IDOX (LON:IDOX) has secured a contract to supply its McLaren Enterprise application software suite and related services to CH2M Hill for US$405,000 in the first year of the deal.

Investors liked the news, sending shares in IDOX up 3.5 percent to 33.75 pence by 10:55 am, valuing the group at £116.7 million.

The suite will initially be deployed within the Energy & Chemical Division to support the vendor document management requirements of one of CH2M's clients.

The McLaren Vendor Document Management module manages the receipt, distribution, review and approval of incoming documentation from suppliers and contractors involved in a major capital project.

“This a another significant win for IDOX's subsidiary McLaren and a demonstration of the strength of our offering for customers involved in managing major capital projects,” said chief executive of IDOX Richard Kellett-Clarke.

“Safety, efficiency and compliance are all underpinned by McLaren Solutions and we look forward to working with CH2M to support their wider business operations in the future.”

The departure of Mike Lynch, the founder of UK technology firm Autonomy, is causing anger among those close to him and the company, it was reported this morning.

Autonomy was acquired by computer and printer maker Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) in August last year for £6.6 billion in the largest acquisition of a European IT company.

Friends of Lynch are reportedly outraged that the technology entrepreneur is leaving and suggest that HP had not given Autonomy enough support after its takeover, leading to its drop in revenue.

Preceding Lynch’s departure, it has been estimated by former employees that up to 25 per cent of Autonomy’s staff had left the firm after the HP takeover.

In HP’s second quarter update yesterday it said Lynch, one of Britain's most successful technology entrepreneurs, would be leaving after Autonomy had not met its expectations.

He is being replaced by Bill Veghte, HP’s chief strategy officer and a former Microsoft executive.

US firm HP, also said it would be making 27,000 job cuts by 2014 as part of restructuring plans. It said the job cuts would be made mainly through early retirement and would generate annual savings of US$3 billion to US$3.5 billion.

Autonomy, which specialises in pattern recognition and software that can search data such as voicemails, was formed by Lynch on the back of work done during his PhD at Cambridge University.

The job cuts, accounting for roughly eight per cent of HP’s workforce were announced as the company reported a third quarter outlook below forecasts.

HP reported net income of US$1.59 billion compared with US$2.3 billion, a year earlier. 

Revenue of US$30.7 billion was down 3 per cent compared with the same period last year.

Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) completed its acquisition of mobile phone maker Motorola Mobility (NYSE: MMI) today after it received approval from the Chinese government.

The technology giant purchased Motorola Mobility for US$12.5 billion and will give Google access to more than 17,000 of the company’s patents.

Google’s chief executive Larry Page confirmed in a blog post that Google’s biggest ever deal had now closed. 

Motorola Mobility had said in a regulatory filing in February that only Chinese clearance was still required.

The Chinese authorities said Google must keep its mobile software, Android, free for other device makers for up to five years.

The acquisition, which was announced last year, had already received approvals in Europe, and the US which had not flagged Android as a problem.

Google also appointed a senior Google executive, Dennis Woodside, as Motorola Mobility's new chief executive.

The Google share price is down 1.5 per cent to 604.8 cents per share.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has kept its place as the world's most valuable brand over the past year, leading a group of technology-focused global firms that dominate the top 10, according to a new study from a market research agency. 

The maker of the iPhone and iPad has boosted its brand value by 19 percent in the past year to $183 billion, or 37 percent of its market capitalisation, according to the annual BrandZ study and market research agency Millward Brown.

Millward Brown takes as its starting point the financial value of the company or the part of the company that produces the brand, and combines it with the brand's ability to create loyalty.

Seven of the top 10 were technology-related firms, although McDonald's (NYSE:MCD) and Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) kept their respective number four and number six rankings.

"Brands are an insurance policy for businesses," said Millward Brown Global CEO Eileen Campbell. 

