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The group has not yet achieved its primary goal of achieving "cash self-sufficiency" and has reined in its global ambitions to focus primarily on Northern Europe, including the UK. The results initially saw the stock drop 1.9%, leaving the shares down 50% in the last 12 months. With major customer agrochemical giant Arysta LifeScience sitting on a 9.1% share stake in Plant Impact the concern for long-suffering shareholders must be that any signs of the company becoming profitable will result in its intellectual property being picked up on the cheap in a takeover.

Shareholders are still waiting for crop productivity firm Plant Impact to bloom as it continues to trade at a loss. The company, which is now focused on environmentally friendly nutrition products to help farmers get the best yield from crops, says revenues in the 12 months to the end of March were £1.93m versus £1.62m in the previous year, slightly ahead of market expectations of £1.90m. This was despite the company again accruing zero revenue from Bug Oil, the natural-oil based insecticide which used to be the focus of the company's commercial strategy. The problem for Plant Impact has been expenses, which grew to £3.37m against £3.11m in the prior year, although the firm claims this includes £0.475m in exceptional restructuring costs. The loss before tax came in at £1.96m, down slightly on the previous year's £2.05m loss, and in line with expectations. Although Plant Impact clearly has big plans for the future, including a move to new facilities in Hertfordshire in September which will put it close to other UK agrochemical, seed and life science companies, the market still appears wary on future prospects.

SpaceandPeople, a retail, promotional and brand experience specialist, is pleased to announce it has signed contracts with Capital Shopping Centres Group, the developer, owner and manager of UK regional shopping centres, to manage and sell promotional space in the majority of their shopping centres. The agreement, which became effective on July 14th, covers 11 venues, including Lakeside in Thurrock and the Metro Centre in Gateshead, in addition to The Arndale Centre in Mannchester and Cribbs Causeway in Bristol which are already under contract with SpaceandPeople

Hopefully i will be able to top up here soon......after selling half my holding on the last big spike........as you say jay........play the market.....

Amid thin summer pickings, at least the Wednesday Trading Announcement from mining giant BHP Billiton (BLT) will provide short-term traders with some potential price action. The last major updates from the group came in April and June, with the former distinguished by a reduction in iron ore production due to bad weather and industrial action. Even so coal operations delivered new production records. Billiton added that the extent to which industrial action will continue to affect production, sales and unit costs remained difficult to predict. This uncertainty was to some degree offset in June as group promised to invest $845m investment on its coal operations in New South Wales, Australia.

Going into 2012, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that many traders expected a volatility fest given the toxic combination of macro factors weighing on the markets. As things have transpired, perhaps too much of this potential excitement was factored into the valuation of spread betting giant IG Group (IGG), particularly just prior to the March update when the company said that it had experienced a sales slowdown to start the year. Nevertheless, even as recently as June IG said it was looking forward to report profits growth of as much as 17% for the year to the end of May, which serves to remind us once again that it is rarely wrong to back a bookie

B&Q owner Kingfisher (KGF) reported a rain soaked first quarter at the end of May, which given the dire weather since then doesn’t bode well for the forthcoming update. But with the retailer's first quarter total sales in the 13 weeks to April 28th down 3.6%, (1.3% on a constant currency basis) and like-for-like sales down 4.8%, bulls will be hoping that in taking the red pens out recently, brokers may have overstated the downside risks, especially now with the stock down 15% off the best levels of the year at 270p.

Napolean Bonaparte dismissed the English as a nation of shopkeepers; and, if little has changed in the two centuries since, that's good news for Booker. It's the UK's largest cash-and-carry operator, serving 400,000 small shopkeepers and caterers, and is set to get bigger still when it acquires rival Makro from German food retail giant Metro, a deal that City analysts enthuse over as "transformational". Makro will add more than 1m customers in the UK, £800m of sales and a significantly broader product range. What's more, it has been acquired on favourable terms, the consideration of just under £140m will be largely satisfied through issuing new shares. True, that will dilute the interest of existing shareholders, but they approved the deal this week. They're right to back it. Makro is currently loss-making, which means Booker's earnings this year will take a 10 per cent hit. But analysts reckon that the acquisition could add a fifth to earnings by 2015 as Booker exploits synergies and implements operational improvements. The deal also brings over £60m in tax losses, £200m in freehold assets, and - perhaps most interesting - a heavyweight shareholder in Metro. The German retailer will end up owning 10 per cent of Booker and is locked in for a year, but some analysts suggest it's likely to remain on the shareholders' register for the long term and will work closely with Booker on big projects. Clive Black at broker Shore Capital ponders whether the two will collaborate in India, where Booker has made small but successful steps to open wholesale depots servicing small 'kirana' store customers in Mumbai and Pune.

