Small caps round-up: Acal, Ashmore Global, DDD

19th Apr 2010 13:46

Components distributor Acal's second half profit will be ahead of market forecasts as sales in its electronics arm beat forecasts.Since February, the electronics division, which accounts for around three quarters of group revenues, has seen a continued improvement in trading. At 31 March 2010 the pipeline of orders was around 20% higher than in the prior year. Sales in the supply chain division remain stable albeit with continuing margin pressure.Ascent Resources tumbled as it plugged and abandoned the PEN-106 well in the Penészlek project in eastern Hungary after a drill stem test ('DST') showed the target Miocene tuffaceous formations to be water bearing at the well location. Ascent also completed operations on the Fontana-1 well in Italy's Latina Valley. The results were sufficiently encouraging to proceed with an appraisal well, it said.Ashmore Global's net assets under management rose to $559m from $524m over 2009. The NAV for the Sterling, Euro and USD shares was £8.69, €8.51 and US$8.74 respectively compared with £8.53, €8.45 and US$8.58 at 31 December 2008. "The current global market conditions have provided a unique investment opportunity set, with significant investment opportunities across a range of asset classes, particularly in Corporate High Yield and Special Situations," it added.3D software and content group DDD more doubled sales last year and the switch to 3D content gathered speed. Turnover increased 138% to £1.41m (2008: £592,000), while the loss before taxation fell 41% to £852,000 (2008: £1.4m).Infrastructure, the company formerly known as Portland Gas, saw losses narrow to £0.64m in the six months to 31 January 2010 from £0.74m at the interim stage last year.The gas storage company has no revenue at present as it has not yet opened its storage facilities. Cash at the end of January stood at £3.5m, up from £3.1m at the end of July 2009. The directors believe that the group has adequate cash resources to meet committed spending plans, but would consider issuing new shares or selling off stakes in its projects to raise additional funds if attractive new opportunities present themselves in the next 12 months.Printer ink technology specialist Xaar said trading and margins for the first quarter of the year were in line with the board's expectations. Customer interaction software developer Portrait Software expects full year revenue and profits ahead of market expectations.Power products group Volex said fourth quarter revenue is slightly ahead of the third quarter, while full year operating profit will be in line with market forecasts.Investment company Ingenious Media Active Capital (IMAC) has completed the strategic review it announced in the middle of month and has opted to make a return of capital to shareholders that could be worth up to 35p a share.At the end of March the company's net asset value per share was 62.64p, of which 38.95p was accounted for by cash.The company is requisitioning an extraordinary general meeting so shareholders can vote on the capital distribution and a proposed change in its investing policy.Shares in online gambling company Gaming VC fell back after it reported that pre-tax profits in the year to December 31 fell to €13.8m from €16.9m even as net gaming revenue climbed to €54m from €50.1m.The company, whose brands include CasinoClub and Winzingo, said trading in the first quarter of 2010 has been broadly in line with budgets.Shares in queue busting devices maker Lo-Q wee just the ticket on Monday as the company announced the first US order for its Q-txt queue management system.The Lake Compounce Family Theme Park in Bristol, Connecticut has ordered the system in a one year deal that could be extended to four years. Mercury Recycling, the recycler of fluorescent light tubes and sodium street lamps, saw profit before tax in 2009 ease to £0.33m from £0.53m the year before on sales that slipped to £2.79m from £3.07m.Trading volumes in 2010 have shown a "food improvement" since January 2010, when sales were depressed by adverse weather conditions.The company is not paying a dividend but with cash flow expected to be positive this year the board will revisit the issue next year.Software supplier NetDimensions returned to profitability in 2009 and pumped up its cash balance in the process.Profit before tax in 2009 was $0.70m, compared to a loss of $0.59m in 2008. Revenue grew to $6.84m from $6.35m the year before. Cash balance at the end of the year stood at $7.44m, up from $5.34m at the end of 2008.The company added that its first quarter results were in line with expectations.Residential property developer Northacre has formed a joint venture with Evans Randall, the privately held UK investment banking and private equity group, to develop prime residential projects in London."The venture will grant Evans Randall exclusivity to embark on debt raising and to provide equity for future developments in Central London on a project by project basis, with Northacre providing high-end residential design and development expertise," Northacre said. Evans Randall will co-invest in projects, as well as raising equity from its client base in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and the Far East.