Beyond the Footsie: Tuesday close

13 April 2012

SMALL caps ended the day sharply lower with little in the way of news to help stem the heavy losses.

The FTSE Small-Cap closed down 12.7 points at 2,506.8, fractionally off the day's low of of 2,505.2.

Leading the fallers was Internet Business, down 15.75% at 3.37, as the online marketing and web-hosting company continued to suffer after it announced continuing interim losses at the pre-tax level yesterday.

At the pre-tax level, after interest, depreciation and goodwill amortisation, the company said losses narrowed to £35,000 from £188,000.

On an EBITDA level though, it swung into a small profit of £6,000, compared with a loss of £105,000 a year earlier.

Leisure and hospitality company Innovation Group, 1 1/2p pence adrift at 24 1/2p, was unable to shrug of talk of an imminent placing.

Traders reckon a fundraising for an acquisition is a possibility, although others believe the group's largest shareholder, Robert Bonnier, could be looking to sell down his stake.

Fellow faller Tanfield Group, down 1/4p at 5 1/2p, continued to suffer from the recent news it plans to raise as much as £5m, before expenses, through an institutional placing of new shares.

The engineering and machinery group said it expects to use the net proceeds to fund one or more acquisitions and/or as further working capital.

Protherics also suffered on the back of fundraising concerns, down 1p at 50 1/4p.

The pharmaceutical group plans to raise about £10m via a placing and open offer of some 20.8m new shares at 48p a share, or a 6.8% discount to yesterday's closing price.

Protherics said the new shares will be issued at a ratio of one for every ten already held.

On the bright side, Austin Reed clawed back some of its loss warning inspired falls, boosted by news that investment group Dawnay Day now controls 17.88% of the voting rights in the upmarket clothes retailer.

Austin Reed ended the day up 10p or 7.84% at 137 1/2p. Shares had fallen yesterday after it warned it would slip into a loss in the interim.

Holders Technology, which provides specialised material for the electronics and telecommunications industry, was also a winner, ending 16 1/2p higher at 99p, after it swung into profit in the interim, boosted by a 16% rise in sales.

The company disclosed pre-tax profits of £421,000 against losses of £71,000, thanks to an improvement in gross margins and continuing cost cutting.

Only oil exploration minnow Aminex outshone Holders, with a rise of more than 3p or 26.67%, extending yesterday's gains, after it provided a bullish update on its fields in Tanzania.

The group said the Tanzanian government agreed to extend its offshore Nyuni licence into its second exploration phase.

It finished the day at 14 1/4p.

Hydrocarbon exploration and production company Pan Andean Resources, was also on the up, 1p firmer at 16 1/4p, as traders welcomed news that a workover on block High Island 52, in the Gulf of Mexico, has been successful, and that the well will shortly come into production. It is expected to produce 1m cubic feet of gas a day. Pan Andean holds a 50% interest.

Palandri, the Aim-listed Australian wine producer, closed up 3p at 29p after it signed a Scandinavian distribution agreement with Norwegian wine distributor Solera AS.

The deal is expected to lead to a rise in annual sales to the region from 6,000 in the year to June 2003 to around 100,000 cases within three years.

Zytronic, which specialises in touchscreen technology, closed at 60p, up 5 1/2p, after its chairman and largest shareholder John Kennair boosted his stake by 60,00 shares. Before the deal he owed 16.01%.

Galleon Holdings, moved 0.05p higher, closing at 0.6p, after it said it sold 13m new shares at a placing price of 1p per share.

The multimedia company said it expects the new shares to begin trading on Aim on July 23.

Chairman James Driscoll bought 5m shares in the placing, lifting his stake to 19.9%.

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