There are plenty of penny shares around right now. I try to avoid any real tiddlers priced at just a few pennies or less, or with a market-cap under £50m.
But it still leaves a few whose shares are priced at under 100p, with updates coming our way in October.
Software tech
Netcall (LSE: NET) is due to release full-year results on 5 October. The software tech stock has climbed strongly over five years. But in the past 12 months it’s been pretty flat, currently standing at 80p.
Netcall is only making modest profits, and the shares are on a fairly lofty valuation. We’re looking at a forecast price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of over 30. But with analysts forecasting solid earnings growth, that could come down.
In July’s trading update, the company said it expects to post a 12% rise in revenue, with a gain of approximately 20% in adjusted EBITDA. In particular, Netcall’s cloud offerings should see a revenue increase of 30%.
We’re clearly looking at a growth candidate here, and the shares are not obviously priced cheaply. But I reckon it could be one to watch.
Space investments
Have you ever fancied investing in space technology? I’ve always thought it a bit fanciful, and seriously risky. If I ever went for it, ideally I’d like to spread the risk by going for an investment trust.
And there is one, Seraphim Space Investment Trust (LSE: SSIT), which describes itself as “the world’s first listed SpaceTech investment company“. It will release its full year results on 17 October.
The shares haven’t done brilliantly over the last 12 months, dropping 50%. With a share price of 61p and a market-cap of a little below £150m, Seraphim is pretty small as investment trusts go.
The company’s July update was really all about assets and acquisitions, with net assets of £250m at 31 March.
We have no idea of current net asset value (NAV), so it’s hard to evaluate the share price today. But we should have a NAV update with October’s results. I’d definitely need to see that before making any decisions.
Gold miner
Finally, down to Earth and digging for gold. I’m talking about Centamin (LSE: CEY), on a share price of 86p.
It’s declined by 5% in the past 12 months, and by 40% over five years. Meanwhile, gold is up around 40% over five years as investors seek its safety.
A gold miner is not just a play on the gold price itself. Providing the cost of production is low enough, a miner can make profits even when gold is falling, and that doesn’t happen if we buy the metal itself.
That’s where I think the risk lies. In the first half, Centamin declared a cash cost of production of $931 per ounce produced. But its all-in sustaining costs reached $1,446 per ounce sold.
That might be squeezing margins a bit tightly. Before I’d make any decision, I’d probably wait for full-year results. But a Q3 report due on 20 October should help.