Small caps round-up: Horizonte Minerals,Biocompatibles, Highams...

28th Jul 2009 12:03

Shares in Horizonte Minerals, which mines for gold in Brazil and Peru, jumped after it gave a positive update on its Tangara gold project in Brazil.Drug-device combination products developer Biocompatibles has received a milestone payment after Eisai exercised its option to license Biocompatibles' DC Bead and PRECISION Bead products in Japan.The company will receive an initial fee of £3m from Eisai, with further payments to follow depending on the achievement of various commercial and regulatory targets. The initial milestone will have little impact on Biocompatibles' 2009 sales and profit.AIM-listed minnow Highams Systems Services Group saw losses substantially reduced in the year to 31 March 2009. The recruitment consultant saw loss before tax narrow to £0.37m from £1.92m the year before on revenue that eased to £10.5m from £13.6m."The second half to March 2009 showed reduced losses at £110k compared to £260k in the first half to September 2008," said Ken Ford, chairman of Highams.Stockbroker Jarvis Securities' profits fell from £1.33m to £1.1m in the six months to June. Revenues fell to £2.31m from £2.52m. Average daily trade volumes rose by 40%. A second interim dividend of 2p per ordinary share was declared."We are still being impacted by historically low interest rates but remain cautiously optimistic for the rest of the year," Andrew Grant, Chairman and CEO commented.An independent assessment of Victoria Oil's C3 recoverable resources at the West Medvezhye gas and condensate project in Western Siberia, Russia has put the total at approximately 170m barrels of oil equivalent.Speciality pharmaceutical firm IS Pharma said it has continued to grow revenue and profits from its brands. "I am pleased to report that trading for the first quarter of the current financial year has been strong and in line with the Board's expectations," said the group.York Pharma has confirmed that Andrew Poxon and John Malcolm Titley of Leonard Curtis were appointed administrators of the group.