Octagonal Plc (LON:OCT) saw its shares jump 16.9% to 3.1p in late-afternoon trading as its wholly owned subsidiary, Global Investment Strategy UK, reported record earnings in full-year results.
The AIM-listed investment group said its subsidiary's underlying earnings (EBITDA) will be ?3mln, a 39% increase from ?2.2mln the previous year, on sales of ?6.5mln, a 16% increase from ?5.6mln the year before.
Elsewhere on the AIM, shares in Concepta PLC (LON:CPT) surged 16% to 7.2p as the firm signed an agreement with SinoPharm, the largest state-owned pharmaceutical company in China for local stock holdings and logistics services throughout the whole of the country for its fertility product myLotus.
Under the terms of the deal, the AIM-listed firm will receive regular quarterly orders for myLotus meters from SinoPharm, with 50% of the payment made upfront and 50% paid on delivery.
In the FTSE 100, oil major BP PLC's (LON:BP.) shares rose 2% to 534.6p after it announced that former BG Group chief executive Helge Lund is to succeed Carl-Henric Svanberg as its chairman.
BP said Lund will join its board as chairman-designate and non-executive director on September 1 and will become chairman on January 1.
It added that Lund, who is also chairman of Denmark's Novo Nordisk AS, will stand down as a director of US oilfield service company Schlumberger with immediate effect.
MC Mining Ltd (LON:MCM) shares fell 7.9% to 35p in mid-afternoon trading after it reported a production decline in its third quarter as mining contractor equipment became less available and sales fell amid poor weather.
In its results for the period, the AIM-listed miner reported metallurgical and thermal run-of-mine coal production at its Uitkomst mine in South Africa fell 18% to 115,750 tonnes from 140,501 tonnes in the second quarter.
The group also announced the resignation of Rudolph Torlage, a non-executive director, in a separate statement.
Meanwhile, shares in FTSE 100 oil major Royal Dutch Shell PLC (LON:RDSB) fell 2% to 2,534.5p as shareholders were let down by first quarter profits amid high oil prices.
Quarterly earnings (when reported as CCS earnings attributable to shareholders) were up 69% year-on-year at US$5.7bn versus US$3.38bn in the comparative period of 2017 and US$3.08bn in the preceding three months.
The upstream business, which is most directly impacted by the price of crude, saw earnings of US$1.55bn for the quarter, up from US$540mln in the first quarter of last year.
In the risers, FTSE 250 betting and gambling software firm Playtech PLC (LON:PTEC) saw its shares rise 0.7% to 798.4p after Deutsche Bank has boosted its price target in the wake of the firm's ?,?846mln acquisition of Italian rival Snaitech.
It said the new target offers around 60% upside potential to the current share price of 799p - which at Thursday lunchtime in London was up 0.8% on Wednesday's close.
In a note to clients, Deutsche Bank's analysts said: "The long-awaited deal catalyst has now arrived, with a consequent improvement in balance sheet efficiency, material earnings accretion and medium-term re-rating opportunity (less unregulated market exposure; online growth opportunity)."
U and I Group PLC (LON:UAI) shares jumped 5.1% to 213p in late-morning trading as it said it had completed the disposal of its holding in Charlton Riverside in Greenwich for ?58mln, in line with the upper end of its guidance.
The property developer had originally acquired the site in 2015 for ?27mln, and after several approaches had completed its sale to a housing association for the expanded sum.
Meanwhile, pizza delivery outfit Domino's Pizza Group PLC (LON:DOM) saw its shares jump 2.6% to 355p as it had made an encouraging start to the year.
In the UK and the Republic of Ireland, system sales were up 10.4% year-on-year in the first quarter.
Like-for-like (LFL) sales growth, excluding stores in split territories, was 7.0%, driven by strong like-for-like order growth of 6.7%; this represents a slight slowdown in LFL sales growth of 7.1% for the first eight weeks of the year, which was the period before the "Beast from the East" hit the British Isles.
Elsewhere, N Brown Group PLC (LON:BWNGT) shares rose 5.3% to 204.2p as the firm reported growth in revenue and profits, despite a "challenging market backdrop" and adverse weather conditions.
For the 52 weeks to 3 March 2018, the fashion retailer reported 3.9% increase in revenue to ?922.2mln from ?887.7mln last year. Adjusted trading profit before tax rose 1.3% to ?81.6mln from ?80.6mln a year ago.
Weatherly International plc (LON:WTI) shares crashed in early morning trading, down 62.5% at 0.22p as it announced a strategic review that could lead to the sale of its entire issued share capital.
The AIM-listed miner said in a separate release that it was unlikely to generate sufficient surplus cash to repay loans owed to Orion Mine Finance, and the strategic review was part of negotiations to restructure its debt facilities.
Meanwhile, Hastings Group Holdings PLC (LON:HSTG) saw its shares slump 6.6% to 260.6p after the British insurer said heavy snow resulted in higher-than-expected claims costs in the first quarter.
