Struggling gold miner digs itself out of a hole
SHARES in Avocet Mining soared as it gave investors reason to be cheerful.
The troubled gold miner has sold enough gold to cover its overheads until the New Year.
Avocet had warned it could be forced into administration after it had 1,400 ounces of the precious metal seized by angry ex-workers.
While the Burkina Faso-based miner has yet to recover the seized gold, it has now sold a shipment of more than 6,000 ounces of the metal. Avocet said its mine was in production with weekly shipments reinstated and it had enough capital to cover itself until early January when it should complete the sale of its project in Guinea.
It added that it remained hopeful a settlement with the ex-workers would be reached in the coming weeks. Shares soared 3.4pc, or 6.6p, to 54.5p.
A month on from the US election, the FTSE 100 rallied 1.8pc, or 122.39 points, to 6902.2, finishing the day 60 points higher than on the eve of the vote. Rio Tinto topped the list as it reassured investors over a dispute in Mongolia. Shares climbed 6.6pc, or 200p, to 3221.5p.
Biotech business Shire was the greatest faller among the top flight after UBS cut its rating on the stock and shaved 600p off its target price to 5000p. Shares slipped 4.5pc, or 204p, to 4357p.
Spread-betting firms managed to regain some of their losses after being hammered in the previous day’s session. CMC Markets climbed 3.8pc, or 3.3p, to 118.8p while IG Group bounced back 5.9pc, or 28.4p, to 513.5p.
Accountancy firm Sage Group addressed rumours that it is looking at ‘potential strategic options’ for its North American payments business, with a sale mooted as one of the choices. Sage all but confirmed the chatter as it said: ‘There can be no certainty that this evaluation will lead to any transaction.’
Sage reported its full-year results last week, and said revenue in the North American part of the business had grown 4pc.
But it listed the payments division among the underperforming parts of the group and said the sector was facing challenges. Shares gained 1.5pc, or 9p, to 628.5p.
Inmarsat flew higher as it announced a deal to provide broadband on Air New Zealand flights. The mobile communications business will fit the airline’s long-haul and short-haul fleets with its highspeed internet.
The technology should start to become available on flights in the second half of 2017, and Inmarsat said domestic routes would be connected from 2018. Shares advanced 2.7pc, or 18.5p, to 717.5p.
Outsourcing group Carillion slipped as it blamed Brexit for a £1.14bn drop in orders.
It said orders had slowed from £17.4bn a year ago to an expected £16bn in 2016. The firm said Government departments reassessing their spending after the referendum result affected performance.
But the Wolverhampton-based business, which maintains railways and roads, said it still expected strong revenue growth and increased profit at year-end results. It also reported that its Canada business had been selected as the preferred provider for a power project contract worth around £120m.
Carillion said it expected to agree final terms shortly, to enable work to begin before the end of the year. Shares slumped 3.8pc, or 9.6p, to 246.5p, making it the greatest FTSE faller of the day. Digital marketers Be Heard
Group leapt as it acquired awardwinning marketing agency Kameleon. Aim-listed Be Heard will initially pay £4m for the London-based group and a maximum of £10m over three years.
Kameleon was founded in 2008 and is expected to report earnings of £785,000 on revenue of £3.9m this year. Its customers include food company Danone, Quorn and Celebrity Cruises. Numis said it was a sensible acquisition at a sensible price. Shares climbed 5.9pc, or 0.2p, to 3.6p.