Tanzania troubles force miner to scrap dividend
WHILE many of the blue- chip commodity companies staged a comeback, Acacia Mining’s decision to scrap its dividend saw it buck the trend.
An ongoing ban on the export of gold and copper in Tanzania hit its production for the year and revenue was down 29pc at £544.4m with a net loss of £511.8m.
Acacia said it had been a ‘resilient’ year despite being ‘impacted by events beyond our control’. With no resolution yet in Tanzania, and a warning that costs could increase, shares dropped 3.9pc, or 6.65p, to 165.25p.
The FTSE 100 ended its first session of the week in positive territory, up 1.2pc, or 84.63 points, at 7177.06.
Mining giant Evraz was the highest riser (up 5.7pc, or 19.2p, to 352.3p) on a day when many commodity stocks recovered from a dismal week which saw the oil price slip almost 10pc. Also among the top flight were
Rio Tinto (up 2.8pc, or 107p, to 3895.5p) and Anglo American (up 2.4pc, or 38p, to 1642.4p).
Self- storage outfit Lok’nStore soared on first-half results which revealed revenue was up 6.9pc.
The firm opened a new site in Gillingham, Kent, last month and has six more stores in the pipeline as its marches on with expansion plans.
Lok’nStore said occupancy rates were up 6pc and the let price per square foot had climbed 0.4pc over the past 12 months. Shares climbed 6.7pc, or 25p, to 397.5p.
EVR Holdings surged after a ‘transformational year’ which saw it announce deals with Universal Music Group, Microsoft and Sony.
EVR intends to start offering access to concerts and events that users will watch using virtual reality headsets. Investor optimism saw shares jump 14.2pc, or 1.35p, to 10.85p.
Marina Gronberg, non-executive director at Polymetal International, snapped up 8,000 shares in the business, spending a total of £58,758. It comes two weeks after the company revealed revenue had increased 15pc to £1.14bn in 2017 after gold, copper and zinc production all soared. Shares leapt 2.2pc, or 16p, to 760.4p. Online women’s fashion brand
Sosandar said revenue had exceeded expectations in the first month of the year. The firm, which listed on Aim in November, said seasonal sales were driven by increased repeat purchases and new customer acquisitions. Shares soared 7.9pc, or 1.25p, to 17p.
Styles And Wood has won a £38.2m contract to refurbish the grade II-listed India Buildings in Liverpool. The contracting services group will develop office space, conduct remedial works and carry out major external repairs. Works are expected to take 72 weeks, after which the building will be leased to HMRC for use as a ‘supercentre’. Shares edged up 0.9pc, or 4p, to 461.5p.
Medaphor has launched a pilot of its artificial intelligence software for pregnancy ultrasound screening at St George’s University Hospitals in London. The software analyses real- time images to save clinical staff time. It will initially be offered to woman at the 20-week stage of pregnancy and will evaluate 50 criteria. Shares advanced 4.7pc, or 0.5p, to 11p.
Aim-listed mobile games developer Gaming Realms has signed a licensing agreement with ITV. The business will develop games based around shows Dancing On Ice, Hell’s Kitchen and The Only Way Is Essex. Shares were off 1.9pc, or 0.2p, at 10.2p.
Banking giant UBS has bought shares in asset financing company Think Smart.
The Aim-listed financial technology company provides finance agreements to retailers. UBS has snapped up a 6.5pc stake in the firm, making it the fifth largest shareholder. Shares rose 3.3pc, or 0.25p, to 7.75p.