LONDON (ShareCast) - Alkane, which captures methane gas from disused coal mines and uses it to produce electricity, lifted underlying interim profit by 60% to £1.34m. The group, which ended bid talks last week after failing to agree on a price, posted pre-tax profits of £1.03m, down from £1.18m after one-offs. Cash at the year-end rose to £1.75m from £778,000.

"The prospects for 2008 and for the medium term are encouraging, as electricity prices remain high and some of our new plants are already signed up on contracts at prices substantially above those for last year," it added.

Software firm Stilo rose after it posted full year pre-tax profits for the first time from its continuing operations, despite the weak dollar hampering results.

For the 12 months to December, pre-tax profit came in at £94,000 compared with the restated loss of £144,000 in 2006. Sales increased 8% to £2.4m.

"With a strong opening order book for professional services in North America, the impending launch of a new, jointly developed solution for the Aviation industry, and the release of mniMark v9 later in 2008, we look forward to the future with confidence," it said.

China-based healthcare group Hutchison China MediTech said it improved underlying performance in all its divisions last year.

Sales rose 29% to $65.1m but pre-tax losses increased to $10m from $5.7m in 2006 mainly due to the increase in admin expenses. The group did not recommend a dividend for the year.

“With a strong cash position and continued growth opportunities for each of our divisions, we view 2008 with considerable confidence,” said the group.

Miner Cambridge Mineral Resources has raised £400,000, gross through a placing of 20m new ordinary shares at 2p each with Allianz Equity Investments.

The funds will be used for general business development including the initial capital requirement for the advancement of the company's silver mine in Peru towards commencement of production.

Smart metering and energy data services firm Bglobal rose after it won a contract worth £3m to deliver meter and services to Opus Energy.

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