The so-called Beast from the East brought over icy winds and snowfall from Siberia to Europe in February and March.
In a trading update, Hastings said while the cold weather pushed up claims costs in the first quarter to March 31, it remains confident of delivering a loss ratio "just below or within" the target range of 75-79% for the full year.
In the risers, shares in AIM-listed driver mentoring group Seeing Machines Limited (LON:SEE) jumped 9.3% to 5.2p as it a contract win with an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) in the German car industry.
The unnamed company wants to incorporate Seeing Machines' FOVIO driver monitoring technology into new models planned for mass production from 2021.
Elsewhere, fund manager Braveheart Investment Group PLC (LON:BRH) shares soared 16.3% to 17.7p as it expected pre-tax profits to be "substantially higher" in its full-year results for last year.
The company said following a revaluation of its investments by an externally commissioned valuer, it expected to report a substantial increase in the value of its portfolio, primarily through its investments in Paraytec Limited and Kirkstall Limited.
Braveheart Investment Group PLC (LON:BRH) saw its shares jump on Thursday after the company said it expects to report substantially increased profit after tax for the year ended 31 March 2018 compared to the prior year.
Seeing Machines Limited (LON:SEE) has confirmed a contract win with an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) in the German car industry.
Graphene-based products supplier Directa Plus Plc (LON:DCTA) returned to revenue growth in 2017.
Futura Medical PLC (LON:FUM) has commenced preparatory work on the first Phase III efficacy trial for MED2002, the company's topical gel for erectile dysfunction (ED).
Completion contracts specialist FFI Holdings Plc (LON:FFI) has acquired Signature Entertainment, one of the UK's largest film distributors. Steven Ransohoff, FFI Holdings' chief executive said Signature is especially well placed in the streaming arena, which is a new captive distribution channel for the group.
Strategic Minerals Plc (LON:SML) has published a work programme to re-start operations at its recently acquired Leigh Creek copper mine in South Australia. Full production is expected around mid-2019 at the Mountain of Light and Lyndhurst projects, while the existing min plan will be extended for five years to include five other deposits and the heap leach pads.
Raymond Akers has been relieved of his executive roles at Akers Biosciences Inc (LON:AKR) (NASDAQ:AKER).
More offices being converted into flats helped Circle Property PLC's (LON:CRC) property values and rental income rise sharply over the past year. The AIM-listed group specialises in acquiring commercial properties that need a bit of TLC/refurbishment and demand for space in good locations in regional cities remains buoyant said John Arnold, chief executive.
Sound Energy PLC (LON:SOU) has released a new competent persons report for the A1 prospect, confirming the potential scale of the gas assets hosted in the Tendrara-Lakbir permit. Preliminary findings of consultant RPS Energy confirm previous estimates of the A1 prospect. Big Pic in October.
Cadogan Petroleum PLC (LON:CAD) has revealed a significant increase in gross profit and narrowing of net losses, thanks to improved oil prices and an upturn in its trading division. The Ukraine focussed oil and gas firm, in financial results for 2017, reported an average realised price of US$41.60 per oil equivalent barrel, up from US$34.5 per barrel in the preceding year.
Range Resources Ltd (LON:RRL) shares were on the back foot in Thursday's early deals, down 4%, after an incident caused by illegal third-part drilling at the Perlak oil field, in Indonesia, The company revealed, in a statement on Wednesday evening, that a new well being drilled by local residents had caused a blowout and fire, resulting in multiple fatalities and injuries.
W Resources PLC (LON:WRES) has announced the completion of the reverse circulation (RC) drilling campaign at its Tarouca tungsten and tin exploration licence in Portugal.The AIM-listed firm said the month-long programme included 29 holes with 1,515 metres of total drilling, completed in lengths between 50 metres and 70 metres.
Savannah Resources Plc (LON:SAV) said bulk sampling is underway at the NOA deposit at its Mina do Barroso lithium project in northern Portugal.
Landore Resources Ltd (LON:LND) said it has begun drilling at its BAM East gold deposit at the Junior Lake property in Ontario, Canada.
As Jersey Oil & Gas PLC (LON:JOG) releases financial results for 2017 all attentions are fixed on the follow-up drilling planned for the Verbier discovery later this year. An appraisal well is planned by project operator Statoil to further test Verbier this summer, and it is described by Jersey as exciting near-term activity.
Capital Drilling Ltd (LON:CAPD) said it has expanded its presence in the West Africa region as an additional 12 rigs arrived in the first quarter.
Metminco Limited (LON:MNC) today confirmed it has completed a A$5.6mln entitlement offer, which forms part of the group's refinancing and relaunch. It will now issue 694.8mln new shares to subscribing shareholders, with each new share priced at 0.8 Australian cent each. Additionally, the investors will receive options (a total of 231.6mln will be issued) creating the possibility for a further issue of equity before June 2020.
Further to the announcement made on 25 April 2018, Cello Group confirmed that its change of name to Cello Health plc (LON:CLL) is now effective.