News

Mobile phone services company WIN posted a decline in first half pre-tax profit but said second half results are expected to be better.

The firm, which provides interactive mobile entertainment and information services, said pre-tax profit fell to £416,000 for the six months ended June 30 compared with £1.1m last year. Revenue was flat at £19.4m. Administrative expenses rose to £4.6m compared with £3.6m last year.

An interim dividend of 1p has been recommended, up from 0.8p last year. WIN added that possible offer talks for the company continue.

Electrical equipment firm VPhase said pre-tax losses widened in the first half, in line with company expectations.

Pre-tax losses widened to £356,451 for the six months ended 30 June 2008 from £13,511 the year before. VPhase said it had to meet extra costs related to developing activities after its listing on AIM last year and its reversal into Flightstore.

The group, which provides energy saving products, said over the six month period it has made significant progress, especially with technology and commercial development.

In a separate company statement VPhase announced that it has signed a letter of intent to work with Scottish & Southern Energy mainly funding field trials of the company's products. No financial details were provided.

Blood monitoring expert Deltex Medical narrowed half year losses and says it is confident about future trading.

Pre-tax losses narrowed to £1.13m in the six months to 30 June 2008 compared with £1.19m in the same period last year. Sales rose by 28% to £2.5m after strong orders and new products, the group said.

Commenting on today´s results chairman Nigel Keen said, "We remain confident of the outlook for the current year and view the future with confidence."

Pre-tax profit jumped to $11.24m at Hallin Marine in the first half of 2008, up from $3.74m in 2007 on revenue more than double last year's effort at $59.58m.

The firm, which makes underwater equipment for the oil and gas industries, has also won a $10m contract to supply saturation diving support for the Pipeline Replacement project offshore Mumbai, India.

HR solutions group OneClickHR remains confident of boosting its client base in the second half of the year despite the weakening economy. Profit before tax eased t o £23,000 from £90,000 a year ago on revenue down to £2.7m from £3.5m.

"Although the increased sales pipeline is very satisfactory, the board recognise that there is a risk of customers deferring purchase decisions," it said. "However the sales pipeline combined with the cost reductions previously initiated give good grounds for confidence in a satisfactory result for the year."

Losses grew to £2.4m from £1.7m at EnCore Oil during the year ended 30 June, as a £1m increase in staffing costs took administrative expenses up to £2.3m from £1.7m a year ago.

Social housing maintenance specialist Connaught has bought two compliance businesses, MSF and Lowe Group, for a combined net cost of £14m in cash.

Lower one-off costs saw interim losses at Peru-focused copper explorer Monterrico fall to $1.66m, from $8.9m. The group, which in August awarded two conditional warrant agreements to Agropecuaria Las Huaringas, a private subsidiary of the Romero Group, added it expects to complete a new trade off study to evaluate alternative technical options for the development of the Rio Blanco Project by the fourth quarter of 2008.

Underwriting run-off specialist Randall & Quilter is to acquire rival KMS through the acquisition of its holding company Continuum Holdings for £1.78m cash. R&Q and KMS have worked together on a number of projects in the past. KMS made profit before tax of £0.6m on revenues of £3m for the year ended 31 December 2007, with net assets of £1.3m at the year end.

Hi-tech brakes maker Surface Transforms trimmed losses slightly from £782,000 to £750,000 as revenues rose by 90% to £508,000. "In spite of the widely reported slowdown in world consumer and industrial markets, the company continues to improve its order book. The board anticipates that the revenue growth experienced in 2008/09 will continue."

A slower than expected first half saw losses rises at voice recognition software specialist Vicorp. Losses to June were £801,000, up from £723,000 though sales improved to £804,000 from £556,000. "The first half trading for 2008 has been slower than the board expected but should be revealed in time as a temporary slowdown. The company invested heavily in selling and has created a good pipeline of opportunities, many of which are late stage," chief executive Brendan Treacy said.

Clean technology developer Energetix posted a profit of £664,000 in the half year to June as it booked a £1.65m profit from an increase in the value of its holding in electricity voltage regulator Vphase. "To have all three subsidiaries reach the point of near term revenue generation at the same time is extremely rewarding," said chairman Alan Aubrey.

Drug developer Alizyme said it will receive $3m milestone payment from Takeda Pharmaceutical as a result of Takeda's decision to commence a Phase III clinical trial in Japan of cetilistat, which is for the treatment of obesity.

Drugs discover firm Sareum Holdings said it is no longer actively seeking a buyer for the company. The group said shares remain suspended as the board considers how best to maximise value for shareholders.

Waste-to-energy group Symphony Environmental Technologies decreased pre-tax losses by 84% and said it looks to the future with confidence.

Pre-tax losses came to £167,000 in the six month ended 30 June compared to a loss of £1.06m last time as total revenue increased by 35.3% to £2.30m.