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Iomart, the Glasgow-based cloud computing and managed hosting services group, has reported a strong half year performance and is now confident that its full year results will be ahead of current consensus market expectations. This was as a results of both revenue and profits in the six months ended September 30th being substantially ahead of the comparative period last year, it said. The company continues to maintain focus on the provision of high quality and high margin managed solutions to SMEs and corporate clients. The length of the contract - typically two to three years - enables the company to have a high level of visibility over its earnings for the coming year. The firm said that has found that its clients are increasingly staying with it on contract renewal. It recently acquired Melbourne and Skymarket, which have so far been successfully intergrated into the business and are expected to complement the group's organic earnings growth. In a statement the company said: "We are delighted with the continued progress of the business. The recent acquisitions are performing in line with our expectations. We are into our fifth year of double digit growth and the demand for our services remains robust as businesses increasingly see the value of outsourced cloud services. "We believe cloud computing will continue to be critical to all companies over the next few years, as corporate budgets continue to support online strategies, and the move to a hosting environment which delivers significant cost savings and flexibility becomes more compelling. The market potential remains substantial as it is estimated that while there has been a strong increase in hosted services in recent years, around 85% of all servers are still located at a company's own premises."

"In our Events business, we are seeing employers shaving back a bit, both in terms of scale and numbers attending," revealed John Sylvester, Executive Director of Motivation and Incentive Services. "As for the Meetings business, we've looked into this and found out that activity more or less tracks the movements of the Footsie. We were hoping it would be slightly in advance ..." Sylvester quipped. "The group has worked hard to continue developing new products in certain areas of the business, as well as securing new client wins during the period," said Colin Lloyd, Chairman of Motivcom. "The board is confident that the group's approach is maintaining its leading position in the market, and this confidence is demonstrated by the dividend increase of 30%," Lloyd added. Talking of which ... the interim dividend has been bumped up to 1.5p from 1.15p last year. The group's final dividend is normally twice the interim dividend, Hocken told Sharecast, so that suggests a full-year dividend of 4.5p, which would put the shares on a yield of around 5%. "We like to think that we offer the private investor the chance to invest in a resilient business that offers a good dividend," Hocken concluded.

Employee retention and company events specialist Motivcom signalled confidence for the full year with a big hike in its interim dividend, despite a decline in revenues and profits. Timing differences in major contracts and other phasing issues meant that revenue in the first half of 2012 retreated to £49.24m from £52.60m the year before. The Olympic Games had some impact on those phasing issues, and the group remains confident of meeting the market's full year expectations. Headline profit before tax decreased by 13% to £1.32m from £1.51m, which was slightly better than house broker Numis Securities had been expecting. Reported profit before tax, which includes one-off items, tumbled 30% to £0.90m from £1.28m at the half-way point of 2011. "We are still expecting modest growth year-on-year, which is no change from the last time we spoke to you," Group Financial Director Sue Hocken told Sharecast. In general, but particularly on the sales promotion and events organisation side, the group is holding on to its customers, but those customers are spending less. The shortfall is being made up by new contract wins, including some big names - Barclays, Lloyds Banking, the Post Office and BG Group.

Net debt was reduced from £4.1m at the end of December 2011 to £3.2m at the end of June 2012. Straight said it remains committed to a policy of paying dividends however, for the remainder of 2012, the reduction of net debt and overheads remains its priority. It dividend policy will be reviewed in 2013 in light of the expected improvement in performance, it said.

Environmental products group, Straight, said half year losses doubled after exceptional costs but it views future trading with confidence amid buoyant waste and recycling markets in the UK and overseas. Straight, which produces home compost kits and recycling containers used by local councils, recorded a loss before tax of £0.24m for the six months ended June 30th from a loss of £0.11m after exceptional costs of £0.40m and finance costs of £0.07m. The group, which has completed an expansion of its manufacturing site and has reduced factory labour costs by 33%, said group sales increased 11.4% to £16.70m. Underlying profit rose to £0.28m during the period from £0.19m before. Chief Executive Jonathan Straight commented: "We have once again maintained our position as market leader, having successfully grown our sales both in the UK and overseas." "With the market for waste and recycling containers remaining buoyant we are well placed to continue to capitalise on growth both in the UK and overseas. We are confident about the future potential of the business." Chairman James Newman added: "With significant operating costs removed from the manufacturing operation, the group is now in an excellent position to drive improved profitability and generate cash."

