Golden times for investors: Why Nordex, Manuka Resources and SFC Energy are in focus now!

Nordex AG - Downward spiral stopped

After the interim high due to positive half-year figures at the end of July at EUR 13.68, the shares of the Hamburg-based wind turbine manufacturer corrected by more than 20% to around EUR 10.60. This is dangerously close to the upward trend established in the short term, which currently runs at EUR 10.50. The reported major order from Canada served as a lifeline, pushing the stock over 4% to the north.

In this regard, the Nordex Group was awarded the contract for the supply and commissioning of 49 turbines of the N155/5.X type for the "Forty Mile" wind farm in Alberta. The wind farm was developed by Renewable Energy Systems Canada, Inc. It will be ACCIONA Energía's largest wind farm in North America, with nearly 280 MW of installed capacity when completed in the first quarter of 2025. All turbines will be of the 5.7 MW cold climate variant and will operate on 108m high steel towers.

"We are pleased to provide the technology to support Canada's ambitious climate change goals," commented Patxi Landa, CSO of Nordex Group. "With the cold climate version, our turbines ensure smooth operation even in the challenging weather conditions in this region, where temperatures can drop below minus 30 degrees."

In addition to insider buying by board members José Luis Blanco Diéguez and Patxi Landa Esparza in the EUR 12 range, analysts at US investment bank Goldman Sachs were also optimistic in the latest report. The price target was raised from EUR 13.90 to EUR 15 after the announcement of the figures for the first half of the year. The rating was repeated with "neutral".

Manuka Resources - Gold production started

Extremely positive news comes from Australia's youngest gold producer, Manuka Resources. The exploration company, whose assets are located in the Cobar Basin in central western New South Wales, started a project for screening and gold recovery at its Mt Boppy gold mine. The Australians expect this to produce 350 to 450 ounces of gold per week.

The products are to be processed at the Company's plant in Wonawinta. The processing plant has a nominal capacity of over 850,000 t per annum, which the Company now expects to expand to over 1.0 million t per annum. Here, experienced management is confident of recovering gold from these sources over a period of approximately 3 years. In addition, the exploration program results are awaited to determine if Mt Boppy permits underground or open pit expansions. To ramp up gold production, Manuka Resources successfully placed a capital raise of AUD 862,500 to professional investors.

In addition to the Mt Boppy mine, the Australians own the Wonawinta Silver Project. This deposit has a mineral resource estimate of 51 million ounces, making it one of Australia's largest silver producers. In addition, Manuka Resources could rise to become one of the Greentech industry's major producers with its South Taranaki Bight project, which contains vanadium needed for large-scale industrial applications. Compared to lithium-ion variants, vanadium-based batteries feature lower energy loss, making them ideal for solar or wind energy projects. The promising project has been given the green light for an annual mining volume of 5 million tons for two decades. According to the BFS1 study, production would be 5 million t of VTM concentrate per year, resulting in an annual yield of 25,000 t of vanadium oxide.

That puts Manuka Resources in a position to supply approximately 15% of global vanadium production. With a mining license in hand, the project ranks in the lowest quarter of iron ore production costs. After receiving environmental approval, the Company is in the starting blocks to finalize its bankable feasibility study.

Manuka Resources currently has a market capitalization of AUD 26.28 million. Considering the positive outlook, the diversified company has high upside potential, but development, specifically at the vanadium project, is still in the early stages.

SFC Energy - At the upper end

Analysts were also positive on fuel cell supplier SFC Energy following its second-quarter figures. Warburg Research reiterated both its "Buy" rating and price target of EUR 28. "In the first half of the year, SFC Energy's operating performance in all key financial indicators exceeded original expectations," said Group CEO Peter Podesser when announcing the half-year figures.

Because the positive business activity is expected to continue in the second half of the year, management expects sales to be at the upper range of the set annual guidance of EUR 107 to 111 million. The previous estimate was only EUR 103 million.

In the recently ended Q2, sales increased by 46% to EUR 29.6 million. Of this, almost EUR 4 million remained as adjusted EBITDA, an increase of nearly 73% YOY. This growth was caused by an increased gross profit, relatively lower costs, and price increases. The EBITDA margin increased by 2 percentage points to 13.4%. However, net profit decreased by about 16% to EUR 1.3 million.

Due to the publication of a major order from Canada, the downward trend of the Nordex share was stopped. SFC Energy raised its forecasts thanks to a better-than-expected first half-year. Manuka Resources started its gold extraction at the company-owned Mt Boppy property.