LONDON (ShareCast) - Hambledon Mining announced that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has posted a Project Summary Document relating to a potential $15m debt facility along with an equity investment of $3m for Hambledon to develop the Sekisovskoye underground mining operation and other group projects. It is also proposed that EBRD will be issued with warrants to a value of US$2m. Final approval is expected to be received in the middle of quarter 1, 2012, and further updates will be announced to shareholders as soon as possible. The total amount of $20m is subject to exchange rate variation.

Cluff Gold delivered a strong operational results in 2011, with production totalling 71,505oz, exceeding the production guidance of 70,000oz. The firm closed the year with a cash balance of $28.9m for the group (31 December 2010: $20.9m) with an additional 2,489oz of gold bullion in hand at 31 December 2011 (31 December 2010: 1,258oz). Evolution Securities has kept its buy rating on the West Africa-focused miner.


Orosur Mining said it expects production for 2012 to be on target at 57,500 to 60,000 ounces despite a delay in receiving permits to commence production from Arenal Deeps. The firm produced 11,916 ounces of gold in the three months to November 30, slightly down compared to the same time last year of 12,576 ounces. Revenues for the quarter were 20.99m and net income stood at $2.57m.

Building and engineering firm Alumasc was falling lower after reporting that half-year underlying profit before tax for the half year ended 30 June 2012 will fall significantly short of the £2.1m reported a year ago. This is due to both the continued pressure on margins in the Building Products division and the significant one-off costs of meeting the higher than expected growth in customer demand at Alumasc Precision. Group revenues of around £54m for the half year are some 9% ahead of the equivalent period last year.

Shares in Theo Fennell, an AIM-listed jeweller, plunged 33% after the firm experienced "mixed" Christmas trading as a result of a "depressed" UK consumer market. Sales at the Theo Fennell flagship and City stores were up versus the prior year, however sales from other outlets were below the prior year. Sales in the five weeks for the month of December 2011 were 11% below 2010. The firm plans to focus on increasing sales in the coming year.

Providence Resources, an AIM-listed oil and gas exploration and production company, is pleased to confirm that its wholly owned UK subsidiary, PR Singleton, has been offered an exploration licence over UK seaward block 103/1 in the St George's Channel Basin, offshore Wales. The offer was made by the UK Government's Department of Energy & Climate Change. The block contains the Dragon gas discovery.

Enegi Oil shares were on the up afte the firm announced that the next stage of the workover at the Garden Hill South property has begun with flow tests beingh conducted and chemically conditioned crude being pumped down the PaP 1-ST -3 well. The workover is intended to provide further data that will allow the company to complete the development plan for Garden Hill, in order to significantly enhance the ultimate recovery of hydrocarbons from the reservoir.

Rental of powered access equipment firm Lavendon saw its share price rise after reporting that overall revenues for the year to 31 December 2011, on a constant currency basis, increased by 7% compared with the prior year in line with the board's expectations. In the fourth quarter, group revenues increased by 5% compared with 2010 on the same basis.

GEONG International, an Internet software solutions provider and operator for large enterprises in China, collected just over three-quarters of outstanding payments due from its customers in the final quarter of 2011, a commendable achievement in a country where paying late is a way of life for businesses.

In the three months to the end of 2011 GEONG collected £2.2m of the trade
receivables, some 76% of the balance outstanding as at 30 September
2011, though this calculation excludes a sum of £2.4m which is subject to deferred payment terms.

"We expect the remainder of £0.7m to be collected in the current quarter ending 31 March 2012," the company said.

The debtor days are currently skewed by the aforementioned deferred payment terms on £2.4m, and the board remains confident that the debtor days will begin to stabilise when the company has received the £2.4m in full and as the proportion of software-as-a-service sales increases beyond the current 24% of sales.

The takeover of Ukrainian farming group Landkom moved a step closer after the shareholders of Swedish group Alpcot Agro approved the agreed takeover of the AIM-listed tiddler.

The acquisition remains subject to the approval of Landkom's Shareholders and the sanction of the High Court of Justice of the Isle of Man on 23 January 2012 and the Anti-monopolies Commission of Ukraine.

Landkom urgently needs to arrange new bank credit facilities and finalise extended repayment of its outstanding payables, particularly with Amako Ukraine, by the end of the month, and the takeover by Alpcot will enable it to do this.

Email this article to a friend

or share it with one of these popular networks:

• DIGG
• FACEBOOK
• STUMBLEUPON
• MIXX
• YAHOO BUZZ
• DELICIOUS
• REDDIT
• NEWSVINE