Companies: ABM    BIO    CSS    ETR    HET    ISG    MLG    TNO    ULG   

After some quiet summer months blighted by market turmoil and profit warnings, the Alternative Investment market has hotted up again with the arrival of the results season.

So far the news has been decidedly mixed, with some smaller operations showing signs of what has been a very difficult period for fledgling operations. As ever, a number of the market's more established companies showed the way with excellent financial results, but most suffered falling prices as the general market malaise helped the Aim index down 8 per cent to 616.2.

Aim heavyweights strut their stuff

Aim's larger support services operations have been doing particularly well, with utility and local authority services firm Enterprise, one of the market's biggest companies by market capitalisation, leading the way. Its interim results showcased pre-tax profits (excluding the previous year's exceptional costs) up 63 per cent to £5.7 million, with an order book reported to be at nearly £1 billion. However the shares have fallen 18 per cent to 200p over the past month or so.

Occupancy services specialist Interior Services was also a high-roller, reporting full-year pre-tax profits of £7.1 million, up 15 per cent. Its shares declined 3 per cent to 185p. The firm's order book at the end of the period was showing an increase of 10 per cent on the back of continuing strength in the new-build, refurbishment and occupancy fields.

Cleaning and facilities management business MacLellan's interims showed off £1.5 million pre-tax profits, up 58 per cent. The company backed that up with a very strong balance sheet (interest payments covered 17 times). Its shares actually managed to climb by 2 per cent to 83.5p.

Among the other players to climb on the back of results were accountancy services firm Tenon, up 9 per cent to 55p, Albemarle & Bond, ahead 3 per cent to 66.5p, and BioFocus, which moved up 5 per cent to 197.5p.

North-east bar-club operator Ultimate Leisure held up reasonably well, falling back just a touch to 241.5p as it released final results showing Geordies are still downing their pints in bulk. Pre-tax profits were up 22 per cent to £5.2 million.

Also in the leisure sector, ASK Central impressed again with £7.6 million of pre-tax profits, up 28 per cent. But it fell 13 per cent to a year-low of 141p.

Video and DVD retailer Home Entertainment slumped 26 per cent to 161.5p, while sports and entertainment management group CSS Stellar was knocked back another 11 per cent to 108.5p, despite both companies issuing strong interims.

Warning throng

As expected, there was much to keep the bears happy over the past month. The media sector was particularly hard hit, with Charterhouse Communications, Forever Broadcasting and Ingenta (for the second consecutive month) all warning in one way or another.

Magazine publisher Charterhouse fell 50 per cent to 1p after admitting it is in danger of breaching its banking covenants. Forever, down 63 per cent to 8.5p, is in the midst of a dispute between board members and shareholders who want to usurp them, all in the middle of a funding crisis. Ingenta, off another 54 per cent at 37.5p, is cutting down and restructuring its operations to meet City demands for forward visibility.

Pub operator Old Monk joined the throng, falling 74 per cent to 8p after admitting it is in talks with its banks over its precarious financing position – at a time when the company is busy selling pubs at below book value.

Semiconductor etching machine maker Surface Technology Systems slumped 47 per cent to 18.5p on the back of a glum interim statement which reiterated that it is struggling to make sales, and that the prices achieved are down.

Beleaguered Aussie ex-mining firm Murchison United fell a further 58 per cent to 1.25p. It followed news of the collapse of a big Portuguese deal with the announcement of a £9 million loss, most of it coming from production-hedging contracts on the US dollar.

Oil hopes

Oil plays Westmount Energy, Fusion Oil & Gas and Hardman Resources have all been recently dragged back from recent gains, despite the success of drilling offshore west Africa – in which all are participants. The past three wells to have been drilled there have all struck oil or gas, and the rig is in the process of drilling an appraisal well on last year's first discovery.

Hardman owns more than 20 per cent of each successful well, while Fusion holds 6 per cent of one licence and 3 per cent of another. Fusion investor Westmount has fallen 24 per cent to 49p of late as another of its investments, LEPCO, struggles to raise money to survive.