SQS Software Quality Systems AG Share News (SQS)

Online casino operator 32Red enjoyed a "strong" recovery in the second half and said revenues increased 10% in January and February.Profit before tax fell to £530,186 in 2009 from £1.27m a year ago on revenue down 2% to £12.75m. The 32Red Casino business led the fight back, helping total second half revenue grow to £6.9m from £5.8m for the first six months and £6.6m in the last half of 2008. "Our strong recovery in the second half of 2009 was principally the result of successful recruitment and retention of new players at attractive costs underlining the strength of the 32Red brand and the effectiveness of our marketing activity," said boss Ed Ware.Alkane raised profits in 2009 after the alternative energy firm delivered record electricity output of 95GWh, up from 90GWh the year before, as new sites came into production. Profit before tax rose 7% to £2.08m, but was up 71% to £2.4m excluding a number of one-off items. Revenue increased by 21% to £6.3m.Support services group Cape reported a 25.7% rise in adjusted full-year pre-tax profits to £60.7m on revenue up to £655.1m compared with £622.7m. 'Looking ahead, we expect similar levels of activity in 2010. We will continue to focus on cost reduction, margin development, improving customer service and laying the foundations for a return to higher growth levels in 2011 and beyond,' said chief executive Martin K May.Multi-media tiddler Cheerful Scout rallied in the first half, posting a slight loss of £22,000 compared with losses of £245,000 in the last full year to June. Sales dipped to £737,000 from £895,000. Cash balances remain healthy at £902,000, it added.Knitwear group Dawson International's ongoing businesses delivered a satisfactory trading performance in 2009, with an operating profit of £2m (2008: £1.9m) and funds generated at £6.7m. Losses from the out going home furnishings arm meant a pre-loss of £5.84m. Revenues fell to £72.9m from £87.4m.Baltic state consumer finance company MCB Finance said it saw a significant improvement in credit quality in the second half of 2009 as economic conditions stabilised.Revenue in 2009 grew to €15.67m from €13.06m the year before but the company fell into the red, posting a loss before tax of €0.63m against a profit of €0.49m the year before, though it was profitable in the second half of the year.Water technology firm Modern Water saw losses broaden in 2009 to £3.66m from £2.43m but remains in a 'strong position with £23.1m cash and no debt' to tide it over as it starts to commercialise its technologies.The group saw its first revenues, of £56,000, in 2009 and has additional revenue streams coming online in 2010, as it seeks to replicate its successful Gibraltar-based desalination operations in the Middle East. The company expects to deploy its Manipulated Osmosis Desalination (MOD) technology in an evaporative cooling system proving plant in Oman by the middle of the year. The group has signed an agreement with Middle East specialists, Omzest, to represent the interests of Modern Water in Oman and further afield in the region. Norseman Gold fell to a six-month low following the Australian gold miner's decision to cut production guidance for the current 2009/10 financial year again. It now predicts output of 65,000 ounces, down from previous estimates of 75-80,000 ounces and 80-85,000 at the end of January.The revision was blamed on the Bullen mine, which is unlikely to return to its expected production profile before June, while the Harlequin mine and OK decline don't have the capacity to make up for the expected Bullen shortfall.Oxford Biomedica posted a sharply reduced net loss of £3.5m (£10m) as sales rose to £19. 1m, up from £18.4m. R&D costs fell to £18.3m from £27.3m."The next 12 months could be transformational for Oxford BioMedica. We have clear targets for our in-house and collaborative development programmes. By the end of 2010, we aim to reach the optimal dose of ProSavin for evaluation in randomised trials and are also targeting new Phase II trials of TroVax in prostate cancer and other metastatic cancers," it added.Logistics software developer Pennant International has delivered maintenance training media for the Royal Navy's Type 45 Training Unit "Warfare" system on schedule and within budget. Pennant's responsibilities, as part of the T3 consortium that won the contract, included storyboard design and production of media assets, including sophisticated emulations and the subsequent testing of those assets.Software testing firm SQS Software Quality Systems reported an in-line set of final results, although Panmure Gordon was disappointed at lower than expected net cash of €1.6m. Adjusted profit before tax of €7.6m compared with consensus forecasts for €7.3m, which pleased both Panmure and KBC Peel Hunt who both believe the shares are undervalued.Fund management software specialist Statpro saw adjusted profits rise by 48% to £6.9m in 2009 on sales up to £31.6m from £27.9m. The dividend for the year rises by 20% to 2.1p."With a weighted average contract length of 20 months, this recurring revenue continues to provide us with great visibility. This combined with the launch of our new products, this gives us confidence that we can continue to grow our revenue and our profits in the coming year and are well positioned for continued growth," chief executive Justin Wheatley added.UK property development and investment group Terrace Hill made an adjusted pre-tax profit of £2.6m in the year to end-October 2009, up from £1m the year before.Adjusted diluted net asset value per share tumbled to 44.6p from 58.0p at the end of October 2008 but was marginally higher than the end-April 2009 figure of 44.4p.The group has signed contracts to acquire two new sites for supermarket developments, one in Sunderland and the other in Whitchurch in Shropshire. The company has also submitted a planning application to redevelop Heaton Retail Park in Manchester and the adjoining existing Sainsbury's supermarket into a 80,000 square foot Sainsbury's superstore, together with three smaller retail units.Tanfield races ahead after the electrical vehicle maker received an offer for its Smith Electric Vehicle division from its US partner Smith Electric Vehicles.