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Penny Share Review 219

Monday 26 January 2004

The Guardian, Independent and Telegraph from Saturday report on African Diamonds' (AFD) AGM, in which shareholders were told that within eight weeks the Company would be producing gem quality diamonds. The shares advanced 5.5p on Monday morning to 36.50p.

CybIT Holdings (CYH) receives a brief mention in Saturday's Express and Guardian, following an announcement of new contacts worth up to £825,000. On Monday morning the equity fell 0.23p to 3.00p.

Andrew Hore of The Business talks about GB Group (GBG) and on his belief that their online identity checking service called URU could be a "significant source of revenue in two or three years time". Although the share price is not warranted by the core business, he concludes, "At this point they are a gamble on the URU taking off. An interesting speculation at this level (36.75p)." The shares remained unchanged at 35.25p on Monday morning.

In a page long article in the Sunday Times about companies feeding China's insatiable demand for raw materials, Griffin Mining (GFM) receives a mention. The Company is described as one of many quoted minnows with big ambitions, following the signing of a new joint venture contract last week for its gold and zinc prospect, which is 200km to the northwest of Beijing. Shares in Griffin stood unchanged at 22.50p on Monday morning.

Friday's announcement that Multi Group (MLT) is continuing to explore various option for its loss making software business, receives a mention in the Independent on Saturday. Multi Group shares fell by 0.13p to 5.38p on Monday morning.

The Telegraph today reports on Petrel Resources' (PET) confidence of wining the first drilling contracts in Iraq since the war. Personnel from the Company are visiting the Iraqi capital this week to place a bid for drilling rights on oilfields. The drilling rights have been put out to tender by the Coalition Provisional Authority and the process is expected to be completed by the start of May. The equity flowed 0.75p higher to 36.50p on Monday morning.

Following last week's purchase of 100,000 Proactive Sports Group (PAS.L) shares at 6.55p by a director, the Express on Saturday, says that rumoured boardroom buying helped the shares score a small 0.13p rise on Friday. On Monday morning the equity remained unchanged at 7.00p.

Tepnel Life Sciences (TED) receives a 'Buy' recommendation in the Sunday Telegraph, with the opinion that the "shares should have further to go." Following the recent acquisition of American rival Orchid BioSciences, the Company is reported to be close to completing another acquisition. The paper is impressed with costs being "encouragingly tightly controlled" and of the cash burn being reduced by 47%. Tepnel shares advanced 1p to 15.25p on Monday morning.

Saturday's Independent reports on penny share punters buying into Toad Group (TOA.L), despite the largest shareholder, Christopher Evans selling down his stake to 4.5m shares (5.7%). Shares in Toad notched up 0.75p rise to 23.50p on Monday morning.

Trio Holdings (TRN.L) receives a 'Buy' tip in the Mail on Sunday. The paper believes Trio's rating has room for improvement and says it may appeal to predators. Trio has an "attractive cash pile" of £10.4m, which represents almost half of the Group market capitalisation. The equity moved 2.75p higher on Monday morning to 28.00p.

Reviewing the week's comments, the Independent on Saturday recaps on its previous comments about Zi Medical (ZIM.L), in which readers are advised to "climb aboard if a fund raising is announced at a price significantly below the prevailing share price". Zi Medical shares declined by 1.75p on Monday morning to 17.25p. 'Monday morning' prices quoted above were taken at just after 10.30am on 26 January 2004.

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.

Aerobox (ARX) - Fund Raising.
African Diamonds (AFD) - Botswana listing.
Earthport (EPO) - Fund Raising.
Hereward Ventures (HEV.L) - Exploration Update.
NWD Group (NWD.L) - Restructuring and Appointment.
Raft International (RFT) - Directorate Change.
Southern African (SFU.L) - Additional listing.
Wigmore Group (WGT.L) - Contract Win.

Look Out For This Week

Jan 26 Monday - nothing of note.
Jan 27 Tuesday - CBI quarterly industrial trends.
Jan 28 Wednesday - Hutton report on Iraq and Kelly affair.
Jan 29 Thursday - Osmetech Interim results.
Jan 30 Friday - Consumer credit and M4 lending.

The next Penny Share Review will be posted on Monday, 2 February 2004.

Compiled by Jason Robertson

Penny Shares Online - penny shares research and information service.