Kier Group, up 4.5%, announced that it has appointed Chris Browne as a Non-Executive Director, with effect from 15 September 2022. Quartix Technologies, up 2.5%, in its trading update, announced that new unit subscriptions jumped 26.0% for the first half compared with the same period in 2021. As a result, the group expects to report revenue of £13.3m, adjusted EBITDA of around £2.6m and underlying free cash flow of approximately £2.0m for the period. Further, the company intends to release its interim results for the six-month period ending 30 June 2022, on 27 July 2022.
IQGeo Group, up 1.5%, announced that one of the largest US telecom network operators has chosen the company’s fibre planning, design, and field survey software to enhance its fibre construction process. The 3-year contract has a software subscription value of approximately $3.6m ($1.2m ACV) for an initial cohort of users and service value of approximately $2.1m.
1Spatial, unchanged at 48.0p, today, announced that it has entered into a new five-year contract worth $0.6m with The Center for Advanced Transportation Technology Laboratory (CATT Lab) at the University of Maryland, the largest transportation big data and data analytics centre in the world.
GetBusy, down 2.6%, announces that it has won a new customer, together with a strategic brand identity refresh of its Virtual Cabinet product. The contract is for an initial deployment of almost 100 users within the UK and will be implemented over 2H 2022. The contract includes the deployment of Virtual Cabinet's cloud solution, powered through integration with the Group's Workiro technology.
Gaming Realms, down 1.7%, announced that it has collaborated with American cable channel Discovery to develop new online slot games based on two of its most popular TV shows.
GRC International Group, unchanged at 27.5p, announced that its IT Governance business has started Payment Card Industry (PCI) Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) services in the USA and has been authorised to operate in the US.
UK markets ended higher last week, following the resignation of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. On the data front, Britain’s services PMI climbed in June, while the Halifax house prices rose at its fastest rate since 2004 in June. On the other hand, UK’s construction activity expanded at its slowest pace since September 2021, amid concerns over economic outlook. The FTSE 100 index advanced 0.4% to settle at 7,196.2, while the FTSE AIM 100 index rose 2.5% to close at 4,262.1. Also, the FTSE techMARK 100 index gained 1.0% to end at 5,831.7.
US markets ended higher in the previous week, following stronger than expected US jobs report. On the macro front, the US factory orders climbed more than expected in May, amid strong demand for goods, while the nation’s trade deficit narrowed in May, driven by rise in exports. Additionally, the US non-farm payrolls rose more than expected in June, while average earnings advanced in the same month. Moreover, the US ISM services PMI fell less than expected in June, while the nation’s JOLTS Job openings declined less than expected in May. On the flipside, the US weekly jobless claims climbed to its highest level in nearly six months in the week ended 01 July 2022. Separately, the US FOMC minutes indicated that the central bank could raise interest rate by another 50 or 75-basis-point later in July, to combat inflation. The DJIA index rose 0.8% to end at 31,338.2, while the NASDAQ index gained 4.6% to close at 11,635.3.
