Beyond the Footsie: Tuesday close
A SWATHE of well-received earnings news drove small caps higher today. At the close, the FTSE SmallCap index was up 15.10 points at 2,508.80.
Shares in housebuilder Ben Bailey shares were 8p higher at 85 1/2p after posting a 77% rise in full year profits to £2.75m compared to £1.6m last time. The total dividend is 3.8p.
Gaming group Sportech gained 2 3/4p to 16 3/4p after it said immediate growth prospects remain good. Investors brushed aside a pretax drop into losses of £600,000 compared to a profit of £26.7m. The company, which owns Littlewoods Leisure, has struck a partnership with ITV to provide interactive betting and gaming services linked to ITV programming.
Buyers also came for Media group Incepta, 4p better at 50p, following a bullish trading statement. The company said it expects pre-tax profits for the year to February 28 to be in line with market expectations.
Meanwhile, Eurovestech was 1/2p higher at 4 1/4p on news that one of its investee companies, D-Pharm , has received its first milestone payment from Shire Pharmaceuticals as part of an agreement for the development of an anti-epileptic drug.
On the downside, Prime People dropped 1/4p to 6 1/4p. The company warned that the outlook for the recruitment industry is 'uncertain' as it revealed an 86% slump in full-year pretax profits to £158,900 from £1.1m last year.
The company, which operates principally as specialist recruiter of senior managers for the leisure industry, together with related training and interior design businesses, said sales in the year to December 31 were slightly lower at £4.55m against £4.7m. It said it will not pay a dividend for the year as this would not be justified by current trading.
