Companies: AZH    FDP    SPH   

ValiRx set for AIM reverse

Biopharmaceutical development play ValiRx is joining AIM via a reversal into shell outfit Azure Holdings. The company’s products currently in development include GeneICE, which has been developed to treat leukaemia, breast, prostate and other cancer and has already shown promising results. Dealings in the £11 million-valued group, to be headed by chief executive Dr Satu Vainikka, are scheduled for early October.

Also on its way, with its eyes on a £10 million fundraising, is Israeli flight-simulation software developer SimiGon. Chief executive Avi Vizer is said to have thought up the idea for the company during his time in the Israeli air force, when he realised that it was taking pilots too long to train. The group’s software allows training pilots to learn how to fly military and civil aircraft on their home computer, meaning fewer hours of official training.

The company has built up a customer base of blue-chip clients from the aviation industry and made profits of £450,000 on £2.5 million sales last year. Should the funding proceed as planned, investors can expect a debut market price tag north of £40 million.

Petroneft approaches junior market

Petroneft Resources, the Irish oil and gas outfit focused on Siberia, should gush onto AIM tomorrow. The group's main asset is a 100 per cent interest in an exploration and production licence in the Tomsk Region of Western Siberia.

Licence 61 covers an area of 4,991 square kilometres in the eastern section of the West Siberian Oil & Gas Basin, one of the most prolific areas in Russia. The company says its existing ‘proved and probable reserves’ could be around 33.5 million barrels of oil. Davy is broker and adviser to the float.

And on Friday watch out for first dealings in China Hydroelectric Corporation, which should debut on AIM after a $104 million Seymour Pierce-advised placing. This clean shell is looking to develop greenfield projects and generate hydroelectric power in the Peoples’ Republic.

Forthcoming financials

Another busy week of results is underway, with shares in First Derivatives edging up by four per cent to 131.5p ahead of keenly awaited interim figures out tomorrow. The company, which provides the investment banking market with a slew of ‘e-business applications’, boasts most of the world’s top-tier banks as clients and has a good track record of meeting and beating forecasts.

House broker Corporate Synergy predicts pre-tax profits of £2.2 million from a top-line £8 million for the full year and the half-time figures should provide an interesting indicator on progress so far.

Also announcing results tomorrow is pharmaceutical concern Sinclair Pharma, which focuses on dermatology, oral health and ophthalmology. On the strength of sales of key products such as Aloclair for mouth ulcers, Atopiclair for eczema and Decapinol for gum disease, analysts expect a 66 per cent rise in full year turnover to £11.6 million, with losses set to come in at around £3.5 million. Profits could be on the cards for 2007.