Category: Top Story

Ariana Resources (LSE:AAU) has released its audited final results for 2025, marking a year of strategic development against a backdrop of volatile global markets and historically strong gold prices. During the year, the company completed its inaugural listing on the Australian Securities Exchange, achieving its largest capital raise to date. The new funding significantly strengthened its financial position and supported accelerated investment into the Dokwe Gold Project and other growth initiatives.

Operational milestones included the successful commissioning of the Tavşan Gold Mine in Türkiye, which has now moved into commercial production. The mine is expected to deliver output broadly comparable to historical production levels from the Kiziltepe Mine while maintaining all-in sustaining costs around the industry average. Continued drilling at Tavşan is generating promising results, suggesting the potential to extend the site’s current eight-year mine life and support consistent production and cash flow from the Zenit operations.

Exploration work at the Dokwe Gold Project in Zimbabwe intensified throughout 2025, with drilling campaigns, soil sampling and technical studies improving the company’s understanding of the mineralised system. These efforts strengthened the view that Dokwe could form part of a larger regional gold district. Ariana also introduced DetectORE technology at the site, enabling near real-time gold assay results. This innovation has improved drilling decision-making, boosted operational efficiency and helped lower exploration costs, highlighting the company’s increasingly data-driven development approach.

The company also reinforced its strategic partnerships and governance framework. China’s Xinhai Group joined Ariana as both a shareholder and technical partner, supporting metallurgical test work and the definitive feasibility study at Dokwe. At board level, Michael Atkins joined as a director and Xinhai representative John Zhang is expected to follow, bringing additional financial, mining and processing expertise. Meanwhile, Erhan Şener retired after more than two decades overseeing the company’s Turkish operations.

From a financial standpoint, Ariana finished 2025 with cash and cash equivalents of £5.4m, up sharply from £0.9m a year earlier. The increase was driven largely by proceeds from the ASX listing and investment from Xinhai. The company also reduced its RiverFort loan facility, which was later converted into equity after the year ended. The valuation of Ariana’s investment in Zenit rose to £17.5m, while capitalised exploration and evaluation assets climbed to £19.3m, mainly reflecting progress at Dokwe. These developments support the company’s long-term ambition to evolve into a diversified, multi-asset gold producer.

Despite these advances, the company’s outlook remains constrained by weak underlying financial performance, including ongoing operating losses and structurally negative operating and free cash flow. However, Ariana maintains a relatively low-leverage balance sheet. Technical indicators appear supportive, with the share price trading above key moving averages and a positive MACD signal. Valuation remains moderate based on the available P/E ratio, though the absence of dividend yield data limits income-focused appeal.

More about Ariana Resources

Ariana Resources is a mineral exploration and development company focused on gold projects across Africa and Europe. Listed on AIM and the Australian Securities Exchange, the group holds producing assets in Türkiye through the Zenit Mining Operations and is advancing its flagship Dokwe Gold Project in Zimbabwe, alongside exploration interests in south-eastern Europe.

Rio Tinto (LSE:RIO) said on Monday that operations have restarted at three of its four iron ore export terminals in Western Australia’s Pilbara region after Tropical Cyclone Narelle disrupted activity, although the company maintained its annual shipment guidance.

The cyclone brought heavy rainfall and power outages to parts of Australia’s northeast coast earlier this month, prompting the miner to temporarily suspend operations at two of its bauxite mines. Other producers were also affected, with South32 halting activity at the Gemco manganese mine it jointly owns with Anglo American.

Narelle struck Australia’s northwest coastline last week, leading to the closure of several ports across the Pilbara, one of the world’s most important iron ore producing regions.

Rio, the world’s largest iron ore producer, said ship loading at three of its Pilbara terminals resumed on March 28 after the facilities had been shut since March 24.

Shipping at Cape Lambert A, the fourth terminal that is currently undergoing repairs, is expected to recommence “in the coming days”, the company said.

According to Rio, two tropical cyclones that passed through the region in February and March are estimated to have reduced its iron ore shipments by about eight million metric tons. The company added that it has “identified a pathway to recover around half of these losses.”

Despite the disruption, Rio maintained its guidance for Pilbara iron ore shipments in 2026 at between 323 million and 338 million tons.

Debenhams Group (LSE:DEBS) said it expects Adjusted EBITDA of £53 million for the year to 28 February 2026, representing a 36% increase and exceeding previous guidance. The improvement was driven largely by a strong second half, where performance rose 76% year-on-year. The company noted that all brands within the group are now profitable on an Adjusted EBITDA basis, while gross merchandise value trends have strengthened over three consecutive quarters, finishing February around 5% below the prior year.

