Small caps round-up: MBL, Netplay, Playtech...

9th Jul 2009 08:17

Big profits and a maiden dividend have sent entertainment products distributor MBL charging higher Thursday. The supplier of CDs, DVDS and games reported a 42% hike in pre-tax profit for the year ended 31 March 2009 to £8.1m on revenue up 77.5% to £143.6m. Its major competitor, Entertainment UK, the distribution arm of Woolworths, collapsed in November, boosting MBL's figures. It will pay a first dividend of 6p a share.Hedge fund group Charlemagne Capital reports a good recovery in emerging markets in the first half of the year with assets under management up by 28.2% since March to $2.4bn. Assets under management have risen by 9% since the start of the year. It added it intends to pay an interim dividend.Interactive gaming firm Netplay TV has conditionally raised £12.84m from a placing at 22p a share and announced a five-year exclusive license agreement for the full suite of Playtech products.A binding memorandum of understanding means Netplay will gain access to Playtech's Casino, Poker, Bingo, TV and Mobile games, while it will let Playtech offer NetPlay's TV services and content across its network of online and retail licensees.There are gains for rail maintenance specialist Jarvis on news that its existing loan facility with Burdale Financial has been extended until 31 January 2011. It says the total asset backed loan facility has been cut to £50m from £60m as the facility is secured on the group's assets, which have fallen due to the anticipated lower workloads.Victoria Oil & Gas has signed a deal with Cameroon Holdings to provide the AIM-listed explorer with drilling services and $4-10m of funding for its Logbaba gas field in Douala, Cameroon.The rig is expected to arrive by ship from Portugal in the middle of this month.SDL International, the global information management solutions provider, said it will announce its interim results on 4 August. The figures are expected to be in line with expectations.Australia-based oil and gas explorer Range Resources has agreed to acquire a 50% interest in two oil and gas blocks in former Soviet republic Georgia. The blocks cover about 10% of the surface area of the country.Liquid dispensing monitoring company Brulines said trading in the current year has been robust and in line with expectation. "With an expanded offering and continued success in the group's traditional markets, the board is confident of maintaining Brulines' growth in the future," said chairman James Newman.Education and training firm Wilmington expects trading for the year to 30 June to be in line with forecasts but warned that the challenging economic conditions which it has been experiencing will continue for at least the first half of the new financial year.Molecular diagnostics company Osmetech said the US Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) has cleared the company's eSensor Cystic Fibrosis Genotyping Test for use on the eSensor XT-8 system.Allergy vaccination specialist Allergy Therapeutics has been granted a broad technology patent for its Pollinex Quattro vaccine by the Japanese Patent Office.Intec Telecom, the telecoms billing software firm, has won a contract with a global 3G mobile phone network operator which is taking Intec's entire suite of billing and operations support systems. Manufacturers of bathroom accessories Samuel Heath & Son saw pre-tax profits for the year rise to 31st March 2009 of £292,000 against £1.3m last year. On sales down from £12m to £10.8m.Hazardous waste management firm Augean, which said in March that profits in the current year will be below its previous expectations, said today that it had traded in line with these revised forecasts. It added that economic conditions will remain challenging throughout the rest of this year.