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Smaller companies report: Tuesday close

By This Is Money
Updated: 12:54 EDT, 23 May 2006

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UK small caps closed firmer, tracking gains in the wider market, after a raft of positive contract news and acquisitions spurred the minnows.

By the close, the FTSE Small Cap index was 81.4 points to the better at 3,366.3, a slight retreat from day's best levels at 3,369.6. The FTSE 100 was 146.0 points higher at 5,678.7.

Proteome Sciences topped the winners board, up 14½p at 48p, after the group signed a licence agreement enabling bioMerieux to use its biomarkers.

Shares in BATM Advanced Communications also attracted buyers, 6¾p higher at 26¾p, on news it is in advanced talks to extend an existing equipment contract for a total value which could increase 'very substantially' to tens of millions of dollars annually.

Further news of deals and acquisitions also provided support. Tadpole Technology added 0.37p at 2.37p after announcing that its unit, StreamTheory Inc resolved problems over a contract worth 1.2m with Softbank BB Corp.

SmartFocus Group was 1¾p stronger at 14½p following the acquisition of Email Reaction, a digital marketing software vendor and ASP provider, for 1.6m in shares and cash.

A positive trading update also lifted shares in Jubilee Platinum, 8½p firmer at 68½p, after drilling higher-than-average platinum group metal plus gold grade in the Bushveld complex in South Africa.

Elsewhere, oil stocks Cambrian Oil & Gas and Oilex NL also lent support, adding 1p at 4¼p and 8½p at 50p respectively as bargain-hunters returned to oil stocks amid higher oil prices following recent weakness.

On the downside, shares in Widney slid 13½p at 24½p -a decline of more than 35% - after the company, which makes auto parts, disclosed a swing to interim losses and omitted a dividend payout. Given the weakness at Widney Cabs, Insinger de Beaufort trimmed his turnover forecast by 6% to £63.3m.

Shares in TG21 fell by 2¼p to 9½p after unveiling first quarter sales ahead of expectations, driven by sales of portable satellite navigation systems. But it warned that the low margins for these systems means that full-year gross profits will be under pressure if the current sales trend continue.

And healthcare business Tristel ran back 6p to 49½p after the company warned on full-year profits. In its core domestic hospital business, the financial problems of the National Health Service caused many hospitals to reduce their purchases and inventories during the last three months of the NHS financial year to March 2006, the company said.

Finally, Optimistic Entertainment slumped 5½p to 9p following yesterday's warning that it expects a material writedown in group full-year results.

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