WH Smith (LSE:SMWH) reported a 5% year-on-year increase in group revenue during the peak summer trading period and maintained its expectation for full-year headline profit before tax of approximately £75 million, in line with market forecasts.

The travel retailer said revenue growth was supported by its UK operations, particularly stores in hospitals and travel hubs, alongside performance in its North American airport business.

Trading at North American resort locations was less favourable, while profitability across the group was affected by increased promotional activity, reduced brand marketing and inflationary pressures.

WH Smith is continuing a transformation programme focused on reducing costs, improving cash and working capital management, and reshaping its store portfolio towards travel retail formats that management expects to generate higher returns.

The company raised £103 million through an equity issue to support its balance sheet. Net debt has subsequently declined to approximately £325 million, with leverage standing at around 2.0 times.

As part of its portfolio review, WH Smith is withdrawing from or transitioning to franchise arrangements in several international markets, including Norway, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands.

The group is also reviewing its North American resort operations, with plans to reduce its exposure to stores with a greater emphasis on fashion products.

In the UK, WH Smith opened six new one-stop-shop stores at major airports ahead of the peak summer trading period.

The format combines a broader range of travel essentials within individual stores, with the company seeking to increase average transaction values in locations with high passenger volumes.

WH Smith has also completed the disposal of Cult Pens as part of its programme to exit operations outside its core travel retail strategy.

Management is implementing further cost-saving measures and reviewing capital expenditure to align investment with its revised store portfolio.

The company continues to target improvements in cash generation and working capital as it adjusts its operations across domestic and international markets.

Despite the impact of promotional activity and inflation on margins, WH Smith reiterated its full-year headline profit before tax guidance of approximately £75 million.

The group operates travel retail stores across airports, railway stations, hospitals and resort locations, with a substantial presence in the UK and North America.

Its current strategy focuses on travel essentials, portfolio restructuring and franchise arrangements in selected international markets.

Babcock International (LSE:BAB) has maintained its full-year 2027 guidance after reporting that trading during the first five months of the financial year was in line with management expectations, supported by performance in its Nuclear and Aviation businesses.

The defence and engineering services group also announced contract developments across several international markets, alongside a £250 million bond issue and a further £200 million share buyback programme.

Babcock reported the transition of Harry Holt to chief executive officer and introduced organisational changes intended to support growth and operational development.

In Canada, the company secured a multi-year contract to provide support for Victoria Class submarines. It was also selected as preferred bidder for a French Air Force combat training programme.

Additional contract activity included follow-on support work for military vehicles supplied to Ukraine and extensions to support arrangements for Australia’s Anzac Class frigates.

Within its nuclear operations, Babcock is expanding its involvement in energy infrastructure through support for small modular reactor deployment and a technology partnership focused on advanced reactor systems.

The company also highlighted potential opportunities associated with UK defence investment, including the Government’s £298 billion Defence Investment Plan and the £26 billion Royal Oak naval infrastructure modernisation programme.

Babcock provides through-life support for the UK’s nuclear submarine fleet and operates key naval bases, placing its existing activities within the scope of planned investment in naval infrastructure and defence capabilities.

The group is also developing its Hybrid Navy and ARMOR Force initiatives, which focus on autonomous systems, digital technologies and their potential application across future defence operations.

On financing, Babcock issued a £250 million six-year sterling bond to extend its debt maturity profile.

The company has also launched a further £200 million share buyback programme, which is scheduled to be completed by the end of FY27.

Babcock’s unchanged guidance reflects its current trading performance and management’s expectations for the remainder of the financial year.

The group is scheduled to publish its half-year 2027 financial results on 19 November 2026, providing a further update on trading, contract activity and financial performance.

Babcock International provides defence, nuclear and aviation engineering services, including submarine maintenance, naval base operations, military vehicle support and aerospace training. Its operations span the UK and international markets, including Canada, France, Poland and Australia.

