Small caps round-up: Finsbury Food, Game, E2V...

30th Jul 2009 10:11

Cake and bread maker Finsbury Food has cooked up an 8% increase in revenue for the year to 30 June 2009, 5% of which it attributed to acquisitions.The firm's cake division, its largest, saw sales rise 2% in absolute terms, but remain flat on a like for like basis. The smaller Bread & Free From unit raised like for like sales by 14%.Game Group is better Thursday on news the computer gaming retailer has refinanced its banking facilities which have been extended out to 2012.It has replaced its £125m facility due to expire in May 2010 with a new £175m three-year facility maturing in June 2012 arranged with a syndicate of five banks. Interim results are due on 23 September.Electrical component maker E2V fell Thursday as it said sales since the start of the financial year are down on last year, with the medical business finding it tough.It added that trading remains challenging and it is talking to its financial advisors about the "most appropriate long term capital structure" for the company.Shares in Gulf Keystone Petroleum fell back after it denied press speculation that its executive chairman and business development director are not in discussions with the Indian Oil Corporation and Oil India joint venture about a takeover of the company.Gulf Keystone condirmed that it is contemplating a placing of common shares to raise additional funds for its Kurdistan development programmes.Medical diagnostics firm Mediwatch saw revenues in the half year to 30 April rise by 13% from the same period a year ago to £4.95m, but saw pre-tax profits slip to £37,000 from £158,000 as it invested in US sales infrastructure. Shipping group Goldenport said it was well placed to benefit from a market recovery after shifting its contracts to younger vessels."We continue to believe that initiatives taken in the wake of difficult trading conditions that commenced in the fourth quarter 2008, have continued to safeguard the Company and position it well for any market recovery," chief executive Captain Paris Dragnis said.KBC said it has been selected as a sub-contractor to SK Engineering and Construction Company ('SKEC'), which has been engaged to further develop the basic design, in preparation for procurement and construction, of a new petrochemical complex to be built in Ecuador. The value of the deal is around $10m over a period of approximately nine months. Renewable Power & Light has agreed to sell the Elmwood Park and Massena power plants to Morris Energy Group for $8.5m in cash. China-based healthcare group Hutchison China MediTech swung into half-year profits as revenues surged 23%. Pre-tax profit came in at $317,000 against the loss £4m last year on sales of $56.7m (2008: $45.9m).Racecourse operator Arena Leisure saw profits fall 17% due to the impact of eight fewer races in the half-yea. Revenues were broadly maintained at £30.9m (2008: £31.2m).Retinal imaging company Optos said it has continued to trade in line with expectations for the full year. Core pay per patient revenues at $70m for the nine month period are in line with achieving the target of over $90m for the full year, said the group. Total revenues in the period of $72.2m declined 1%.Fund manager Rensburg Sheppards' revenue fell by 18% to £24.8m from £30.3m in the three months to June. During the three months, the group's total funds under management increased by 8.4% to £10.85bn. Electronic components maker Laird slumped into an interim loss of £5m as de-stocking took its toll. Revenues fell to £266m from £315m in the six months to June. Stripping out one-offs and amortisation profits fell from £34.5m to £7.6m."Trading conditions have, as expected, proved to be very challenging during the first half of 2009. The difficult macroeconomic conditions, together with the downturn in consumer electronics markets, have been exacerbated by destocking in the global supply chain. Although demand has stabilised since the start of the year, we have yet to see any signs of a sustained recovery," Laird said.Renewable Energy Generation shares rose even though it confirmed it had ended discussions with a possible bidder for the company.Qonnectis has requested an immediate suspension in the trading of the company's shares pending clarification of its financial position.Travel industry supplier Journey Group said its in-flight catering subsidiary, Air Fayre, has entered into talks with sector peer Alpha Flight UK about the amalgamation of their flight catering operations at London Heathrow.Property services group Veris has responded to press speculation by confirming that an unconnected third party is interested in buying its Facilities and Properties Management division and is currently performing due diligence research on the division.