UK small caps open higher; Univision Engineering top on 4.2 mln stg contract win

UK small caps open higher; Univision Engineering top on 4.2 mln stg contract win

	Published : Tue, 08 Jan 2008 09:55 By : Agencies Print this Story

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - UK smaller companies opened higher today, matching the positive trend among blue chips, with Univision Engineering top after its 4.3 mln stg contract win.

At 8.59 am, the FTSE Small Cap index was 10.80 points up on 3,353.70, as the FTSE 100 index rose 36.90 points to 6,372.60.

Heading the risers was Univision Engineering, up 0.375 a penny to 2-1/2 pence, as it won a contract worth 4.2 mln stg from Zhong Shan Shi Fu Li Hua Property Development Co Ltd, a property developer in mainland China, for the Zhongshan Ming Xuan Square shopping mall in Zhongshan City.

Contract news also lifted Business Direct 0-1/4 a penny to 3-1/4 pence, as it won a six-year contract for 40 ParcelXchange virtual depots from DHL Same Day Ireland, while Timestrip moved up 0.375 a penny to 6-3/4 pence after confirming that United Pet Group Inc is the client with which it signed a 3 mln usd exclusive three-year rolling contract last August.

Vyke Communications took on 8-1/2 pence to 91-1/2 pence, as it said the total number of paid IP-based customer accounts increased by 29 pct to 1.3 mln in the fourth quarter, thanks to an accelerated growth rate towards the end of the year.

It added that acquisition of new customer accounts continues at pace, and it expects outstanding growth in 2008.

Pantheon Resources rose 4-1/2 pence to 51-1/2 pence as it said the drill pipe got stuck in the hole as it tried to control the Fay Weil Ross et al number 1 well on the Nottoway prospect in South Louisiana.

The well has now reached a measured depth of 13,894 ft and natural gas shows were encountered while drilling, the AIM-listed oil and gas exploration company active in the Gulf of Mexico said.

Drilling news also saw Landore Resources gain 1-1/4 pence to 18-1/2 pence, as it completed a drill programme to a total of 3,575 metres on the B4-7 nickel-copper deposit confirming the continuity of the mineralization.

Numbers news lifted Alexon Group 6-1/4 pence to 76-1/2 pence, as it said it sees a year to Jan 26 2008 pretax profit of not less than 12.5 mln stg, having issued a profit warning last month.

But although a group statement called pre-Christmas trading 'challenging,' post-Christmas trading has proved better than expected, the company said.

Reacting, Seymour Pierce kept 'hold' on Alexon while Merrill Lynch kept 'neutral' on the stock, saying it is unlikely to assume any increase in profits.

Glanbia also rose on numbers hopes, up 0.35 a penny to 5.05 pence, as it said it sees its 2007 adjusted earnings per share to be at the upper end of market expectations, while Domino's Pizza took on 2-1/2 pence as it said its like-for-like sales during the Christmas period increased 17.6 pct as more customers ordered via the internet, prompting KBC Peel Hunt to upgrade the stock to 'hold' from 'sell'.

Topps Tiles was 14 pence higher to 143 pence, as it said sales in the first 13 weeks of the new financial year were up by 6.9 pct, with like for like revenue up 0.8 pct, prompting WH Ireland to keep 'outperform' on the stock.

The broker noted that Topps is trading on a 'lowly' P/E multiple of 8.0x on its revised 08 estimates, with the broker suggesting it should trade at least in-line with the broader General Retail sector multiple of 10.6x.

Solana Resources gained 9 pence to 125 pence on announcing it will invest 92 mln usd in 2008 on its Colombian oil assets of which 57 mln usd is firm and the remaining 35 mln usd is contingent, while Speymill Macau rose 3-1/2 pence to 50-1/2 pence as it said it has a pipeline of other projects under negotiation after it postponed the arrangement to finance the development of a luxury residential tower in the Bel-Lago in the Nam Van reclamation area after a building permits delay.

But falling was Silanis International, shedding more than half its value, down 17-1/2 pence to 16 pence, as it warned its trading for the year to Dec 31 will be materially below its previous expectations as it continues to experience delays in closing material contract negotiations.

Ascent Resources plummeted, down 5-1/4 pence to 11-1/4 pence, as it said it is yet to find hydrocarbons at its Anagni-1 well in Italy, but will continue tests until getting a conclusive result, while

In-line numbers hopes failed to impress at Mecom Group, down 13-1/4 pence to 35 pence, as it said it expects its like-for-like EBITDA for 2007 to be ahead of the previous year and in line with analysts' forecasts, while 'satisfactory' trading in the 12-months to December 31 2007 at Heywood Williams Group also failed to lure buyers, with shares dropping 4-3/4 pence to 40 pence.

Meanwhile Just Retirement lost 12 pence to 136 pence as the UK specialist life assurer said its full-year new business value will be below its own forecasts, as oil services group Frontline shed 150 pence to 2,225 pence on concerns about long-haul shipping prices, dealers said.

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