News

Shares in AIM-listed Bakery Services plunged after the group admitted that present trading activities offer little opportunity for growth.

"During the year and subsequently, a number of potential opportunities have been assessed," said the group. "While to date none of these have been considered to be sufficiently robust to put to shareholders, your board remains committed to identifying an opportunity capable of being recommended to shareholders," it added.

Retained losses for the year came to £124,985, compared to a loss of £143,550 previously on sales up 3% to £3.2m.

NHS-focused recruitment specialist Healthcare Locums said current trading is robust and in line with expectations, driven by organic growth and the successful integration of acquisitions made in 2006 and 2007.

The group's current annual run rate turnover has increased to £148m in June compared to £141m for the period to 31 December. The current annual gross margin run rate has also increased to £31m from £30m in April.

"Our current market is worth approximately £1.4bn per annum, and with just over 10% of this market we have plenty of room for expansion over the next few years," said chief executive Kate Bleasdale.

Aberdeen-based oil explorer Plectrum Petroleum advanced after reporting that its REAP Tunisia unit plans to convert the Tunisian Nabeul prospection into an exploration permit. This follows the acquisition of 3,178km of 2D marine seismic reflection data completed on 23 June.

"Even without the interpreted new seismic data we are already sufficiently encouraged by the prospectivity previously identified to convert the prospection permit into an exploration permit," said chief operating officer Mike Evans.

Mobile device solutions provider Synchronica announced that it has licensed a core component of its mobile manager suite to SmartTrust for a fee of €800,000. The group added that it expects a further €200,000 in annual revenue from the deal.