London shares stumble marginally lower in early trade on Monday with little news driven direction coming from corporates. Wall Street ended last week in positive territory and Europe's main markets have started the new week on a firmer footing, but the FTSE 100 index slips around 10 points to 6,389, with midcaps and smaller companies also dipping a fraction lower.
Broadcaster UTV Media (UTV) is up 4.9% to 182p as it announces the proposed sale of its TV assets to free-to-air peer ITV (ITV), flat at 248.2p, for £100 million.
Resources minnow LGO Energy (LGO:AIM) crashes 40% to 0.48p as it plugs well GY-678 in Trinidad, after equipment was lost down the bore hole. Attempts to recover the equipment cost about $1.9 million for kit that itself is worth around $1.5 million, and importantly, LGO may yet be liable for it. The well may yet be re-drilled to reach the extensive C-sand net oil pay zone previously drilled and logged in the well.
Bellzone Mining (BZM:AIM) rises 11.1% to 0.75p as investors digest news released late last week that its Kalia iron ore project could be better than previously expected. The miner believes it can produce a higher value iron ore product with a high nickel content.
EKF Diagnostics (EKF:AIM) climbs 9.1% to 22.3p on Chinese group Jinjing being granted an extension to complete its due diligence before deciding to bid for the Cardiff-based testing kit-maker. It now has until Friday (23 Oct) to make an offer as the original deadline expires today.
Media tiddler PeerTV (PTV:AIM) soars 66% to 0.02p on announcing a proposed restructuring of the Secured Loan Notes issued by Digitek SMT Assemblies.
Tribal (TRB), down 35.31% to 79.25p, expects its revenues for the current year to be lower than the prior year, and that its operating profits will be significantly below the company's previous expectations.
Falling delivery volumes weighed on brickmaker Michelmersh (MBH) and shares in the £82 million cap are 7.5% lower at 94p despite reporting that a better than expected trading performance in the second half of the year to 31 December 2015 would mean that full year profit before tax was likely to exceed market expectations.
UK-focused equipment rental firms Speedy Hire (SDY), Lavendon (LVD) and HSS Hire (HSS) all gain in the region of 1% as Office for National Statistics data shows the industry grew a little more strongly in August. The ONS Monthly Business Survey index for rental support services businesses increased 3.4% year-over-year versus 0.9% in July.
Brain health IXICO (IXI:AIM) gains 3% to 33.5p on generating a consensus-beating £1.9 million net cash in the year to 30 September thanks to a tight control on expenses. Monday’s update also pointed towards revenues of £3.1 million thanks to new contract wins. Prelims expected in December.
West Africa-focused palm oil minnow DekelOil (DKL:AIM) gains 2.6% at 1p as investors cheer news the testing phase is underway for its Kernel Crushing Plant (KCP) at its Ivory Coast project. This means DekelOil will enter 2016 with an extra revenue stream ahead of the peak production season.
A new technology stock has revealed its intention to join the main market as Marlow-based Softcat announces its desire to float on the main market in London. There's no detailed data at this stage so valuation remains a guessing game for the software reseller, but its has delivered a three-year adjusted operating profit growth jump of 44% to £40.6 million to 31 July 2015, on revenues that have ballooned from £395.8 million to £596.1 million over the same timeframe, all organic too.
