Small caps round-up: Kenetics, Regal Petroleum, Valiant Petroleum...

16th Sep 2009 11:50

Rising demand for wireless technology helped antenna supplier Kenetics post a sharp rise in revenues in the six months to June 30.Total sales totalled £570,000, up from £235,000 over the same period the previous year. Pre-tax losses narrowed to £203,000 from £289,000.Higher gas prices helped oil and gas group Regal Petroleum post a 30% rise in turnover in the half year to June 30. Regal, which operates in Ukraine, Romania and Egypt, said, pre-tax losses narrowed to $3.5m from $4.8m over the same period the previous year as revenues climbed to $8.7m from $6.7m.Valiant Petroleum posted its first revenues in the six months to June 30 after becoming 'a fully fledged production, development and exploration company.'It produced its first oil from the Don project in the North Sea during the period. Revenues totalled $5.57m, while pre-tax profits were $1.1m.Alternative energy company Alkane Energy has reported a drop in half-year profit to £790,000 from £870,000 in 2008 due to a rescheduling of depreciation charges.Revenue was up 9% to £2.85m and the firm, which owns and operates power generation plants using coal mine methane as fuel, remains on track to hit its medium term target of 50MW of installed coal mine methane capacity.Fieldbury is looking at a number of options while assessing the future direction of the business following the recent sale of its US sales and marketing business, Dixie. The company, which lost $624,000 in the first half of 2009, wants to buy a company involved in renewables, alternative energy, environmental or consumer and financial services markets.IT managed services provider Nexus has warned shareholders to be wary of approaches to buy their shares at inflated prices after some investors were offered a significant premium, a multiple of 1,000 times in some cases, to the prevailing market price.Shareholders, approached by people claiming to represent New York Securities, New York Investments, Phoenix Securities and New York Financial Group, have asked shareholders to send cash in advance to secure the high price being offered. Nexus confirmed it has not received an approach from any of the parties mentioned and is not in any talks regarding a possible bid.Universal payments networks provider Earthport is to launch a global payments service for IBM's Global Expense Reporting Solution (GERS). The new service, which will be sold to new and existing IBM GERS clients, will include the final settlement of employees' individual expense reports.Zoo Digital said trading continued to be strong, giving the maker of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" video games further confidence that 2009 will be another year of growth.'We are confident that we can continue to increase our business through winning new customers, as well as increasing the scope of our work with existing clients,' said chairman C H B Honeyborne. 'The board is confident that new business can be added without the need for a proportional increase in resources and costs.'Shares in AIM-listed oil and gas explorter Leed Petroleum pulled out of their recent dive after the company reported a successful flow test at its Sorrento Salt Dome 14-1 well in Louisiana, USA. The well was shut-in during 2006 but Leed plan to resume production in the first quarter of 2010. 'The project will require minimal capital outlay and low operating expenses will be incurred once production is established. We expect to commence gas sales in time to take advantage of the historically higher winter natural gas prices,' said Howard Wilson, president and chief executive of Leed Petroleum.AorTech has signed an exclusive technology licensing and product supply agreement with SynCardia Systems, manufacturer of the SynCardia temporary CardioWest Total Artificial Heart. This agreement licenses the use of AorTech's Elast-Eon polymer heart valve in the SynCardia Total Artificial Heart, as well as the company's future family of pulsatile products. The license structure includes $2.1m in fees payable over an 18 month period, minimum valve purchases and volume related discounts.Interim profits fell at oil sector-focused subsea engineer Hallin Marine as margins came under pressure despite revenues remaining little changed. Pre-tax profits fell to $10.1m from $13.8m on sales of $60.3m, up from $59.6m.'The group has achieved first half revenues in line with the corresponding period last year, when the market was especially buoyant. Overall, we remain confident in the outlook for the business and the current climate contains as many opportunities as challenges, Tony Ebel said.Gold miner Oxus slipped into the red at the half year as the AGF joint venture contributed an attributable loss of $1.56m for the period (2008: $460,000 profit), which includes $1.69m of exceptional costs. In total, there was a loss after taxation of $5.18m against a profit of $1.84m in 2008. AGF is also making applications to the Uzbek Government to recover some $9.6m of VAT, taxes and customs duties.Insecticide group TyraTech reduced net losses slightly in the half year to June as net revenues increased by 36% to $3.3m (2008: $2.4m), due to an increase of 145% in product revenues. Net losses before and after tax for the period of were $6.2m, (2008: $8.9m). 'Progress over the past six months has led to important and rapidly growing product revenues and positions us for continued aggressive revenue growth into the next and following years,' it said.