AIM news

Recent revitalisation of the London markets has had a positive effect on the AIM indices, all healthily up from their trailing six-month lows. The AIM All-Share at 536 points is up 43 per cent from its six-month nadir of 374, with the AIM 100 at 2,434 up 39 per cent from its low of 1,746, and the AIM UK 50 at 2,243 up 34 per cent from a trough of 1,670 points.

One of July’s notable trends was the issuance of numerous trading updates detailing the effects of the recession on AIM businesses, some received poorly, others positively.

Heating solutions specialist Inditherm cooled off by 11 per cent to 8.25p, after warning of a 30 per cent sales slide in the half to June, with recession affecting decision-making in its industrial sector and slowing growth rates in medical markets.

The Mission Marketing Group warned that pricing pressure and restructuring had impacted first-half profits to June and conceded that it ‘does not forsee a return to significant growth’ in client spend until 2010.

The picture was more encouraging at Chinese digital video surveillance specialist BlueStar SecuTech, which put on 0.25p at 28.25p on a well-received AGM update. The company, which made a net profit of RMB 20 million (£1.8 million) on RMB 157 million sales in the year to March, has started the current financial year well, winning a number of new contracts despite the gloomy economic outlook.