Small caps round-up: Glanbia, LXB Retail, MDM...

14th Jul 2010 10:32

Irish ingredients and cheese group Glanbia said it is on track for a very strong performance relative to last year in the first half of 2010.The Irish dairy ingredients business has returned to profitability but the Irish consumer products division has had a tough first half. On the US cheese and global nutritionals side of the business, positive market trends have continued. Jersey based real estate investor LXB Retail, which specialises in out of town and edge of town retail property, is to raise £40m through a 96p a share placing to fund new investment opportunities.LXB, which has now committed more than 85% of the funds raised at its initial placing, says investments it is looking at include a retail park redevelopment on the south coast of England and a major redevelopment in the Midlands.Elsewhere in property, the upturn in property values in the second half of the year to March 31 meant that O Twelve estates saw only a slight reduction in its portfolio value over the full year.The portfolio valuation at O Twelve, which invests in properties in East London and outlying areas declined to £170.2m at the end of the year from £173.6m the previous year.Full-year profit more than halved at Africa-focused mining services firm MDM following the suspension of two projects and final settlement of the Ezulwini project, both with First Uranium Corporation.Pre-tax profit for the year ended 31 March slumped to $5m from $11.6m in 2009 on revenue down to $33.3m from $36m. The annual dividend drops to 4.6 cents a share from 11.25 cents after a final payout of 0.85 cents.The Mission Marketing Group has traded in line with expectations during the six months to 30 June, with turnover of £43m, although continuing pressure on margins has knocked 7% off operating income compared with last year.Despite this, the national marketing communications and advertising group said it can see "clear signs of improvement" in the second half of the year, especially in the IT and property sectors.Kazakhstan-focused oil explorer Roxi hasn't managed to improve production at its Ravninnoe Well 20 from 120 barrels a day despite performing an "acid squeeze"."While the company understands that the results from the acidisation do not preclude further stimulation or enhancement efforts, it believes that the new data acquired and the results of the well 20 test, indicate that further reserves potential on the Ravninnoe field will be linked to the identification of new reservoirs," the group said.1stDental Laboratories, the provider of dental laboratory products and services, crept back into the black at the interim stage, with pre-tax profits of £10,000 in the six months to 31 May, versus a loss of £326,000 the year before. Revenues fell 4.1% to £4.93m from £5.13m, while net bank debt and borrowings eased to £1.35m from £1.61m. The board remains cautiously confident for the full year.