LONDON (Thomson Financial) - UK small caps remained higher at midday,
following the positive trend of the wider market, with DCD Media leading the
gainers after a 100 for 1 share consolidation.
At 11.55am, the FTSE Small Cap index was 21.30 points stronger at 3,906.50,
while the FTSE 100 Index was 74.60 firmer at 6,263.70.
DCD Media topped the gainers after its earlier announcement today that it
has raised 8.5 mln stg before expenses via a placing of 10.6 million new
Ordinary Shares at 80 pence a share in a 100 for 1 share consolidation.
The shares were trading at 81-1/2 pence, up from 0.78 previously.
In addition, the company has also raised 4 mln stg in convertible loan from
certain institutional investors.
The raising came as DCD Media completes three acquisitions in the
independent television production sector. It has bought Prospect Pictures
Limited, September Holdings Limited and West Park Pictures Limited, in a deal
worth around 19.1 mln stg, satisfied with roughly half cash and half shares.
The company hopes this will cement its position as a leading UK television
independent producer and distributor.
There was also good cheer for mining companies, with Pantheon Resources
climbing 5 to 65-1/2 following today's earlier announcement from the oil and gas
company that it has farmed into a development well, La Playa Deep, at Padre
Island expanding its involvement in the shallow island.
The company said, given the favourable terms, the La Playa Deep natural gas
find is a significant and very low risk opportunity for the company.
Pantheon Resources expect to spud the well by the end of August.
It will take take 30 days to drill and has a planned total depth of 10,500
feet, the company added.
Ormonde Mining was also up, climbing 0.625 to 10.00 after it announced it
has found new high-grade gold intercepts at the Pino de Oro prospect on its
Salamanca gold project in Spain, including 1.0 metres carrying 18.9 grams of
gold per tonne and 3.0 metres graded 4.3 grams of gold per tonne.
In addition, the company said the first structure to be tested at Pino de
Oro has a strike length in excess of 500 metres, open in various directions,
with the gold found at shallow depths.
Video telecommunications equipment maker Scotty Group stayed high on the
back of a contract win, staying up 0.075 at 1.225.
The company has signed the main contract with Eurocopter Deutschland GmbH
for the PV project, following an initial purchase order, bringing the total
value of the order to about 13.3 mln eur.
On the downside, losers included Avanti Screenmedia Group, down 2-1/4 to
31/2 on the back of yesterday's announcement that it is urgently seeking
additional funding, as it is currently reliant on its overdraft facility, due to
lower-than-expected sales in the period to June 30.
Also falling was Clean Air Power, down 6 to 21-1-2 after it warned earlier
today that its full year results would be well below expectations following
disappointing UK sales, development delays and problems with an Australian
contract.
Facing similar problems was Reflec, down 9-1/2 to 34/1-2 as the
retro-reflective inks and tapes maker reported a fall in full-year pretax profit
as its new businesses Perseus and its US joint venture incurred losses of
213,000 stg.
Thor Mining stayed low, down 1-3/4 to 10, despite increasing its overall
resource estimate for the Molyhil tungsten-molybdenum project in Australia by 55
pct to 3.73 mln tonnes.
And a July sales warning took 27-1/2 off Zytronic to 186-1/2, after it
announced sales in the ATM sector to have been disappointing, adding foreseeable
future sales in the ATM sector are unlikely to reach 2006 levels.
tf.TFN-Europe_newsdesk@thomson.com
hmb/ejb
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