Skyepharma ShareCast News (SKP)

Miniature table-top war games firm Games Workshop said trading in the four months to the beginning of April has been broadly in line with the board's expectations.

Specialist currency manager Record has posted assets under management equivalents of $30.9bn (£19.3bn) at March 31st, up from $25.4bn (£16.4bn) at December 31st. The firm said it expects pre-tax profits for the year ended March 31st to be £6.5m. Fee rates for the final quarter remained broadly unchanged from the previous three months.

Peruvian hydro-electricity firm Cascade, in which Latin America-focused utility company Rurelec has a 50% share, is to acquire the 255 megawatt Santa Rita run-of-river hydro development project for $10m, with up to $5m due depending on whether the project meets various performance targets. Run-of-river hydroelectric projects are ones where there is no, or only a small, reservoir. Cascade is planning a share issue to fund the further development expenditure required to take its projects through to financial close. Rurelec's interest in Cascade is likely to be diluted via such capital increases. The board of Rurelec will review its funding commitment to Cascade on a regular basis.

The company selling the Santa River project is investment company Trading Emissions. The company said its interest in Santa Rita was valued at the end of 3011 at $0.1m, which coincidentally is the amount Trading Emissions is receiving as an immediate down payment from the purchasers. The firm's investment adviser estimates that it may take some 15 months for the Santa Rita project to receive a power purchase agreement, at which point Trading Emissions will receive another $0.5m from the purchasers. The rest of the consideration will be received on financial close which is expected to take around 27 months.

Sticking with the green energy theme, energy storage and clean fuel company ITM Power said its HBOX Solar electrolyser product has achieved full CE certification, which will enable the product to carry the CE mark, indicating it has met European Union consumer safety, health and environmental requirements. HBox Solar is to get its commercial release in the final week of April at a trade show.

Things are looking grim for financial services group Merchant House Group (MHG), which recently announced that not all of the parties who subscribed for its February share placing have come up with the money to pay for the allocated shares. Trading in the company's shares has been suspended at the board's request, pending the outcome of a review of MHG's financial condition. The review will determine whether or not the company has sufficient working capital for its present requirements.

Shaft Sinkers Holdings, an underground construction group, has posted a 24% rise in revenues to £226.5m for the year ended December 31st. Adjusted pre-tax profit increased to £16.6m from £12.9m, and adjusted earnings per share jumped 28% to 23.4p. The final dividend payment was 4.8p. Cash and cash eqivalents at the end of the period fell from £11.1m to £6.1m year-on-year. ""We have a record level of tendering activity and the potential to win further new contract awards. We are performing in line with our expectations and remain confident of the group's prospects both for 2012 and beyond," the company said.

Desire Petroleum's competent person's report, covering the results of the farm-in well 14/15-4a licence, has revealed that all the prospects were found to be hydrocarbon bearing with mean estimate contingent gas resources of 178bn cubic feet to Desire. Contingent oil resources to Desire were 85m stock tank barrels. In a statement the company, which has a 40% stake in the region, said: "We continue to evaluate the remaining exploration potential in our licences and have now received the final, merged 3D seismic data over our operated licences and we are optimistic that further, exciting prospects will emerge from this data."

SkyePharma, a drug development firm, has received a payment of $10m (£6.2m) from Pacira Pharmaceuticals following the launch of its EXPAREL product in the US. The group is also entitled to another payment of up to $52m (£32.5m) and three per cent of net sales of the product in the US and six other countries. EXPAREL is a postsurgical analgesia product.

JH