Small cap update

Two of the small caps that I have been tipping on this blog, and one I have been keeping half an eye on, have been making some waves in recent weeks and thought I would do something of an update on them quickly.

IPSA
A couple of people I have spoken to this week have been a little cynical on this stock but there was an announcement from them released on SENS which says:

"IPSA PLC (AIM: IPSA), the developer, owner and operator of power generation capacity in Southern Africa, announces that, on 23 June 2010, its NewCogen subsidiary re-started production of electricity under an emergency contract with Eskom. Under the contract the plant will provide electricity to support the South African economy during a period of power shortages which coincides with the FIFA World Cup. While the contract is due to end on 30th June, 2010 Eskom has indicated publicly that it may request an extension at least until the WorldCup Final on 11th July. Meantime NewCogen and Eskom are awaiting formal notification from NERSA, the electricity regulator, that a six year MTPPP power purchase agreement has finally been approved. A further announcement will be made on the MTPPP contract as soon as news is available."

Is it a case of IPSA just trying to get some good PR mileage? Maybe... but the fact of the matter is it literally takes a flick of a switch and the Newcastle plant can be delivering electricity when the country needs it.

It would appear that there has been a shift in thinking and Eskom has adopted the role that independant power producers do have a role to play in the new economy. The share price has not responded particularly positively but I maintain that this could be an interesting small cap to consider.

Interwaste
In April I mentioned that Interwaste was one you should be considering for your portfolio. At that time the share was floating around below 50c. It has gradually been ticking up and is now trading around 70c.

Looking back over the SENS announcements a couple of things caught my eye. Firstly at the end of April one of the directors bought a couple of tranches of the shares which gave me a bit of confidence.

The other thing was the announcement that Funani Mojono had joined the board as an independant non-executive. He seems to be quite well connected within ArcelorMittal and this might well have some spin-offs for the company.

TrustCo
This is a little financial services firm that I have been eyeing for a while. Based in Namibia they have yet to set their Johannesburg listing alight. However earlier this week they announced that they had won their court case with the SABC and were due around R24m from the victory including costs.

It is not a massive sum of money but it certainly provides the company with a way forward.

Might be worth a punt - the liquidity just worries me a bit.