Smaller companies report: Weds close

By This Is Money
Updated: 13:09 EDT, 26 April 2006

The UK small cap index closed lower as sentiment turned against the miners and commodity companies. The FTSE SmallCap index closed 10.2 lower at 3,657.3, while the FTSE 100 ended 17.7 higher at 6,104.3.

Speciality metals and minerals trader Wogen plunged 46p to 132p after a profits warning. It said full-year profits would be at the low-end of expectations, despite in-line sales. It blamed difficult trading conditions and lower-than-expected trading margins.

Discouraging assay results clipped 0.50p from gold miner Goldstone, at 1.75p.

A swing to full-year losses pushed Desire Petroleum, down 1¾p at 32p, while Highland Gold Mining slipped 15p to 303p as it reported a full-year pretax loss of $9.41m compared to a profit of $14.23m in the previous year.

Qonnectis rose 0.50p to 2.37p as the energy and water conservation IT services provider revealed it has won orders from to two major UK customers in new market sectors.

Oxford Catalysts Group made its debut on Aim. Shares in the company, which focuses on developing specialty catalysts with particular application in the generation of clean fuels from fossil fuels, shot up from a placing price of 174p to trade as high as 219p, before closing at 198p.

Portable fuel cell maker Voller Energy was 13p higher at 66p after it announced significant progress with its hydrogen reforming technology to extract hydrogen from widely available fuels.

Messaging International was 0.75p firmer at 5.65p. The Aim-listed provider of innovative messaging services has expanded its relationship with US mobile operator, Sprint/Nextel, through the launch of its proprietary text to landline solution to the Nextel network.

Buyers of Stylo, 10½p up at 70p, shrugged off news of a swing to full-year losses, warming to the footwear retailer's significant progress on addressing the pension fund deficit and a property revaluation.

Stylo said although not included in reported net assets of £37.3m, the value of the group's property has risen from £18.5m to £27m.

Cumbria-based agriculture, food and engineering group Carr's Milling Industries rose 25p to 505p after saying it expects to make further positive progress in the current year despite continuing to experience adverse conditions in its principal market, UK agriculture. Pre-ex pretax profit in the 26 weeks to March 4 rose to £4.57mn from £3.87m last time. Broker Investec retained its 'buy' stance on Carr's.

Shares in football and celebrity agent First Artist Corp nudged up 0.62p to 7.87p after the company disclosed that Christmas 2006 bookings for its Finishing Touch event management business are ahead of expectations. Chief executive Jon Smith said the recent wave of mergers and acquisitions activity has boosted events bookings over the Christmas period.