Moonpig Group plc (LSE:MOON) has maintained its financial outlook for the 2027 financial year, reporting that trading since the start of the period has been in line with management expectations.

The online greeting cards and gifting company said revenue growth at its core Moonpig brand was supported by higher order volumes, an expanding active customer base and an increase in average order values.

Average order values benefited from product upselling and a modest rise in the proportion of card purchases accompanied by gifts.

Moonpig is continuing to implement its multi-year strategy to expand delivery options, including value-focused services and premium next-day delivery.

The group’s Netherlands-based Greetz business recorded modest year-on-year growth, contributing to the overall trading performance.

Within the Experiences segment, online gross transaction value increased as the company expanded and developed its product offering.

However, reported revenue in the division remained lower, reflecting the planned withdrawal from certain retail partnerships and the reinvestment of commissions.

Moonpig expects Experiences revenue to return to growth during the second half of the financial year.

The company reiterated its medium-term financial framework, which targets annual revenue growth in the mid-to-high single digits, an adjusted EBITDA margin of between 25% and 27%, and double-digit growth in adjusted earnings per share.

Moonpig also confirmed that its share buyback programme remains ongoing.

The group operates online greeting card and gifting platforms through the Moonpig, Red Letter Days and Buyagift brands in the UK and Greetz in the Netherlands.

Its product offering includes personalised greeting cards, gifts and experiences, supported by proprietary technology and mobile applications.

The unchanged FY27 guidance reflects management’s current expectations for the year, including continued growth at the core Moonpig brand and an anticipated recovery in Experiences revenue during the second half.

Winkworth (LSE:WINK) reported a 10% decline in company revenue to £4.7 million for the six months ended 30 June 2026, while operating profit before exceptional costs increased 9%. The estate agency franchisor also warned that exceptional legal and advisory expenses are expected to leave full-year reported profit before tax materially below market expectations.

Network revenue declined 1% to £31.6 million, reflecting a 5% reduction in property sales revenue, partly offset by a 3% increase in lettings and management revenue. The results reflected a greater contribution from rental activities amid uneven conditions in the UK property market.

The company attributed the decline in its own revenue primarily to the winding down of its Development and Commercial Investment division and the deconsolidation of its Crystal Palace office.

Cash generation improved during the period, with Winkworth reporting a cash balance of £3.73 million and no debt at the end of June.

Trading varied across the network, with central London and country markets contributing to performance. Management cited interest rate uncertainty and geopolitical tensions as factors affecting property market conditions.

Winkworth also reported that franchisees had adapted to changes associated with the Renters’ Rights Act. The company said its London sales market share had increased in recent years.

Network expansion continued during the first half, with four new offices added. Assisted acquisitions also supported the establishment of a new regional hub, while the company maintained investment in technology and artificial intelligence.

Despite the increase in operating profit before exceptional costs, Winkworth expects legal and advisory expenses to reduce reported full-year profit before tax materially below market forecasts.

The company operates a network of 104 offices across the UK, focusing on residential property sales, lettings and management. Its franchise model is supplemented by selectively owned offices and an assisted acquisition programme designed to support franchisee expansion.

For a gold developer, the journey from feasibility through to construction is where a project’s potential starts to become increasingly tangible. At this stage, investors begin to focus not only on the geological opportunity and project economics, but also on the practical milestones required to turn a development into a producing mine.

For Cora Gold (LSE:CORA), that transition is now firmly underway at its Sanankoro Gold Project in Mali, with the company progressing key pre-construction activities while continuing exploration aimed at expanding its resource base.

In a recent Watch List interview, Bert Monro, CEO of Cora Gold, provided an update on the company’s progress and outlined the key milestones investors should be watching as Sanankoro moves towards construction.

Sanankoro Prepares for Mine Construction

Cora Gold completed its Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) for Sanankoro at the end of last year, marking a significant milestone in the project’s development.

