Capita Share News (CPI)

Mon, 14th Jul 2008 06:29

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - The following is a compilation of UK smaller company results due out in the two weeks to July 25.

TUESDAY JULY 15

May's positive pre-close update from Trikona Trinity Capital Plc., a fund created for investing in Indian real estate and infrastructure, highlighted TRC's outperformance versus the peer group, according to Colette Ord of Numis Securities.

Since listing, Trikona TC has successfully invested more than 196 million pounds in 12 high-profile projects, demonstrating an uplift in net asset value of 82 percent on invested capital as at the half-way mark of end-Sep 2007.

Key developments since that date include Blackstone investing in Pipavav Shipyard, development project 8, at a valuation of INR 80 per share against the company's investment at INR 25 per share in Jan 2007.

In December 2007, Trikona TC closed the sale of a select portion of Trikona TC's investment portfolio to SachsenFonds for 32.11 million pounds, representing a gain of 108 percent over a holding period ranging from 9 to 14 months.

In January 2008, the company's Uppal IT Park 'Tech Oasis' received Special Economic Zone status, throwing up an estimated cost saving of over 70 million pounds in income tax and a further 15 million pounds in construction costs over the next ten years.

And in April 2008, SachsenFonds extended its strategic partnership with Trikona TC and signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a transaction value worth around 80 million pounds to acquire certain assets and co-invest in new projects.

FRIDAY JULY 18

Results from software and solutions company Anite Plc. are expected to focus on the immediate outlook and cost management in the Wireless division following the May profit warning. And Jonathan Imlah of Altium Securities is hopeful of an update on the long-promised disposal of the Public Sector division.

The analyst recently took a further 8 percent off his FY 2009 pretax forecasts and 13 percent off 2010's -- this on top of the 15 percent and 22 percent he chopped from his estimates at the end of May.

The downgrades, taking Imlah below consensus, factored in a tighter spending environment in telecoms for some considerable time to come, as well as an impact on travel-related revenue and profits.

The analyst now predicts year to April 2008 group pretax profits of 21.8 million pounds, down from the previous year's 27.9 million pounds, for EPS of 3.5 pence against 4.8. The payout is expected to nudge up to a penny from 0.8 of a penny, nevertheless.

With Northgate and Civica both recently acquired by private equity players, it would appear that the pace of consolidation in this space is accelerating, according to Cazenove. Both Capita and Serco had in the past mentioned an interest in making capability/IPR acquisitions, and consequently Cazenove believes Serco could still be an interested party in Anite's business.

MONDAY JULY 21

Analaysts expect another first-rate performance at the half-way mark from Domino's Pizza UK & IRL plc, the pizza delivery company, with like-for-like sales likely to be double-digit alongside around 25 new openings.

LFL sales have already accelerated from +11.0 percent (first six weeks) to +13.3 percent (first 16 weeks), driven by successful product launches, industry leading service levels and extensive marketing policies combined with value for money products.

Ben O'Toole of Dresdner Kleinwort expects Domino's to maintain these qualities in H208, making his FY08 LFL forecast of 8 percent a low hurdle -- notwithstanding tough 07 comparisons and the weakening consumer outlook.

Furthermore, with input costs largely fixed, the effect of operational gearing will potentially lead to margin expectations being exceeded, a trend that should also persist into H208, the analyst believes.

He predicts pretax profits of 10.4 million pounds, up from 8.2 million pounds, for the six months to June 2008, with an EPS of 4.51 pence against 3.76.

WEDNESDAY JULY 23

Current trading at Thomson Intermedia Plc., a provider of media intelligence, is encouraging and the board continues to be cautiously optimistic about the future group prospects.

Full-year results are expected to be in line with management expectations, after a good performance in the second half.

The group has strengthened its position as the UK's leading provider of 'must-have' insights to the marketing and media industries. In April, it announced a substantial re-launch of its products, with the addition of eight sector-specific platforms for Billetts Media Monitoring.

As part of its strategy, the group successfully integrated all business units into new office space in Tower Hill, following the completion of its move in April.

Martin Lister of Edison Investment Research sets his sights on year to April 2008 pretax profits of 1.85 million pounds, slightly down on the previous year's 1.985 million pounds, for EPS of 4.5 pence against 5.0. No dividend (same) is anticipated.

Touchstone Group Plc., the AIM-quoted provider of business software solutions and consultancy services, has warned its year to March 2008 numbers will fall short of market expectations. Pretax is now expected to emerge in the region of 2.1 million pounds, down from the previous year's 2.81 million pounds.

Following a review undertaken as a result of the on-going audit, the board decided to take a more prudent view of certain outstanding debts and provisions. The shortfall, in part, reflects the impact of certain start-up and ongoing costs on a number of projects and initiatives which the board believes will deliver revenues in future periods.

Meanwhile, in recent weeks the group has secured a number of significant projects for blue chip clients with a value of more than 1.7 million pounds which will contribute to both revenues and profits in the current year.

The board is suitably cautious in the light of emerging macro-economic factors, but the group has had a positive start to the current year which is broadly in-line with management expectations.

Year to April 2008 pretax profits from Zetar Plc., the AIM listed confectionery and snack foods group, are expected to come in lower, with Altium's David O'Brien forecasting 6.00 million pounds against 6.6 million pounds. This implies EPS of 34.0 pence against 41.5, but no dividend (same) is thought likely.

O'Brien recently came away from site visit to the company encouraged that the business is moving in the right direction and is generally well invested.

tf.TFN-Europe_newsdesk@thomson.com

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