"Despite a prolonged period of economic stress, political uncertainty and natural disasters that buffeted brands across many categories, the value of the world’s leading brands keeps rising across many categories, sustaining and nurturing businesses."

Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) saw its brand value rise by 74 percent to $33.2 billion to put it in 19th place. The social network was valued at well over $100 billion in its market debut last week.

Business technology brands also featured prominently in the top 10, with IBM (NYSE:IBM) switching places with Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) to rise to second place. Software giant Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) kept its position at number five.

Mobile phone brands AT&T (NYSE:T) came in at number eight and Verizon (NYSE:VZ) was number nine.

Blinkx improved revenue in the year ended March 31 2012 to US$ 114.4 million from US$ 66.1 million, while underlying pre-tax profit increased to US$10.7 million from US$ 8.3 million. 

Chief executive and founder Suranga Chandratillake: “The proliferation of powerful connected devices and high-speed broadband networks has catalysed consumer appetite for web video.” 

During the year the company acquired Burst Media, an online media and technology company and Prime Visibility Media Group, an online and digital advertising agency.

The acquisitions have increased the company’s potential to deliver video content and advertising to over 2,000 new publishers.

The company, which outstripped the growth of the online video advertising market by over 80 per cent,  boosted revenue with new and continued advertising customers such as Microsoft, Kellogg’s and Shell. 

The company also added new brand advertisers such as Disney and IBM during the year.

Chandratillake added that he expects to see continued growth in online advertising over the medium term.

Chandratillake added: “We remain confident in our position in the market and the progress we have made this year, and are excited about the opportunities that lie before us.”

The company said that internet market research company, comScore, reported that in March of this year, 181 million people in the US watched nearly 37 billion videos online. 

The share price was up 4.17 per cent to 44.50 pence at 10.50 this morning.

The chief executive of Globo (LON:GBO) has splashed out £94,000 to top up his stake in the mobile software group to 20.55 per cent.

Costis Papadimitrakopoulos bought half a million shares at an average price of 18.83 pence. He is the group’s largest shareholder.

Globo develops products that bring together software onto mobile phones including the most basic of phones, such as GO!Enterprise Server, CitronGO! and GO!Social.

GO!Enterprise, allows companies to condense many applications on one desktop under a single smartphone icon, allowing employees to access work remotely. 

In March, the company said it wants to launch new products this year around the GO!Enterprise Server such as the GO!Internet Service -  a cloud offering for GO!Enterprise Server messaging.

The share price was up 8.5 per cent to 20.20 pence.

The ProntoForms mobile app does away with paperwork and redundant data entry, allowing field workers in the retail inspection arena, for example, to fill business forms out of the office from all major device platforms such as Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad, RIM's (NASDAQ:RIMM)(TSE:RIM) Blackberry, Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android platform and Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows Mobile platform.

The simple to add app, is meant to improve overall business productivity, and allows users in the field to create forms, generate reports, as well as capture signatures and photos within minutes.

The Windows phone release is an important step for ProntoForms since it will give the app interconnectivity to Microsoft Office File formats and to Microsoft cloud computing and management services, like SharePoint and SkyDrive.

"With the launch of new and innovative mobile devices by Nokia, and with AT&T's use of ProntoForms for businesses and organizations of all sizes, we couldn't be happier to ensure that our mobile forms solution is optimized for Windows Phone users," said TrueContext’s CEO Alvaro Pombo.

"We've been very pleased with the launch so far and see great promise in this platform for strong growth in multiple business segments."

Data on the mobile form is maintained securely in a data-center, and can be turned into emails or PDF reports, instantly accessible with an internet connection or connected to back office systems.

The rapid growth of smartphones and tablet devices in businesses has generated enormous interest in apps that maximize productivity for field workers, TrueContext said.

TrueContext announced a reseller partnership with AT&T in early 2010.

"ProntoForms from AT&T is one of our most popular mobile applications for businesses," said VP of advanced mobility solutions at AT&T, Chris Hill.