According to Monro, Sanankoro is an open-pit oxide gold project with a payback period of less than one year at the current gold price — an attractive feature as the company progresses towards development.

The immediate priority is now the completion of the Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) process, which represents a critical part of the preparation required before construction can begin.

“We’re currently completing our FEED process on the project,” Monro explained, describing it as a “really critical path” ahead of construction.

The work is therefore focused on taking Sanankoro from a defined development plan towards a project that is increasingly construction-ready.

Drilling Offers Further Resource Upside

Alongside the engineering work, Cora Gold is continuing an active drilling programme at Sanankoro.

The programme has a dual purpose: supporting the FEED process while also providing the company with an opportunity to grow its existing resources.

Cora has recently released further drill results, with additional results expected to provide continued news flow over the coming weeks and months.

For investors, this creates an interesting combination of development progress and exploration upside. While the company works through the technical requirements for construction, drilling continues to test the potential for additional resources.

Monro highlighted the ongoing programme and the prospect of further results, indicating that there should be plenty of potential news flow from the drilling campaign in the months ahead.

Permitting Is Now a Key Catalyst

While FEED and drilling remain important areas of activity, Cora Gold is also making progress on what Monro described as the major pre-construction milestone: permitting.

The company recently secured the renewal of its main exploration permit, representing an important step forward as it works through the remaining permitting requirements.

Cora is now progressing through the final stages of permitting, including additional renewals and reshaping work, before ultimately seeking the award of its mining permit.

For Cora, securing the mining permit would represent a major milestone in the development of Sanankoro and provide further clarity on the pathway towards construction.

Monro was particularly encouraged by the recent progress, with the company now looking to advance the remaining stages as quickly as possible over the coming months.

Multiple Catalysts Ahead

The significance of Sanankoro’s current phase is that Cora Gold is moving beyond simply demonstrating the geological potential of the project. The company is now working through the engineering, permitting and exploration activities required to advance the project towards development.

With the DFS completed, FEED underway, drilling continuing and permitting progressing, Cora has several potential catalysts ahead.

The completion of FEED, further drill results, continued permitting progress and the award of the mining permit will be important milestones for investors to monitor.

This combination of development and exploration activity could make the coming months an important period for Cora Gold as Sanankoro continues its transition towards construction.

A Project Entering an Important Stage

Cora Gold’s progress at Sanankoro comes at a time when the gold sector continues to benefit from a strong gold-price environment. For developers, this can potentially improve the economics and attractiveness of projects that are approaching the construction decision.

Sanankoro’s open-pit oxide development model, combined with the sub-one-year payback highlighted by Monro at the current gold price, gives the project an interesting economic proposition as Cora continues to advance it.

The focus now is firmly on execution: completing the FEED work, progressing the permitting process, continuing exploration and ultimately securing the mining permit.

As Cora Gold moves through these milestones, Sanankoro is steadily transitioning from a feasibility-stage project towards a potential development opportunity.

For investors watching Cora Gold, the next few months could therefore prove significant, with a combination of engineering progress, permitting milestones and exploration results providing a steady stream of potential catalysts.

With Bert Monro and the Cora Gold team focused on advancing the project, Sanankoro is entering an important stage in its journey towards construction.

For more information visit – https://www.coragold.com/

First Development Resources (LSE:FDR) has taken an important step forward at its Selta Project in Australia’s Northern Territory, with initial drilling at the Lander West gold target confirming primary gold mineralisation in bedrock and providing the company with a significantly clearer roadmap for the next phase of exploration.

For an exploration company, drilling is ultimately about turning geological concepts into evidence. At Lander West, First Development Resources has now achieved an important part of that process.

The company’s initial Reverse Circulation programme comprised eight holes totalling 1,593 metres and confirmed gold mineralisation in bedrock, with gold anomalism encountered in six of the eight holes.

