Small caps round-up: Cellcast, Haike, Real Good Food ...

9th Jun 2009 08:35

Cellcast, a provider of technology that allows TV images to be viewed on mobile phones, moved into profit in 2008 after cutting costs and lifting revenues.The firm posted a pre-tax profit of £180,000 for the year, compared to a £2.15m loss the previous year. Revenue climbed to £16m from £12m.The company concentrated its activities on the UK, benefiting from an expanding digital TV market, and laid off staff. Chinese petrochemical firm Haike fell into losses in 2008 after being unable to pass high oil costs onto its customers.While revenues soared to $631.5m from $359m the previous year, pre-tax losses totalled $29 .7m, compared with a profit of $18.7m the year before."There are strict controls on the selling prices of refined products [in China], and this was the most significant factor in a disappointing financial performance by the company," said Haike.Sugar and ingredients producer The Real Good Food Company saw profits fall sharply in 2008 amid high input costs and a competitive market place.Pre-tax profits fell to £890,000 from £3.45m in 2007 as sales slipped to £218.7m from £231.1m."The board looks forward to the rest of the year, and anticipates the benefits of its restructuring programme and low interest rate charges to deliver a result which we anticipate will be reflected in an improved financial performance over the prior year," the firm said.African conglomerate Lonhro swung to a full-year pre-tax profit of £0.6m in the first six months of the year compared to a loss of £7.8m previously. Year to date turnover on continuing operations for the first six months was £41.5m, this is an increase of +275% on a reported basis against the previous year and 60% increase on a like for like basis.Principle Capital swung to a full-year profit of £1.77m compared with a loss of £5.05m, while turnover jumped to £11.2m from £2.75m previously.Operations management software company eg solutions has won a new sales contract with the Nationwide building society.Its operational management software and methodology will be rolled out to the Dunfermline building society, acquired by Nationwide in March.Losses grew at Kazakhstan focused Hambledon Mining in 2008 to £7.1m from £4.4m a year earlier, while output was far lower than planned at just 11,939 ounces of gold and 21,644 ounces of silver.In a separate statement, the AIM-listed firm said it produced 2,027 ounces of gold and 5,132 ounces of silver in April, and 1,841 gold ounces and 3,741 silver ounces a month later. Oil and gas explorer and producer Leni Gas and Oil produced 18,045 barrels of oil equivalent in May, up from 15,539 in April after ramping up output in Hungary and Spain. Oxford Instruments, which supplies tools for industry and research, said its varied portfolio helped it weather the economic downturn as it reported higher profits for the year to March 31.Adjusted pre-tax profits climbed to £11.1m from £9.5m the previous year on revenue that climbed to £206.5m from £176.5m. Property repair and maintenance specialist Rok has announced eight new awards to which it says will generate £90m over the next four years.Among these are a contract with logistics group Wincanton to provide planned maintenance, repair and building alteration services for its warehouses and offices and an agreement with Bracknell Forest Council to provide planned and response maintenance services for its schools and public buildings.Aberdeen based energy investment firm Ramco Energy reported a £3.4m loss for the year compared with a £0.5m profit previously, reflecting seven months of SeaEnergy overheads.AIM-listed Persian Gold narrowed full-year pre-tax losses and said it continues to make progress in Iran with both of its advanced exploration projects.An independent committee has been formed to evaluate the possible offer for Dragon Oil by Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC), the company which has a controlling 52% stake in Dragon. On the committee are the company's senior independent director Nigel McCue, who will chair the committee, and Ahmad Al Muhairbi and Saeed Al Mazrooei.Mobile phone software provider Bango saw pre-tax losses narrow to £646,000 versus losses of £1.8m last year. Revenues rose 28% to £17.6m.Drugs developer Renovo announced positive results of a planned 12 month follow-up analysis for Juvista in a multi-centre European Phase 2 clinical trial in varicose vein surgery.Banking software firm Intelligent Environments surged after it announced a five-year rolling contract with Stroud & Swindon Building Society.Drug developer SkyePharma said the US Food and Drug Administration may need more data on its lead development product Flutiform.