Aggreko's bosses hope that the International Power Projects (IPP) division will come to the rescue. The IPP order book at the end of 2011 was at record levels, up 21 per cent on the prior period, and is equivalent to 14 months' revenue at current run rates. At the start of 2012, the IPP fleet stood at over 4,400 mega watts (MW) - to put that into perspective, Europe's largest coal-fired power station, Drax, pumps out 3,870MW. IPP is getting bigger as well; Aggreko recently increased its capital spend targets for 2012 by £50m to £415m. But this means net debt had risen from £133m at the start of 2011 to £428m by the end of March 2012. True, Aggreko returned £148m to shareholders last July. Even so, rising debt always brings higher risks for shareholders, especially in a cyclical business.

Aggreko's shares have been on a turbocharged run, but, as the group's growth slows, its borrowings rise and the risk of bad debts increases, they are looking exposed on a punchy rating of 20 times forecast earnings. True, Aggreko will get a one-off boost from a £50m deal to help power London's Olympics and the order book is at record levels, but, with weaker trading highlighted in the second quarter and City analysts cutting their profits forecasts, the shares look set to blow a fuse. Analysts at broker JPMorgan Cazenove say that the slowdown in Aggreko's so-called 'local' business - anything that involves supplying temporary power for one-off projects - has been "greater than expected", a reminder of the "cyclicality inherent" in the group. Responsible for 58 per cent of sales and 40 per cent of cash profits, the local business saw revenue growth (excluding currency impacts and one-off events) slow from 22 per cent in the first quarter of 2012 to just 5 per cent in the second. North America experienced the sharpest slowdown from 22 per cent in the first quarter to 2.5 per cent in the second, as demand prompted by shale-gas explorers last year was not repeated. This slowing first half follows a weaker 2011, when trading profits fell from £142m in 2010 to £121m.

Whatever happens this summer, though, Topps' long-term recovery prospects look good. It has 322 stores but, unlike many other UK retailers, is eyeing expansion rather than cutting store numbers. It added three new stores in its latest quarter and will add another three before its year-end in September. Chief executive Matthew Williams reckons there's scope for as many as 400 across the UK, a figure that is possible because the market for wall and floor tiles is highly fragmented and Topps has scope to grab market share. The nature of the product also means that, unlike other retail categories, such as electronics or entertainment, Topps isn't facing a huge threat from online competitors.

The past five years have been difficult for the UK's retail industry and have seen the collapse of many well-known retailers. Contrary to expectations, however, Topps Tiles hasn't been one of them. Admittedly, the tiling retailer has been through the wars, with underlying earnings collapsing from a peak of 15p a share in 2007 to around 5p today. And while such heady figures are unlikely to be achieved again any time soon, recent trading reports do suggest the business is well on the road to recovery. Third-quarter like-for-like sales climbed 2.1 per cent and management is confident that Topps is on track to hit targets for the full year. Broker Panmure Gordon says that Topps needs to generate like-for-like sales growth of 2 per cent in the second half to achieve the consensus full-year pre-tax profit forecast of £13m, but against a very weak comparative performance that's not especially demanding. In fact, says Panmure, Topps' operational gearing means that earnings upgrades are possible, although there is the potential for disruption from the Olympics.

