Small caps round-up: McKay Securities, Burford Capital, Ilika

24th Nov 2010 15:37

McKay Securities, a real estate investment trust (REIT) focussed on commercial property in the South East, saw adjusted pre-tax profit drop to £2.52m in the half year to 30 September, down from £4.12m a year ago.Chairman David Thomas said the proceeds from last year's disposals still haven't been reinvested, resulting in lower rental income and profit.Commercial dispute investor Burford Capital has raised $175m (£110m) via a placing at 110p a share, allowing the company to continue its investment programme.The fundraising creates the world's largest dispute financier, boss Christopher Bogart said.Cleantech materials firm Ilika, which listed on AIM in May, grew half-year revenue by 37% to £607,271, though the loss before tax increased to £1.88m from £1.78m in 2009."We have made excellent progress in executing our expansion strategy, especially in the key growth markets of Asia and North America," chairman Jack Boyer said. "Utilisation of the company's existing R&D equipment grew to 65%, leaving ample capacity for the company to focus on new opportunities to grow the business. We are well placed to secure these opportunities and look forward to achieving further growth in the current year and beyond." Oil and gas group Independent Resources saw pre-tax losses grew to £2.2m in the year to September 30 from £600,000 the previous year. The company, which is developing projects in Italy, does not have any revenues yet.Building services group Northern Bear reported an improvement in profits in the year to September 30 as the economic environment improved.Pre-tax profits climbed to £705,000 from £665,000 the previous year as revenues climbed to £15.9m from £15.6m.Future, the specialist publisher behind magazines such as Total Film and Guitar World, lifted pre-tax profits in the year to September 30 despite flat revenues, but remains cautious.Adjusted pre-tax profits climbed to £8.3m from £7.6m the previous year, but revenues slipped to £151.5m from £153.1m. 'Consumer confidence is still fragile on both sides of the Atlantic, so our outlook for 2011 must remain cautious even though we've seen an encouraging 5% growth in the second half of 2010,' said chief executive Stevie Spring.