"The easy to use, yet highly scalable functionality of the application has been of interest to many different types of companies, from one person in operations using it for construction project cost estimates to large enterprises using it for facility management inspections, merchandising audits and insurance adjustments."

TrueContext  has a proprietary patent portfolio, from which the ProntoForms mobile app and web reporting portal are developed.

ProntoForms integrates quickly and easily with custom or standard back office systems, as well as popular cloud computing services, through the ProntoForms API.

The app hits the sweet spot in terms of what small and medium businesses desire for mobile applications - it is a tool that will help their mobile workforce increase productivity in the field, helping businesses save time and be more effective.

"We're excited about the release of ProntoForms for Windows Phone. This is the result of a collaborative relationship that, ultimately, brings strong value to our business customers,” said Microsoft’s general manager at Windows phone division, Eugene Ho.

"ProntoForms harnesses the power and productivity of Windows Phone, Nokia and AT&T to mobilize business in the field."

Earlier this month, TrueContextannounced a Canadian carrier agreement with Rogers Communications (NYSE:RCI) (TSE:RCI.B), that will see the company broaden its distribution for its ProntoForms app.

Under the deal, Rogers will offer its business customers across Canada the option of being billed by Rogers for TrueContext's suite of mobile form solutions, in addition to Rogers' products and services.

Shares were changing hands at 9.5 cents on Wednesday morning.

Facebook has increased the price range in Silicon Valley's biggest-ever initial public offering to raise more than US$12 billion, giving the social network a valuation potentially exceeding US$100 billion.

The company, founded in Harvard by Mark Zuckerberg, raised the price target range to between US$34 and US$38 per share in response to strong demand, from the prior range of US$28 to US$35.

That would value Facebook at roughly US$93 billion to US$104 billion, rivalling the market capitalization of Amazon.com(NASDAQ:AMZN) and exceeding that of Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:HPQ) and Dell (NASDAQ:DELL).

At the mid-point of US$36, Facebook would raise US$12.1 billion, eclipsing Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) market debut in 2004.

Facebook plans to close the books on its IPO later on Tuesday, two days ahead of schedule, and in a signal that the landmark IPO could be drumming up strong demand. The social network is scheduled to price its shares on Thursday and begin trading on Friday.

The IPO is already "well oversubscribed" which is why the company is closing its books earlier than anticipated.

Facebook plans to sell 337.4 million shares, or 12.3 per cent of the company, outstripping other big Internet IPOs. Google raised just under US$2 billion in 2004 while last year, Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) tapped investors for US$700 million and Zynga (NASDAQ:ZNGA) raked in US$1 billion.

The IPO comes amid concerns from some investors that Facebook hasn't yet been able to monetize the increasing number of users who access the social network on mobile devices such as smartphones.

A host of Wall Street banks are underwriting Facebook's offering, with with Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) serving as leads. Facebook will trade on the Nasdaq under the symbol FB.

Planet Payment’s (LON:PPT) revenues rose by over a fifth in its latest quarter as the number of merchants using its payment and currency processing service grew strongly again.

Locations signed up to the Planet Payment platform rose by 55% to 30,977, which helped drive a 22 per cent increase in net revenue to US11.7 million in the three months to March.

Transaction processing volumes also rose strongly with gross billings up 37% to $30.2 million from US$22 million and gross foreign currency mark-up 40 per cent ahead at $26.1 million over a year earlier.

Gross billing and gross foreign currency includes the amounts due to its bank partners.

At the end of March, Plant had 17.209 (13,503) active customers in its multi-currency processing and 13,782 (6,441) in payments processing.

Philip Beck, Planet Payment’s chairman said: "Our revenue growth reflects the increase in transaction processing volumes primarily driven by increases in active merchant locations. 

Customers have continued to roll out our multi-currency processing solutions as reflected by the 27% increase in active multi-currency merchant locations over last year.  The improvement in our financial results demonstrates the operating leverage inherent in our payment platform and business model."

