News

Software firm Imaginatik narrowed full-year pre-tax losses to £139,000 compared with the loss of £1.12m last time.

Turnover rose 27% to £3.16m, which was driven by increased sales into the existing customer base and the further sign up of additional blue chip clients.

"I am pleased to report that the year ended 31 March 2008 has been a successful year for the Company, with a more focused operation and an enhanced product set," said chairman Howard Marshall.

"I am particularly pleased that we were able to meet our challenging profit target in the second half of the financial year," he added.

Shares in Serabi Mining plunged after the group said full year production for 2008 is now unlikely to be greater than 34,000 gold equivalent ounces after first half production fell short of forecasts.

Serabi added that limited drill availability in the second quarter has continued to hamper its plans to reduce development widths and improve the mined grade of ore at the Palito project in Brazil, resulting in lower mined tonnage than planned during April and much of May.

"While we have experienced some disappointments over the last 12 months, the management of Serabi and I remain convinced that following a number of significant initiatives that have been put in place, these are now behind us and we can move forward in our near-term objective of building Serabi into a profitable junior gold producer with good growth potential," said chairman Graham Roberts.

Shares in Caspian Energy were sharply lower after the oil & gas group said initial test results from the Baktygaryn 703 well in Kazakhstan found no reservoir quality rocks at target depth.

The group will continue to drill to up to 2,500m before making a final decision on disposition of the well.

Caspian Energy said it remains highly confident on its remaining post-salt prospects, adding that their prospectivity is not affected by the results of Baktygaryn 703.

Stagecoach Theatre Arts says more stage school openings than forecast, combined with continued reduction in overheads, means profits before tax for the year to May are expected to be significantly ahead of the current market expectations.

Music Copyright Solutions (MCS) has signed a 3-year Asia based music publishing agreement with Irish rock band Syrys.

The agreement grants MCS the right to administer and exploit both the publishing and master sound recording rights of the band in Asia, Australia and New Zealand. The group did not disclose any financial details.

Chip licensing technology firm Arc International said computing giant Hewlett Packard will be including Arc software with its new generation of TouchSmart personal computers.

Arc will receive royalties on shipments of HP TouchSmart computers, which will be using audio enhancement software developed by Sonic Focus, the company ARC acquired in February of this year.

AIM-listed beauty and personal care distribution company The Core Business has agreed with Cosnova to act as its partner in securing the launch in the UK of its "essence" colour cosmetics brand.

The company also expects to introduce Grace Your Face, which is a wholly owned skincare brand, in a number of overseas markets in the second half of 2008.

Sagentia Group said it plans a recommended all-share offer for Sagentia Switzerland and expects to have shares in the new holding company admitted to trading on AIM on completion of the transaction.

Shares in aerospace and precision engineering firm Hampson rose after its US subsidiary, Texstars, won an exclusive contract to supply F-16 canopy requirements globally. The contract is worth $39m.