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http://tinyurl.com/zpemzp3 Ashley Highfield, chief executive at Johnston Press PLC (LON:JPR), one of the largest local and regional multimedia organisations in the UK, talks to Proactive Investors about the reasons behind the acquisition of the 'i' newspaper from the owner of the Independent group, the Lebedev family. Highfield believes the i offers “a significant growth opportunity” and has plans to develop the publication further by expanding into new markets. Despite the tough market conditions and the industry's shift to the digital model, Highfield is confident the group's emphasis on quality will help it weather the storm - and grow further in the future.

http://tinyurl.com/h22fb77 Green Dragon Gas Ltd’s (LON:GDG) chairman, Randeep Grewal, believes the Coal Bed Methane producer has turned a corner after reporting the first profit in the company’s history. Speaking to Proactive, Grewal says that Green Dragon is “clearly turning from the investment cycle onto the profit cycle, so [the company] has turned a corner in terms of…profitability”. He also expects this profit will be sustained over the coming years, stating that “this is the beginning of…long cycles of profitability and we look forward to that”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9LVJZhGIIg Tim Allen, chief financial officer (CFO) of blur Group PLC (LON:BLUR) tells Proactive Investors that 2015 was “a year of big change for blur” as it transitioned away from using marketing tools on a project by project basis to an enterprise strategy. The company said in its full-year results statement that it has now completed this transition meaning it takes on fewer but higher quality projects. The change in focus from higher volume small business project sales to enterprise account-driven sales led to a 25% decline in project revenues in 2015 to US$1.95mln from US$2.59mln in 2014, but this was in line with management's expectations. “We are now engaged with larger enterprises, talking to them about how to better eliminate the waste in their business services spend and while we’ve seen a reduction in production revenues we’ve made that transition and what we’re seeing through Q3 Q4 and Q1 consecutively are increases in the mix of enterprise business within our project base,” Allen says.

http://tinyurl.com/h7uau5q Focusrite PLC (LON:TUNE), the group that provides tech products to the music industry, released a solid set of first half results for 2016, with revenue up almost 9% on the previous year to £25.9mln and underlying earnings (EBITDA) rising to £4.8mln. Phil Dudderidge, chairman and founder of Focusrite, tells Proactive its two established brands - Focusrite and Novation both grew in the first half, with an increase in demand from Asia, particularly South Korea, where people have “woken up to electronic music”. He also says that he is pleased with the uptake of its Launchpad app, which is a software version of its hardware range, allowing anyone to start creating music. The focus for this year will be to continue to grow organically, as well as to branch out into other product categories, which can be done organically or through acquisition, with the company “actively looking at businesses that are ripe for acquisition” Dudderidge adds.

http://tinyurl.com/hs7o6oj Ashley Stephenson, chief executive of Corero Network Security PLC (LON:CNS), pitches the company to investors.

Obviously that should read, 'Video interview with Jim* Phillips'..! Apologies.

http://tinyurl.com/hsbr523 Jim Phillips, chief executive at Midatech Pharma (LON:MTPH) tells Proactive Investors about the good results from a pre-clinical study of Q-Octreotide, its treatment for the side effects of carcinoid tumours. The company has "a really exciting product that is the next generation of that type of therapy," says Phillips. The company is investing to scale up production at its Bilbao site in Spain so it can start to commercially produce the treatment. It is also preparing for the clinical trial that will start at the end of the year/beginning of next year.

http://tinyurl.com/j7lazg2 John Deane, chief executive at life and pensions group Chesnara (LON:CSN) tells Proactive Investors that 2015 was another year of solid delivery on the group's core strategic objectives. Deane says the acquisition of the Waard Group in the Netherlands made a significant contribution to the company's cashflow last year and that the company will continue to grow through acquisitions. He describes market conditions in the UK as "nervous" due to the impending EU referendum but says the group still targets 10-15% market share in each of its key market.

http://tinyurl.com/gpghlka Stratex International PLC's (LON:STI) Altintepe gold mine in Turkey is on course to hit its production target of at least 30,000 ounces this year, sending shares in the firm higher. Bob Foster, chief executive, tells Proactive Investors the company has made a “fantastic start” in the first quarter, as sales to March 16 totalled 12,280 ounce of gold with US$14.3mln of revenues generated. Altintepe, a joint venture (45%/55%) between Stratex and Turkish firm Bahar, poured its first gold at the end of 2015, and Foster says if it remains on its current trajectory, “annualised, that’ll be looking at well over the 30,000 ounces that both we and our partners have been aiming for”.

http://tinyurl.com/z9crjeq David Budd, chief executive of Epistem Holdings PLC (LON:EHP) says the news it has reached a major milestone in its development with the full commercial launch of its Genedrive tuberculosis (TB) and antibiotic resistance test, is “hugely significant”. The company, a specialist in molecular diagnostics and personalised medicine, has teamed up with Xcelris Labs to start selling the product in India. Next up, Budd says, the company hopes to build up a “menu of tests” over time, now that the company has a “robust technology platform in place”.

