Small caps outperform blue chips, FTSE AIM 100 advances 2% during week

Small caps continued performing well this week. The FTSE AIM 100 and FTSE AIM All-Share indexes climbed 2% and 1.6% respectively.
Lo-Q PLC (AIM: LOQ), supplier of virtual queuing systems for theme parks and major attractions, said it has signed renewal agreements with five of its customers to extend their contracts to supply Lo-Q's new flagship VQ2020 queue management system or the Q-txt system.
May Gurney Integrated Services PLC (AIM: MAYG) said it has been selected as preferred bidder to deliver a range of services for Torbay Council in a deal worth up to £130 million.
Collectables specialist Stanley Gibbons (AIM: SGI) said it has made substantial progress in the full-year to end-December 2009 and reported 20% year-on-year sales growth to £23.4m while pre-tax profit rose 11% to £4.1m.  It also announced that the launch of its rare stamp investment fund is now planned for the second half of 2010.
NetPlay TV (AIM: NPT) has agreed certain revisions to its relationship with UK-based cable-TV operator Virgin Media Television, whereby NetPlay has acquired the Challenge Jackpot datebases, and Virgin’s option agreement over NetPlay stock has been terminated.
Broker FinnCap commented on Tuesday’s final results from communication project management and outsourcing services provider Norcon (AIM: NCON), saying the report reflected strong growth in sales to established clients in the group’s core Middle East and South East Asia markets.
Last week, Surrey-based medical technology company Biocompatibles (AIM: BII) released their FY09 results, which demonstrated a substantial improvement in its sales performance delivering revenue growth of 50%, ahead of the company’s expectations. Today, a note by Edison Investment Research said the company has high potential and it is undervalued.
Machine-2-Machine (M2M) specialist Telit Communications (AIM: TCM) has successfully demonstrated the eCall functionality in its specialised automotive modules, designed as part of the EU-driven vehicle emergency call system. According to Telit, the successful implementation of the eCall in-band modem capability into its GE864-Quad-Automotive V2 module marks a milestone in the company’s research activities.
Full year revenues at home credit and motor finance specialist S & U PLC (LSE: SUS) were flat at £45.8 million (2009: £46.2 million), net profits jumped 9% to £9 million and group gearing fell 15% to 57% thanks to a surge in net cash from operating activities to £8.6m (2009: £3.9m). Other financial highlights released this morning included a 6.9% increase in net assets to £46.8 million and a reduction in net borrowings to £26.6 million (2009: £31.3 million).  Earnings per share climbed a very respectable 10.2% to 55.2 pence, and the total dividend, which is a key part of S & U PLC’s attraction for many shareholders, was increased by 6.2% to 34 pence - a dividend yield of 6.7%.
Payment and data processor Planet Payment (AIM: PPT, OTCQX: PLPM) has had an exceptionally good year as its losses narrowed considerably and revenues soared 31% with yet more growth expected this year. The company continues executing its strategic objectives, concluding business expansion and cross sales of its products to existing and new customers.
Alliance Pharma (AIM: APH) published its results from a landmark year in which the pharmaceutical company increased sales by 44% to £31.2m compared with 21.8m in the previous financial year. In the twelve months ended 31 December 2009, the company achieved a three-fold increase in pretax profit before exceptionals to £8.6m as well as in adjusted earnings per share (EPS) to 3.55p.
Norcon (AIM: NCON) announced the completion of a placing to raise approximately £4.5 million before expenses, and plans to use the money for the pursuit of further organic growth opportunities.
In a comment on full-year results from privately-owned Cinterion Wireless Modules and the broader machine-to-machine (M2M) market, Astaire Securities said that pressured average sales prices will favour the larger operators and those with low cost manufacturing centres, such as Telit Communications (AIM: TCM).
British-based broadband satellite operator Avanti Communications (AIM: AVN) has welcomed the government's decision to launch the UK Space Agency. Yesterday, Lord Mandelson and Lord Drayson announced the plans to unify the current inter-department space policy to create a ‘central-hub of space activity’. Avanti is partof the Space Agency’s Steering Board.
Bglobal (AIM: BGBL) announced two new contract wins today, with electricity provider MA Energy and local government body Transport for London (TfL), both signing up for the company’s smart-metering service. The company’s share have been buoyed by the business wins, rising almost 4% on London’s AIM market in early afternoon deals.
Communications consultant and project management specialist Norcon (AIM: NCON) delivered a strong set of results for the year ended 31 December 2009.  The company reported 16% revenue growth to US$78.2m (FY08: US$67.7m), net profit increased by 20% to US$7.7m (FY08: US$6.4m) and pro-forma earnings per share increased by 20% to US$0.18 (FY08: US$0.15).
Orders for Synchronica (AIM: SYNC) are coming in hard and fast: today the group announced a reseller agreement for its Mobile Gateway email product, covering 25,000 licenses, with an Indian device manufacturer. Under the terms of the deal, the new Indian partner will bundle Synchronica's Mobile Gateway with devices under its established brand, to be sold in turn to mobile operators across India.
Asterand (AIM: ATD) said its subsidiary BioSeek and research and development focused specialty pharmaceutical company Ono Pharmaceutical Co Ltd of Japan have signed a multi-year drug discovery collaboration agreement, under which BioSeek will receive research funding and milestone payments upon achievement of a certain milestone by a drug candidate discovered under this collaboration.
In its interim results statement, Seeing Machines (AIM: SEE) said its products are gaining traction with the application of its DSS technology in the mining industry expected to generate increasing value going forward. In the six-months ended 31 December 2009, the company achieved revenue growth of 25% against the preceding half, additionally the company said its strong expenditure controls enabled it to maintain cash reserves throughout the period.
StatPro Group (AIM: SOG) has secured a significant three-year contract worth more than US$1m from a prominent Asian bank for its newly launched Software as a Service (SaaS) platform, StatPro Seven. According to StatPro, its new Asian client chose the product specifically because the company was able to offer a combined analytics platform with the required data feeds on a SaaS basis thus minimising their IT costs and ensuring first class support.
Dual-listed Ceramic Fuel Cells (AIM/ASX: CFU) has taken a major step forward today with a partnership with leading Japanese companies Mitsui & Co. and Osaka Gas.
ReNeuron Group (AIM: RENE) said it has been cited as a UK-based world leader in regenerative medicine in a new publication by the UK government.
Modern Water (AIM: MWG) achieved an important milestone at its Al Khaluf desalination proving plant in Oman, when it turned on the water supply during a ceremony attended by the chairman of the country's Public Authority for Electricity and Water (PAEW). The plant is the first desalination plant to use a new process called Manipulated Osmosis (MO) in the Middle East.

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