Smaller companies report: Thursday close

By This Is Money
Updated: 12:44 EDT, 27 January 2006

UK SMALL caps remained higher at the close, in line with blue chip stocks, boosted by a raft of positive corporate news.

The FTSE Small Cap closed up 11.1 points at 3,445.6, with the FTSE 100 18.2 points higher at 5,722.6.

Synchronica shares were in the vanguard of the advance, rising 4p to 29½p, after the mobile device management developer and provider said revenues for 2005 are expected to be in line with the market forecast of £3m.

The board added it is confident that the company can deliver increased revenues in the current financial year.

Not far behind was Powerleague, 3½p higher at 71p, as the operator of five-a-side football centres in the UK said interim figures, which will be released on 28 February, will show progress.

Two new centres were opened in the first half of the financial year, additional pitches have been added at existing centres and a new centre will open in Coventry in May.

Beowulf Mining, the mineral exploration firm, rose 0.38p to 5.5p, after the Swedish state mining authority registered an exploration permit for Beowulf for a new area called Ruoutevare, covering a large ore deposit of titanium.

GR Holdings, 13½p higher at 90p, swung into a profit at the interim stage and said trading at its Morlands unit continues to improve. For the six months to 31 December the company posted a pre-tax profit of £169,180 compared with a loss of £39,136 a year earlier.

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Yoomedia hardened 0.25p to 6.87p after the interactive entertainment company signed a deal with tvtv, a branch of Sony United Kingdom. And Sareum Holdings attracted modest support, edging up 0.12p to 2.12p after the company agreed to provide drug discovery services to Belgian biopharmaceutical company UCB SA.

Financial details were not disclosed, but Sareum will receive access fees and success milestone payments.

Buyers homed in on Trafficmaster, 2¾p better at 42p, following news that Isuzu is to fit the Smartnav navigation system as standard on the new Rodeo Denver Max pick-up.

Among losers, Communisis ran back 3¼p to 75p after the company, which revealed offer approaches in October, disclosed that the talks have ended. The board confirmed that trading for the year ended 31 December was in line with its expectations.

Finally, Honeycombe Leisure was off 1¾p to 24½p following half-yearly results inflated by the sale of fixed assets and a warning that the tough and challenging trading conditions continue. Traders were also disappointed that takeover talks, announced in November, are still ongoing.