Looking ahead to the second half of 2012 Fairpoint said it expects to continue the momentum seen in the first half. An interim dividend of 1.95p has been declared, up 11% from 2011.

Debt advisor Fairpoint Group reported a first half profit compared to a loss the same half a year earlier helped by a strong recovery at its IVA services division and as it continued to diversify its income streams. The group reported a pre-tax profit of £2.1m in the six months ended June 30th 2012 compared to a £2.1m loss the same period a year before. Revenue for the period rose 19% to £14.1m after a £2m increase in financial services revenues, mostly from its claims management services after strong growth for PPI claims. Debt management revenues grew by 11% to £2.8m. At its IVA services division the group posted adjusted pre-tax profits of £1.4m versus a £700,000 loss previously following cost cuts and robust demand. IVA revenues were unchanged at £8.7m. "Fairpoint has continued its strategy of growth through diversification with strong financial, operating and cash flow improvements during the first half of 2012. Early progress in the development of claims management services has been strong and additional products are under development to ensure continuing momentum in this area," the group said in a company statement. "We are also well positioned to continue to play a leading role in the ongoing consolidation of the debt solutions market, as and when value-enhancing opportunities emerge to consolidate our market position and diversify our income streams."

Shares of Central Asia Metals were sought after it raised its 2012 output target and swung into a first half profit following last year's loss. The group, which completed its Kounrad copper mine in Kazakhstan at the start of 2012, posted a pre-tax profit of $530,435 in the six months ended June 30th from a loss of $1.8m in the equivalent period. Revenue jumped to $6.8m from $1.1m previously. Chief Executive Officer Nick Clarke commented, "This has been a successful period for the company with the commissioning of the SX-EW plant at Kounrad during which the design capacity was achieved for an extended period of time." Since the end of April this year the group has produced 4,318 tonnes of cathode copper with third quarter 2012 production to date in excess of 2,590 tonnes. It also completed the Kounrad construction for $39m, $8m under budget. As a result Central Asia said its 2012 production target has increased 15% to 5,750 tonnes and it has generated positive cash flow since the start of production. The group said it would continue to focus on its flagship asset at Kounrad and the possibility of expanding production at the site in the short to medium term. "In Mongolia, we remain focussed on obtaining a mining licence at Alag Bayan and completing the recently announced sale of Ereen and Handgait," it said.

The company's flexecash product, a pre-paid card launched two years ago, is being developed in a tightly controlled manner, while new applications for the platform are being introduced progressively. The company is now working with customers to build a similar solution that is adapted to their specific needs, which had delivered additonal sales volumes to the group. The value loaded onto the cards is more than double that seen at the same time last year (up 109%), with the value loaded since its launch totalling more than £83m across around 1.7m individual cards. "It is important to stress that the majority of flexecash business is incremental, as demand for our more traditional products is also remaining robust," the firm added. Elsewhere, the company's new e-money products launched since the year end include flexebens, an employee benefit scheme, and flexecodes, which allows users to make retail purchases online, both of which have been well received.

Gift voucher supplier Park Group held its annual general meeting on Thursday, where its Chairman, Peter Johnson, told investors that the strong performance since in the year to March 31st has continued in the months since. Speaking at the meeting the Chairman said the company's internet, social networking and Smartphone presence continues to "advance rapidly" and is investing in the latest technology to keep up-to-date with the latest developments in order to retain its market postion. "The current year has seen a continuation of last year's good progress with savings orders for Christmas 2012 currently at around 6% above the equivalent period last year," he said. "Corporate sales are also doing well, currently showing a 13% growth year-on-year while highstreetvouchers.com, our online business, has achieved an impressive 26% year-on-year increase in billings. These figures represent a sound achievement across the group, delivered against the backdrop of a weak economy and cautious consumer spending with customers understandably demanding increased value for money. "The next three months, running up to Christmas, will be the busiest period of the year and the order position is very encouraging. The board is confident that these positive indications should allow Park to deliver another year of growth, in-line with market expectations."

The Amanzoe hotel's opening at the start of August marked the first of its luxury resorts to come to market. At that time Dolphin received a conversion notice from Archimedia to convert 6.43% of its shares in Amanzoe in exchange for an Aman Villa, which it is in the process of finalising. Dolphin's guarantee on the €33m Amanzoe construction loan and €8m VAT facility was lifted on September 14th and replaced with a corporate guarantee by Dolphin Capital Holdings.

