LONDON (Thomson Financial) - UK smaller companies closed lower, just off session lows, taking a cue from weakness in the broader market as blue chip stocks gave up earlier gains, with Screen FX shedding 18 pct of its market value after it cancelled disposal talks.
At the close, the FTSE Small Cap index was 25.2 points lower at 3,829.4, while the FTSE 100 fell 75.5 points to 6,143.5.
Among the fallers, Screen FX lost 0.055 pence to 0.245, after the digital advertising company said it would not be continuing talks with a major advertising company regarding the sale of its retail malls business.
The group cited interest in its national advertising sales agreement tender and the recent progress of a new sales model for the decision.
Instead, the company plans to increase the number of its malls to more than 60 by the end of 2008. In May, Screen FX said it did not have sufficient resources or expertise to maximise advertising revenues from it.
Artilium fell 14 to 164, extending the recent steep decline in its share price.
The group published a statement at the close, saying it knows of no reason for the fall in the share price and reiterating that its performance remains in line with management's expectations.
And Bodison Biotech Inc dropped 11 to 59 after it said it suffered almost 1.5 mln in uninsured damages at its research facility at Yangling province, due to flooding.
The damage was mostly in lost finished product and raw materials. However, production at the Yangling resumed after the storm passed.
Also on the downside, Sinclair Pharma shares were on offer and dropped 11-3/4 to 84-1/2, following news that OraPharma, part of Johnson & Johnson, has asked the company to include a preservative in its mouth rinse Decapinol.
The product was in the final stages of being launched in the US, however the addition of a new preservative and associated testing is expected to take about a year, said Bridgewell in reaction to the news.
The broker added that the 0.75 mln stg of OraPharma sales it was forecasting for full-year 2007 will be delayed into 2008, and consequently some of the sales expected in its 2008 estimate will also be delayed.
Broker comment also shaved 16-1/2 from Worthington Nicholls, at 59-1/2, after Daniel Stewart said there have been no announcements of new business wins since June, and accordingly it is forecasting a 2007 profit of 4.16 mln stg, 34 pct below the company's brokers forecast.
Daniel Stewart cautioned that if no short term business is won by the end of September, then even this number could be 20 pct too high.
Elsewhere, shares in Thor Mining dipped 0.875 to 8.125 following news that drilling on the Plenty Highway project has been postponed due to ground inspection and clearance delays from the Central Land Council.
A contracted drilling rig is now being used by another company and will only be available in September.
Narrowing full-year losses led Secora lower, down 0.50 to 9.00, after the AIM-listed entertainment company cautioned that, while it has sufficient funds to cover overheads and very small deals, it is likely that it will require additional funds for any significant transaction.
Shares in GMO were 4 adrift at 53-1/2 as maiden half-yearly numbers were overshadowed by a difficult operating environment.
The AIM-listed provider of wireless value-added services blamed the difficult environment on the full implementation of the various new regulations imposed by the Ministry of Information Industry of China.
On a brighter note, Charteris moved ahead 1-3/4 to 17-1/4 after the consultancy services company said it expects full-year results to be in line with its expectations.
In the closing half, the company experienced strong demand for its Expert services to the Legal sector and three of its specialised service lines started to drive important business and technical consulting opportunities.
Again on the upside, Rok shot up 20 to 215 as the building, maintenance and development company celebrated its seventh successive year of record interim results.
Following the numbers, Altium Securities told clients Rok remains firmly on track as a compelling growth stock. With the full-year 2008 price/earnings ratio standing at only 13.0 times, the broker reiterated its 'buy' stance on the stock.
And Brisbane-based Discovery Metals chalked up a gain of 1-1/4, at 16-1/4, on the back of an upbeat drilling report.
A new copper zone over two kilometres in length has been identified from ongoing drilling at the 100 pct-owned Maun Copper Project being developed by the company in northwest Botswana.
A 68 pct rise in first-quarter pretax profits provided the spur to Turbotec Products, a designer and manufacturer of high performance, high quality heat exchangers and flexible connector products, whose shares advanced 3 to 89-1/2.
Meanwhile Southern Bear, which is focused on the UK industrial and engineering sector, resumed trading up 0.25 to 3.62 following acquisition news and a move to raise about 2.9 mln stg via a share placing.
The net proceeds of Southern Bear's placing will be used to pay part of the initial cash component of its acquisition of support services company BGC.
Xpertise, an IT training company, celebrated a 53 pct increase in pretax profits to 191,000 stg at the half-way mark, with a gain of 5 to 111.
The group said it made substantial progress across key businesses and looks to the second half with optimism, adding that it intends to pay a final dividend.
Finally, on the new issue front, shares in Hitchens Group, which provides clearance outlets for surplus stocks of clothing, footwear, electrical and household goods, jumped on its first day of dealings, rising to 2.05 pence from a placing price of 0.75. tf.TFN-Europe_newsdesk@thomson.com mnd/slm COPYRIGHT Copyright AFX News Limited 2007. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News.
© 2007 AFX News
