Hot small caps: Tepnel up on positive H1 results

LONDON (Reuters) - The following is a round-up of key small cap movers on the London stock market on Thursday.

14:05 BST - Tepnel up on positive H1 results and outlook

Shares in Tepnel Life Sciences TED.L rise 8 percent after the AIM-listed molecular diagnostics and research group unveils a 34 percent increase in half year profit and sales and says the full-year outlook is positive.

"We believe revenue growth of at least 20 percent per annum will continue, and, as such, profitability will further improve," says Seymour Pierce analyst Zhining Xu, who reiterates a "buy" recommendation on the stock.

12:00 BST - ITM slumps as losses widen and costs rise

Shares in ITM Power (ITM.L) dip 7.8 percent to 46.5 pence after the clean energy company says annual losses widen, costs will increase and tests on hydrogen diesel engines reveal no useful fuel savings.

"The news regarding the hydrogen diesel co-combustion application is disappointing...the company believes its operating costs in FY09 will increase due to an increase in employees hired during 2008 and an increase in engineering development work," says Ambrian analyst Gurpreet Gujral in a note.

11:49 BST - Avocet plunges on Q1 production fall

Shares in Avocet Mining (AVM.L) plunge 18.3 percent to 116 pence as the gold miner reports a 28 percent fall in production in the first quarter and says it was hit by a significant increase in the price of consumables.