Small caps news round-up

Earthport gained a veteran of the US banking industry on Wednesday, announcing the appointment of John McCoy to its board as a non-executive director. The AIM-traded payment network for cross-border payments said McCoy's experience was vast, having retired as chairman and chief executive of Bank One Corporation in 1999. He had been CEO there since 1984.

Norcon was readying the market for good news on Wednesday, hinting at a healthy turnaround from its first half loss, ahead of the release of its full year numbers. The board of the AIM-traded consulting and project management firm said revenue for the year to 31 December 2015 was expected to be similar to that recorded in the previous year.

Gama Aviation's Channel Islands expansion received clearance to take off on Wednesday, with the Jersey Competition Authority giving it approval to acquire Jersey Airport-based Aviation Beauport. The AIM-traded business aviation provider initially announced the acquisition proposal on 8 January. Completion was now expected to take place at midnight on 29 February.

AIM-listed Synety Group, which provides cloud-based telephony software and services, has secured a £900,000 loan facility with Barclays Bank. The fixed two-year term loan will provide the group with access to additional capital for its growth plans as well as general working capital.

600 Group, the AIM-listed distributor, designer and manufacturer of industrial products, said it expects full year results to be below market views amid ongoing weakness in European markets and tough trading in the US.The company said the difficult market conditions reported in its interim results have continued into this year, with weakness in the European markets now being encountered in the US also, namely in the machine tools division.

Low oil prices made for a tougher first half at Avingtrans, with revenues down in the six months to 30 November, but profit up significantly. The AIM-traded manufacturer of critical components for the aerospace, energy and medical sectors saw revenue reduce by 5% to £26.3m over the same period a year earlier.

Stellar Diamonds announced the completion of a major step in Sierra Leone on Wednesday, having received a letter of approval from the country's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its mining licence application at the Tongo Dyke-1 project. The AIM-traded diamond development firm said the approval of its Environmental, Social and Health Impact Assessment marked a key step in moving towards development of the 1.45m carat diamond resource at Dyke-1.

MTI Wireless Edge was riding the cable-free revolution in 2015, reporting some seriously good results for the 12 months to 31 December, on Wednesday. The AIM-listed manufacturer of flat panel antennas for wireless broadband, and wireless irrigation solutions, saw revenues increase during the year by 36% to $19.6m (£13.7m), from $14.3m in 2014.

AIM-listed exploration and mining company Metminco has begun diamond drilling at the TD2 target copper deposit in Los Calatos, southern Peru. Metminco said while a large percentage of the target is covered by younger volcanic cover, surface mapping has identified the presence of copper oxides.

Mirada's over-the-top (OTT) content solution for smart television received a boost on Wednesday, with the company commercially launching its platform in Mexico, with Tier 1 provider izzi Telecom. The AIM-traded supplier of integrated software for digital television operators and broadcasters said the rollout directly related to the inaugural OTT contract win announced on 18 September 2014, and marked the first commercial launch of its OTT platform.

Market Tech's growing portfolio of London real estate was set to expand on Wednesday, with the Camden Markets-owner acquiring the freehold of 101 Camley Street in the King's Cross area of the capital. The AIM-traded holding company, combining around 15 acres of London real estate assets including the popular markets, said the deal was worth a total cash consideration of £36.7m including stamp duty of £1.7m.