Companies: CPC   

Shares in the stocktaking and corporate investigation provider Capcon clipped ahead 3p to 65.5p on excellent first-half figures to March. Pre-tax profits leapt 70% to £154,000, largely on a £123,000 reduction in its interest charge after the group repaid loan stock. Encouragingly, gross profits put on 14.6%, at £761,000, and sales were 5.1% ahead at £2.1m. The Watford-based group even announced a first interim dividend of 0.7p a share. Capcon's margin improvement reflected an increase in its investigative consultancy work, with City institutions becoming aware of its personnel screening services. After the period-end, it acquired insurance fraud investigative play Vincent Sherman for an initial £210,000 in cash and shares, and the largest client in the division renewed its contract for another four years. Although sales growth at its audit and stocktaking services arm was modest, Capcon managed to negotiate a two-year extension to the division's largest contract. It also spent time and money gearing up for new contracts. The shares have traded as high as 92.5p, and as low as 60.5p, over the past 52 weeks. The company raised £1.4m through a Charles Stanley-advised placing, at 80p, in May 2001.