Small caps round-up: Work Group, Trafficmaster, Ransom...

12th Jan 2010 12:03

Marketing services company Work Group remains confident that full-year results will be in line with expectations, and says the net cash position at year end is over £2m.'We lived through extraordinary times in 2009, but we finished the year in line with our forecasts and in a strong cash position,' said chairman Simon Howard. 'We remain debt-free and so are well-placed to benefit from any recovery in 2010.' The firm publishes 2009 results on 16 March.Satnav group Trafficmaster says it traded well towards the end of the year, leaving it forecasting results for the full-year 2009 in line with market expectations. 'The group is starting 2010 in good shape,' said Tony Eales, chief executive of Trafficmaster, which reports numbers in March.Natural healthcare products distributor William Ransom has sold its Metanium business to Thornton & Ross Limited for £2.2m in cash. The unit, responsible for Metanium nappy rash ointment and Metanium cradle cap cream, brought in £2m, while inventory added another £200,000.'Trading continues to be difficult and the outlook uncertain as we implement the turnaround plan while operating under very testing business and economic conditions,' said boss Ivor Harrison.IDOX, which supplies software and services to the UK public sector, saw profits and revenues fall in the year to October 31 as local authorities responded to the challenging economic climate. Pre-tax profits fell to £4.5m from £6.6m over the previous year as revenues slipped to £32.2m from £34m.Electronic sensor group TT Electronics said trading in the last quarter of 2009 was ahead of expectations, but remains cautious on the outlook for 2010.Insurance group Brightside has joined forces with the Met Office to be the first private sector enterprise to advertise on the Met Office web site. Profits at shop fitter Havelock Europa this year will be significantly below current market expectations as severe weather in the last two weeks of November and the month of December caused significant disruption to trading in the Educational Interiors Division. In addition, costs and operational issues arising from the integration of the Educational and Retail Interiors Divisions will be greater than originally anticipated. Havelock still expects to report an operating profit before exceptional costs and interest. It is currently discussing revised terms for its bank facilities and has obtained a waiver of the year end interest cover covenant test.Software group Access Intelligence says progress has been good in all areas of the group with operating profits for the year ended 30 November 2009 expected to be in line with market expectations on sales of around £6m (2008: £3.96m), while cash at the year end was £1.7m.The Florida Nursery, Growers & Landscape Association (FNGLA) has integrated the Enterprise Knowledge Platform of training software supplier NetDimensions into its professional certification programme.FNGLA's programme has maintained a consistent number of certified professionals, which ranges between 1,100 and 1,200, despite the recessionary environment, the company said. In a separate announcement, NetDimensions announced the appointment of Clarence On Pong Wu as chief financial officer with immediate effect.Software company eg solutions was celebrating the sale of its operational intelligence software suite Tuesday to the Nationwide Building Society. No financial details of the deal were divulged, but the company did day the licence revenue would be recognised in the current financial year.The number of users of eg's software within Nationwide is expected to soar by more than 80% to exceed 3,000.