In the first quarter, Planet agreed a number deals with major banks in Asia including providing processing support for China UnionPay's credit and debit cards in both card present and card-not-present environments directly to banks and acquirers on a worldwide basis. 

The Company is enhancing the iPAY gateway to include support for China UnionPay' new UnionPay Online Payment service, which is expected to launch in the second quarter of 2012. 

Recently, Planet also signed an agreement with MICROS to add support for China UnionPay to the MICROS Payment Gateway. 

It also signed up Citibank, Hong Kong and Macau, Citi, Philippines and Mashreq, UAE for a Pay in Your Currency service in each of those countries. 

The group is in the process of seeking a listing in the US.

Video search engine Blinkx (LON:BLNX) has entered a partnership with AnyClip to secure access to clips from over 12,000 feature films in its vast library.

The www.AnyClip.com website run by AnyClip stores clips from studios like Warner Brothers, Universal Studios, Vivendi Entertainment, First Look and Virgil Films.

AnyClip's tagging technology extracts and indexes over 5,000 individual pieces of metadata from each full-length feature film. This enables users to search for movie content via snippets of dialogue, actors, props, and more in over 12,000 full length feature films.

“We're thrilled to partner with AnyClip to offer our users access to such a wide variety of film clips from their ever-growing database of licensed content,” said chief executive of Blinkx Suranga Chandratillake.

“AnyClip has made films incredibly searchable, so we can hit the highlights and find our favorite moments quickly and easily - we're very pleased to partner with another company that puts such importance on improving entertainment with technology.”

Blinkx currently has indexed more than 35 million hours of video content.

Shares in Blinkx changed hands at 45.25 pence this morning, up 0.5 percent from Tuesday’s close. The AIM quoted group currently has a market cap of £163.6 million.

Henry has spent the past nine years working with multiple start-up and growth businesses, in various investor, advisor and operational roles.

Prior to that, Henry spent six years with e-learning company SmartForce – now known as Skillsoft - where he was credited with building its international business, growing its revenues to nearly US$100 million in five years. He then moved to its Silicon Valley-based headquarters as executive vice president of marketing and business development.

"(Henry) brings a wealth of knowledge and experience, enabling the company to forge ahead with its global growth strategy and will be a great asset to our sales, marketing and business development teams,” said chief executive Andy Hasoon.

"Plus his experience in successfully executing buy and build strategies will be of great value to us over the coming months.”

DLM was called Intellego when it acquired Digital Learning Marketplace in November 2011 but changed its name in January to reflect the new focus.

The Digital Learning Marketplace is being built as a learning platform for companies to access day-to-day and future learning requirements online.

The company has embarked on an aggressive but selective programme of mergers and acquisitions to consolidate what is a very fragmented market.

Late last month, DLM acquired learning firm Accredit and appointed its chief executive and largest shareholder Mark Savinson as chief learning officer, which is a non-board position.

Accredit has supplier relationships with BT (LON:BT.A), Thomson Reuters, Lenovo and Vodafone (LON:VOD).

DLM's chief executive said at that time that the firm was currently negotiating several acquisitions.

Earlier in April, DLM raised more than £100,000 via a placing to fund organic growth and cover acquisition costs.

Joining as at our One2One Forum at the Chesterfield Hotel from 6pm will be Silence Therapeutics (LON:SLN), Gemfields (LON:GEM), Plethora Solutions (LON:PLE) and Digital Learning Marketplace (LON:DLM).

*REGISTER YOUR ATTENDANCE HERE*

It is an eclectic mix from all corners of the small-cap market. 

However, each has a very exciting story to tell – and they are stories you can’t afford to miss.

The recent news from Silence Therapeutics lifted the share price more than 10 per cent on the day as Silence revealed that a renegotiated deal with Pfizer could mean it will potentially receive higher stage payments for its technology.