In sterling, NAV per share before DITL was 126p and after DITL was 113p, a decrease of 8% and 9% versus 136p and 123p, respectively, as at March 31st. House broker Panmure Gordon had forecast a pre-DITL NAV per share of 135p. The firm said that during the six month period it executed around €53.3m of asset sales and divestments, with the value of these transactions to Dolphin totalling €43.5m, representing a 48% premium over the corresponding net asset value of €29.5m and a 91% premium over the corresponding cost basis of €22.8m. At the period end, gross assets totalled €909m, while total debt was €140m the group total debt to asset value ration was 15%. Its current cash balance is around €10m. The company is currently in discussions relating to a number of other transactions that include: the sale of other components of the Porto Heli Collection; the sale of a number of Amanzoe Villas; a joint venture for the Ritz Carlton Reserve phase of Pearl Island; and a joint venture for the Aman phase of Playa Grande. Andreas Papageorghiou, Chairman of Dolphin, said: "Although the macro-economic environment continues to present challenges, significant value is being generated by the company on the ground. We are confident that the momentum gained through the opening of the Amanzoe resort at Porto Heli will be sustained throughout the year. We expect that the completion of the equity raising will ensure that Dolphin enters a new cycle of significant growth and the realisation of returns for shareholders."

Shares in Dolphin Capital, a global investor in the residential resort sector in emerging markets, rose on Thursday after the company announced a placing of shares at a tiny discount. The company is to raise €50m through shares placed at 19.5p per share, a halfpenny below the mid-market closing price on the day before the fund raising was announced. The maximum number of shares that can be issued in the placement, based on a fixed euro exchange rate of 79.73p, is just over 204.4m shares. The proceeds will be used to ensure that the company has adequate cash balances to execute its development programme over the next two years. The fund raising plans accompanied the release of interim results, which revealed that total group net asset value (NAV) at June 30th was €683m before deferred income tax liabilities (DITL) and €613m after, which is equal to a decrease of €406m (37%) and €371m (38%), respectively, from the first quarter of 2012. Of the €406m decrease, around 90% was due to the revaluation of its 49% stake in Aristo Exchange and the remaining €46m was due to a decrease in the valuation of certain Greek and Cypriot assets and regular operational expenses.

WANdisco, a California-based collaboration software developer with operations in Sheffield, posted a 53% rise in revenue for the six months ended June 30th, from $1.91m to $2.92m, with cash bookings up 57% from $2.16m to $3.39m year-on-year. However the loss for period totalled $3.64m compared to $1.2m the same period the previous year, hit by increased operating expenses. Net cash soared to $22.0m from $0.12m a year earlier.

Nationwide Accident Repair Services said revenue fell 12.9 per cent to 80.7m pounds, primarily due to site closures in 2011. On a like-for-like basis revenue fell 4.7%, hit by poor LFL insurance revenue but boosted by strong LFL growth in fleet revenue. The gross profit margin increased from 35.5% to 36.3%. Underlying profit before tax was down to £2.8m (2011: £3.5m), while statutory profit before tax of £2.1m (2011: £3.0m). Net cash at June 30th increased to £8.0m (2011: £7.3m). Motive Television, a digital television technology, software and services provider, suffered a decline in revenue in the first half of 2012 on the back of the difficult economic environment for its broadingcasting clients. As such, turnover forthe period fell to £0.49m from £1.09m the same period the previous year. Gross profit from continuing operations fell to £0.12m from £0.39m the same half the previous year. Loss per share from continuing activities came in at 0.05p (H1 2011: 0.12p) after losses attributable to continuing activities reduced by 18% to £1.39m (H1 2011: £1.7m). WANdisco, a California-based collaboration software developer with operations in Sheffield, posted a 53% rise in revenue for the six months ended June 30th, from $1.91m to $2.92m, with cash bookings up 57% from $2.16m to $3.39m year-on-year. However the loss for period totalled $3.64m compared to $1.2m the same period the previous year, hit by increased operating expenses. Net cash soared to $22.0m from $0.12m a year earlier.

