AIM gold price beneficiaries
The gold price remains strong despite some profit-taking in mid-October (see this month's publication).
Gold demand is being boosted by investment interest and ETF demand is the highest it has been since 2020. In the most recent quarter, ETF buying increased by 222t. Bar and coin demand also increased. Jewellery demand has declined.
Gold production could reach a record high this year. There are AIM gold miners already generating significant cash from production and some are coming to an end of past hedging, which means they will be generating even more cash. Ariana Resources will benefit from a joint venture mine in Turkey that has just commenced production and that will generate additional cash.
CURRENT EDITION
THIS MONTH'S TOPICS INCLUDE:
AIM underperforms in October
QCA sets out 2025 Budget proposals
Jet2 Gatwick opportunity
Airline and tour operator Jet2 is moving into Gatwick in March 2026. There are 15 million potential customers within one hour of Gatwick.
Gatwick will be the fourteenth airport that Jet2 will fly from. Canaccord Genuity believes that this is a significant long-term opportunity. There will be initial pre-start-up costs in 2025-26 and there could be a loss of up to £60m in 2026-27 as business is built up. There should be a four to five year payback. Jet2 will be flying to existing holiday destinations.
In the year to March 2026, Jet2 pre-tax profit is currently forecast to decline from £577.7m to £555.5m, but this has not been adjusted for the additional Gatwick costs.
MicroSalt deal with Daiya Foods
Low sodium salt developer MicroSalt has secured a deal with Daiya Foods Inc, which produces dairy-free and plant-based food. This deal will help to diversify the customer base, as well as into products outside the snacks market.
An initial order of $50,000 has been made and next year the deal is expected to generate $500,000.
Daiya Foods has products in 25,000 grocery stores in the US and Canada. They are also available online. The initial focus of the MicroSalt deal is cheese and pizza dough.
Prior to the Daiya Foods agreement, MicroSalt was forecasting 2026 revenues of $5m.
