UK SMALLCAP ROUNDUP: RM Sees Scale-Back Of Pending BSF Work

26th 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 RM PLC (RM.LN) expects to find out soon if it has won six Building Schools for the Future, or BSF, projects, although the amount of work required may be scaled back significantly from what was originally expected. "In some cases the number of schools covered has been scaled back very significantly, therefore we have to work out if it's still a viable proposition," Finance Director Iain McIntosh told Dow Jones. RM which provides educations products and services, will downsize its 60-strong strategic projects bid team and book a restructuring charge this fiscal year of about GBP1.5 million. At 1045 GMT, shares flat at 145.75 pence. CONNAUGHT PLC (CNT.LN), warned it will breach its banking covenants when its fiscal year ends Aug. 31 and its year-end net debt will be "significantly in excess" of the original GBP120 million level it forecast less than a month ago. The support services company, which offers services such as compliance, social housing and environmental support services, said it is now in "constructive" talks with its lenders to get the extra funding it needs. Connaught, whose chief executive and finance director resigned from their roles in early July, a week after a profit warning, said there is an urgent need for additional funds to meet the needs of the business, which was partly due to pressure from suppliers and sub-contractors. At 1045 GMT, shares -82 pence, or 80%, at 20 pence. NEWMARK SECURITY PLC (NWT.LN), a security systems company, posted a 23% rise in 2010 fiscal-year pretax profit, but said it expects lower revenue on year in the first half of this year due to orders being postponed before the U.K. general election and the emergency budget. At 1045 GMT, shares -0.25 pence, or 12%, at 185 pence. UK COAL PLC (UKC.LN) said non-executive Chairman David Jones and Chief Executive John Lloyd intend to step down, after it decided to do away with their positions and appoint an executive chairman in a management restructuring. The coal mining company said it will now be led by two managing directors who will run its mining and property businesses and report to a full-time executive chairman. Both Jones and Lloyd will step down following a transition period, the company said. A search for an executive chairman has begun. At 1045 GMT, shares +1 pence, or 2.8%, at 37 pence. DIALIGHT PLC (DIA.LN) reported an almost 10-fold increase in first-half pretax profit following bumper sales of products like obstruction lights for mobile phone masts and customers restocking bare inventories. The company, which makes light-emitting diode, or LED, lights for used in factories, signs and traffic lights, said it is confident about its prospects for 2010. At 1045 GMT, shares +10 pence, or 2.8%, at 345 pence. PLANT HEALTH CARE PLC (PHC.LN), a crop technology company, said it signed a development and marketing deal for its yield-enhancing harpin product with agrochemicals giant Syngenta AG (SYNN.VX). At 1045 GMT, shares +16 pence, or 12.8%, at 141 pence. OXFORD BIOMEDICA PLC (OXB.LN), a biotechnology company, said it received approval to begin a clinical trial of its cancer vaccine TroVax in men with prostate cancer. Oxford BioMedica said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved plans to begin a Phase II trial of TroVax in 80 patients with prostate cancer who don't respond to hormone treatment. At 1045 GMT, shares +1 pence, or 8.8%, at 11 pence. TEG GROUP PLC (TEG.LN), a developer of composting systems, said it has formed a joint venture to construct its first anaerobic digestion plant to produce biogas for an estimated GBP4.5 million. TEG said it formed a 50-50 joint venture called TEG Biogas (Perth) Ltd. with London-based venture capital investor Albion Ventures LLP to construct and operate a anaerobic digestion plant to process 16,000 metric tons of food waste a year in Glenfarg, Perthshire in Scotland. At 1045 GMT, shares +2 pence, or 5.6%, at 38 pence. DJ UK Smaller Cos +0.58% AIM +0.67% -By Hannah Benjamin, Jason Douglas and Rachael Gormley, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0) 20 7842 9298; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 26, 2010 07:30 ET (11:30 GMT)