Small cap round-up: Adventis, Alexon, Somero...

27th Jan 2011 17:48

Marketing agency Adventis' healthcare business has experienced a 'very considerable' downturn and will post a £0.26m loss for the full year. Full year results may also contain a significant goodwill impairment charge. For the full year underlying profits will be approximately £0.45m.Clothing group Alexon's sales over the five weeks period to 22 January rose by 13.3% as trading recovered well following the extreme weather conditions in December 2010. The group expects to deliver profit before tax of between £0.7m and £1.0m for the year to end January. The technical bank covenant infringement has also been resolved,Floor levelling equipment specialist Somero says conditions remain soft in North America and Europe, but emerging markets business has partly helped to offset this. Sales of refurbished machines have run ahead of expectations. "We believe that 2010 represented the low-point for conditions in our mature markets of North America and Europe, and look forward to an improvement this year, "Somero said. Software group Sopheon's total revenues for 2010 are expected to exceed market expectations of £10m(2009: £8.3m). Early indications are that the EBITDA result will also comfortably exceed market expectations of £900,000 (2009: £195,000 EBITDA loss). "Going into 2011 we are encouraged by the strength of our sales pipeline, which remains very active," it added. Sterling Energy has recovered drill-pipe to almost 2,000 metres at Sangaw North block in Kurdistan. This allows it to side-track in the open hole below the existing casing shoe and drill a new wellbore to the planned casing point with the same 8.5 inch hole size as the original wellbore. This configuration will permit the well to reach its original target depth and test the potential of the Jurassic formations.Green technology group TEG's revenues in 2010 grew again but a delay in receiving the order for the fourth Greater Manchester plant means it will not meet market forecasts. Underlying trading losses for 2010 will be of a similar level to those reported for the year ended 31 December 2009. The group's cash balance continues to remain very healthy, closing significantly higher than the market forecast.Tertiary Minerals is satisfied with the latest results from Storuman Project. All 14 holes hit fluorspar mineralisation of economic significance. "Results are in line with its expectations and we look forward to announcing the JORC Mineral Resource Estimate for the project at the end of this quarter," it added.