UK SMALLCAP ROUNDUP: Hong Kong's MiLOC Group Plans AIM IPO

24th Jun 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 MILOC GROUP, a Hong Kong-based healthcare company, is planning an initial public offering in London to raise funds to establish a network of traditional Chinese medicine clinics in China, Hong Kong and Macau, MiLOC's chief executive said in an interview Thursday. Michael Ong told Dow Jones Newswires MiLOC is hoping to join London's junior Alternative Investment Market as early as next month and will use the money raised to help fund the purchase of traditional Chinese medicine, or TCM, clinics and hospitals in Asia. MCBRIDE PLC (MCB.LN), a maker of household cleaning and personal care products sold under retailers' own brands, said it expects revenue for the year to the end of June to be flat year-on-year following a decline in sales in the fourth quarter. The company added there's significant risk its raw materials costs will rise by between 4% and 6% during the current fiscal year. The company is planning a restructuring. At 1048 GMT, shares -35.5 pence or 20% at 143.7 pence. DS SMITH PLC (SMDS.LN), a packaging company, 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 said it more than doubled its fiscal year pretax profit as costs and spending fell. At 1048 GMT, shares +2.3 pence or 1.9% at 122.3 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 1048 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 1048 GMT, shares -1.3 pence or 17% at 6.5 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 1047 GMT, shares +1.5 pence or 1.3% at 119.5 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 1047 GMT, shares +5.5 pence or 2.9% at 194 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 doesn't expect the sale to have a material impact on Rightmove's underlying operating profit. At 1047 GMT, shares -1 pence or 0.2% at 674 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 1046 GMT, shares +1 pence or 5.6% at 19 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 1046 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. At 1046 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 1046 GMT, shares +4 pence or 0.7% at 551.5 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 1045 GMT, shares +2.5 pence or 4.9% at 54 pence. DJ UK Smaller Cos -0.8% AIM -0.3% -By Rachael Gormley, Jason Douglas & Hannah Benjamin, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0) 20 7842 9272; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 24, 2010 07:30 ET (11:30 GMT)