Traders Cafe with Zak Mir: Amigo, Caracal, Dev Clever, Harvest Minerals, Kistos, Pelatro, Tekcapital

Institutional investors turning up on the shareholder register of a small cap company can be transformational in terms of market perception, as well as providing a shot in the arm for sentiment surrounding a stock. This is what we have just been treated to at market newbie, gold producer with operations in East Africa, Caracal Gold (GCAT). The stakebuilder in question is Germany’s Orca Capital, announcing a 5% holding via a TR1. The threshold was reached a week ago.

Shares of edtech specialist Dev Clever (DEV) recovered another 7%, as investors seem to have had a rather slow burn reaction to the cumulative positive news of the summer. In particular, at the beginning of September Dev revealed that the detailed documentation of the first phase of the tactical partnership with Aldebaron DMCC has now been agreed and signed. Under the terms of the partnership and as part of the first implementation phase, the National Careers Challenge will be launched in the UK on 30 September 2021. Plans for an Indian NCC are anticipated to be finalised in Q4 2021 for full scale launch during the first half of 2022.

UK intellectual property investment group Tekcapital (TEK) announced that portfolio company Lucyd’s U.S. operating subsidiary, Innovative Eyewear, Inc., has added 21 retail optical stores to its customer base as a result of its recent participation at Vision Expo West. Lucyd said it looks forward to additional new product launches and other developments in 2021.

AIM listed remineraliser producer, Harvest Minerals (HMI) unveiled its unaudited interim results for the six-month period ended 30 June 2021. The company revealed a 171% increase in sales of KP Fértil(R) to 26,726 tonnes over the same period of 2020. It is hoping to surpass, 2021 year-end sales target of 80,000 tonnes of KP Fértil(R). HMI said it has started to actively market KP Fértil(R) in other regions beyond immediate market in Minas Gerais and Sao Paulo. The Brazilian agriculture sector continued to be robust over the half-year and several sector associations forecast double digit growth in most of the crops targeted by Harvest.

If, and only if, one ignores Amigo’s (AMGo) scheme of arrangement saga, and that new lending is suspended, things for the guarantor lender actually seem to read relatively well – in places. The company said the current net loan book, after impairment, is approximately £235m. At the time of the full year results Amigo estimated that the total of balance set-off adjustments and associated costs would be approximately £100m. The company will incur future operating costs to collect out the remaining loan book. The current annual overhead costs are approximately £25m. While securitisation borrowings are now fully repaid, senior secured notes of £234.1m remain outstanding with an attached annual interest cost of £17.9m - so not quite out of the woods yet.

Shares of Kistos (KIST) continued to new highs, and have been as much to a one way bet in their trajectory since November as a stock can be. Last week the energy producer announced that, following a planned four-week maintenance shutdown, the TAQA operated P15-D platform has resumed normal operations. This has allowed for the resumption of gas export from the Q10-A gas field, which is operated by Kistos with a 60% working interest – very timely given the present gas crisis.