Hardman & Co Healthcare Index: 2023 – Capital demands dent performance

The Hardman & Co Healthcare Index (HHI) has been running since 2009. Its main function is to highlight the attractions of life sciences investments over the long term. For the second year running, apart from global economic influences affecting world markets, performance in 2023 was dented by the capital-intensive nature of the sector. The HHI fell 3.7%, to 483.8, underperforming the main London markets – FTSE 100 (+3.8%) and FTSE All-Share (3.8%) but outperforming the FTSE AIM All-Share Index (

Interims – guidance reiterated. We reintroduce forecast & move to Buy

Alliance Pharma’s H1 interims are relatively robust, with trading conforming to recent commentary. Whilst there has been an impact in some areas of the business in H1 (Prescription Medicine) as expected per the trading update in July, the rest of the business particularly Kelo-cote, has proved very resilient and highlights the defensive nature of the business, and underlying adj. PBT (excl. amortisation and impairment charges) was solid in H1 2020 at £16.3m (+7% YoY). We anticipate some push and

Small Cap Feast

Intention to float by Gemfields Group. No Capital Raise. Currently listed on JSE. (GML:JNB) at circa £122m. The Group's key producing assets, the Kagem emerald mine in Zambia (believed to be the world's single largest producing emerald mine) and the Montepuez ruby mine in Mozambique (one of the most significant recently discovered ruby deposits in the world), are both expected to have long mine-lives with potential for expansion. Also owns the Faberge brand. Due Valentines Day 2020.

THE MONTHLY January 2019

The Hardman & Co Healthcare Index (HHI) has been running since 2009. Its main function is to highlight the attractions of life sciences investments over the long term. 2018 was a difficult year; however, the index still outperformed its comparative London indices, falling 10.0% to 393.2, compared with -13.0% and - 18.2% for the Allshare index and the AIM index, respectively. Furthermore, several (17) companies in our index increased their capital base – 15 of our 50 constituents raised new funds

International brands driving performance

Alliance Pharma (APH) is a profitable, cash-generative, specialty pharma business. The proportion of sales generated from higher margin international star brands is rising rapidly, and will be boosted by the recent acquisition of Nizoral in APAC, and UK approval and launch of Xonvea for nausea and vomiting in pregnancy, where conservative management has failed. Investment behind these brands together with compliance with new regulatory directives will limit short term growth but positions the co

THE MONTHLY November 2018

In addition to Hardman’s monthly analysis of client stocks, the thorny issue of market disruption – a popular theme currently - is also addressed. In a wide-ranging article, Hardman’s utilities analyst, Nigel Hawkins, assesses the impact that market disruption has already made. In some sectors, notably telecoms and aviation, market disruption has been apparent for many years, as the rise of Vodafone, Ryanair and easyJet demonstrates. However, in some sectors, such as oil and housebuilding, struc

Small Cap Feast

PetroTal (TAL.TO) - The exploration and production company focused on oil assets in Peru is seeking a secondary AIM quoting before the end of 2018. Path Investments— First acquisition of a 50 per cent. participating interest in the producing Alfeld-Elze II gas field located 22 kilometres south of Hannover in Germany. Seeking £10m raise. Due early Oct Green Man Gaming—pure play e-commerce and technology company in the digital video games industry. revenue CAGR growth of 26.7% in the last three

The Monthly September 2018

September’s Hardman Monthly features an article from guest contributor, Tim Ward. Tim is the Chief Executive of the Quoted Companies Alliance (QCA), an organisation that champions the interests of small to mid-size quoted companies.

The Monthly

Hardman & Co’s analysts have direct experience of uncovering accounting frauds. In this article, Steve Clapham outlines why we might see a surge in them over the next few years. He is engaged by institutions to teach their fund managers and analysts how to identify risks brought about by such frauds. Hardman & Co is pleased to offer this service to private investors.

2018: a year of international progress

Alliance Pharma (APH) is continuing with its buy-and-build strategy, having evolved through 35 acquisitions over a period of 20 years into a profitable, cashgenerative, specialty pharma business. The company has a mix of international growth brands – Kelo-cote, MacuShield, Vamousse – and a bedrock of solid, local, low-growth products. A fourth international growth brand in the portfolio, Nizoral, was acquired from J&J on 21 June 2018 in the APAC region. The cash consideration of £60m was funded

Small Cap Breakfast

Ovoca Gold (to be renamed Ovoca Bio PLC) - RTO of IVIX, a Russian company developing a drug candidate for the treatment of female sexual dysfunctions. No monies to be raised, market cap of £8.5m, due 30 July Nucleus Financial—independent wrap platform provider . FYDec17 revs £40.36m and PBT of £5.1m. Offer TBA. Due late July. Kropz PLC-Intention to float by the emerging plant nutrient producer with an advanced stage phosphate mining project in South Africa and exploration assets in West Africa

Warpaint London+ (W7L, House Stock at 375p) - Trading ahead of expectations - +10% upgrade implied

