UK SMALLCAP ROUNDUP: BGlobal Eyes Profitable FY11

13th Jul 2010 12:30

Dow Jones smallcap news is now on Twitter, allowing you to catch up on the news away from your desk. Go to http://twitter.com/DJ_UK_Smallcaps BGLOBAL PLC (BGBL.LN), a metering services company, Tuesday said it expects to move into profit for fiscal 2011 following a first quarter in the black, adding that orders for its smart meters could increase further if the U.K. government speeds up its plans for the devices. The firm's fiscal 2010, ended March 31, pretax loss narrowed to GBP670,000 from a GBP4.3 million loss a year earlier. At 1045 GMT, shares +0.28 pence, or 0.8%, at 36.53 pence. AFRICAN MINERALS LTD. (AMI.LN), an iron ore miner focused on Sierra Leone, Tuesday said it agreed a $1.5 billion investment in its Tonkolili project from Shandong Iron & Steel Group Co., in a deal that underscores China's appetite for raw materials to fuel its economic expansion. At 1045 GMT, shares +58pence, or 15%, at 443 pence. YOUNG & CO'S BREWERY PLC (YNGA.LN), a U.K. pub chain operator, Tuesday said sales from its managed pubs open more than a year rose 2.4% in its fiscal 2011 first quarter. The firm said total managed house sales rose 2.1% in the same period, while it said an improved second half performance at its hotels has continued into the current year. At 1045 GMT, shares flat at 520 pence. DUNELM GROUP PLC (DNLM.LN), a homeware retailer, said trading in fiscal 2011 is expected to be much tougher than the year just gone, even though it ended the fiscal year strongly and expects to top analysts' operating profit expectations. Comparable sales growth slowed in its second half, and was marginally negative in the final ten weeks of the fiscal, but this was still a better performance than analysts had expected. At 1045 GMT, shares +15 pence, or 4%, at 373 pence. LOW & BONAR PLC (LWB.LN), a supplier of yarns and fabrics, reintroduced an interim dividend following a swing to a first-half pretax profit on the continued improvement in sales. The company told Dow Jones Newswires it is considering bolstering its presence in regions like China and the Middle East largely through joint ventures. At 1045 GMT, shares -4 pence, or 10.5%, at 39 pence. INDIAN ENERGY LTD. (IEL.LN), a developer of wind farms in India, reported a wider fiscal-year loss due to the cost of joining the stock market, but said it is on track to hit its target of being able to generate 300 megawatts of electricity by 2013. The firm told Dow Jones it is seeking to raise roughly GBP120 million from equity markets to help fund the development of its pipeline of wind projects in India. At 1045 GMT, shares -4 pence, or 8.8%, at 44 pence. MONITISE PLC (MONI.LN), a developer of banking services for mobile phones, said it is to raise GBP32.4 million through a share sale and announced an improved strategic partnership with Visa Inc. (V). At 1045 GMT, shares +2 pence, or 10.7%, at 23 pence. LUMINAR GROUP HOLDINGS PLC (LMR.LN), a nightclub operator, said the recent soccer World Cup tournament dented sales in its most recent 19 weeks' trading, with comparable sales plunging 19.9% in the period. At 1045 GMT, shares -1 pence, or 8.7%, at 11 pence. ARK THERAPEUTICS GROUP PLC (AKT.LN), a biotechnology company, said it is in talks with potential buyers of its wound care business. The company, which launched a strategic review after its experimental brain cancer medicine Cerepro was rejected by European drug regulators earlier this year, said a number of companies are completing due diligence on its wound care unit and negotiations are in progress. It added it is in talks with potential strategic partners keen to make use of its Finland-based manufacturing facilities and said it is drawing up a plan for a U.S. clinical trial of Cerepro and is seeking a partner to pay for it. At 1045 GMT, shares -0.75 pence, or 14%, at 4.5 pence. DJ UK Smaller Cos +0.18% AIM +0.57% -By Hannah Benjamin, Jason Douglas and Rachael Gormley, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0) 20 7842 9298; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 13, 2010 07:30 ET (11:30 GMT)