UK SMALLCAP ROUNDUP: DS Smith Eyes Less Cyclical Business

24th Jun 2010 09:30

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 DS SMITH PLC (SMDS.LN), a packaging company, Thursday said it is targeting higher returns and less cyclical business as part of a major company review. "In [sectors such as] food and drink and cleaning products, the demand is far less cyclical than in the automobile sector," said Chief Executive Miles Roberts. DS Smith also Thursday said it more than doubled its fiscal year pretax profit as costs and spending fell. At 0757 GMT, shares were flat at 120 pence. SEEING MACHINES LTD. (SEE.LN), which develops vision-based industrial systems, said it expects fiscal 2010 revenue to fall "significantly below" market expectations because of order delays. At 0757 GMT, shares -0.75 pence, or 23%, at 2.5 pence. D1 OILS PLC (DOO.LN) said the buyer of its biodiesel production and distribution site at Bromborough, England, has said it probably won't be able to complete the deal. D1 exchanged contracts with an unnamed buyer for its site at Bromborough in February and the two parties agreed a price of GBP2.6 million. At 0757 GMT, shares -1.8 pence, or 23%, at 6 pence. EAGA PLC (EAGA.LN) said the U.K. government's review of public spending is leading to delays in contracts. Eaga is working on a project to install solar panels on public housing but said procurement decisions are being delayed. Contract awards are being put off, Eaga said. At 0758 GMT, shares -1.7 pence, or 1.4%, at 116.3 pence. ACM SHIPPING GROUP PLC (ACMG.LN), a ship broker, reported a 24% decline in fiscal year profit due to a slump in shipping rates and said it expanded into dry cargo by buying Australia-based Endeavour Shipbrokers Pty. Ltd. ACM said the purchase of Endeavour for A$10 million ($8.72 million), in cash and shares, will boost future earnings. At 0758 GMT, shares +7.5 pence, or 4%, at 196 pence. RIGHTMOVE PLC (RMV.LN), a property website, said it has sold its majority stake in Holiday Lettings (Holdings) Ltd. to TripAdvisor LLC for an undisclosed sum. The company said it doens't expect the sale to have a material impact on Rightmove's underlying operating profit. At 0759 GMT, shares -5 pence, or 0.7%, at 670 pence. AEA TECHNOLOGY PLC (AAT.LN), a U.K. energy and climate change consultancy, posted a 53% fall in fiscal year pretax profit and said it is focusing on winning business in the U.S. as the U.K. government looks to cut spending. At 0759 GMT, shares flat at 18 pence. OXFORD BIOMEDICA PLC (OXB.LN) said it has teamed up with scientists in Wales to test its experimental cancer vaccine TroVax in patients with mesothelioma, a cancer of the lung lining linked to exposure to asbestos. At 0759 GMT, shares flat at 11.5 pence. YULE CATTO & CO. PLC (YULC.LN) said it expects its underlying pretax profit for the first half of 2010 to be "substantially ahead" on the year as its main business reported good volumes throughout the second quarter. Last year, the specialty chemicals company posted pretax profit of GBP16.1 million. At 0759 GMT, shares +8 pence, or 4.4%, at 189 pence. PENNON GROUP PLC (PNN.LN) said its subsidiary Viridor Waste Management Ltd. has bought U.K. materials recycling company Reconomy Recycling Solutions Ltd. for GBP23.8 million. At 0800 GMT, shares -0.5 pence, or 0.1%, at 547 pence. THB GROUP PLC (THB.LN), a specialist insurance and reinsurance broker, reported a 26% rise in first-half pretax profit as fees and commissions rose 5%, despite the lack of a marked increase in insurance rates over the period. At 0800 GMT, shares +1.5 pence, or 2.9%, at 53 pence. DJ UK Smaller Cos -0.5% AIM -0.1% -By Rachael Gormley, Jason Douglas & Hannah Benjamin, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0) 20 7842 9272; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 24, 2010 04:30 ET (08:30 GMT)