Here's the link..! http://tinyurl.com/zqvcwx6

Action Hotels PLC (LON:AHCG) is well on track to hit its targets after the completion of its tenth and largest hotel to date pushed total room count to just under 2,000. The Brisbane property opened in March and broke even after the first month. In its full year results for the period ending December 2015, the group saw a 30% increase in rooms, 92% since listing and Alain Debare, chief executive, tells Proactive he is “really pleased with the results and the growth” He says the company is “clearly benefiting from the strong demand for economy and mid-market hotels” in Australia, while in the Middle East there is a “massive demand” for Action’s hotels, as it is the “only one addressing the gap in economy and mid-market hotels in the region”.

http://tinyurl.com/z232nmn Ian Strafford-Taylor, chief executive of FairFX Group plc (LON:FFX), is confident he can double the current number of customers by the end of next year. The online multi-currency payments and travel money specialist has just over 508,000 customers and is focusing on attracting more clients through an improved website, an easier to use app and a television ad campaign which starts on June 1st. Strafford-Taylor says cross-selling success will be achieved by embedding the company into customers’ phones and their psyche. High on the agenda for the FairFX boss is the corporate offering which is growing rapidly and "we have a lot of exciting plans there as well.”

http://tinyurl.com/hl2yumx Guy Hewitt, research director at independent broker finnCap, says customised electronics maker Acal plc (LON:ACL) has a portfolio of expertise and products which you can’t buy elsewhere. “If a customer is looking for a particular set of skills of products then the strategy is that Acal will be at the top of the list, if not a list of one.” Hewett says the company’s relationship with its customer from design to distribution is value add, as is Acal’s rising margins which sets it apart from the competition. The specialist electronics group said its earnings for the year will “slightly” ahead of expectations which is impressive particularly as Hewett notes the company is operating against a difficult industrial production market.

http://tinyurl.com/hknx9k4 South America-focused gold producer Orosur Mining Inc (LON:OMI, TSE:OMI) has bounced back into the black with a profit before tax of US$3.1mln in the three months to 29 February, 2016, despite sales slipping. Ignacio Salazar, chief executive, says key to this has been the company’s reduction in costs, which the firm has been working on for three years, but stepped up last July as the gold price was slumping. On the gold price, he says “the average gold price we realised in the quarter was US$1,143 so clearly below the levels we have seen recently which are about the US$1,200 per ounce mark – so it is helping but it does not mean we will change our strategy from the last few months”.

http://tinyurl.com/jdtpusd Finance house Private & Commercial Finance Group plc (LON:PCF) said performance in the 12 month period just ended will be slightly ahead of expectations. Speaking to Proactive Investors, chief executive Scott Maybury says the trading statement today shows “a further outperform” of upgraded expectations outlined last December. New business originations were 13% higher at £63mln than the £56mln the year before, and Maybury adds that he is pleased the company has not “chased growth” and maintained its prudent underwriting standards despite the opportunity to better its performance by lowering standards.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEZe9bdKtFM Brian Wilkinson, chief executive of engineering recruitment specialist Matchtech Group PLC (LON:MTEC), says the company’s integration of Networkers has been “the best integration plan I have ever been involved in”. He hails the acquisition for the 35% rise in revenue and pre-tax profit, as on an underlying basis, the first half was flat compared to the same period in the previous year. Wilkinson says the firm is focused on paying off some more of its debt, which has come down “substantially” over the last 12 months, but remains open to bolt-on acquisitions where appropriate.

http://tinyurl.com/h9foxl7 Francois Martelet, chief executive of NetScientific PLC (LON:NSCI) says the “encouraging” phase I clinical trial results from portfolio company PDS Biotechnology is “very clearly the first validation of the technology”. The company plans to invest a further US$500,000 into PDS Bio after the early-stage study of PDS0101 for human papilloma virus (HPV) related cancers, designed to assess areas such as safety and whether patients can tolerate the drug, was passed. NetScientific has invested US$2.5mln (£1.76mln) in PDS to date and Martelet says the new investment means it will maintain its interest at around 14.85%.

http://tinyurl.com/hst54es Learning Technologies Group PLC (LON:LTG) got off to a strong start in 2016 after what it described as a “transformational” 2015. Last year finished on a high, with the group winning its largest ever contract, to develop a new training platform for 400,000 civil servants, but even without the big CSL contract, 2015 was an impressive year, with revenue rising 33% to £19.9mln and adjusted underlying earnings (EBITDA) more than doubling. Jonathan Satchell, chief executive, tells Proactive Investors that, although the company implements a ‘buy and build’ strategy, “we are very much focused on delivering strong organic growth, profitably, with great cash generation and I am delighted to say that the 2015 results demonstrate that ably.” The company’s market capitalisation has grown tenfold since it listed on AIM in 2013, and Satchell says that to “supercharge” the company’s growth, it will continue with its strategy, as well as look at “good infill acquisitions.”

http://tinyurl.com/gtr7et3 Ashley Mackenzie, chief executive of online video and marketing firm Rightster Group PLC (LON:RSTR) says the company is making “huge strides” towards profitability, and says the firm is making “good progress on the strategic move to launching our own owned and operated channel”. The company reported on Wednesday that current trading for 2016 is in line with expectations as it enters a new chapter following a major restructuring. Part of the group's plan is to transform from a third-party technology provider to owning and operating its own video channels after it raised £10mln in a discounted placing last year and also plans to change its name to Brave Bison Group PLC. Looking forward, Mackenzie says “this is the year that Rightser, soon to be Brave Bison, turns the corner” adding that the company will make “real, tangible steps to profitability”.