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Penny Share Review 193

Monday 21 July 2003

Chairman Nigel Wray's stake building in Electric Word (ELE) caught the attention of Saturday's Daily Mail. He bought a further 300,000 shares at 6p, which increased his stake to 13.1%. This comes hard on the heels of the interim results that reported an improvement in turnover and gross profit and an increase in the average number of subscriptions. The shares at 11.01 were unchanged at 6.88p from Friday's close.

Emerald Energy's (EEN) one-for-one rights issue of 1.253bn shares at 0.25p and Placing of 1.462bn shares featured in Saturday's Times. Waterford Finance and Investment, the privately owned investment vehicle, is underwriting the deal and would end up with a stake of between 29.99% and 64.99%. The Company warned that without the fundraising it might have to appoint receivers. The shares at 11.02 were down 0.03p to 0.38p from Friday's close. Saturday's Guardian picked up on rumours of two big contract wins that helped Motion Media's (MMD.L) shares move forward on Friday. At the time of writing, there has been no official word from the Company, so it seems it's a case of 'watch this space'. At 11.02 the shares were up 0.25p to 3.88p from Friday's close.

The Saturday editions of The Daily Express and The Daily Mail both picked up on buying ahead of Osmetech's (OMH) results on 30 July. The Express highlights an increase in sales recently, particularly from China following the outbreak of SARS and expectations that the figures will be good, while The Mail added that "big buyers" have been sniffing around. The shares at 11.03 were ahead by 0.40p at 4.80p from Friday's close.

Rebel shareholders in Ronson (RON.L) appear to have secured the support of 10.5% of investors, sufficient for an EGM to be requested, according to the weekend's edition of the Financial Times and Saturday's Daily Express. The rebels are looking to reverse the decision by the Board to delist the shares, a move that was taken so as to reduce the cost of selling Ronson International (RI), the main operating division. Five formal bids have been received for RI of which three were being considered. For any offer to be successful it will have to obtain the backing of the Albion Consortium Fund, which non-executive director Farzad Rastegar controls. If the sale process failed, the Company would relist on either AIM or Ofex and seek more funding, but the rebel shareholders are determined to have the shares "relisted immediately", according to quotes in the Express.

A little mention of Toad (TOA.L) in Saturday's Independent noted that the shares were in "demand ahead of interim results", which are due out on Wednesday 23 July. The shares at 11.04 were up by 0.88p at 14.63p from Friday's close.

Virotec International (VTI) comes under the spotlight in Saturday's Daily Mail. The shares according to the paper have perked to such an extent that the Australian authorities asked if anything was going on. The shares slid back on news from the Company that not much was happening, but the Mail adds that it has visited "some big City investors" and "its new UK stockbroker Numis is winning it friends." The article highlights the need to land some substantial orders. Many environmental agencies have apparently showed some interest in Bauxsol, but converting the interest into cash orders is a slow process. Virotec has enough cash for another year and the Mail concludes, "Its potential is as intriguing as ever." The shares were unchanged at 11.13p from Friday's close.

Today's Announcements

The following companies, in which City Equities customers may have an interest, released announcements to the market this morning. These can be found by entering the relevant company name or ticker code in the search box on this site.

African Eagle (AFE) - Holdings following placing.
BioProjects (BIP) - Final results.
Envesta (EVS) - Trading Statement.
GX Networks (GXN.L) - Acquisition.
Mediwatch (MDW) - New Contract gains.
SWP (SWP) - Issue of Equity.
Tertiary Minerals (TYM) - Quarterly report.

Look Out For This Week

July 21, Monday - BioProjects (F), Mercury Recycling AGM, UK RICS house price survey, BCC quarterly economic survey.
June 22, Tuesday - UK CBI industrial trends survey.
June 23, Wednesday - Toad (I), Wigmore Group AGM, UK Bank of England MPC minutes.
June 24, Thursday - UK retail sales (June).
June 25, Friday - Billam AGM, Petrel Resources AGM, UK Prelim GDP Q2 and BBA mortgage lending figures.

The next Penny Share Review will be posted on Monday, 28 July 2003.

Compiled by A McLintock.

Penny Shares Online - penny shares research and information service.




Risk Warning

There is an extra risk of losing money when shares are bought in some smaller companies including 'Penny Shares'. There is a big difference between the buying price and the selling price of these shares. If they have to be sold immediately, you may get back much less than you paid for them or you may have difficulty in selling them. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. The price may change quickly and it may go down as well as up. You could lose every penny put into a particular share.

The information contained above has been compiled from documented sources which are believed to be reliable but, due to their very nature, are subject to a degree of historical inaccuracy and have not been independently verified and cannot be guaranteed. The pages on this website are provided for information only. City Equities Limited will not accept responsibility for loss incurred by any person or body acting, or refraining from acting, as a result of information and/or opinions given anywhere on this website. Issued by City Equities Limited, Aldermary House, 10-15 Queen Street, London, EC4N 1TY. Registered in England. Registered No. 2742847. Registered Address: Amwell House, 19 Amwell Street, Hoddeson, Herts. EN11 8TS. City Equities Limited is Authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Registration No. 155051.