UK SMALLCAP ROUNDUP: PIRC Opposes Cranswick Election And Pay

20th Jul 2010 16:00

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 CRANWSICK PLC (CWK.LN) shareholders should oppose the re-election of executive chairman Martin Davey as well as the remuneration report, investor advisory group PIRC said Tuesday. Davey was previously chief executive of the sausage specialists from 1988 to 2004 but PIRC said responsibilities at the head of the company should be clearly divided between a non-executive chairman and a chief executive. At 1430 GMT, shares flat at 860 pence. FINDEL PLC (FDL.LN), a home shopping firm and supplier of education products, Tuesday said it launched a wide-ranging review of all its units after accounting errors at its education business led it to overstate its fiscal 2009 results. Findel said it hired accountants KPMG to assist in its review. The company Tuesday reported a pretax loss of GBP76.1 million for the year to April 2, following a decline in sales and charges for asset impairments and restructuring. At 1430 GMT, shares -7 pence or 40% at 10 pence. LONRHO PLC (LONR.LN), a conglomerate with operations in Africa, said its Oceanfresh Seafoods unit began supplying its Cape Hake Fillets brand to U.S. retailer Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST). The products will initially be supplied to stores in Los Angeles and will be rolled out to San Diego and Texas next year, Lonrho said. At 1430 GMT, shares flat at 10.5 pence. CONCURRENT TECHNOLOGIES PLC (CNC.LN), a computer products maker, said it expects to miss 2010 earnings expectations, as an order it expected to get this year now won't be sealed until 2011. At 1430 GMT, shares -7 pence or 16% at 38 pence. SALAMANDER ENERGY PLC (SMDR.LN), an oil and gas company, said it agreed to buy out Soco International PLC's (SIA.LN) interest in the Bualuang field offshore Thailand for $105 million, in a deal that will add another 9 million barrels of oil equivalent to its reserves and boost its daily production to more than 20,000 barrels. At 1430 GMT, shares -0.1 pence or 0.4% at 225 pence. PETRA DIAMONDS LTD. (PDL.LN), a diamond producer, Tuesday said the sale of an enormous 507-carat diamond to a Hong Kong jeweler for $35.3 million helped drive an 88% increase in fiscal-year revenue from its mines in South Africa and Tanzania. The company said plans to expand production to 3 million carats a year by about 2018 from its current 1.2 million carats are on track and fully-funded. Petra raised $120 million in a share sale in December 2009 and agreed new banking facilities of $78 million last month. At 1430 GMT, shares +01 pence or 1.2% at 63 pence. SUPERGLASS HOLDINGS PLC (SPGH.LN), an insulation company, said sales of its products were hit by uncertainty over the future of a government scheme to cut emissions. At 1430 GMT, shares -3 pence or 13% at 20 pence. SPEEDY HIRE PLC (SDY.LN) said it has a cautious view on recovery prospects in the U.K. for the remainder of this year and next as it awaits the outcome of the U.K. government's Autumn Spending Review. In an update on first-quarter trading to June 30, the U.K. tool and equipment hire firm said group revenue, excluding fleet equipment sales, was down 0.7% on year compared with a fall of 14% on year in the same period of 2009. At 1430 GMT, shares +0.5 pence or 2.2% at 23 pence. DELTEX MEDICAL GROUP PLC (DEMG.LN) said first-half revenue grew 12% on year to GBP2.9 million, aided by a major new contract in the U.S. and the publication of hospital guidelines about its technology by the U.K.'s state-run National Health Service. At 1430 GMT, shares +1 pence or 7.5% at 11 pence. HAMPSON INDUSTRIES PLC (HAMP.LN), an aerospace engineer, said it has hired a new chief executive from Paris-based aerospace firm Safran S.A. (SAF.FR). Hampson named Norman Jordan, chairman of Safran unit Labinal SA, as Kim Ward's successor. At 1430 GMT, shares +2 pence or 3.8% at 55 pence. DJ UK Smaller Cos -0.48% AIM -0.42% -By Hannah Benjamin, Rachael Gormley & Jason Douglas, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0) 20 7842 9298; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 20, 2010 11:00 ET (15:00 GMT)