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"Having spent more than eight years with the bank, I have full confidence in the capabilities of this bank and the team to capitalise on the opportunities that lie ahead of us and deliver further value to shareholders." On February 19th, the company unveiled details of its financial performance for the full year. Earnings per share rose 17.6% to GEL 5.22 (£2.04). Year-on-year revenue rose 14.9% to GEL 498.3m (£192.4m) and in the fourth quarter of 2012, revenue was up 15.5% against the corresponding period in 2011. Pre-tax profit for continuing operations rose 23.7% and profit for the period increased 32.2% to GEL 43.8m (£17.1m).

Irakli Gilauri, Chief Executive Officer of FTSE 250-listed Bank of Georgia, has agreed with board directors to remain in his position until May 1st 2016. Gilauri's service contract had previously been due to expire in August 2013. Commenting on the contract extension, Neil Janin, Chairman of the board of directors of Bank of Georgia, said: "Irakli's contribution to the success of the bank is clear and the board is delighted to benefit from his vision and leadership to further increase value for shareholders over the next three years". Gilauri said: "I am looking forward to another three years of working together with an excellent management team and board of directors, as we continue to further develop and grow Bank of Georgia, the country's leading financial institution.

"There remains more value in microcaps, but the ability for companies to grow profits appears to be more challenging than it has been. The UK portfolio seems likely to decline as a percentage of the whole. While a degree of caution seems rational it remains a mandate that seems to have attractions relative to most other asset classes. We continue with enthusiasm," a statement issued by the fund reported. Herald Investment Trust was launched in 1994 and is a large investment trust specialising in technology, communications and multi-media. It is the only specialist technology orientated investment trust with a material exposure to the United Kingdom. According to its latest fund factsheet, dated December 31st, 65.1% of gross assets were held in the UK.

Herald Investment Trust, the FTSE-250 listed fund, reported a net asset value (NAV) total return of 12.3 per cent in 2012. The company described this NAV as "satisfactory in the context of returns made from the wider indicies". It said that the UK portfolio had risen to the highest proportion of the equity portfolio since the turn of the century at 70.9%, while the US portfolio fell to 20.9%. The European portfolio recovered by 17.5% in pounds sterling but the company said it remainded a "modest weighting". Meanwhile, the Far East delivered a total return of 10.3%, including the Taiwamn portfolio which returned 19.3% in pounds sterling and the strongest component. Concluding its results, the company described 2012 as "adequate", adding that it "could have been better". It said that the outlook for 2013 remained "uncertain" but from the perspective of the sectors it targeted, Herald said that the US seemed to be better placed to address its economic issues than elsewhere.

Another company in the spotlight Thursday will be Bumi plc which will hold an extraordinary shareholder meeting to vote on a proposal by founder Nathaniel Rothschild to replace 12 of the 14 members of the board.

Investors were concerned such a deal would water down dividends and the defence portfolio. BAE caused a further stir after saying full-year targets were at jeopardy as it had trouble trying to complete a fighter-jet sale to Saudi Arabia. Chief Executive Officer Ian King told employees in a memo that 2012 was "a challenging year both in terms of the economic environment in which we are operating and the merger discussions we held with EADS". While the EADS deal fell through, BAE has signed a five-year agreement with Vodafone which will see the companies produce and sell mobile security products.

BAE Systems is expected to post a fall in earnings for 2012 on Thursday following last year's failed merger with European Aeronautic, Defence & Space Co. (EADS), the parent company of Airbus. Europe's largest arms maker is likely to record an 8.0% fall in annual net income to 1.14bn, according to analysts surveyed by Bloomberg Analysts, however, predicted sales rose to 18.9bn from 17.7bn during the year. The news comes after government refused to back a planned merger between BAE and EADS in October. The companies were looking to join forces as BAE tackled declining defence spending in Europe and the US, a market that EADS in had sought to penetrate.

Operations have been restricted at one section of AIM-listed Eastern Platinum's Crocodile river mine in South Africa. The company has two producing sections at the Crocodile River mine, which is located in the North West Province of the country. In an update issued on Wednesday morning, the metal mining company reported that following the resumption of operations at the Zanfontein section of the Crocoldile river mine, 'section 54' notices had been issued by the South African Department of Mineral Resources (DMR). While drilling operations were continuing at the mine, the company reported that blasting and cleaning operations had been put on hold until "remedial measures", which had been put in place, could be reviewed by the DMR. Eastern Platinum is a Canadian platinum group metals producer. It is currently engaged in the development and mining of platinum group metal deposits in South Africa. The company has assets on both the western and the eastern limbs of the Bushveld Complex, a mining area understood to hold approximately 80% of the world's known platinum supply.

Shares in Printing.com fell sharply on Wednesday after the company issued an update warning it was likely that it would be 'materially behind market expectations' in the second half of the trading year. The AIM-listed company, which prints cards, leaflets and flyers, reported that trading in the second half of the year had proved "softer than anticipated" across the group's European channels. It stated that this, coupled with increased marketing expenditure, meant that "the company will be materially behind market expectations in the current year". In spite of the forecast, the company was optimistic on the outlook for various product lines: "The plethora of new initiatives, including Templatecloud.com and W3P provide sound prospects for the company moving forward." The directors of the company said: "The first W3P licenses have been granted in the UK. These licenses generate monthly system fees along with incremental print revenues." The company reported that it had no debt and intended to deliver a final dividend at the same level as the previous year.

