SMALL CAP MOVERS: IQGeo connects with international telecom giants

A pleasing set of preliminary results was sent to a ‘geospatial’ software vendor IQGeo group stocks are on the rise this week. In fact, they reached an all-time high of 414p.

IQGeo posted record order intake of £57.2 million, with underlying profits more than tripling to £6.6 million for the 12 months ended December 31, compared to £1.9 million in the previous year.

The group highlighted a strong financial position, with positive free cash flow with £11 million on the balance sheet and an annual recurring revenue exit run rate of £21.3 million, representing an increase of 41 percent.

That’s all good, but what does IQGeo actually do?

At its core, IQGeo’s Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) technology stack makes it easier, cheaper and more efficient to deploy fiber broadband networks.

It does this through a concept that is very cutting edge in the software industry: Digital Twins, a term you’ve heard Nvidia throwing around lately.

IQGeo’s services have attracted the interest of leading telecom providers, both domestically and internationally. No wonder shares rose 9 percent this week, pushing gains over 30 percent this year.

Stocks posted a solid week, especially at the blue chip end of the spectrum. The FTSE 100 rose around 3 percent to hit a 12-month high on a supportive set of macroeconomic data.

Inflation came in cooler than expected, while Friday’s retail figures came in better than expected. Although the Bank of England left interest rates unchanged when policymakers met on Thursday, hopes for a rate cut are now slightly higher.

The AIM All-Share Index wasn’t as bullish, although it still managed to add half a percentage point, coming in at 741 on Friday.

Roadside Real Estate, which owns a range of regional drinking establishments through the Barkby Pubs chain, was AIM’s biggest riser of the week.

This followed the part sale of subsidiary Cambridge Sleep Sciences for £6 million and the acquisition of a number of new real estate assets through the joint venture with Meadow Partners.

XL Media shares doubled in value after the sports and gaming-focused digital media group announced a binding agreement to sell its European and Canadian sports betting and gaming assets to Gambling.com for $42.5 million.

Speaking of gaming, Finity‘s shares rose by 30 percent after the publication of the half-year results.

Gfinity reported a profit after spending the first six months of its fiscal year laying the groundwork for growth as a pure digital media network, having sold its Athlos business and divested most of its esports division.

In the biotech sector GENinCode increased by 35 percent after the Risk of Ovarian Cancer Algorithm (ROCA) test received a National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommendation as the test of choice for ovarian cancer surveillance in high-risk individuals.

Zephyr energy led the charge in the natural resources sector. Shares jumped 35 percent after telling investors that drilling operations have now begun at the State 36-2R well site, in Utah’s Paradox Basin.

The company said a small and inexpensive spudder rig started the well, drilling a 3-foot hole to a depth of 100 feet before successfully installing a 20-inch conductor casing.

“We continue to make good progress at the well site and are well prepared for the next phase of drilling, which is expected to commence in mid-April,” chief executive Colin Harrington said in a statement.

As for the decliners, Hummingbird Resources fell by 43 percent after an update on mining activities in Kouroussa.

Kouroussa’s main contract miner, Corica Mining Services, has temporarily suspended mining operations due to several contractual disputes.

Hummingbird called this a ‘clear breach of the mining contract… since the inception of the contract, Corica has failed to meet mining contract volumes due to delays in mining equipment mobilization, commissioning and overall operational performance’.

Fleet management small cap Trakm8 Share prices fell 35 percent after the company announced that talks for “a major sales contract for optimization software” had collapsed.

Trakm8 warned that full-year sales will be worse than expected as a result.

Audio technology company Focusrite was another big decliner, dropping around 20% after publishing a trading update.

Focusrite lowered its 2024 revenue guidance, saying that “the challenging market conditions highlighted in the January AGM statement have continued into February and March.”