News

Bangladeshi pharmaceutical firm Beximco saw pre-tax profits for the year slide 23.6% due to increases in raw material costs.

Profit before tax for the year to December fell Tk. 399.7m (Bangladeshi Tekka) compared with Tk. 523.2m last year. Net sales decreased by 2.8% to Tk. 3,597m.

The group said it was pleased to maintain sales levels despite the unstable business and macro environment.

"We are looking forward to a better business environment and financial performance in 2008 and beyond, with a particular view to establishing ourselves as a true international company with much improved performance in the overseas markets," said CEO Nazmul Hassan.

Shares in computer-aided disease protection firm Medicsight jumped after it reported progress in China and Japan and said future product launches were on schedule.

"I am delighted with the progress that the company has made during the first quarter of 2008," chief executive David Summer said.

"We continue to bolster our contract pipeline adding Toshiba PACS division to our list of distribution partners. This is a significant milestone for Medicsight. It is the start of a global partnership with Toshiba and will allow solid penetration into the Japanese market for our MedicRead Colon workstation. This year we received the Chinese SFDA approval and are on track to gain approvals in Japan and the US."

Mobile content provider Mobile Streams said at the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization level, it has traded at break-even in every month since the start of 2008, with a small monthly capital outflow for technology development.

Revenues in the first four months of 2008 are some 15% up on the same period in 2007.

Emission control systems provider KleenAir Systems expects full year figures to be lower than current market expectations.

Due to delays in the commencement of the London Low Emission Zone, sales have taken longer to come through than expected. In addition, the company has been adversely impacted by the recent weakness of the pound.

Financial advisory group Brooks Macdonald's asset management subsidiary is to manage independent financial adviser Origen's discretionary fund management business.

Brooks Macdonald Asset Management will manage the £65m of assets held within two of Origen's investment service offerings: a managed portfolio service for clients who invest between £10,000 and £300,000, and a bespoke portfolio for clients with assets in excess of £250,000.

Origen is part of the Aegon Group, the Dutch life insurance and pension group.

Business continuity and network specialist Cantono has received the first orders for its high density data centre which is due to come online in late summer 2008.

Three customers have signed multi-year agreements to use the data centre in contracts worth £1.9m. Two of the orders are for ten years and one is for five years.

Chief executive Eamus Halpin said interest in the new facility is strong. "Now, with the first phase of the development due to come on line in August our structured marketing will begin in earnest," Halpin said. "These orders are an early demonstration of both the strength of the data centre market and our offering within it," Halpin concluded.

Globo, which provides information and communications technology services, signed a €3.9m contract with the Greek Ministry of National Education & Religious Affairs.

The project, which Globo will complete in partnership with Info-Quest S.A., is for the digitisation of approximately 15m pages of books, magazines and newspapers of 19th and 20th centuries through a specially developed web portal. The contract is part of a wider project worth a total value of €5.6m.

Acal said it is currently reviewing the strategic options available for the development of the technology firm's business.

"This process may or may not lead to an acquisition, a business combination or an offer being made for the company, although it is emphasised that there can be no certainty that any of these options will be implemented," said the group.

Shares in media group Ten Alps moved higher after one of its companies won contracts including a deal to run classified advertising sales for supermarket Sainsbury's magazine.

Mongoose Media, which Ten Alps acquired last year, has also been recruited to run classified sales for Delicious, a recipe magazine, and won contracts to represent Yoga magazine and Country, the magazine of the Country Gentlemen's Association.

E-learning company Intellego Holdings has acquired the assets of Zenosis, a supplier of e-learning courses for the pharmaceutical industry.

'We are delighted to have made this complementary acquisition," Intellego managing director Any Green said. "It provides us with a world-class pharmaceutical regulatory compliance solution which adds to our published offering and will enable us to further expand in the pharmaceutical market."

Salamander Energy has completed the acquisition of GFI, adding that the developments of the Bualuang oil field and Kambuna gas-condensate field remain on schedule. Five development wells and a water injector have been drilled on the Bualuang oil field. Chief executive James Menzies added it will be spudding the Tutung Alpha-2 well in the coming weeks.

Axis Intermodal has acquired SeaCo Parts International from Sea Containers for $250,000 (£128,000) payable in cash. Seaco Parts, which supplies parts for marine refrigeration containers, achieved unaudited turnover of $3m and profits of $128,000 in 2007.

Long-term savings provider Hansard Global said total new business flows were 9.9% lower on an actual currency basis in the 10 months to 2 May, adding that it expects new business in the second half to be lower.

Residential firm CW Residential said pre-tax profit for the year came in at £132,000 compared with £49,000 on turnover of £5m verus £1.65m before.

Engineering firm Titan has been awarded approved supplier status with mining giant Vale. It will supply wheels and provide after-sales service to Vale's activities throughout Brazil with sales expected to start at around $1m per annum.