it was delighted to have been recognised for the second year in a row among Europe's fastest-growing companies. The company's market-leading online marketing solutions have contributed to its strong organic revenue growth between 2020 and 2021, which further accelerated in 2022.

Comment: Given how questionable the attitude of the  FT is to the financial markets and in particular those making money in it, to get a gong from the woke friendly organisation is a double achievement. CNIC has in many ways over delivered on former head honcho Ben Crawford’s promises, and is a first class example of a UK small cap company transforming into a serious global player.

Poolbeg Pharma (POLB), a biopharmaceutical company, announces the data readout from the bacterial lipopolysaccharide human challenge trial for POLB 001, a viral strain agnostic, small molecule immunomodulator being developed to address the unmet medical need arising from severe influenza and other acute inflammatory conditions. POLB 001 was shown to be safe and well tolerated and had a potent effect in systemic and localised inflammatory response in a dose dependent manner. The company said, together these data indicate POLB 001 reaches all cells and tissues where p38 MAPK is expressed, shutting down inflammation and silencing multiple aspects of overactivated inflammation unlike many anti-inflammatory drugs that target a single immune pathway.

Comment: Poolbeg really seems to be on the front foot regarding its data crunching, and proving what a contribution this can and will be in the viral research space, especially with regard to inflammatory diseases. The market is only just starting to appreciate the significance of the activity here, at least in share price terms.

Angus Energy (ANGS) announced that the drilling of the SF7v sidetrack at the Saltfleetby Field has concluded, reaching a total measured depth of 2746 meters in the Westphalian 1D reservoir.  The company also said that said it has resolved to make the following changes to its board including George Lucan will take up the role of Executive Chairman with particular responsibility for stakeholder and governmental relations and strategic direction.  Carlos Fernandes will continue in his role as Finance Director.  Andrew Hollis will remain Technical Director of the Company but will be stepping down from his Board responsibilities.

Comment: We have a much anticipated announcement from ANGS today, something which may reheat the recent rebound in the shares from below 1p. Just as important may be that George Lucan is swapping his 1970s style Managing Director role to become Executive Chairman.

Neometals (NMT) announced the execution of several landmark agreements that secure Neometals' 50% ownership and operatorship of the incorporated joint venture vehicle RISAB developing the first Finnish Vanadium Recovery Project. The company said it was pleased to formalise our ownership in the VRP and finalise the new supply arrangements with SSAB which supports our expanded plant size. Neometals will now finalise the evaluation activities and publish financial and carbon footprint metrics this quarter.

Comment: The shares may have been treated rather harshly by the market – trading near their year lows, despite NMT delivering constructive newsflow such as today’s. 

Avation (AVAP), the commercial passenger aircraft leasing company, announce that it has signed a lease agreement with a new airline customer in the Pacific region. The lease is for an ATR 72-600 aircraft that was repossessed in August 2022, following the default of an airline in Myanmar.  The aircraft is due to be delivered to the new customer for a lease term of 24 months.  This transition reduces the number of off-lease aircraft in Avation's fleet from three to two. The company said it was pleased to place this aircraft on lease to a new customer. Delivery will occur in the next few weeks. The management remains confident of placing or selling the two remaining unutilised aircraft before 30 June 2023.

Comment: Shares of AVAP were trading at 300p pre-pandemic, vs only 123p now, despite a recovery since last year. The news today underlines that there could still be plenty of upside, with the latest positive newsflow likely to boost this concept.

Immotion (IMMO) announced that it is to change its name to Let's Explore Group PLC.  The new Company name has been formally registered at Companies House and a Certificate of Incorporation on Change of Name has been issued.  The change of name will take effect on AIM from 08:00 today, 2 March 2023 and dealings under the new name will commence immediately thereafter.

Comment: Immotion has gone for the Guinness to Diageo name change route, i.e. that old name was difficult to beat. In terms of the new name, Explore PLC might have been the one. 

Quantum Exponential Group (QBIT), a company on investing in quantum technology, announced that it has appointed Stuart Woods as Chief Operating and Strategy Officer. Mr Woods said, “I am looking forward to joining the Quantum Exponential team as we expand on the progress made to date. QE's thorough due diligence process, the experience of the team, its commitment to technical depth and its quantum-only focus makes it a truly one-of-a-kind fund, providing investors access to usually inaccessible companies.”

Comment: QBIT has bagged a high flyer in the tech space, and one that will be an excellent communication as far as spreading the message of how pivotal quantum technology will be in coming years.

Orosur Mining (OMI) updated on the progress of exploration activities across its project portfolio. The company said that with work at Anzá slowed to concentrate on corporate restructuring of the JV with MMA, it has been busy on its other projects. Current results are extremely positive and validate our decision to focus on early-stage projects.  The company said that with its strong balance sheet, it is able to develop these opportunities and it keenly anticipated being able to advance these projects and possibly drill one later this year.

Comment: Brad George continues to plug away at Orosur, and it looks as though the negativity in the share price in December is starting to dissipate, as the market takes a more sympathetic attitude towards the company.

First Class Metals (FCM), the UK metals exploration company, provided an exploration update on the McKellar & Magical Properties. The company said it took further encouragement from the 2022 field season includes the initial exploration results at McKellar returning significant results on the historic trend rich in zinc and silver. The mineralisation remains open, further work being warranted.

Comment: The stock needed a refresher update such as this one to rebuild momentum, after the pullback from December, and this is a good start in that respect.

Fulcrum Metals (FMET), the Canadian focused multi-commodity explorer, provided an update and results of a prospecting programme carried out at the Big Bear property, part of the wider Schreiber-Hemlo project area covering approximately 113km2, undertaken during the months of June 2022 and September 2022. The company said it was delighted to report on the successful exploration programme at the Big Bear property within our Schreiber - Hemlo project and its first announcement since listing on AIM last month. The sampling programme has returned exceptional gold assays of up to 45 g/t and several in excess of 10 g/t which really outlines the excellent prospectivity of just one target area among many.

Comment: It was suggested that stock market newbie Fulcrum would be keen to hit the ground running in terms of newsflow quickly after listing, and this has proven to be that case. The “exceptional gold assays” show that the company is able to walk the walk as well as talk the talk – in colloquial terms.