The Hardman & Co Monthly: April 2024

Feature article: Steady as she goes, but could be better: A review of investment company liquidity since 2016 Liquidity is the lifeblood of equity markets. The measurement of liquid asset availability to a market or company is a way of gauging a market’s health. This article builds on our previous work, which analysed the liquidity data for non-financial trading companies, by applying the same analytical techniques to the investment companies (IC) space. We analyse liquidity for ICs as a whol

Avon Protection - Unmasking its growth potential

Avon Protection’s capital markets day highlighted its continued focus on medium-term margin expansion (targeting operating margin of 14–16%), concentrating on its core business of respirators and head protection. The unwinding of the armour business, alongside the consolidation of Team Wendy (acquired in H220) should enable Avon to benefit from rising global defence spending. Its strong relationship with the US DoD, and organic growth opportunities with recurring revenue from necessary product r

Morning Note – 9 April 2024

Hybridan Small Cap Feast - 15 April 24

15th April 2024 * A corporate client of Hybridan LLP ** Arranged by type of listing and date of announcement *** Alphabetically arranged **** Potential means Intention to Float (ITF) has been announced Dish of the day Admissions: Delistings: What’s baking in the oven? ** Potential**** Initial Public Offerings: Reverse Takeovers: Change of Market: TheWorks (WRKS.L) a multi-channel value retailers of books, arts and crafts, stationery, toys and games, offering customers a differentiated propositio

Morning Note – 8 April 2024

Hybridan Small Cap Feast - 17 April 24

17th April 2024 * A corporate client of Hybridan LLP ** Arranged by type of listing and date of announcement *** Alphabetically arranged **** Potential means Intention to Float (ITF) has been announced Dish of the day Admissions: Delistings: What’s baking in the oven? ** Potential**** Initial Public Offerings: Reverse Takeovers: 16 April 2024: Electric Guitar (ELEG.L) Concurrent with its Admission to trading on AIM, Electric Guitar is proposing to acquire the entire issued share capital of 3radi

Hardman & Co Research: Tissue Regenix (TRX) - Six consecutive periods of >20% growth

TRX is focused on the development and commercialisation of two proprietary processing technologies for the repair of soft tissue (dCELL®) and bone (BioRinse®). It has a broad portfolio of products used in biosurgery, orthopaedics and dental markets. Investment in tissue processing, manufacturing capacity and strong commercial partners, together with its “4S” strategy, has generated six consecutive reporting periods of strong growth, with TRX turning EBITDA-positive in 2023. Further growth in 202

Cambridge Nutritional Sciences - H1 2024 interims: Executing a newly focussed st

Cambridge Nutritional Sciences (CNS) has published its H1 2024 results to end September 2023. Group revenues grew 44% to £4.9m and gross profits increased by 63% to £3.1m, with the company benefitting from newfound operational efficiencies. With its now streamlined strategy focussing on the core Health & Nutrition business and the initial signs of an encouraging uptick in sales momentum, we believe the company is well positioned for growth that will help create future value for shareholders. We

Morning Note – 22 March 2024

Venture Life Group - Strong organic growth; focus on EBITDA

Venture Life has reported FY23 results to December 2023, following the February trading update. Revenues grew 17% in the year to £51.4m (our est. £50.7m) and adjusted EBITDA was £11.6m (our est. £11.6m). Cash conversion was 85%, generating £9.8m of cash from operations. Cash generation and no M&A in 2023 allowed the company to de-lever, closing FY23 with net debt to adjusted EBITDA at 1.3x. Management have focused on growth with three therapy areas generating double-digit revenue growth and onli

Creo Medical - Solid FY23 lays the groundwork for 2024

Creo Medical has released a trading update for FY23, an active year for the company, with progress made across all business segments. Traction improved in H223, following Speedboat Inject’s European clearance for upper gastrointestinal (GI) procedures and the accelerated approval and launch of Creo’s slimmest electrosurgical device, Speedboat UltraSlim. Top-line growth was supported by continued streamlining of the cost structure, resulting in a better-than-expected underlying EBITDA loss (impro

Warpaint London + (W7L, House Stock at 382p) - Late-year sparkles– another double-digit upgrade to FY23F EPS

Diaceutics | FY23 update – 22% revenue growth, £16.7m YE cash

Diaceutics has released a trading statement for the year to December 2023 guiding to revenue growth of 22% YoY to £23.7m, up 19% on a constant currency basis. The order book jumped 57% to £26.6m, of which c£12.3m is expected to be realised in FY24, and which currently stands at £30.8m. The proportion of recurring revenue continues to increase and is now over 50% (FY22 35%). Cash at YE23 stood at £16.7m, indicating a near halving of the rate of cash burn in 2H23 compared to 1H23. We adjust our FY

Zoetis Inc.: Launch Of CircoMatch & Other Drivers, Financial Forecasts, DCF & Comparables Valuation, ESG & Other Risks (02/23)

Zoetis delivered a decent set of results for the last quarter of 2022 meeting analyst expectations as well as the high end of its management guidance. Despite the economic challenges, ongoing pandemic recovery, and the political unpredictability brought on by the war in Ukraine, they delivered operational growth for the year in each of their top 13 markets. The company's unique companion animal portfolio drove its 8% operational revenue increase for the year, growing 14% operationally. In compar