The company sub-licenses its technology to a mid-cap called Quark and said earlier this week that its share of potential royalties could now reach US$120 million following the licence amendment against a possible US$95 million under the previous terms.

Silence’s expertise is the development and delivery of targeted, systemic RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics for the treatment of serious diseases.

This “gene silencing” is a way of controlling or shutting down some of the 40,000 genes in the human body and copying the body's own method of fighting a virus.

The interesting thing here, and a fact that appears to have escaped the market to date, that this is one of a number of landmark agreements Silence has with Big Pharma.

Sparkling Gemfields is transforming the way coloured stones find their way from the mine to the market and it is doing it in an ethical and, more to the point, very profitable way.

And this is reflected in the company’s share price, which has risen almost 140 per cent in the past year alone.

Its main interest is emeralds, and in particular those mined from its Kagem property in Tanzania. 

However, it also has amethyst and ruby mines within its portfolio of companies plus some sapphire and other coloured gemstone prospects spread across Zambia, Madagascar and Mozambique.  

Under chief executive Ian Harebottle, the cost of production has come down, while the prices achieved for the gemstones have risen strongly.

A keen eye for the way the Kagem product is marketed and auctioned has ensured the price of these stones continues to hold up incredibly well.

The last six months has seen a 77 per cent spike in the value of Plethora Solutions as the drug developer’s story has begun to gain some traction in the market.

The signs are similarly encouraging for PSD502, a potentially breakthrough treatment for premature ejaculation.

Plethora said recently it was delighted by the initial response to its first regulatory submissions as the Rapporteur in Spain and Co-Rapporteur here in the UK received an 88-page briefing package.

The package is a summary of the complete dossier. It was reviewed by the agencies prior to the meetings and the company answered questions on its contents during those meetings.

Dr Mike Wyllie, the company’s chief scientific officer, added: "The pre-submission meeting is the first opportunity regulators have had to review information which will be submitted on PSD502 in the full dossier.  

“We are delighted by the response from the two agencies involved in the review and consider this is as a reflection of the quality of our programme.

"We believe PSD502 will be an effective treatment for this area of great unmet medical need which affects at least one in four sexually active men, and that PSD502 will meet the needs of patients and their partners and quickly establish itself as the market leader."

Plethora is on track to file the full dossier at some point in the first half, and the European regulatory approval process generally takes between a year and 18 months.

In the meantime, the group is expected to turn its attention to finding a partner to sell the PSD502 when it receives the green light.

The City broker Daniel Stewart used the recent update on the approval process to hike its valuation of Plethora to 15.7 pence, which suggests plenty of upside on the current price of 5.6 pence.

Last, but certainly not least, is an exciting story from the world of education – though this is not education in the classroom setting. 

Digital Learning Marketplace will deliver innovative and engaging methods of learning, such as serious games, which are proven to improve learning outcomes exponentially.

These serious games are at the cutting edge of education and appeal to the PlayStation and X-Box generation by replicating the experience.

Their interactivity helps students assimilate more information, more quickly, and transfer knowledge by ‘doing’ it. 

And the beauty of these serious games is they can be run on computers in the workplace, or on mobile devices.

“By allowing people to actively participate in this way, it bumps recall and retention rates from around 10 per cent (using traditional learning methods) to 60-70 per cent,” chief executive Andy Hasoon revealed in a recent interview with Proactive Investors. 

And of course this Digital Learning Marketplace will utilise all the modern methods of communication such as smartphones and the ubiquitous tablet PCs, which traditional e-learning appears to have overlooked.

DLM has teamed up with some big hitters in the education space such as FTSE 100 listed Pearson, one of the world’s biggest educational publishers, and the prestigious Ashridge Business School in putting together the Digital Learning Marketplace.

Boss Hasoon burnished his credentials as the creator and driving force behind the 50 Lessons video database, which was sold to Skillsoft, the market leader in e-learning courseware.