Patricia Thomas, the Operations Director at Domino's Pizza UK & Ireland, the main operating subsidiary of Domino's Pizza, sold 100,000 ordinary shares in the company on the same day it reported a slowdown in like-for-like sales growth in the third quarter. Thomas disposed of the shares at an average price of 537p each, earning a total of £537,000. System sales for the 13 weeks to September 23rd were up by 7.9% to £136.4m from £127.0m in the corresponding period of last year, with year to date system sales up by 10.0% to £424.1m (2011: £385.4m). Like-for-like sales in the 660 mature stores in the UK and Republic of Ireland continued to grow. In the UK only, like-for-like (LFL) sales for the period were up by 3.7%, versus 4.1% the year before and 5.7% in the first six months of the financial year. LFL sales in euros for the Republic of Ireland were down 2.1%, an improvement on the 4.1% decline seen in the corresponding period of last year but a reversal of the 2.9% increase in LFL sales seen in the first half of the current financial year.

TR Property Investment Trust, a UK-based investment company, has announced that it is planning to propose a conversion of the entire share capital of its Sigma shares into ordinary shares. The Sigma share class was approved in July 2007, but now the company wants to merge the underlying portfolios to produce an enlarged single share class, which it anticipates will have deeper liquidity. The company is currently proposing that Sigma shares will convert to ordinary shares based on the net asset value of each of the two share classes. As such, Sigma shares will be valued at 98% of Sigma share net asset value after deduction costs, while ordinary shares will be valued at 100% of the ordinary share net asset value. The costs are expected to be around 0.5% of the Sigma share class net asset value, which will be paid for by Sigma shareholders. The firm is planning to propose the plans to shareholders in December.

Net debt at the end of September is expected to be around £75m, up from £66.0m at the end of March, leaving "significant headroom against our committed facility of £250m". Jefferies Hoare Govett said it did not expect any change to the consensus earnings estimates following the trading update. "The lack of new affinity partner sign ups in the US is a disappointment while the on-going UK FSA investigation is a headache. We do not anticipate changes to consensus but the real test will come in 2H [second half] where 80% of profits are generated," the broker said.

UK operating profit is expected to be similar to the £25.8m seen at the interim stage last year, with lower revenue and the increased costs of improved governance and control being offset by reduced marketing activity and other efficiency savings. Jefferies Hoare Govett had predicted a UK operating profit of £18m. In the US, the group reckons that when the final numbers are in, customer and policy numbers at the end of September will both be around 20% higher than a year earlier. The retention rate remains at around 79%. However, the growth in customer numbers is being driven by increased marketing spend which is expected to result in higher revenues and an operating loss in the first half of the current financial year. In France, Doméo has maintained a high retention rate of around 87% and this, together with an increase in income per customer, is expected to result in a strong financial performance in the period. Customer and policy growth in the first half of the year is expected to be lower than in previous periods reflecting the timing and number of marketing campaigns undertaken. In Spain, Homeserve expects the number of customers and policies at the end of September 2012 to be over 35% higher compared to September 30th, 2011. "We expect the operating loss in Spain in the first half of the year to be lower than in the same period last year (HY12: £1.0m loss), reflecting both the growth in the membership business and improved operating efficiency in the claims handling operation," the company said. Elsewhere, the company continues to invest in marketing in Italy and is also dipping its toe into the German market.

HomeServe, the international home emergency business, has a reputation for being accident prone, but it comforted the market on Wednesday morning by reiterating its full-year guidance after a solid first half. The company, which is the subject of an ongoing investigation by the Financial Services Autority (FSA) over what the company described as 'certain historic issues', said adjusted profit before tax for the six months to the end of September is expected to be up on last year's interim result of £23.5m. In large part the improvement is down to the strong financial performance of Doméo, which is now wholly owned, whereas last year Homeserve only had a 49% stake. Though it did not give a precise number for half-year pre-tax profits, the fact that it will be higher than a year ago means it will have exceeded broker Peel Hunt's expectations; Jefferies Hoare Govett also said the results were ahead of its expectations. Despite the company doing better-than-expected in some quarters, there was no change to full-year guidance. As usual, the company's full-year results will be weighted to the second half. The first half typically only contributes about one-fifth of full-year profits. In the UK Homeserve is on track to achieve its full year customer number target of between 2.2m and 2.4m and a policy retention rate of around 80%. Customer numbers at the end of September 2012 are expected to be around 2.5m, down from 3.0m at the half-way point of the previous financial year, while the policy retention rate is expected to be around 78%.