UK SMALLCAP ROUNDUP: Aveva Eyes Boost From BP Gulf Spill

Dow Jones smallcap news is on Twitter, allowing you to catch up on the news away from your desk. Go to http://twitter.com/DJ_UK_Smallcaps AVEVA GROUP PLC (AVV.LN), a maker of engineering software, said Wednesday that safety concerns following the Gulf of Mexico oil spill will likely increase demand for its products in the oil and gas sector, particularly its Aveva Net data viewing system which it expects will be a key driver of growth. At 1052 GMT, shares +6 pence or 0.5% at 1,191 pence. ELECTRIC WORD PLC (ELE.LN), a publisher, said it expects a short-term hit to revenue as the U.K. government cuts education spending, but stands a good chance of being able to win new business previously carried out by the government in the long-term. At 1051 GMT, shares flat at 4.13 pence. PHOTO-ME INTERNATIONAL PLC (PHTM.LN), a photo booth operator, outlined plans for a new "futuristic" photo booth, which it hopes will drive sales, as it swung to a full-year pretax profit. At 1051 GMT, shares +1.25 pence or 3.7% at 35 pence. ASEANA PROPERTIES LTD. (ASPL.LN), an Asian real estate developer, said it has bought a four-star business hotel in Kuala Lumpur from Excellent Bonanza Sdn. Bhd. for around $66 million. The hotel, which will have 482 rooms, is currently under construction and is expected to be completed by the second half of 2012. At 1050 GMT, shares flat at 48 U.S. dollar cents. DS SMITH PLC (SMDS.LN), a packaging company, it has put in an offer to acquire a French peer from Carlyle Group LP for EUR247 million, in a deal that would bolster its share of the European market for "shelf-ready" packaging for fast-moving consumer goods like soft drinks, yoghurts and toiletries. To help fund the acquisition, DS Smith Wednesday said it raised GBP47.2 million in a share sale. It sold roughly 39.3 million shares at 120 pence a share, a 4.8% discount to Tuesday's close. At 1050 GMT, shares +1.4 pence or 1.1% at 127.4 pence. ROBERT WALTERS PLC (RWA.LN), a recruitment company, said second-quarter group net fee income rose 59% on the year as recruitment activity accelerated markedly across its global markets, especially in its Asia-Pacific unit, triggering a raft of analyst upgrades. At 1050 GMT, shares +36 pence or 18% at 231.25 pence. GREAT EASTERN ENERGY CORP. LTD. (GEEC.LN), an Indian coal bed methane producer, reported a wider fiscal-year loss because loan charges weighed on earnings, but said it expects to be profitable this year now a pipeline built to pump gas to its industrial customers in the eastern state of West Bengal is complete. At 1050 GMT, shares -45 pence or 9.3% at 440 pence. LOOKERS PLC (LOOK.LN), a car dealer, said it expects first-half results to exceed management's expectations due to ahead of plan trading at all its units, with its parts division continuing to report record results. Chief Executive Peter Jones said the firm expects record results for the first half and plans to continue to grow the business and deliver successful results for the full year, despite the economic challenges facing the U.K. retail sector. At 1049 GMT, shares flat at 49.25 pence. CLINTON CARDS PLC (CC.LN), a greeting cards retailer, said its expects fiscal 2010 sales to be around 2% below its previous forecasts due to a "disproportionately poor" performance at its 13 stores in southern Ireland. The firm said that since its last update May 13, trading has weakened and it now expects adjusted operating profit for continuing operations to be similar to last year. At 1049 GMT, shares -2.75 pence or 7.1% at 36 pence. PROXIMAGEN GROUP PLC (PRX.LN), a biotechnology company, said the U.S. National Institutes of Health has agreed to fund a Phase II trial of naluzotan, an experimental treatment for epilepsy Proximagen acquired in October last year. At 1049 GMT, shares flat at 77.5 pence. ANGLO ASIAN MINING PLC (AAZ.LN), an Azerbaijan-focused gold miner, reported record quarterly production from its Gedabek mine and said it expects to increase the resource there by about 50%. At 1048 GMT, shares +2 pence or 12.5% at 18 pence. SEAENERGY PLC (SEA.LN), a renewable energy firm, said a unit it put up for sale signed a preliminary agreement with a Chinese state-owned shipbuilding company to design and build undersea support structures for wind turbines. At 1048 GMT, shares +2.75 pence or 15% at 21.25 pence. CAPE PLC (CIU.LN), an oil and gas services firm, said it expects 2010 trading to be ahead of management's previous forecasts due to improved operating margins, favorable exchange rates and lower finance costs in the first half. Management's forecasts weren't given, but analysts expect the support services firm to post 2010 pretax profit of GBP62.4 million on revenue of GBP660 million, according to a FactSet poll of analysts. At 1048 GMT, shares +4.5 pence or 1.9% at 237 pence. RENOLD PLC (RNO.LN), a chain maker, said profit for its fiscal first quarter was well ahead of its expectations following a rebound in sales in Western countries hard hit by recession. At 1047 GMT, shares +1.5 pence or 6.5% at 24.75 pence. BIG YELLOW GROUP PLC (BYG.LN),a U.K. self-storage company, posted a 10% on-year increase in first-quarter revenue from its stores, and said it is cautiously encouraged by its recent performance. At 1047 GMT, shares -0.9 pence or 0.3% at 0303.9 pence. AGA RANGEMASTER GROUP PLC (AGA.LN) said Rangemaster cooker sales in the first half provided a boost to trading despite the consumer markets remaining subdued. At 1047 GMT, shares +0.75 pence or 0.9% at 87 pence. DJ UK Smaller Cos -0.6% AIM -0.5% -By Rachael Gormley, Jason Douglas & Hannah Benjamin, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0) 20 7842 9272; uksmallcaps@dowjones.com (Tommy Stubbington contributed to this roundup.) (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 07, 2010 07:30 ET (11:30 GMT)