Adriatic Metals stood out this week – not for the share price movement, but for the fact it managed to secure a chunk of cash in a well-supported fundraiser.
It netted just over £25million in new investment. That’s no mean feat in the current market, which has been tough for those looking for growth capital.
Adriatic (up 11 per cent at 194p) has rapidly de-risked its silver, gold, and zinc project in Bosnia, which counts as a massive tick in the box for business and management, led by Paul Cronin.
So much so, it has been given this latest cash injection to fund exploration activities as it looks to repeat the feat.
Miner Adriatic Metals has been given a £25m cash injection to fund exploration activities
Adriatic’s fundraiser was one of a flurry that suggests the cash taps may be shedding some of their rust.
Last week, Eden Research (down 8 per cent at 5.92p), the sustainable biopesticides specialist, unveiled plans to bring in up to £9.5million of new investment, while earlier this month, Predator Oil & Gas (flat this week at 12.59p) successfully raised £10million.
The quantum involved is more than we’ve been used to seeing.
What fundraising action there has been in recent months could best be described as ‘keeping-the-lights-on’ sums of less than £1.5million, where the shares have been heavily discounted (30 per cent+) just to get the cash in.
Turning to the wider market, the AIM All-Share, down 1 per cent to 757.31, succumbed to a bout of mild selling. The FTSE 100, by contrast, is back where it was at the start of the week.
Both indices have been pootling along on minimal volumes that characterise the dog days of summer.
Starting with the risers, marketing agency Silver Bullet increased its market capitalization by 45 per cent after posting a strong trading update on Thursday.
The group showcased a 78 per cent surge in revenues and a steady reduction in headline losses before tax, sending shares to 39.5p.
Short-term rally aside, Silver Bullet still remains 45 per cent lower year to date.
On Monday, Trinity Exploration & Production confirmed over 290 feet of net oil pay was discovered in its Jacobin-1 well in Trinidad.
Investors in Trinity responded with fervour to the news, sending shares 32 per cent higher to 98.49p.
PHSC, which provides health, safety, hygiene, and environmental consultancy services and security solutions to the public and private sectors, rallied 27 per cent after posting its full-year results on Tuesday.
The micro-cap had a profitable year to the tune of £243,000 after posting over £600,000 of losses in the prior year. The board announced a higher annual dividend distribution to shareholders as a result.
Smartspace Software also bounced higher following its interim trading update.
The provider of ‘integrated space-management software’ for smart buildings and commercial spaces expects a half-year revenue of £2.7million, a 15 per cent increase from 2022, with annual recurring revenue tipped to increase 21 per cent to £5.8million compared to the previous year. In response to this update, shares were sent 28 per cent higher to 46.7p.
It must have been a frustrating week for shareholders and management of Trident Royalties, whose share price seemed impervious to what looked like a decent update on progress.
Trident makes its money by acquiring royalty streams from miners. So, it is one for those who want to invest in the sector but don’t want to put all their ‘hard-earned’ into one speculative exploration play.
The stock ended the week down 1.7 per cent at 42.7p. We took a look at the last piece of research from the small-cap research house Liberum, which reckons Trident is worth 80p a share.
Finally, Power Metal Resources looks to be one to watch with exploration work underway at the North Wind Lithium Project in Ontario, Canada.
Lithium, of course, is a key component of batteries used to power electric vehicles. Speculative interest has seen the stock bid up 13 per cent to 0.74p in the past month.