The headline result came from hole 26LWR08 at the Red Handed target, which returned 7 metres at 0.40 g/t gold from 50 metres, including 2 metres at 0.98 g/t gold, with a peak 1-metre assay of 1.11 g/t gold.

For FDR, however, the significance of the programme extends beyond a single drill intercept.

Building the geological picture

One of the most encouraging aspects of the latest results is the amount of new geological information generated by the programme.

FDR has combined the new drilling results with surface geochemistry, modern geophysics and its reconstruction of historical exploration data. That integrated approach has identified multiple priority areas across the wider Lander West target.

These include Red Handed, Red Hackle, Auraria, L1 and Giles, giving the company a pipeline of targets to investigate rather than relying on a single area of interest.

This is particularly relevant because the company’s review of historical exploration has highlighted significant gaps between previous drill fences and across prospective magnetic and structural features.

In other words, Lander West has not yet been comprehensively tested by modern exploration techniques.

That leaves FDR with considerable scope to systematically build on what it has learned from the first drilling campaign.

Gold and copper add further interest

Gold is not the only encouraging element emerging from the programme.

Drillhole 26LWR02 intersected 8 metres at 0.32% copper from 47 metres, including 5 metres at 0.39% copper and a peak 1-metre assay of 0.58% copper. The company is now assessing the significance of this copper mineralisation within the broader mineralising system.

Surface exploration has also added another layer to the geological picture.

FDR’s 2026 reconnaissance and rock-chip sampling programme covered 243 samples/sites across Lander West, with gold values reaching 0.64 g/t Au alongside elevated pathfinder elements including arsenic, tungsten, antimony, bismuth and copper.

Taken together, the drilling, surface sampling and geophysical information are helping the company develop a much stronger understanding of the system.

Historical results now provide an additional exploration vector

FDR has also been able to validate historical drilling at Red Handed.

Historical RAB hole RHB108, drilled by Normandy NFM in 1997, returned 16 metres at 0.30 g/t gold from 12 metres, including 2 metres at 1.93 g/t gold. FDR’s latest drilling and historical data review provide further evidence that the Red Handed area hosts an underlying gold-bearing system.

Importantly, the company is not claiming continuity between the historical and modern intersections. Instead, the results provide additional geological evidence supporting further systematic exploration.

That distinction is important — and potentially encouraging — because the objective of the next phase is now to establish whether the system develops into zones with better grade, greater width and stronger continuity.

October exploration programme provides the next catalyst

FDR is already preparing for the next phase of work, with field crews expected to return to Lander West in October.

The company plans to refine and rank the priority targets identified through the latest integrated review before progressing to further Aircore and Reverse Circulation drilling.

The staged approach is also designed to remain capital disciplined, with targets required to justify further expenditure.

For investors following the story, this creates a potentially interesting sequence of exploration catalysts: additional work at Red Handed, testing of the wider target areas, and further drilling aimed at determining whether the initial gold-bearing system can develop into something more substantial.

From geological concept to a defined exploration story

The latest results should therefore be viewed as an important step in FDR’s exploration journey rather than the conclusion of it.

The company has now demonstrated primary gold mineralisation in bedrock at Lander West, identified gold anomalism across multiple drill holes, confirmed copper mineralisation in one hole, validated historical exploration results and established a pipeline of priority targets for follow-up work.

As CEO Tristan Pottas highlighted, the initial programme has established that the company is dealing with a genuine gold-bearing system and, perhaps just as importantly, has provided a much stronger dataset to determine where the next drilling should be focused.

The next question is therefore not simply whether there is gold at Lander West — that has now been demonstrated.

The focus moves to whether continued exploration can identify higher-grade, wider and more continuous zones of mineralisation.

With exploration set to resume in October and multiple targets now in the pipeline, First Development Resources enters its next phase with considerably more geological information — and potentially a much clearer path towards unlocking the wider potential of the Selta Project.

For more information visit – https://firstdevelopmentresources.com/