• LTR Pharma helped prop up a flaccid Aussie IPO scene in 2023 with a winning ROI
  • Lithium Universe wasn’t far behind, leading battery metal newcomers

 

As you may be aware, 2023 was a challenging year overall for IPO (Initial Public Offering) launches in Australia.

In fact, that’s putting it lightly – in total, it was the worst capital-raising year for Aussie floats since 1995.

And it was a reflection of the global IPO market landscape, which saw volumes falling by 8% and proceeds down by 33% compared with 2022, according to a report from E&Y. (Stats that the accounting firm believes could pick up in 2024, by the way.)

But that’s not to say there weren’t some rip-roaring success stories among them – at least 10 IPOs ended up on the right side of the year’s ROI ledger (see full chart further below).

And because we like a positive yarn at Stockhead, here, we recap the top five of those, beginning with a surprising late-year entry which burst onto the biotech scene with a completely unique offering…

 

LTR Pharma (ASX:LTP)

2023 return: 65%

IPO price: 0.20

Current price: 0.325

Amount raised: $7 million

Market cap: $22.88 million

 

Performance enhancement for erectile dysfunction drugs has been a long time coming. And it so turns out LTR Pharma is the firm most likely to deliver it – via simple and effective means.

The clinical stage, biotech company is pioneering a novel intranasal (spray) technology called SPONTAN, which is designed to treat erectile dysfunction in 10 minutes or less.

SPONTAN is said to provide on-demand delivery and faster effect. A lower dose provides less systematic exposure and reduced side effect.

As LTP independent non-executive director Dr Julian Chick told Stockhead late last year, it’s a simple and engaging story for investors to get around:

A the core of Spontan “is a very simple proposition”, a simple unique selling point – speed and spontaneity.”

In mid December, clinical data for SPONTAN, originally published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine, was presented at the World Meeting on Sexual Medicine (WMSM) in Dubai.

The study showed that the intranasal formulation achieved more rapid plasma concentration with one-third dose when compared with the oral administration method of delivering erectile dysfunction treatments.

Read more about LTR Pharma and SPONTAN here > Huge IPO interest and not lithium? LTR Pharma could be the next big thing on the ASX

 

Lithium Universe (ASX:LU7)

2023 return: 60%

IPO price: 0.20

Current price: 0.27

Amount raised: $3 million

Market cap: $10.49 million

 

Lithium stocks by and large struggled last year as the lithium narrative waned on falling spodumene prices and reports of supply overstocking globally.

But, there were standout performers, in particular Wildcat Resources (ASX:WC8) with an utterly stupendous 1,900% return.

And at least some of the newcomers that did raise and float, performed very well indeed.

Lithium trailblazer Iggy Tan’s Lithium Universe was the year’s second-most-successful IPO, following the completion of its 2023 summer/fall exploration work program at the Apollo lithium project in Canada.

The project boasts geological and geophysical characteristics similar to well-known spodumene pegmatites in the area such as Patriot Battery Metals’ (ASX:PMT) 109.2Mt Corvette property – just 29km away – and Winsome Resources’ (ASX:WR1) Adina property, another 28km away.

And adding to the exploration operations, LU7 CEO Alex Hanly recently told Stockhead that the company “brought in some key lithium players and experience into the group to further the broader ‘Quebec lithium processing hub’ vision and strategy.

“We brought on both Hatch Engineering and Primero Group to further those engineering studies.”

Read further about what’s in store for LU7 2024 > here.

 

Great Divide Mining (ASX:GDM)

2023 return: 58%

IPO price: 0.20

Current price: 0.30

Amount raised: $5 million

Market cap: $8.18 million

 

This Brisbane-based gold, antimony and critical metals explorer made an immediate impression on investors following its ASX listing in August, and a strong level of interest was generally maintained in following months.

It helped that it reported a maiden inferred mineral resource estimate (MRE) at its Yellow Jack project was on the cards and highly anticipated.

