Duyuru • Apr 24
Bens Creek Group plc Receives a Notice from MBU Capital Group Limited On April 23, 2024, Bens Creek Group plc announced that it has received correspondence on 20 April 2024 from MBU Capital Group Limited ("MBU") requesting the Company to convene a general meeting of the Company's shareholders under section 303 of the Companies Act 2006. The Company intends to comply with its obligations under the Act and a circular convening the GM will be posted to the Company's shareholders in due course, and in any event no later than 13 May 2024. MBU's correspondence states that the general meeting is to be convened to allow the Company's shareholders to discuss the operational and strategic challenges facing the Company at present. The Company's board continues to believe that the Chapter 11 cases commenced in the United States of America Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of West Virginia in relation to its wholly-owned US subsidiaries, Ben's Creek Operations WV LLC, Ben's Creek Carbon LLC, and Ben's Creek Land WV LLC, are in the best interests of the Group. New Risk • Mar 26
New major risk - Market cap size The company's market capitalization is less than US$10m. Market cap: UK£7.00m (US$8.83m) This is considered a major risk. Companies with a small market capitalization are most likely businesses that have not yet released a product to market or are simply a very small company without a wide reach. Either way, risk is elevated with these companies because there is a chance the product may not come to fruition or the company's addressable market or demand may not be as large as expected. In addition, if the company's size is the main factor, it is less likely to have many investors and analysts following it and scrutinizing its performance and outlook. Currently, the following risks have been identified for the company: Major Risks Less than 1 year of cash runway based on free cash flow trend (-US$17m free cash flow). Share price has been highly volatile over the past 3 months (17% average weekly change). Market cap is less than US$10m (UK£7.00m market cap, or US$8.83m). Reported Earnings • Jan 02
First half 2024 earnings released: US$0.036 loss per share (vs US$0.031 loss in 1H 2023) First half 2024 results: US$0.036 loss per share. Revenue: US$23.5m (down 5.1% from 1H 2023). Net loss: US$13.1m (loss narrowed 1.3% from 1H 2023). New Risk • Dec 07
New major risk - Share price stability The company's share price has been highly volatile over the past 3 months. It is more volatile than 90% of British stocks, typically moving 12% a week. This is considered a major risk. Share price volatility increases the risk of potential losses in the short-term as the stock tends to have larger drops in price more frequently than other stocks. It may also indicate the stock is highly sensitive to market conditions or economic conditions rather than being sensitive to its own business performance, which may also be inconsistent. Currently, the following risks have been identified for the company: Major Risks Less than 1 year of cash runway based on free cash flow trend (-US$23m free cash flow). Share price has been highly volatile over the past 3 months (12% average weekly change). Minor Risks Shareholders have been diluted in the past year (6.5% increase in shares outstanding). Market cap is less than US$100m (UK£48.3m market cap, or US$60.8m). Duyuru • Oct 28
Bens Creek Group Plc, Annual General Meeting, Oct 27, 2023 Bens Creek Group Plc, Annual General Meeting, Oct 27, 2023. Agenda: To consider and receive the Annual Report and Accounts; to consider Re-Appointment of Mark Cooper as a Director; to consider Re-Appointment of Rajesh Johar as a Director; to consider Re-appointment of PKF Littlejohn LLP as Auditors; to consider Allotment of share capital; and to transact such other business matters. New Risk • Oct 01
New major risk - Financial position The company has less than a year of cash runway based on its current free cash flow trend. Free cash flow: -US$23m This is considered a major risk. With less than a year's worth of cash, the company will need to raise capital or take on debt unless its cash flows improve. This would dilute existing shareholders or increase balance sheet risk. Currently, the following risks have been identified for the company: Major Risk Less than 1 year of cash runway based on free cash flow trend (-US$23m free cash flow). Minor Risks Share price has been volatile over the past 3 months (11% average weekly change). Shareholders have been diluted in the past year (6.7% increase in shares outstanding). Market cap is less than US$100m (UK£59.9m market cap, or US$73.1m). Duyuru • Jul 27
Bens Creek Group plc Appoints Rajesh Johar as Non-Executive Director Bens Creek Group plc (AIM:BEN), the owner of a metallurgical coal mine in North America supplying the steel industry, announced that Rajesh Johar has joined the board of Bens Creek as a Non-Executive Director.Rajesh is a co-founder and current shareholder of Avani. He leads acquisitions and business development at Avani. Prior to founding Avani, Rajesh was the head of the commodities trade & agriculture team at Standard Chartered Bank's transaction banking division in Singapore. At Standard Chartered, Rajesh gained experience in the trading and financing of commodity businesses. Rajesh was also a vice president in the structured finance division at Credit Suisse in India. He has also had roles at Tata Steel Limitedand Cargill Inc. Rajesh is a trained engineer, having graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur with a degree in mining engineering. He also has apost-graduate diploma in business management from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangaluru. New Risk • Jun 30
New major risk - Share price stability The company's share price has been highly volatile over the past 3 months. It is more volatile than 90% of British stocks, typically moving 11% a week. This is considered a major risk. Share price volatility increases the risk of potential losses in the short-term as the stock tends to have larger drops in price more frequently than other stocks. It may also indicate the stock is highly sensitive to market conditions or economic conditions rather than being sensitive to its own business performance, which may also be inconsistent. Currently, the following risks have been identified for the company: Major Risks Share price has been highly volatile over the past 3 months (11% average weekly change). High level of non-cash earnings (163% accrual ratio). Minor Risks Latest financial reports are more than 6 months old (reported March 2022 fiscal period end). Shareholders have been diluted in the past year (13% increase in shares outstanding). Market cap is less than US$100m (UK£43.1m market cap, or US$54.4m). Duyuru • May 06
Bens Creek Group plc Provides Highwall Miner Update Bens Creek Group plc confirmed that, further to the Company's announcement of 23 March 2023, a second highwall miner ("HWM") has arrived, been assembled and has commenced operating. HWM unit no 77 started arriving disassembled at the Company's site approximately 8 weeks ago. Initially there were issues with the infrastructure arriving in a timely manner and even once finally assembled, HWM 77's software and associated electronics were unable meet a satisfactory condition to begin operations. Despite strenuous efforts by Mega Highwall Mining LLC ("Mega HWM"), the Company's highwall mining contractor, it proved impossible to complete the necessary work as certain electrical components proved to be unobtainable. As such, following consultation between Mega HWM and Bens Creek, it was agreed that a replacement highwall miner was the only alternative. Mega HWM quickly identified another available highwall miner, unit 81, which they moved to the Company's site on 1 May 2023. The machine was assembled and tested by 4 May 2023 and will be fully operational today. Board Change • Mar 31
High number of new and inexperienced directors There are 4 new directors who have joined the board in the last 3 years. The company's board is composed of: 4 new directors. No experienced directors. No highly experienced directors. CEO & Director Adam Wilson is the most experienced director on the board, commencing their role in 2021. The company’s lack of experienced directors is considered a risk according to the Simply Wall St Risk Model. 