UK SMALLCAP ROUNDUP:Salamander Energy Abandons Dry Vietnam Well

29th 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 SALAMANDER ENERGY PLC (SMDR.LN) said it has plugged and abandoned the Tom Su Lua-1X exploration well offshore Vietnam after it turned out to be dry. Salamander said it now plans to drill the THX-1X exploration well 25 kilometers south, where it is targeting a prospect with a recoverable resource estimate of 80 million barrels of oil. At 0800 GMT, shares -18 pence, or 7.6%, at 222 pence. CRYSTAL AMBER FUND LTD. (CRS.LN) said Tuesday it will call for Pinewood Shepperton PLC's (PWS.LN) Chairman Michael Grade to step down at the film and television studios group's annual meeting today, as it said the management has failed to realize the true value of the business. However, in a statement to be read at the company's AGM, Grade said the board has the backing of the majority of shareholders. "The board will continue to run the business in the interests of shareholders as a whole," he said in the statement. At 0800 GMT Pinewood Shepperton shares flat at 144 pence. Crystal Amber shares flat at 105 pence. ASSURA GROUP LTD. (AGR.LN), a healthcare company, Tuesday reported a sharply narrower fiscal-year loss and said it will resume dividend payments this fiscal year. At 0800 GMT, shares flat at 42 pence. BRITISH POLYTHENE INDUSTRIES PLC (BPI.LN), a polythene products company, Tuesday said first-half earnings will be lower than a year earlier due to a rise in raw material costs and weak demand for its silage products. At 0800 GMT, shares flat at 222 pence. EMERSON ELECTRIC CO. (EMR), a U.S. industrial technology company, Tuesday raised its offer to buy Chloride Group PLC (CHLD.LN) to 375 pence a share, valuing the U.K. secure power systems company at GBP997 million and trumping an earlier offer from Swiss engineer ABB Ltd. (ABB). At 0800 GMT, Chloride shares +37 pence, or 10.5%, at 385 pence. CH2M HILL Cos. Ltd., a U.S. engineer, Tuesday offered to buy smaller U.K. peer Scott Wilson Group PLC (SWG.LN) for about GBP189 million, trumping an earlier offer by rival U.S. firm URS Corp. (URS). CH2M said it offered to buy Scott Wilson for 245 pence a share, a 16% premium to the 210 pence a share offer put forward Monday by URS. At 0800 GMT, Scott Wilson shares +6 pence, or 2.3%, at 259 pence. CARPETRIGHT PLC (CPR.LN), a carpet and floorings retailer, Tuesday doubled its final dividend as it posted a higher fiscal 2010 pretax profit on the back of a new stream of sales from insurance and house building contracts, but said it expects the consumer environment to remain tough this year. At 0800 GMT, shares -51 pence, or 7%, at 659 pence. JACQUES VERT PLC (JQV.LN), a womenswear clothing retailer, Tuesday reintroduced a final dividend for the first time since 1995 as it swung to a full-year profit, but said trading in the coming fiscal year will likely be "unpredictable". At 0800 GMT, shares +5 pence, or 32.7%, at 18 pence. TRAVELZEST PLC (TVZ.LN), a U.K. and Canadian holiday retailer, Tuesday posted a more than doubled first-half pretax profit as sales climbed 9%, with strong trading in both the U.K. and U.S. Travelzest said trading in the U.K. continues to improve, while revenue growth remains strong at its North America operations. At 0800 GMT, shares +1 pence, or 4%, at 19 pence. PLASTICS CAPITAL PLC (PLA.LN), a niche plastics products maker, Tuesday swung to a full-year pretax profit, boosted by a foreign exchange gain, and said its order books are stronger than at any other time in the last 18 months. At 0800 GMT, shares +1 pence, or 3.3%, at 31 pence. DJ UK Smaller Cos -0.68% AIM -0.57% By Hannah Benjamin & Jason Douglas, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0) 20 7842 9298; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 29, 2010 04:30 ET (08:30 GMT)