Smaller companies report: Friday close

SMALL caps closed higher on the back of a raft of positive trading updates.

At the close of trade, the FTSE Small Cap index was up 6.8 points at 2,870.4 - close to daily highs.

Greenfield Construction was one of the best performing small caps, adding 2.62p to 14.37p on the back of an Investors Chronicle 'buy' recommendation.

Greenfield trades on just seven times current year earnings, falling to six times in 2006. This, says the IC, is a significant discount to the construction services sector, and offers considerable scope for a re-rating.

Innovision Research & Technology saw its shares take on 13p at 115½p after announcing plans to raise £5m through a placing of 5.8m new shares at 90p each with institutional investors.

The money will be used to finance opportunities arising in its core radio frequency identification market.

A positive pipeline update provided the impetus to gains in Medical Marketing shares, 9p higher at 81p.

The Cambridge-based pharmaceutical development company today announced that lead ruthenium compounds within its portfolio of cancer therapies show toxicity at an even safer level than the safest cancer drug currently available.

Shares in Incat were up 5p at 157½p after a positive AGM statement. Investec noted performance is in line with expectations and demand for services work has strengthened.

Investec said it has left its forecasts unchanged, with the broker forecasting year to end-August 2005 revenue of £71m, pre-tax profit of £4m and EPS of 10p.

Among the losers, shares in Independent Media Support slid 8p to 42½p in the wake of a profits warning today.

IMS placed the blame on broadcasters, who, it said, have been slower to implement the Ofcom Code on the provision of media access services than the board anticipated. Taken with revenue shortfalls in other areas of the business, revenues for 2004 will be about £1m below market expectations.

Mondas shares shed 4p at 21½p after the banking and education software provider saw its pre-tax loss widen in the first half to end-October 2004 after one-off exceptionals.