Small caps round-up: e2v, Namakwa Diamonds, Instore ...

29th Oct 2009 10:52

Electrical component maker e2v technologies posted a sharp fall in revenues in the six months to September 30 but managed to stay profitable by cutting costs in areas such as marketing and travel.Pre-tax profits fell to £2.6m from £3.1m over the same period the previous year as revenues slid to £96.2m from £107m.Namakwa Diamonds, which mines for the gemstones in South Africa, saw revenues fall sharply in the year to August 31 as diamond prices slumped.Revenues fell to $27.2m from $41.7m over the same period a year ago even as production soared by 72% to 46,741 carats.Discount retailer Instore is to delist from the stock market.The firm, which owns the Poundstretcher chain, said that it has been and was likely to remain dependent on major shareholder Crown Crest even when economic conditions improve, bringing into question whether a stock market listing is appropriate. In vitro diagnostics firm Axis-Shield says revenues have been in line with expectations during the past 17 weeks.It adds that there have been no significant changes in the financial position of the company since the publication of interim results in August. Medical monitoring equipment provider LiDCO group saw sales in the six months to end of July rise 23% to £2.49m from £2.02m in the corresponding period of 2008 on the back of mounting acceptance and use of the company's LiDCOrapid monitor product.Loss before tax widened to £1.2m from £1.07m the year before. Borrowings have been reduced to £0.4m while the company has a cash balance of £2.54m, following a £3.02m fund raising earlier this year.The green light has been given for the development and operation of Metals Exploration's Runruno gold-molybdenum project on the island of Luzon in the northern Philippines.The signing of the Financial or Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA) will secure the exploration and development company's legal title to Runruno for 25 years; the company also has the option to extend it for a further 25 years.Thor Mining said that the continued strength of the Australian dollar and the weakening price of molybdenum means the development of its Molyhill tungsten-molybdenum project is not economically viable in the current economic climate.In the meantime the company will continue to focus on cost reductions related to the project, and securing finance options to get the project into operation. The company said it performed no work in the third quarter on its other projects. United Carpets gained after it said it has performed well during the 26 weeks ended September given the prevailing market conditions. The first quarter was more challenging but since the beginning of July sales have improved steadily, producing a positive like for like result, up by 2.5% for the period, it added.