EasyJet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou and a team of regional and industry experts are launching sub-Saharan Africa's first low-cost airline. FastJet could be one of the region’s largest carriers in just a few years - and investors still have time to grab a ticket before take-off. Last year, Rubicon Diversified Investments was just another Alternative Investment Market (Aim)-listed cash shell. Elsewhere in the City, Africa-focused conglomerate Lonrho was talking to Stelios about the future of its airline, Fly 540. Before long, Stelios had dreamt up the FastJet brand and Lonrho had bought a stake in Rubicon. The three got together in December and, last month, Lonrho reversed Fly 540 into Rubicon. That's quite a combination, and one that could revolutionise the African airline industry. It will be piloted by Ed Winter - he established low-cost carrier Go for British Airways and was operating chief for Stelios at easyJet. Mr Winter says the timing is "perfect". Africa's air transport system is small, fragmented, unreliable and often dangerous. But a population explosion, forecast economic growth of 7 per cent, oil money, an expanding middle class and poor road and rail infrastructure should all drive demand for air travel over the next decade. Fly 540 carried 54,000 passengers in June and its existing fleet, mostly turboprops, are tipped to turn over $119m (£77m) this year and make a $19m cash profit before aircraft rent and ownership costs. Yet, existing air operating certificates in Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana and Angola will allow FastJet to ramp up quickly. There'll be first-mover advantage, too, and, with little serious competition, FastJet can cherry-pick high-return routes. Management thinks traffic will "easily" double within six months of its first FastJet-liveried Airbus A319 jet taking to the skies in October. That, however, could be chicken feed.

Even if the macroeconomic climate is unlikely to be helpful, the sector is still showing welcome signs of resilience. Smith & Nephew's first-quarter figures (3 May) showed a 6% rise in endoscopy sales to $939 million and revenues at the group's advanced wound management division rose by 7% to $1 billion. Figures from transatlantic peers also offer grounds for encouragement. Biomet's fourth-quarter numbers (15 June) were notable for the third straight period of 6% hip sales growth. Better still, knee revenues rose 6% compared to a 4% advance in the third quarter and drops of 2% in each of the first and second. All eyes are now fixed on Smith & Nephew’s interims (2 August)

In April, the £5.4 billion cap acquired LifeModeler, a provider of biomechanical software that simulates the human body's movements in order to speed up the testing of its orthopaedic products. A forward price/earnings ratio of 13 suggest the shares represent a low-risk opportunity, especially as a wave of consolidation across the industry regularly puts Smith & Nephew's name in the frame as a possible bid target.

A new Chief Executive Officer, a cost-cutting programme and strategic refocus of the business all mean FTSE 100 giant Smith & Nephew (SN.) looks a solid defensive choice. Europe's largest maker of artificial hips and knees has had a more definite sense of direction over the past twelve months under the watchful eye of new boss Olivier Bohuon. He is directing the group's focus toward emerging markets and areas of premium growth, such as sports injuries and wound management, where Smith & Nephew launched 35 new products in 2011 and has announced plans for a repeat in 2012. Europe and the US represent still almost 90% of the group's turnover, although demand for treatments of diabetic related ulcers is driving growth in emerging markets.

As the macroeconomic environment for healthcare remains challenging continued pressures on reimbursements in Europe, particularly Germany, mean Omega is well-positioned in terms of new product opportunities. Positive newsflow is expected as the company continues to target automated testing markets and explores revenue opportunities related to its CD4 and syphilis tests.

A leap in pre-tax income from £110,000 to £480,000 in the year to March 2012 suggests Omega Diagnostics (ODX) is on the verge of a long-awaited surge in profits, after four years of largely unchanged earnings. A price/earnings ratio below 10 times for fiscal 2013 and 2014 will look very appealing if consensus earnings per share growth expectations of 33% and 44% respectively are met, let alone exceeded. Clackmannanshire-based Omega demonstrated the virtues of strategy to focus on emerging economies in its full-year results (2 July) where revenues and profits rose substantially. Sales soared 41% to £11.1 million as a combination of strong technology and commercial traction in international markets drove the business. The balance sheet also looks healthy since the company ended its fiscal year with net debt of just £100,000.

Surgical Innovations is working on a steady stream of new products for its distribution network, including new devices for use in hip arthroscopy which are expected to launch this quarter. Such developments, coupled with the CareFusion deal, underpin consensus forecasts which call for earnings per share growth of 41% this year and 22% next, to 0.62p and 0.72p respectively. A forward price/earnings ratio of 12.1 for 2013 looks good value, given the growth potential.

Innovative products perfect for a cost-conscious era, rapid growth and a lowly valuation all mean Surgical Innovations looks an attractive proposition, especially as the Leeds-based outfit is making headway in the world's biggest medical equipment market, the USA. The £37 million cap has signed an eight year exclusive contract with US-based CareFusion for its PretzelFlex device. Surgical Innovations will retain the right to manufacture and distribute the device under its own SI brand and in all other markets, including Europe. Closer to home the company looks well placed to benefit from the National Health Service's (NHS) plans to reduce costs, as its resposable products which are part reusable, part disposable offer substantial benefits.