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Smaller companies report: Wed close

By This Is Money
Updated: 12:53 EDT, 15 March 2006

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SMALL caps were pulled higher by the assistance of Flightstore Group and a welcome boost from Compact Power. At the close the FTSE Small cap index was 1.5 firmer at 3582.5, while the FTSE 100 was 14.5 up at 5965.1.

Leading the gainers, Flightstore took off by 0.15p to 0.37p. The cash shell earlier issued a statement saying it was not aware of any reason for the sharp increase in its share price today. It said it is currently reviewing various acquisition opportunities but is unable to say whether any of these will lead to a deal.

Punters showed keen interest in Compact Power, better by 8¾p at 26¾p after it announced that EnviroResources has agreed to invest 1m to subscribe for 3.24m new ordinary shares in the company. The new shares represent approximately 10% of the company's current issued share capital.

Buyers also flocked to Healthstar, 12½p higher at 55p, after Ultrasis, 0.15p firmer at 2.15p, made an agreed £2.9m bid for the life improvement products company.

Meanwhile, cash shell Sound Oil plumped up 0.87p to hit 6.37p amid talk that the company, which floated last summer with a view to investing in oil and gas projects in North and West Africa, is close to revealing a major deal.

There was a buzz about Software Radio Tech, up 4½p at 48p after it revealed that it has been granted a licence to export its Tetra product to China.

Equity Special Situations put on 12½p at 142½p after it said Insinger de Beaufort is buying a 26.4% stake in the company through a share placing that raised £5m.

Shares in Europasia Education edged up 0.37p to 6.12p as the Aim-listed education investment group revealed it has taken an 8% stake in Chinese educational facilities management group Dalian Business Institute for £700,000.

DBI is a Jersey incorporated company with a 25-year contract for the management of Dalian Business Institute in Liaoning Province, China.

Alexander Mining put on 1p at 26¾p after Evolution Securities highlighted that today's results were in line with estimates stating that the £923,000m loss is relatively insignificant considering Alexander is still in the exploration stage.

The broker marks the stock as one to watch and believes that mining could commence as early as 2007.

On the downside, sharply reduced interim profits, a slashed payout and cautious outlook knocked 9p from Northamber, at 76½p.

The specialist supplier of computer hardware warned that sales since the start of the new calendar year continue to reflect the effects of the very considerable inventory levels of volume products overhanging the marketplace, and the board remains cautious over the outcome for the full year.

Sales on a like-for-like basis, which strips out the impact of new space, fell 18%, but gross margin improved to 49.8% versus a pro-forma 48.0% and operating cash flow was £6.7m.

The news appeared to have a knock-on effect to BATM Advanced Communications, down 3¼p at 32p, even though the producer of broadband data and telecoms systems, reported a return to operating profit for 2005 and said it expects further progress in the current year.

Buyers turned their noses up at ReGen Therapeutics, off 0.16p at 1.47p as the company reported an operating loss for the year of £2.26m, an increase of 46% over the previous year.

The firm said this reflected an increase in development spend of 63%, some of which is reflected in future spend and not actual payments this year, therefore the true rise in development expenditure was 33%.

Set-top box maker Pace Micro was out of tune by 5p at 60¾p after it revised its expectations for its full-year results because of shipment delays, saying it now expects a loss before tax and exceptional items of £7-9m compared with market expectations of £1-3m.

Things were a little ropey for software and information management services group Microgen, down 5½p at 65½p, after it reported a rise in full-year pretax profits but a drop in revenues, in line with market forecasts.

Finally, punters fled from Floors 2 Go, down 1¾p at 27¼p after it reported a 30% slump in 2005 underlying pretax profit and said sales have continued to slide in 2006. The company blamed an 'exceptionally tough' floor coverings market for the shortfall.

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