Small caps round-up: Wichford, Baltic Oil, Caffyns...

29th May 2009 08:32

Shares in property investment company Wichford almost halved today after reporting a full-year loss of £76.2m and admitting it is mulling a cash call.The group, which said the value of its UK portfolio slumped by £56.7m, or 12.7%, to £389.9m, intends to pay an interim dividend, but will not decide the level until it's decided whether to go ahead with a fundraising or not.Baltic Oil Terminals narrowed its net loss to £5.9m in 2008, which includes a write-down of £3.6m linked to completed exploration activities, from £11.7m the year beforeRevenue from product trading and transhipment was £46.8m versus just £1m in 2007."We have emerged from this period well placed to exploit our oil infrastructure assets as conditions improve, with progress already evident from recent contracts entered into," said boss Simon Escott.Motor distributor Caffyns spluttered lower after it swung to a £4.4m loss for the year ended 31 March from a £2.6m profit last year. Revenue fell to £158.7m from £182m in 2008.The firm did trade profitably in the fourth quarter, but new car sales volumes for the year as a whole slumped 21%. The final dividend is slashed to 2p a share from 17p.Cadogan Petroleum has found evidence of potential irregularities surrounding the acquisition of and payment for some assets and services contracted for by the Ukraine-focused oil group. A full investigation is underway into potentially irregular payments of between $5-7m, while it expects to update on the operational review, started in March, before the AGM.Renewable Energy Holdings is easier on news it has signed a letter of intent with a view to buying PVStrom's existing solar photovoltaic developments and setting up a new company in Italy.The renewable energy technologies firm also notes that Carnegie has completed it's A$5.75m fundraising, paving the way for the sale of REH's CETO Wave Technology to Carnegie. REH will own about 34% of Carnegie post-fundraising. Shares in Amerisur jumped after the South America-focused oil and gas explorer said a surface geochemical sampling programme in one of its contracts had been successfully completed on time and within budget.Shares in tool rental firm Vp jumped after it weathered tough markets to post a rise in profits.In the year to March 31, pre-tax profits rose by £21.7m from £20.2m the previous year on revenues that climbed to £150.9m from £149.3m.Theme park queuing system software specialist Lo-Q has signed an agreement to install its Text-Q queue system at the Parque Isla Mágica in Seville, Spain. The Text-Q system allows mobile phone users to reserve their place in line using SMS services.The initial agreement which runs to early January 2010 covers technical assistance, training and support as well as software updates and maintenance. The installation will be completed in July 2009 and the contract is expected to continue into 2010.Property group Commercial Group slumped into a loss of £8.8m in the year to November, after a £9.6m write-down on the value of its portfolio. The group posted a profit of £22.1m in the previous year. "Despite the current financial challenges, the Company still expects to increase the value of its investment property at Manston by the progression of China Gateway, the conclusion of successful negotiations with its existing lending bank and the access to new finance sources following the recent agreement with UNIDO-ITPO," the group said.Seafood productivity technology company Aqua Bounty is to concentrate on bringing its AquAdvantage salmon product to market after performing a strategic review.The company, which declared a net loss of $6.7m for 2008 - a modest improvement on 2007's $6.9m loss - said a proposed restructuring of the company would save an estimated $2m in costs in 2009.Cash strapped camping and caravanning retailer Discover Leisure is to undergo a major restructuring as it seeks to survive in a harsher retail environment. The group has arranged new banking and stock funding facilities after outlining a business plan which focuses on five of its larger destination locations at Chorley, Darlington, Delamere and York. It added that it will put a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) proposal to unsecured creditors of its subsidiary, Signlease, to facilitate the restructuring.The company lost £9.5m on turnover of £40.7m in 2008, having lost £1.8m the year before on turnover of £51.8m. Loss before tax and impairment of goodwill in 2008 was £6.7m.