London’s AIM market started the week on the front foot and although there was a mid-session wobble, the index recovered towards the close, reaching the bell almost six points ahead at 1228.74.
- Rambler Metals and Mining +38%
- Eqtec +23%
- Shoe Zone +17%
- Westmount Energy -32%
- Challenger Energy -26%
At the top of the board we have Rambler Metals and Mining LON:RMM, up 38% at the bell. The company issued half year results on Friday evening after the close, shortly after confirming a debt financing round had been completed. Cash generation has improved and the losses contracted sharply, giving investors some optimism at the open. Gains were then extended further shortly ahead of the closing bell off the back of news that a convertible loan had been repaid. The stock has had a stellar run since the Q3 update less than a month ago, the question now being whether the momentum can be maintained.
Eqtec LON:EQT also had a good day, adding 23% by 4.30pm. Given the £100m+ market cap, the spread is a little on the wide side, reflecting the bias towards buy orders recorded during the session. Although there’s no news out today, an update on Thursday over planning consent may have been underplayed at the time, with today’s rally starting to price that in.
Shoe Zone LON:SHOE gets a notable mention off the back of a further results update it issued this morning. Following the full year update of three weeks ago, the company notes that trading has been better than expected, whilst it also won’t need to recognise an additional £1.5m pension contribution this year. Having previously advised that profits would be at least £6.5m, this has now been upgraded to between £9m and £10m. The market reacted by marking the shares up a further 17%.
Westmount Energy LON:WTE found itself at the foot of the board, off 32% in the wake of drilling results which were issued ahead of the open. The latest update revealed that although there were hydrocarbon deposits found, these weren’t in commercial volumes. Drilling in the block is set to continue but clearly investors were hoping for more.
Challenger Energy LON:CEG also struggled today, slipping 26% off the back of interim results. These note that activities through the first six months of the year haven’t produced the positive, value-creating outcomes which had been hoped for, leaving the company in a stressed financial position. A further $15m of funding is expected to be necessary over the next 12 months.