Small cap news round-up

Specialist carpet and floor coverings retailer Carpetright said on Tuesday that its full-year profit is expected to be towards the lower end of the current range of market expectations for underlying pre-tax profit of £13.9m to £16.2m.

In an update for the 12 weeks to 22 April, the company said it saw continued growth in the UK, with like-for-like sales up 1.4% despite tougher market conditions, while the rest of Europe continues to benefit from improving confidence and positive currency impact.

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AIM-listed miner Patagonia Gold is to sell its Cap-Oeste Sur Este project (COSE) in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina to Minera Triton for $15m.

The company’s subsidiary Patagonia Gold SA has entered into a binding agreement with Minera Triton Argentina SA, a subsidiary of Nasdaq-listed Pan American Silver Corp to sell the project.

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Tekcapital, a provider of technology and intellectual property services, announced that Belluscura, has bought Nanotether Discovery Science for about £265,000, which was satisfied by the issue of new shares in Belluscura.

As a result of the issue of new Belluscura shares, Tekcapital's stake in Belluscura has been reduced to about 61% from 65%.

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Nasdaq and Stockholm-listed ventilation company Systemair AB has bought Frivent Luft & Wärmetechnik, a Austrian manufacturer of air handling units, for an undisclosed sum.

Frivent produces air handling units, heat recovery systems and unique roof units for several niche applications and achives annual turnover of about €7m.

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Landshypotek Bank’s chief executive Liza Nyberg is to leave the member-owned Swedish mortgage lender in order to become chief executive of Collector AB and Collector Bank.

She will continue in her role at the bank until a successor is found.

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AIM-listed residential property developer Telford Homes has exchanged contracts for the purchase of Stone Studios, a residential-led mixed-use development site on Wallis Road, Hackney Wick, E9.

The 1.06 acre site, located between Victoria Park and the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, has detailed planning permission granted by the London Legacy Development Corporation.

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Industrial fuel cell power company AFC Energy has confirmed an expansion of its strategic collaboration with De Nora S.p.A. after the completion of the first-phase work programme.

"AFC Energy and De Nora expect to finalise the design of a commercial fuel cell electrode and stack during the current year for commercial application which is capable of mass automated production with warranted performance metrics," said AFC Energy in a statement.

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Shares in Blancco Technology Group are down almost more than a fifth after a third-quarter trading update revealed pressure on cash and a need for additional funding.

It said costs associated with past acquisitions, the later arrival of a large government contract and the slipping of larger contract deals to later this quarter would build pressure on the forecasted cash available to the Company during Q4.

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Medical diagnostics company OmegaDiagnostics announced on Tuesday that results for the year to 31 March would be in line with market expectations.

The AIM-traded firm said revenues for the year were expected to be £14.3m and adjusted profit before tax was expected to be £1.1m.

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Diamond explorer Botswana Diamonds announced the award of six new prospecting licenses in Botswana to Sunland Minerals on Tuesday -the company’s joint venture with Alrosa.

The AIM-traded firm said the prospecting licenses were issued for a period of three years ending on 30 March 2020.

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Shares in Havelock Europa are down more than 13% after swinging to a full-year profit in what it said was a challenging year due to a significant reduction in revenue.

Pre-tax profit before exceptional items was £0.4m, following-on from a loss of £0.8m in the same period a year earlier. Revenue was £60.8m, which was down from £73.1m.

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Medical grade collagen component developer and manufacturer Collagen Solutions announced preliminary revenue, including other income, of £4.1m for the year ending 31 March on Tuesday, up from £3.2m in 2016.

The AIM-traded company said approximately £3.95m of that was trading revenue, representing 26% growth.

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Horizonte Minerals has confirmed the award of three new mineral exploration concession areas adjacent to the Araguaia North deposits that form part of the company's 100%-owned Araguaia nickel project.

The project was being developed as the next major nickel project in Brazil.

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AIM-listed content company BNN Technology has expanded its partnership with Manchester City Football Club.

The new deal expands the Chinese technology company’s commercial relationship with the football club that was to develop coaching programmes, deliver content, provide VIP experiences for Chinese football fans and offer competitions through the Xinhua News mobile app.

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Model train maker Hornby said that it was not in the best interests of the company or its shareholders to remove chairman Roger Canham from the board and replace him with Alexander Anton.

The statement was in response to a formal request from leading shareholders to have Canham removed. Earlier this month, Anton and New Pistoia - the company's second largest shareholder - said it was time for a change after five years, during which Hornby has lost £31m.

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Online trading platform provider Plus500 has reached a €550,000 settlement agreement with the Belgium Financial Services and Markets Authority.

The settlement was reached in the context of the public offering of investment instruments, including contracts-for-difference as offered by the company, in Belgium.

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Oil and gas explorer Magnolia Petroleum is to participate in 16 new onshore wells in the Scoop and Stack plays in Oklahoma, the US.

Magnolia recently participated in a new Continental Resources operated well, the Foree 1-18-7XH, which was drilled to the Woodford formation. The operator reported initial production rates of 1,411 barrels of oil per day and 3.9m cubic feet of gas per day - equivalent to 2,061 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

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North Africa-focussed oil and gas company SDXEnergy updated the market on its Moroccan activities on Tuesday, reporting that the Lalla Mimouna Nord and Sud permits, covering an area of more than 2211 square kilometres in the Rharb Basin, were being extended until March 2018.

The AIM-traded firm said the drilling campaign there remained on schedule for two exploration wells in the second half of 2017.

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Oil and gas explorer 88 Energy has started drilling at its Icewine 2 production test well in the north slope of Alaska in the US,

The AIM-listed company started drilling on the well on Monday evening and the Arctic fox rig is currently drilling ahead in the surface hole.

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Shares in AB Dynamics fell more than 4% after its interim pre-tax profit, excluding share-option costs, rose 9% to £2.5m, with revenue gaining 9% to £11.0m.

Chief executive Tim Rogers said the company's first half was a solid one.