Small caps round-up: Lombard Risk, Zirax, KBC...

13th Jan 2010 09:55

Shares in Lombard Risk Management jumped after the trading software company said it had won its sixth contract in two months.It did not name the client but said the contracts would have a total value of more than £500,000 in the first year.Shares in Zirax fell sharply after the speciality chemicals group said it was convening a meeting to discuss a proposal to take the firm private, as proposed by its largest shareholder Erith.KBC Advanced Technologies said results for 2009 are expected to be in line with expectations, but pointed out that improvement in the process improvement area was slower than anticipated.'The refining industry remains in transition, with investment and expansion continuing in the developing world and overcapacity and margin pressure in the developed world leading to contraction,' the firm said. 'Whilst this environment creates opportunities for KBC, there remains significant uncertainty and more competition as the larger engineering contractors are less busy.'Coal bed methane (CBM) developer IGas said it has met its stated objectives for 2009 which keeps it on track for commencement of full scale UK Gas Production next year.Medical devices firm ClearStream Technologies said its Bantam Alpha range of catheters has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration. Oesophageal Doppler monitoring equipment group Deltex saw record probe sales in all key markets in the final quarter of the year and now expects sales for 2009 to have been in excess of £5.6m."Deltex Medical enters 2010 with considerable confidence. Sales are growing in all our key markets and we are on track to achieve cash neutrality assuming continuing sales growth. The margin on sales in the second half of 2009 was approximately equivalent to our planned cash cost base in the first half of 2010," chairman Nigel Keen added.:Media and marketing analytics group Ebiqity's interim profits fell from £296,000 to £202,000. Revenues rose by 7.8% to £9.26m in the half year to October 2009. Underlying operating profit was £760,000, modestly ahead of market expectation though currency fluctuations knocked pre-tax profits.