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Smaller companies report: Friday close

By This Is Money
Updated: 12:20 EDT, 31 March 2006

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SHARES in UK smaller companies bucked the weaker trend of the wider market after a trading session dominated by a flood of earnings results. The FTSE SmallCap index was 1.9 points higher at 3,612.5.

Shares in Business Post were 34½p higher at 383p following an upbeat trading statement and news of a long-term contract renewal with with FedEx Express, which prompted Altium Securities to improve its rating to 'reduce' from 'sell'.

The independent postal operator said it expects to post a pretax profit before exceptional items of £10.5m in the year to end of March.

Recruitment company MSB International jumped 6p to 45p, after confirming that it has received a preliminary approach that may lead to a takeover offer.

Bankers Petroleum rose 1.5p to 50p after it said it won approval for its Patos Marinza oilfield plan in Albania. The approval allows Bankers, through it's wholly-owned subsidiary Saxon International Energy, to take over the remaining wells in the field and produce and sell oil for 25 years.

Contract news helped DA Group shares take on 7p at 42p, after the provider of character animation software and services, said it has signed a contract with bookmaker Ladbrokes, to deliver sports punditry and betting odds online via DA Group's animated character 'Big Frank'.

Facilities management company GSH Group rose 32½p to 332½p, after it announced an excellent start to the year as it raised profits and sales. Pretax profit in the first half rose to £2.2m from £1.9m a year earlier. GSH expects to make good progress in the second half.

Pretax profits at Premiership soccer club Tottenham Hotspur jumped to £4.4m, up from £1m last year. Operating profit before interest, tax and player trading was £4.2m. Turnover rose 10% to £36.3m as the team's success was translated into financial gains. The shares rose 3p to 51p.

Read about the stocks our small caps experts say are set to fly, or dive

Stocks falling today included Physiomics, down 0.4 to 0.78 after saying it needed to secure a long term future on a basis different from the current business model, which is generating 'insufficient revenues'. The company is negotiating with both Billam plc and Billam AG for funding.

ID Data closed down 0.04p to 0.83p after the provider of card-based transaction systems and services predicted full-year profits at £2.7m, against £3.1m last year, on sales down £7m to £12m, which was attrributed to competition, delayed contracts and a tighter selection of clients.

Environmental services firm Fountains fell 32p to 82p after yesterday's warning that profits for the year to October will be substantially below current market forecasts, mainly due to additional delays and cost overruns for a large rail contract.

And shares in Kingston Communications lost 7¾p at 59¾p after the Hull-based telecoms company announced that a possible takeover is off because the parties failed to agree on price and structure.

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