Company News in Brief

Bucknall Group, the project manager, consultant and quantity surveyor for the construction industry, reduced pre-tax losses from pounds 745,000 to pounds 226,000 in the six months to 30 April. Turnover improved from pounds 7.4m to pounds 9m. Loss per share was cut to 2.2p (5.7p). No dividend was declared.

Huntingdon International Holdings, the life sciences and biological safety testing group, has revealed pre-tax profits of pounds 1.2m for the three months to 31 December, compared with pounds 3.7m for the previous comparable quarter. An easing in turnover from pounds 43.6m to pounds 42.5m and a 35 per cent increase in operating costs depressed profits. Earnings per share declined from 2.9p to 1p. No dividend was declared.

First Spanish Investment Trust said that political uncertainty and a stream of economic and corporate announcements highlighted the recessionary environment in Spain, as international investors looked to Europe for recovery. Investors were, however, attracted to Spain by the prospect of significantly lower interest rates. No dividend was declared for the six months to 30 November. Net asset value per share is 80.2p.