In Hasoon’s own words, DLM is his attempt to build something “even bigger and more robust” than his previous enterprise.

It also represents an opportunity to consolidate a fragmented but potentially major new marketplace.

Computer-based e-learning has shown that technology can be harnessed to bring the classroom into the workplace.

And while it has created a market worth £472 million, this is barely a drop in the ocean compared with the £19.4 billion spent annually on training by the employers here in the UK.

“The Digital Learning Marketplace will be a one stop shop, it will be the Amazon for learning,” Hasoon said.

“It is being built with technology licensed to us from Pearson. Pearson is big in education, but it is mainly in primary and secondary (school) education which is 93 per cent of their revenues. 

“So Pearson realise they are missing a trick and they need innovation partners to help them get a bigger share of this £19 billion UK market for corporate training and a slug of the massive global market, through these initiatives we are helping them achieve this goal."

Under the deal, Rogers will offer its business customers across Canada the option of being billed by Rogers for TrueContext's suite of mobile form solutions, in addition to Rogers' products and services.

TrueContext, which in early 2010 announced its reseller partnership with AT&T (NYSE:T), invented the ProntoForms business application.

The app does away with paperwork and redundant data entry, allowing field workers in the retail inspection arena, for example, to fill business forms out of the office from all major device platforms such as Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad, RIM's (NASDAQ:RIMM)(TSE:RIM) Blackberry, Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android platform and Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows Mobile platform.

The service is simple to add, and is meant to improve overall business productivity. The app allows users in the field to create forms, generate reports, as well as capture signatures and photos within minutes.

Data on the mobile form is maintained securely in a data-center, and can be turned into emails or PDF reports, instantly accessible with an internet connection or connected to back office systems.

The rapid growth of smartphones and tablet devices in businesses across Canada has generated enormous interest in apps that maximize productivity for field workers, TrueContext said.

"Rogers has always embraced innovation and played leadership role in mobile business solutions - and we're very pleased be working with them," said founder and CEO, Alvaro Pombo.

"Our product has already positively impacted thousands of field users across the United States and we're expecting a very speedy and positive response from Canadian businesses looking to improve their productivity."

Indeed, the app hits the sweet spot in terms of what small and medium businesses desire for mobile applications - it is a tool that will help their mobile workforce increase productivity in the field, helping businesses save time and be more effective.

Subscribers can also download templates and customize forms as they wish through the TrueContext website.

Ottawa-based TrueContext, formed in 2001, has a proprietary patent portfolio, from which ProntoForms' mobile app and web-reporting portal were developed.

The company is a member of the Rogers Data Alliance, an affiliation of technology companies that develop, integrate or enable business-focused, wireless data solutions for a range of vertical markets and business customer segments.

In a statement prepared for today’s AGM, the group said the sales pipeline for StatPro Revolution continues to build and it now has 80 clients for the product. 

It is also making good progress with custodian banks and fund administrators, who it believes will provide an important gateway for future prospects.

StatPro provides portfolio analysis and asset pricing services for the global asset management industry.  

Sales of StatPro Seven have remained strong during the quarter. While the company has switched its sales focus to StatPro Revolution, it maintained a similar overall level of new sales for StatPro Seven compared to the comparative quarter in 2011. 

Renewal rates remain high and are currently projected to be around 90 per cent or better for the full year.

StatPro opened its Hong Kong office in September 2011 and has had an “excellent first quarter” in the Asia/Pacific region with several new sales and a growing prospect list.

The reorientation of the business announced in our January 2012 - to focus on its cloud-based Revolution analytics package - is now completed.

It is progressing well with its development plans for StatPro Revolution Plus, the cloud-based replacement for StatPro Seven, and it expects the first modules to be launched in 2013.