That came in at: 1.84Mt at 0.86g/t gold (Au) for 51,100oz contained gold.

Yellow Jack, located in Greenvale, Queensland, is a shallow, open-resource site that has close proximity to existing heap leach and Carbon-in-Pulp process plants enabling project development with limited capital expenditure.

Since the MRE report, the company has revealed strong assay results from diamond drilling at Yellow Jack, including gold intercepts of: 12m at 2.70g/t Au from 25m depth in one hole, including 6m at 4.15g/t Au from 30m depth; and 6.2m at 1.1g/t Au from 80m depth in another hole.

Last week, GDM’s CEO Justin Haines said that the new assay results indicate “that the gold mineralisation is of higher concentration in certain areas and extends further along strike and at depth than initially anticipated.

“We are undertaking a full 3D interpretation of the Yellow Jack gold system, which will be completed over the coming weeks, and are now well placed to consider an update of our previously announced JORC Mineral Resource Estimate.”

Stay tuned.

 

Gold Hydrogen (ASX:GHY)

2023 return: 52%

IPO price: 0.50

Current price: 0.725

Amount raised: $20 million

Market cap: $55.58 million

 

In late December, this energy stock was leading the year’s ASX IPOs with a 90% return, so it ended up falling away a tad. Still, zooming out, it had an impressive year after listing back in January.

Much of GHY’s positive activity didn’t arrive until early November, though, after the company announced significant concentrations of hydrogen and helium encountered in sections of the Ramsay 1 well, demonstrating an active hydrogen system in the Ramsay Project area.

Then, in early December, Gold Hydrogen reported that its Ramsay 2 well exploration had been completed, and that high helium concentrations were found, reaching up to 6.8% in raw gas from the Kulpara Formation.

Despite being only the second well in the company’s exploration program, multiple data points throughout the drilling campaign indicate the potential for a significant helium reservoir and a prolific helium system at the Ramsay project site.

Subsequent exploration, analysis and future flow testing will provide a clearer picture of this promising opportunity, the company said.

Gold Hydrogen’s MD, Neil McDonald recently described the Ramsay 2 hydrogen and helium findings as “truly world-class and groundbreaking”, adding:

“The drilling of Ramsay 2 and the collection of extensive data during this program has enabled the company to not only confirm and validate the historical results but also identify multiple target zones for both hydrogen and helium.”

 

James Bay Minerals (ASX:JBY)

2023 return: 38%

IPO price: 0.20

Current price: 0.255

Amount raised: $6.2 million

Market cap: $8.13 million

 

Another lithium stonker, this Canadian-based miner hit the ASX in September, after acquiring a 100% interest in one of the largest lithium exploration portfolios in the white-hot “white gold” James Bay region, covering an area of 34,572ha or 346km2.

The stock quickly soared to 0.52 per share, but has been consolidating ever since, albeit well enough in the green to make this list and register a solid 2023 entrance.

In early November, the company said it had strategically increased its La Grande Project area, which makes up the majority of its portfolio in the region, by 70% to 30,168ha (302km2).

That’s a landholding increase of 12,116ha (121km2) for La Grande, while adjoining site – the Aqua Property, which is along trend from FIN Resources’ (ASX:FIN) recent outcropping spodumene discovery, has reportedly been increased by 5,578ha (56km2).

The company’s La Grande Project is a highly prospective lithium property located along trend from Winsome Resources’ (ASX: WR1) Cancet Lithium Project, and Patriot Battery Metals’ (ASX:PMT) world-class CV5 deposit.

And in other recent eye-opening news for JBY, it reported early December that a significant number (more than 120 now) of new LCT pegmatite targets have been generated from airborne LiDAR at the Aqua Property.

JBY executive director James Dornan noted at the time: “Given we have the three keygeological ingredients for giant LCT lithium-pegmatite deposits – along with FIN Resources’ spodumene discovery on the border of our property – our confidence in the prospectivity at Aqua and the potential fora significant lithium discovery continues to grow.”

