Castillo Copper surges ahead of publication of exploration results

Castillo Copper Limited (LON:CCZ) has taken over as the morning’s top riser with an 18% rise at 2.425p.

The dual-listed company said trading in its shares have been suspended pending the release of some exploration results.

10.00am: Euro 2020 boost for Smiths News

Smiths News PLC (LON:SNWS) advanced 9.4% to 46.5p after it said trading in the current fiscal year has been ahead of market expectations.

The newspaper and magazines distributor said core sales of newspapers and magazines have continued to stabilise, with positive year-on-year comparators for the months following the anniversary of the first lockdown in March 2020.

The return of major sporting events, particularly the European Football Championship, has further boosted sales of one-shots, stickers and albums, which will generate a one-off benefit of circa £1mln to underlying earnings (EBITDA) this financial year (which runs to 28 August).

9.05am: Circassia Group turns a corner; Star Phoenix lines up clean enery venture in Western Australia

Circassia Group PLC (LON:CIR) jumped 12% to 33.67p after it said its NIOX business had turned a corner.

The medical device company said the NIOX business was profitable at the EBITDA (underlying earnings) level (excluding corporate costs) for the first time in the first half of 2021.

Unaudited half-year revenues for the NIOX business were about £14.5mln, up 27% on the same period last year and up 16% on the second half of 2020.

Star Phoenix Group Ltd (LON:STA), up 18% at 1.65p, was the top riser in London after it said it is evaluating a clean energy play.

The group has signed a non-binding agreement with Curtin University to jointly explore, appraise and develop natural hydrogen (H2) opportunities in Western Australia.

Both parties intend to undertake an initial low-cost work programme over two years from execution of any agreement. The aim would be to appraise natural H2 production points in Western Australia, specifically in areas having a high iron-rich content and circular depressions. Any high priority areas that have the potential to produce large quantities of H2, would then be analysed to determine various parameters for potential future production.

Story by ProactiveInvestors