YP75: Market ends year on a high despite bad news from US

While the London market posted a 1.4 per cent rise last week, gains were tempered by disappointing US employment figures on Friday.

Marshalls, which provides landscaping products to public and commercial markets, reported a 4 per cent increase in revenues for the year ended December 31 2010.

Sales to the public sector and commercial markets rose by 6 per cent while sales to the domestic end market rose by 1 per cent, although the heavy snowfall in December impacted estimated operating profits by around 800,000.

Looking forward, the company believes that core markets have stabilised and recent marketing initiatives are stated to be yielding positive results.

The board of Leeds-based Northern Foods continues to recommend the proposed merger with Greencore Group as it welcomed the January 21 deadline for Boparan Holdings to make an offer for the group.

Northern Foods, perhaps better known for its brands, Goodfella's Pizza and Fox's Biscuits, opened its books to privately owned Boparan in December, but the company has yet to receive a formal offer.

Northern Foods continues to believe that the proposed merger with Greencore, which will form Essenta Foods, offers substantial benefits for employees, customers and shareholders alike.

Avacta Group, a provider of high-value technologies to the pharmaceutical and diagnostics markets, announced its first US sale and installation of its Optim biophysical analysis technology.

Optim is priced at around 100,000 per instrument and is used to accelerate and reduce the cost of drug developments through early stage analysis of compounds.

While the customer did not wish to be named, Avacta's chief executive, Alastair Smith, confirmed that the sale was to one of the top ten global pharmaceutical groups.

Mr Smith also stated that Avacta hopes to appoint a US distributor in the near future which should impact positively on sales in 2011.

Finally, there was positive news for Inditherm as the UK's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) provisionally supported the use of the company's warming mattress by the NHS.

The mattress seeks to reduce hypothermia risk in patients, a common complication of surgery, and is forecast to save every NHS operating theatre nearly 10,000 each year.

A final recommendation is expected in March.

David Cadwallader, Investment Manager, Brewin Dolphin