This week: Summit far from its peak, Cashbox in a hole in the wall and Sarantel picks up the right signal
Ant (LON:ANTP 29.5p/ £7.16m)
Ant, the software company that allows TV operators to manage their content and provides customers with the ability to self-select services on demand, announced its 2009 year end results. Revenues were up 26% at £4.7m (2008: £3.7m), a grand performance considering the challenging economic environment. This reduced the loss before tax to £626,000 (2008: £1.013m), down 38% and with a strong cash position of £5.05m (2008: £5.65m). Ant signed 14 new licences, 7 of which were from completely new customers.
The market has been driven by consumers appetite for high value applications (such as on-line games through the TV), digital TV and on demand services such as catch-up TV and pay for movies. The technology allows consumers to access this variety of services without needing to know whether it is coming from the web or by satellite. The operators are also keen to use Ant’s platform to enable them to reduce churn and increase their revenues from their catalogue of content. With no direct competitor offering a complete ‘one-stop shop’ of services and greater demand for personalised TV, we think this little Ant is on the march.
Beacon Hill (LON:BHR, 0.295p, £19.34m)
Beacon Hill made two announcements last week. The first relates to the provision by Fortrend Securities of up to £5 million of funding. The agreement will enable Beacon Hill to draw down funds over the next 3 years to help develop its Arthur River Project in Tasmania and facilitate the appraisal and development of other projects. Under the drawdown agreement, Beacon Hill can issue new ordinary shares at a 10 per cent discount to the prevailing market price, which means dilution is contained at reasonable levels, with the maximum drawdown a function of prevailing trading volume. For every 4 shares Beacon Hill will grant one option exercisable at the prevailing market price for 3 years. Beacon Hill will also pay a fee and has granted options over 20.8m ordinary shares, exercisable at 0.30p per share until 2 March 2013. The second of last week’s announcements cites ‘excellent progress’ made towards satisfying the due diligence and legal requirements relating to the acquisition of the Mina’s coking coal mine in the Tete Province of Mozambique. Beacon Hill…
