Small cap news round-up

Modern Water, an AIM listed provider for water and wastewater treatment and the monitoring of water quality, improved on its performance during the first half by cutting down on costs.

Re-organisation and cost control during the first half saved the company £0.6m, with cash burn halved from £2.2m in the first half of 2015 to £1.1m for the period ending 30 June 2016 as overheads fell by 18% to £2.18m.

AIM-listed security and surveillance company Digital Barriers has secured a $2.2m contract to provide its EdgeVis Live advanced wireless surveillance technology to a flagship US Federal law enforcement agency.

The revenue associated with the contract is expected to be fully recognised in this financial year and lead to further material awards this year and in subsequent years.

Global professional services consultancy in the construction and engineering industries, Driver Group, updated the market on its trading performance during the second half of the financial year to 30 September on Wednesday.

The AIM-traded company confirmed that, as expected, it returned to profit during the second half with turnover in the period expected to be roughly 7% ahead of the figures at the interim stage.

Patent-protected biological products provider Plant Health Care announced its interim results for the six months to 30 June on Wednesday, with revenue at $2.9m against $3.2m for the six months to 30 June 2015.

The AIM-traded firm said excluding a one-time milestone payment in 2015, revenue was flat in spite of a strong US dollar.

Accesso Technology, provider of queuing and ticketing technology solutions to theme parks and attractions, experienced growth for all its products in the first half but cautioned that bad weather had affected trading at the start of the second half.

The AIM-listed group’s revenue rose 23.7% to £39.7m in the first half with earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rising 125.9% to $6.1m.

Mycelx Technologies, which supplies water treatment technology to the oil and gas sector, lost more than half its revenues in the first half of the year due to the low price of oil, although several new contracts leave it well positioned to hit full year targets

While management believes the volatile market conditions are likely to continue throughout the rest of 2016 "and beyond”, it is confident that the company is "well positioned" to meet those challenges thanks to existing revenue streams, new contract wins and cut costs.

For the six months ended 30 June, revenue fell 55.2% to $3.9m, due to oil price volatility and market dislocation, although this was expected by the company, which improved margins to 53.5%, from 51.9% in the same period last year.

Leeds-based property investment and car parking company, Town Centre Securities’ lifted its dividend as net assets grew modestly but profit for the year were halved and the company cautioned about the heightened uncertainty around the Brexit vote.

Statutory profit for the year halved to £11.9m, which includes a property revaluation surplus which fell significantly by 76% to £3.5m.

Floorcoverings distributor Headlam appointed Steve Wilson chief executive on Wednesday, with immediate effect.

Wilson, who had been group finance director since 1991, replaced Tony Brewer who stepped down after 16 years.