UK SMALLCAP ROUNDUP: Bodycote 2010 Earnings To Top Market View

9th 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 BODYCOTE PLC (BOY.LN), an engineer, Friday said 2010 earnings will be "significantly" ahead of market forecasts. Bodycote, which specializes in heat treatment to improve the wear resistance of metals, said it has experienced a steady and broad-based improvement in demand since April and revenue for the first six months of the year is expected to be 8% higher than the same period in 2009. At 1050 GMT shares +24 pence, or 12.6%, at 215 pence. SURETRACK MONITORING PLC (STMP.PM) said it plans to raise about GBP1.4 million through a share placing and will list its shares on the Alternative Investment Market. The PLUS markets-listed firm told Dow Jones Newswires it expects a substantial jump in revenue in the current fiscal year from recent contract wins and new deals in the pipeline. At 1050 GMT shares flat at 1 pence. SPICE PLC (SPI.LN), a utility support services group, said its electricity business has received a five-year extension to its contracts with Electricite de France SA's (EDF.FR) EDF Energy division to 2015, on similar terms to previous deals. At 1050 GMT shares flat at 60 pence. ACCIDENT EXCHANGE GROUP PLC (ACE.LN), a car hire company, said its senior lender is considering converting its convertible loan note holding in to a equity stake in the company, adding it is also in talks with a number of asset-backed lenders about funding. The firm--which late last year said it may not meet its banking covenants--is in talks with holders of the GBP50 million 5.5% unsecured convertible loan notes in the company about a restructuring. At 1050 GMT shares +2 pence, or 21%, at 12 pence. TANFIELD GROUP PLC (TAN.LN) said it has extended the exclusivity period of talks with Smith Electric Vehicles U.S., or SEVUS, about a deal for the assets of its U.S. Smith Electric Vehicles business. Tanfield Group will continue to have exclusive talks for a further 60 days. It previously announced that it had received a non-binding offer from Smith Electric Vehicles US for its Smith Electric Vehicles business. At 1050 GMT, shares -5 pence, or 14%, at 32 pence. POLO RESOURCES LTD. (POL.LN) Friday said it has rejected an indicative offer from Laxey Partners Ltd., which owns 4% of its voting capital. Polo Resources also Friday said it has agreed to sell its stake in Extract Resources Ltd (EXT.AU) for a total consideration of about A$157.9 million ($138 million) to Nippon Uranium Resources (Australia) Proprietary Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of ITOCHU Corporation (8001.TO). At 1050 GMT, shares +0.38 pence, or 7.9%, at 5.10 pence. MONEYSUPERMARKET.COM GROUP PLC (MONY.LN), a U.K. price comparison website, said first-half revenue is expected to be up about 5% on the year, although earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, or Ebitda, are expected to fall slightly due to increased investments made during the half. At 1050 GMT, shares +0.45 pence, or 0.7%, at 69.55 pence. DJ UK Smaller Cos +0.2% AIM +0.3% -By Hannah Benjamin, Jason Douglas & Tommy Stubbington, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0) 20 7842 9298; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 09, 2010 07:30 ET (11:30 GMT)