Focus switches to bright spark Photo-Me

IT was all done in a flash. Well, just let's say in next to no time. New house broker Evolution Beeson Gregory placed 29.2m shares, or 8.03%, in photo booth company

As soon as they heard the big overhang cleared, investors piled in on recovery hopes and the close was 7 3/4p higher at 115p.

Dealers were relieved to hear that aging director Philippe Wahl was the seller. Rumours have been rife in recent weeks that chief executive Serge Crasnianski was looking to unload a big slug of his 19% holding. Instead, he took a further 1m shares in the placing and now holds 19.31%.

Photo-Me's history has been as colourful as the digital photographs it prints.

It touched a low of 14 1/2p last November after suffering financial difficulties when hopes that its booths could be adapted as Internet and e-mail access points proved unrealistic.

Since then its performance has changed for the better. A trading statement last month said that results for the year ended April would be 'substantially above market expectations'. That raised hopes of an imminent return to dividends.

Evolution's analyst Robin Chabra rates it a 'strong buy' with a short-term target price of 157p. He expects pre-tax profits in 2004 to rebound from a £2.2m loss to profit of £14.7m.

Health giant Amersham's early surge of 146 1/2p on a bid approach helped the Footsie climb 43.6 points before elevenses. It then hit a brick wall as lack of follow-through support and sporadic bouts of profit-taking saw it drift to finish 3.4 points easier at 4268.6.

Aluminium group Alcoa kicked off the third quarter earnings season with a better-than- expected 45% jump in profits, but Wall Street was underwhelmed. It soon lost a 17-point gain to trade 38 points lower ahead of Yahoo!'s figures, which were due after New York's closing bell.

Sterling eased to $1.6602, while the euro rose to 71p and $1.1791.

Almost 27m Sage Group shares were traded and at the close was 7 3/4p higher at 182 3/4p. Broker Credit Suisse First Boston upgraded the software group's target price to 200p from 160p.

Palm-held computer company Psion jumped 6p to 72 3/4p after completing the £17.4m purchase of additional shares in smartphone software business Symbian from Motorola. Its holding rises from 25.3% to 31.1%.

Xenova advanced 2 1/2p to 14 1/4p on hefty turnover of 15.5m. The biotech company has begun a second clinical trial for TA-NIC, its anti-smoking vaccine.

Aim-listed cash-rich scratch card services company Invox held rock steady at 305p after broker Numis placed 5m shares at 280p with institutional investors.

Following presentations to investors in Ireland, Northern Petroleum improved 5/8p to 4 3/4p.

Incite Holdings, the mobile media specialist, eased 1/2p to 73p. Its range of virtual image products went live yesterday in 220 Orange mobile phone stores in the UK.

Engineer and plumber Oystertec firmed 1p to 15 3/4p following upbeat institutional presentations.

Enzymes supplier Theratase advanced 3p to 38 1/2p after partner Ista Pharmaceutical received acceptances from the US Food and Drug Administration for a second new drug approval.

Profit-taking following a bullish trading update left Conflict: Desert Storm computer games publisher SCi Entertainment 5p down at 123p. Full-year pre-tax profits will exceed expectations by 20%. Broker KBC Peel Hunt lifted its forecasts for this year and next by 20% and 17% respectively.

London Asia Capital cheapened 2 1/4p to 19 1/4p after it raised £2.3m via a placing of 24m shares at 10p with institutional investors.

Mothercare soared 54p to 278p after first half like-for-like sales rose 6.6%. It said profits would be much better than expected. That was a huge relief after four profit warnings in 18 months.

<&149; >IT hardware company Dataflex buzzed 2 1/4p higher to 15p after agreeing to sell its business to management buyout company Biswell 2014. Following the disposal, the net surplus cash of between £11.2m and £12.8m - or 16.1p to 18.5p a share - will be returned to shareholders by way of a members' voluntary liquidation.