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Total revenue for the quarter fell from £54.7m to £43.4m, and dropped from £154.3m to £162.6m in the nine month period. For the nine month period the company made a loss of £6.9m compared to a profit of £31.7m in the same period the previous year. In the three months to the end of April profit fell to £0.3m, from £12.1m the same period the previous year.

The company also blamed the declines on the imposition of new regulatory taxes, the general economic conditions, and the suspension of its Spanish website following an injunction, but emphasised that the results are not necessarily indicative of operating results for the entire year, nor of future performance. Australia's NGR soared 116% to £18.1m and was up 46% on a like-for-like (LFL) basis to £12.3,), but Europe was again the party pooper, with NGR down 47% to £24.2m from £45.7m the year before; on a LFL basis, European NGR was down 7%.

Total amounts wagered in Australia shot up 78% to £369.1m, helped by the integration of recent acquisition Centrebet. In contrast, amounts wagered in Europe were down 38% (or down 4% on a like-for-like basis) to £186.6m. Net gaming revenue (NGR) - essentially how much the bookie retains after paying out winners - across the group dropped from £54.1m to £42.3m y/y, and from £160.9m to £151.7m for the nine months to the end of April, with the firm partly blaming the seasonality of its business.

The online sports betting and gaming group Sportingbet continued to go great guns in its core Australian market in its fiscal third quarter, but Europe proved more challenging. Amounts wagered during the three months to the end of April climbed significantly from £507.3m to £555.9m year-on-year (y/y), extending increases seen in the previous two quarters and resulting in total amounts wagered during the nine months of £1,822,1m (2011: £1,576.5m).

During the first quarter the gross margin increased to 45.3% but this is still below the annual average - partly because of the cost of implementing new systems - but Pilat will be happy that it can now boast US telecoms giant AT&T and cable network player Showtime as clients.

Pilat is countering this trend by widening its net, getting an increasing number of smaller transactions. Counter-intuitively many of these are coming from Europe which Engel describes as "not a concern"; in fact he has just completed a "nice order from Greece". The fact a Greek company is willing to part with its cash is evidence of Pilat's claim that its software is mission critical: "when they need it, they have to buy it" says Engel.

Profits after tax for the quarter were £19,000 against a loss in the prior year of £190,000, with cash generation at £0.5m during the quarter. The strategic problem faced by Pilat is that the big players in broadcasting are changing their spending patterns. Engel says in the past "broadcasters would spend tens of millions (for investment) 20 years ahead, those times are over". Instead major customers "now spend less in shorter increments".

The word factory hints at the tools clients now need because their content may need to be edited before being broadcast or streamed, so Pilat's software now incorporates production capabilities. It's fair to say the firm has had a tough few years, down 64% since its peak in 2007, and 37% in the last 12 months, but the brighter picture on sales this quarter perhaps suggests the firm can reclaim its former glories.

Historically, Pilat has provided two services: the first is scheduling software, so a broadcaster knows what's being broadcast at what time on what channel; the second is a set of systems designed to help manage commercial advertising. Speaking to Sharecast, Avi Engel, the Chief Executive Officer, explained that the broadcast industry has now changed, so that instead of scheduling on regular TV channels, clients like the BBC, CBS and Discovery need to control content going to smartphones, tablets and home computers: "It's a factory out there, we're managing a more complex factory", he says.

Pilat Media, the group which makes business management software for the broadcast industry, says demand for new services from existing clients has driven a big increase in like-for-like sales. In the first three months of the year revenues were £5.05m, the same as the the same period of 2011, but that quarter included an exceptional gain of £454,000 on the resale of Oracle licences, meaning like-for-like sales gained 10%.

"Although the trading environment and economy remain challenging, we faced similar challenges last year and have prospered." The numbers were boosted by three successful acquisitions during the year - Data Discoveries, Advanced Checking Services and Capscan - which the company said had added capabilities and customers.

Earnings per share doubled to 5p and the company pushed its dividend up 7.8% to 1.375p. "GB Group has again started the new financial year in good shape and is well positioned to capitalise on our quickly developing markets," said Chairman David Rasche

Customer identity specialist GB Group has boosted its dividend after profits came in ahead of market expectations. Pre-tax profits grew by 62% to £2.5m reflecting greater revenues and profit margins. The firm posted a 31% increase in revenues to £31.8m in the year to the end of March.

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Positive Points: Group gross margin of 27.7% held at last year's level. Trading profit of £139 million was 10.3% ahead of last year. Revenue in Canada in the quarter grew by 7.9% on a like-for-like basis. The Industrial business was particularly strong as it continued to benefit from the buoyant oil, gas and mining sectors. Group net debt of £277 million was reported, £314 million better than 30 April 2011. The group continues to be repositioned. Two small bolt-on acquisitions were completed in the quarter in the US and Denmark. Wolseley enjoys geographical diversity, a strategy which should help it balance stronger regions against weaker ones. A significant hike in the half year dividend was reported.

Negative Points: Group like-for-like sales increased by 3.8%, down from the 5% recorded in the first half. Like-for-like revenue in France declined by 6.1% as new construction markets weakened. Management noted that "government stimulus activity is now coming to an end which may have an effect on activity levels going forward." In the Nordic region like-for-like revenue decreased by 1.7%. The seasonal pick up in new residential construction markets in Denmark was weaker than last year. Management highlighted that the company may incur further restructuring charges in the fourth quarter, though these are unlikely to be material in the context of the group's full year results. Operating costs were 3.6% higher than last ye

Financial Highlights: Total revenue grew by 4.7% to £3.07 billion. Like-for-like sales increased by 3.8%, down from 5% in the first half. The gross margin of 27.7% was unchanged. Trading profit of £139 million was 10.3% higher than last year.

Third quarter update: The release saw some slowing in sales reported. Although like-for-like sales increased by 3.8%, this was down from the 5% recorded in the first half. Sales in the group's important US region slowed to 9.4% from 10.0% in Q3 last year, whilst France recorded a major deterioration, reporting a fall in like-for-like sales of 6.1%, down from an increase of 9.1% in the comparative period last year. The group's Nordic region also suffered, reporting a fall in same store sales of 1.7% compared with growth of 5.8% in Q3 last year. More positively, the group's gross profit margin held at 27.7%, with trading profit for the period enjoying a 10.3% improvement compared to that seen during Q3 last year. Management noted that "given the uncertain economic outlook in Europe we will remain vigilant on the cost base while continuing to drive growth initiatives in the more robust markets."

Wolseley plc is a major international specialist trade distributor of plumbing and heating products to professional contractors and a leading supplier of building materials in North America, the UK and Continental Europe. Wolseley has around 43,000 employees, is headquartered in Zug, Switzerland and is listed on the London Stock Exchange - a constituent of the FTSE 100 index.

Positive Points: South West Water continued its very strong operational performance and is well placed to outperform the assumptions for the current regulatory period, added the group. Viridor completed five acquisitions in 2011/12 for approximately £40 million. Around 50% of Viridor's profits are derived from recovering value in waste, either by recycling or renewable energy. Within South West Water, the company confirmed that two new reservoirs, Park and Stannon Lakes were now fully operational. Management reported to being confident that that South West Water would enjoy its sixteenth successful summer without water restrictions. The board has recommended a final dividend of 18.30p, up 6.7% on the year before that takes the full year dividend up to 26.52p, up 7.6% on the year.