Surface Transforms - £6.5m placing announced

SCE has announced its intention to raise £6.5m via an institutional placing, with an open offer pending, to assist the scale-up and to fund near-term working capital requirements. We reduce our forecasts to factor in base case assumptions and greater prudence to expectations. Our FY24E adj pre-tax loss rises by £3.9m to a loss of £6.9m, increasing LPS from -0.6p to -0.9p. The placing should provide sufficient cash runway and some headroom through to EBITDA profitability, anticipated throughout F

Surface Transforms (SCE LN) - Fundraising to support volume production

Surface Transforms has announced a Placing and Subscription seeking £6.5m at 1p, combined with an Open Offer for up to £2m (before expenses). Proceeds will be used for working capital for existing operations and to support the manufacturing scale-up. We introduce summary estimates pending the outcome of the entire fundraising event (including the Open Offer) and the full outturn statement for 2023a due in late May. Our base case assumption is for revenue of £17.5m in 2024e (2023a: £8.3m); this c

FY24E margin, profit and cash beat, FY25E on track

PROGRESSIVE: IG Design Group: FY24 results well ahead of expectations – on course to hit operating margin target for FY25E

IG Design Group’s trading update for the year ended 31 March 2024 has exceeded market expectations in terms of both profitability and, most significantly, cash generation. The FY24 results confirm the progress the group has made on its strategic journey to simplify the business and improve operational efficiency. Notwithstanding ongoing uncertainty on the economic backdrop and consumer expenditure, the group remains confident of delivering its target of returning to its pre-Covid adjusted operat

PROGRESSIVE: Sanderson Design Group: Strategic growth drivers show their value in challenging trading conditions

Sanderson Design Group (SDG) has announced its FY24 full-year results, which are in line with the headline figures from its February trading update. A record year for Licensing and a strong performance in the key North America market helped to offset a challenging consumer environment in other geographies, most notably the UK. While this backdrop is set to persist in FY25E, the group will continue to focus on its strategic growth drivers, notably North America and Licensing, to deliver sharehold

Duplicate of BWMX: 1Q Review: In-Line Q, With Multiple Positives (Updated); Reiterate Buy

We are reiterating our Buy rating and $22.50 price target for Betterware after the company reported an impressive 1Q, with better than expected top line results. Further, management reiterated 2024 revenue and EBITDA guidance. There was also material progress at Betterware, which enjoyed double-digit increases in average ticket and revenue and is nearing the shift to positive growth in Associates. JAFRA Mexico also registered another strong quarter, as the acquisition has remained a key winner.

N Brown Group+ (BWNG, House Stock, 14p) - Management change

Time to focus on growth ambitions

Ceres Power Holdings - Strategic partnerships powering growth

Ceres Power Holdings’ innovative technology uses electrolysis to produce green hydrogen and solid oxide fuel cells to generate power. In a year where it moved to the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange, it recorded revenue growth of 13% and gross margin expansion to 61% (the highest in the sector, according to management), but is yet to record an operating profit (FY23 operating loss of £59.4m versus £54.0m in FY22). Ceres continued its strategy to drive innovation and technology across sol

Hybridan Small Cap Feast - 28 Mar 24

28th March 2024 Happy Easter @HybridanLLP Status of this Note and Disclaimer This document has been issued to you by Hybridan LLP for information purposes only and should not be construed in any circumstances as an offer to sell or solicitation of any offer to buy any security or other financial instrument, nor shall it, or the fact of its distribution, form the basis of, or be relied upon in connection with, any contract relating to such action. This document has no regard for the specific inve

McBride - Improving backdrop with cautious optimism

McBride has witnessed improving momentum in its business during H123, with the company returning to positive adjusted operating profit during the last two months of the period. This trajectory has continued into the start of H2 and is coupled with some early signs of stabilisation in certain input costs and higher volumes from new business wins. The current retail environment is favourable as cost-conscious consumers turn to private-label products, and McBride has gained share of this segment. T

PROGRESSIVE: IG Design Group: Strong profit growth, key strategy initiatives and quantified aspirations

IG Design Group delivered a 27% increase in adjusted PBT to $34.8m for H1 FY24 (to 30 September) with a significant reduction in net debt to $15.1m, as signposted in last month’s trading update. The adjusted operating profit margin was some 270bps higher at 8.6% (vs 5.9% in H1 FY23), the highest achieved since H1 FY20 ahead of the CSS acquisition. Management has provided more details on the key attributes and initiatives for its new growth-focused strategy. The group is on track to return to pre

STCB: 4Q Review: Setting Up the Next Steps; Reiterate Buy, PT

We are reiterating our Buy rating and $0.25 price target for Starco Brands, leaving our 2024 projections basically unchanged and rolling out another year of double-digit top and EBITDA growth after the company reported inline 4Q23 results and left 2024 guidance unchanged. We believe, with multiple potential expansion opportunities in category adjacencies and new relationships, continued innovation and vertical integration and the potential for further accretive acquisitions (which are not in our

Hybridan Small Cap Feast - 14 Mar 2024

Banquet Buffet*** Abingdon Health 9.25p £11.3m (ABDX.L) The lateral flow contract development and manufacturing organisation announces its unaudited interim results for the six months ended 31 December 2023. Revenue increased 117% to £2.4m (H1 2023: £1.1m). The Adjusted EBITDA loss decreased 47% to £1.2m (H1 2023: £2.2m). Furthermore, reduction in operating loss of 50% to £1.2m (H1 2023: £2.4m). The Board therefore expects that H2 2024 revenue will be significantly improved compared with H1 2024

Gooch & Housego (GHH LN) - A chink of light

Gooch has issued a positive update for H1. Trading has started to recover with stocking levels normalising at industrial and medical devices customers. The outlook is positive with growth returning, and management has confirmed our full year estimates (adjusted for the disposal of EM4). The order book and order flow appear healthy, and net debt is comfortable. Gooch clearly still has plenty to do to lift operating margins from a lacklustre 8.1%, but the transformation plan appears to be back on