Companies: DATA    FSH    MPG    PYF    TEF    TPH    WGB   

Ahead of the long Easter weekend the AIM Index, which started the week at 1218.2, edged up by five points to 1213.4 in early dealings, whilst the FTSE 100 Index pulled clear of the 6,000 mark, up 3.8 points to 6004.6, clawing back some of the losses of previous sessions. Over the course of the week, AIM followers were kept enthralled by a slew of strong results and upbeat announcements.

Results round-up

Among the highlights were results from DataCash (DATA), the payments service provider chaired by former stockbroker David Bailey. The company managed to beat forecasts with its calendar 2005 figures, with revenues spiking 32 per cent higher to more than £6.1 million on growth in the group’s core ‘cardholder not present’ transaction-processing business, helping to send adjusted pre-tax profit 66 per cent higher to £2.5 million.

Walker Greenbank (WGB), the designer, maker and distributor of mid- and upper-end wallpapers and furnishings, sparked up by 31.5 per cent to 24p, a five-year high, on news of a dramatic turnaround for the year to the end of January. Pre-tax profits came in at £2.62 million, reversing the previous year’s £800,000 loss, and marking the group’s first full-year pre-tax profit since 2000 after five long years of losses.

And restaurant chain FishWorks (FSH) is confident of posting a profit for the full year on the back of new restaurant openings. Although losses of £250,000 were made in the first half to January, on sales up 60 per cent to £2.85 million, analysts expect this to turn around to profits of £250,000 for the year to July, feeding through to earnings of 0.8p a share.

Miscellaneous movers

New entrant Maypole (MPG) danced almost five per cent higher to 2.75p following its introduction to AIM from OFEX on Thursday. Encouragingly, the group, founded in late 2003 as an acquisition vehicle for countryside hotels with restaurants or pubs attached, also announced a move into profit for the year to December.

PolyFuel (PYF) added the best part of nine per cent to 106.5p after the manufacturer of engineered membranes for fuel cells announced a deal to supply blue chip Johnson Matthey with membranes for its catalysts.

And shares in speech recognition and computer telephony venture Telephonetics (TPH) dialled higher on a new contract with Cineworld, worth around £8.2m over six years. Back in February the company, which joined AIM by way of a reversal into shell Leptis Magna last year, rang in strong figures for the year to November, beating analysts’ forecasts with pre-tax profits (before one-off float costs) putting on 75 per cent to £932,000.

And Telford Homes (TEF) gathered up 8.7 per cent to 206.5p on an upbeat trading statement. The house-builder, bossed by chief executive Andrew Wiseman, expects results for the year to March 2006 to be ‘materially in excess’ of forecasts, bucking the weak trend in the sector. Investors can expect the numbers towards the end of May.