Management pointed to significant progress in its multi-year turnaround strategy, which focuses on transitioning the business to a stock-light, asset-light online marketplace model while reducing operating costs. Fixed costs have been cut from £175 million to an exit run-rate of £119 million, while capital expenditure has nearly halved. Lease and interest expenses are also expected to decline further as the company continues to exit non-core assets and reduce leverage.

At the end of the financial year, net debt stood at £90 million following a £40 million capital raise, bringing leverage to below two times Adjusted EBITDA. The company now expects leverage to fall below one times EBITDA by FY27. Management also anticipates stronger free cash flow as exceptional restructuring costs decline, depreciation falls in line with a smaller asset base and marketplace growth improves working capital efficiency.

Reflecting these improvements, the board has raised its outlook for FY27 and now expects double-digit Adjusted EBITDA growth from the new £53 million base. Directors said the restructured cost base, consolidation of warehouse operations, technology platform upgrades and strengthened brand management position the group to return its brands to growth and reinforce its competitive standing as an asset-light online marketplace operator.

Despite operational improvements, the company’s broader outlook remains influenced by weaker financial metrics including declining revenue, ongoing losses, relatively high leverage and negative operating cash flow. Technical indicators also remain bearish, with the share price trading below key moving averages despite oversold signals. Valuation metrics offer limited support given the negative price-to-earnings ratio and the absence of dividend yield data.

More about Debenhams Group

Debenhams Group, part of boohoo group plc, operates an online retail platform specialising in fashion, home and beauty products. The business serves millions of customers through five main online shopping destinations: Debenhams, Karen Millen, boohoo, MAN and PrettyLittleThing. Originally known as a department store chain, the Debenhams brand has been transformed into a digital marketplace model aimed at UK and international consumers.

Touchstone Exploration (LSE:TXP) has brought the Carapal Ridge 3 well into production at its Central block operations in Trinidad, increasing gross gas throughput at the processing facility from around 16 MMcf/d at the time of acquisition to approximately 21.5 MMcf/d. The company also reported average net sales of 4,778 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) across January and February. Management said the new well supports its strategy of utilising existing processing capacity more efficiently while directing a greater share of production toward higher-value LNG-linked gas contracts. At the same time, the company’s legacy oil blocks continue to deliver steady, low-risk growth supported by proceeds from last year’s divestment of non-core assets.

Touchstone also provided an update on its Cascadura gas field, where a booster compressor has completed testing in Houston and is currently being transported for installation and commissioning. The equipment is expected to reduce pipeline backpressure and help stabilise production levels. On the oil side of the portfolio, the company drilled the FR-1835 well on the WD-8 block ahead of schedule, identifying approximately 290 feet of net pay. A second well in the four-well programme has already been spudded, with additional drilling planned on the WD-4 block as the company continues to develop both its gas and oil assets in Trinidad.

More about Touchstone Exploration

Touchstone Exploration is a Calgary-based oil and gas company focused on the acquisition, development and operation of onshore petroleum and natural gas assets in Trinidad and Tobago. The group generates revenue from the production of natural gas, condensate and crude oil, and its shares are listed on both the Toronto Stock Exchange and London’s AIM market under the ticker TXP.

AstraZeneca PLC (LSE:AZN) shares climbed 2.8% on Friday after the company reported that its experimental therapy tozorakimab achieved the primary endpoint in two Phase III trials targeting chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

The pharmaceutical group released the findings from the OBERON and TITANIA studies on Thursday. The trials showed that tozorakimab significantly lowered the annualised rate of moderate-to-severe COPD flare-ups compared with placebo, both in the key group of former smokers and across the broader patient population.

According to AstraZeneca, the treatment was generally well tolerated and demonstrated a favourable safety profile during the studies.

Tozorakimab is a monoclonal antibody designed to target interleukin-33 (IL-33), blocking signalling from both the reduced and oxidised forms of the protein. The trials evaluated the therapy in patients who continued to experience COPD exacerbations despite receiving inhaled standard treatments. Participants were given either 300 mg of tozorakimab or a placebo every four weeks alongside standard care.

COPD affects nearly 400 million people worldwide and ranks as the third leading cause of death globally. More than half of patients still suffer exacerbations even while receiving inhaled standard therapies, increasing their risk of serious cardiopulmonary complications and death.

Across the two trials, 2,306 patients were enrolled regardless of their blood eosinophil levels, smoking history or stage of lung function impairment. Researchers assessed the annualised rate of moderate-to-severe COPD exacerbations over a 52-week treatment period.

AstraZeneca said complete data from the OBERON and TITANIA trials will be presented at a forthcoming medical conference. Additional Phase III studies of tozorakimab in COPD—PROSPERO and MIRANDA—are currently underway. The therapy is also being evaluated in a Phase III trial for severe viral lower respiratory tract disease and in a Phase II study for asthma.