 

The final scorecard for 2023 ASX IPOs

Swipe or scroll to reveal the full table. Click headings to sort.

Code Name IPO Price Current Price Return Market cap Listing date
LTP LTR Pharma 0.2 0.33 65% $22,529,756 11/12/2023
LU7 Lithium Universe Ltd 0.02 0.032 60% $12,432,701 14/8/2023
GDM Great Divide Mining 0.2 0.315 58% $8,583,750 18/10/2023
GHY Gold Hydrogen 0.5 0.76 52% $58,647,213 13/1/2023
JBY James Bay Minerals 0.2 0.275 38% $9,084,600 12/9/2023
CC9 Chariot Corp 0.45 0.53 18% $35,565,810 30/10/2023
GR8 Great Dirt Resources 0.2 0.235 18% $6,612,608 10/11/2023
BRE Brazilian Rare Earth 1.47 1.68 14% $104,255,889 21/12/2023
TOK Tolu Minerals 0.5 0.55 10% $32,318,464 10/11/2023
ENL Enlitic CDI 0.83 0.86 4% $61,400,000 19/12/2023
NDO Nido Education 1 0.995 -1% $220,796,985 16/10/2023
HTM High-Tech Metals 0.2 0.19 -5% $4,702,783 23/1/2023
PLN Pioneer Lithium 0.2 0.19 -5% $5,400,750 28/9/2023
RDX Redox 2.55 2.31 -9% $1,186,684,027 3/7/2023
COV Cleo Diagnostics 0.2 0.18 -10% $13,338,000 22/8/2023
FCG Freedom Care Group 0.2 0.18 -10% $4,179,684 30/11/2023
NVO Novo Resources Corp 0.2 0.18 -10% $8,088,863 11/9/2023
ILT Iltani Resources 0.2 0.175 -13% $5,951,838 30/6/2023
CGR CGN Resources 0.25 0.205 -18% $18,155,638 18/10/2023
CHW Chilwaminerals 0.2 0.16 -20% $7,340,000 5/7/2023
DYM Dynamic Metals 0.2 0.155 -23% $5,425,000 16/1/2023
ASK Abacus Storage King 1.41 1.0875 -23% $1,406,090,169 1/8/2023
CVB Curvebeam Ai 0.48 0.37 -23% $78,057,100 23/8/2023
NGX NGX 0.2 0.14 -30% $12,685,658 16/6/2023
EG1 Evergreen Lithium 0.25 0.17 -32% $9,559,100 11/4/2023
PL3 Patagonia Lithium 0.2 0.135 -33% $6,632,348 31/3/2023
SQX SQX Resources 0.2 0.13 -35% $3,250,000 20/2/2023
ACM Aus Critical Mineral 0.2 0.12 -40% $3,849,150 3/7/2023
BM8 Battery Age Minerals 0.4 0.22 -45% $18,273,062 6/2/2023
AUG Augustus Minerals 0.2 0.105 -48% $8,832,600 25/5/2023
VHM VHM 1.35 0.705 -48% $109,280,449 9/1/2023
LM1 Leeuwin Metals 0.25 0.13 -48% $6,442,188 29/3/2023
DY6 Dy6 Metals 0.2 0.098 -51% $3,870,591 29/6/2023
TNC True North Copper 0.25 0.1 -60% $33,067,478 19/6/2023
ADC Acdc Metals 0.2 0.07 -65% $3,298,575 17/1/2023
ACE Acusensus 4 0.9 -78% $109,967,978 12/1/2023
Wordpress Table Plugin

*Note: there was a 5:1 stock split for ACE

 

At Stockhead we tell it like it is. While LTR Pharma, Lithium Universe and James Bay Minerals are Stockhead advertisers at the time of writing, they did not sponsor this article. 

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