Chairman Carl Bacon said: “StatPro has made the strategic decision to switch to cloud services because of the tremendous growth potential available with this new technology. As a result of our large client base and high levels of recurring revenue, we are able to maintain a significant level of investment in new products while generating good margin and paying down debt.

“The board remains confident of a successful outcome for the year.”

Healthcare and business software group Advanced Computer Software (LON:ASW) is beefing up its cloud computing and managed services operations with the acquisition of Fabric Technologies for £4.6 million cash. 

Fabric has about 160 UK mid-market customers in banking and other professional services sectors and offers outsourced managed services and implementation and communications services.

ACS said the deal would be immediately earnings enhancing as Fabric has strong recurring revenues, while it would also strengthen its managed services division and gives cross-selling opportunities. 

Fabric, which has 95 employees, generated sales of £11.2m in 2010 and made £0.5 million profits. It will be integrated in ACS’s cloud-computing Advanced 365 Managed Services division based in London. The consideration includes £0.4 million depending on its performance.

Vin Murria, ACS’s chief executive, said: "This earnings-enhancing acquisition forms part of the group's strategy to identify and acquire high quality complementary businesses to strengthen its 365 Managed Services division. 

Fabric's market-leading offerings will help drive further cross-selling of managed services into the group's 7,000 strong customer base.” 

ACS has three divisions: Advanced Health & Care, which services the NHS and private healthcare sector; Advance Business Solutions and Advanced 365, which supplies managed services.

Murria added the company is looking for further acquisitions in the Health & Care and Business Solutions divisions.

Underlying earnings were US$1 million and operating profits US$0.2 million in the six months to March. That compared respectively to losses of US$0.4 million and US$0.9 million in the first half when DVD sales collapsed.

ZOO supplies cloud-based software to edit and add to films, TV programmes and other audio/visual and print content. The major Hollywood studios are among its largest customers.

As a result of the better second half, the creative media group now expects to report full year underlying earnings of US$0.6 million (2011: US$2.5 million) and an operating loss of US$0.8 million (2011: operating profit of US$1.5 million). 

Overall, ZOO said trading was as it expected in its second half. Sales for the year will be about US$11.2 million (2011: US$13.8 million), which includes an increase in the number of titles prepared using ZOO's Blu-ray and eBook platforms.

Measures to cut costs and an increase in the proportion of sales derived from ZOO's more advanced toolkits helped profits, Zoo added.

Stuart Green, chief executive, said: "We are pleased to report a stronger second half of the financial year. 2011 was a very difficult year for the home entertainment industry due to the significant changes that have taken place in consumer markets. 

The innovation and diversification within our business has helped ZOO to broaden its offering into complementary markets and we believe that the business is in a strong position to take advantage of growth in a number of areas."

The company had a gross cash balance of US$1.2 million at end March.

Dillistone (LON:DSG) expects to make further progress this year following an “excellent” performance in 2011, which saw its revenues and earnings rise by more than 20 percent.

The software group said revenues jumped 28 percent to £5.4 million last year with recurring revenues rising 28 percent to a record £3.2 million. Earnings per share before exceptional items were up 22 percent at 6.26 pence.

Dillistone expanded its business in 2011 by acquiring recruitment software firm Voyager Software, whose results were included from 21 September.

Meanwhile, the group’s main trading business Dillistone Systems launched its FileFinder 10 application in March. Dillistone said the product has been very well received in the market and is currently being used by more than 130 companies.

“2011 has been an excellent year for Dillistone,” said non-executive chairman Mike Love.

“The group has delivered a strong set of results, completed its first acquisition and launched its next generation executive search software.”

According to Edison Investment Research, the company’s current valuation is “undemanding given the company’s robust cash generation, high level of recurring revenues and growth potential”.

Edison analyst Richard Jeans expects the company’s cash flow to stay at £0.9 million this year and increase to £1.3 million in 2013.

Shares in Dillistone rose three percent to 73.5 pence in early trade, valuing the group at £13.35 million.