Shares digital

The number of floats in the first quarter of the year was down by 50% compared with 2007, with just 21 companies joining the main market or Aim since the beginning of the year. The credit crunch and subsequent turmoil has meant raising funds and getting companies to market is certainly harder than it was this time last year, but how have those who actually made it faired so far?

The best performer, in terms of share price has been engineering contractor Kentz Corporation (KENZ:AIM), which has enjoyed a 26% rise to 145.5p since listing back in February. The company is operating in a buoyant area, providing services to the energy and mining industries where prices have been soaring. It recently reported a 37% increase in pre-tax profits to $34.3 million and says it had a record order backlog at the end of January at $682 million.

Another company which has faired well is Portland Gas (PTG:AIM) where shares are up a reasonable 6% to 285p since the January float following the demerger from Egdon Resources (EDR:AIM). Focused on gas storage it is working to develop a large £500 million facility in a salt cavern underneath the Isle of Portland in Dorset. Having secured borough council approval for the project management it said, alongside its recent results, that permission from the county council is imminent. At the same time Portland underlined progress on a similar project in Northern Ireland.

In a completely different sector Livestock products group Animalcare (ANCR:AIM) has managed to buck the depressed market trend with shares up 5% on the January float price to 57.5p. The company’s recent results, however, give little away as they pre-date the acquisition of main Animalcare business from from Genus (GNS), which transformed the group . The bulk of profits will now come from the companion animal market rather than from livestock farmers, which is expected to generate significant growth over the next two to three years, leading house broker Brewin Dolphin to set a target price of 76p.

Of course it hasn’t all been good news and when things have gone wrong, they have gone really wrong, with the worst performer, Turftrax (TTX:AIM), losing more than half of its value in a disastrous debut. The company, which distributes data to the horse racing, betting and media industries, said it did not know of any reasons for the share price plummet but has since issued 250,000 new shares at 40p each to technology group Sagentia in return for intellectual property and core tracking patents.

Shares says: The IPO market is tougher now than it has been for several years. Those that do make it ought to be the cream of the crop, and while this can’t be taken for granted it is worth noting that new issues in the first quarter, with an average drop of 1.4% have easily outperformed the FTSE 100 index which is down more than 11% over the same period.