Aerial work manufacturer Tanfield Group said Wednesday it has been approached by number of companies interested in taking over its cherry picker business. The company, which focuses on aerial platforms for construction businesses, said it was considering the approaches which came from "credible parties". "Any disposal of this business would be subject to shareholder approval," Tanfield said in a statement. "There can be no certainty that any negotiations will result in an agreement to dispose of this business. We will keep shareholders informed of any further developments." Tanfield made the announcement in a trading update which showed the group reached the break-even point in October last year - the first month since 2008. Net cash at the end of December came to 2.2m, down from 2.7.m at the end of June. The company has secured a debt facility to help fund working capital growth.

One further well tested also positively for gas and has been held for future gas productiobn as it is commercially viable. The Kharsang Field is operated by GeoEnpro Petroleum, which is a joint venture between GeoPetrol and Jubilanty Enpro. Jubilant holds a 25% interest in the block through its subsidiary Jubilant Energy. The other member of the consortium is Oil India. Jubilant Energy entered the oil and gas business in 1995 by acquisition of a stake in a producing field in the north eastern part of India. Its portfolio is located in the hydrocarbon basins of Krishna Godavari, Assam-Arakan, Cambay and Cauvery in India and the Bass basin in Australia.

Shares in oil and gas exploration company Jubilant Energy rose on Tuesday morning after the company reported that spudding had commenced at its well in the oil producing Kharsang Field. Spudding is the technical term used to describe the initial process of drilling a well. Jubilant Energy reported that the procedure was being undertaken at the first of six planned wells as part of its Phase III Extension development drilling campaign in Arunchal Pradesh, a northeastern state of India. This particular phase was approved by the management committee of the Kharsang Field in January 2013 following the conclusion of a seven well Phase III drilling campaign undertaken between July 2011 and August 2012. Six of the seven wells in the Phase III campaigbn have been put into production and currently contribute approximately 700 barrels of oil per day

"The second half of our financial year continues to account for the large majority of our earnings. Although we remain dependent on underlying revenues returning to growth in the second half, we anticipate trading will be in line with our expectations for the current financial year." The group is moving away from publishing and towards digital information and events, and is focusing on investing in innovation across all divisions. Wilmot said that the company plans to increase the contribution to revenue from its Digital business to 50% within the next few years. The company's results also failed to impress broker Westhouse Securities, which downgraded the stock from add to neutral, with its target price at 55p. ................

In an interview with Sharecast and Digitalook, the company's Chief Executive, Geoff Wilmot, stressed that Centaur is making good progress with its transformation, pointing to "significant" increases to margins, but said that it was the seasonal nature of the business that means the majority of revenues are generated in the second half of the year. "We're restructuring in a cost effective and scalable way," he said. "The business is now repositioned and restructured. We are maintaining momentum in improving the quality of our portfolio and remain focused on increasing margins. We have an exciting pipeline of new product development initiatives across each of our three operating divisions, which positions us well for further growth in the medium term.

Centaur Media, a business information, events and marketing services group, failed to impress investors with its half yearly results on Wednesday, despite being firmly upbeat about its outlook. The company, which is midway through a three-year transitional phase, reported a 3.0% drop in underlying growth, but said reported growth was up 14%, following a series of acquisitions. Pre-tax losses widened to 5.0m, from 1.5m a year earlier. The group said despite this decline it is confident about its progress, and underlined this with a 10% increase in the interim dividend to 0.825p from 0.75p for the same period in 2011.

"Whilst our net loss this year was significant, this predominantly related to our recognition of the need to revalue our non-core assets at SC40, following receipt of a new independent report on resource estimates," Executive Chairman, Robin Nicholson, said. "We remain focused on our key asset, SC72, and on our goal of establishing the commerciality of the potential hydrocarbon resources within the SC72 Concession."

UK oil and gas company Forum Energy reported a 'significant' net loss for 2012 following the write-down of its Service Contract 40 (SC40) which includes the Libertad and Maya fields. The group posted an annual net loss of $1.0m, before impairment charges of $25.36m in relation to SC40, down from a profit of $3.4m the year before. Revenues fell 64.5% to $4.5m during the period, compared to $12.7m in 2011. Loans payable at year end of $15m were due to Philex Mining Corporation and further funds will be required to cover minimum spend requirements and overheads of the next 12 months. Aside from the write-down of SC40, the company was hit by territorial disputes between the Philippine and Chinese government. It meant the group was unable to deploy vessels to drill at its Service Contract 72 (SC72), an 8,800km2 offshore petroleum licence situated west of Palawan Island in the West Philippine Sea.

Top Director Sells Accsys Technologies (AXS) Director name: Mr Paul Clegg Amount sold: 422,526 @ ��0.16 Value: 66,548

Top Director Buys Chrysalis VCT (CYS) Director name: Dr Martin Knight Amount purchased: 50,000 @ 61.50p Value: �30,750

Greencore Group (GNC) Director name: Mr John Warren Amount purchased: 25,000 @ 105.60p Value: 26,400