Member Info for Bonz1957

Not been a good year here either. Both of us have lost our Mums, our BFF has lost her Dad, we've lost two close neighbours and I lost an Aunt and Uncle two weeks ago. My funeral suit has had far too much use recently so I'll not be sorry to see the back of 2016. From your comment it would probably be better not say who my son is working for, but looking forward to being at the Rangers v Celtic game on the 31st - it'll be interesting to see how it compares to local derbies down here!! If I'm still in one piece after the game will have to find somewhere nice to see the New Year in before we drive back to Devon on the 2nd or 3rd - depends how much single malt I drink.....hic. I don't do buses and will give up traveling the day I can no longer drive, though Mrs B has kept a London address so has the use of a free Oyster card when we visit. Will I last another 7 years to collect my state pension? Who knows, but with the change in the pension rules we've left our personal ones in a SIPP to pass on to the kids outside of IHT, so this Sky money will come in very useful. ATB.

Without wishing to state the obvious Matt, you would need to check the terms of your scheme as they are all different. As you only currently have options, and no physical shares, then I would guess that they would not be subject to the offer. However, if you stay as an employee in the larger group then your options may be transferred to another scheme. Unlikely anyone will have definitive answers for you at the moment as nothing has yet been set in stone, you may have to wait for the offer document to be published to find out where you stand. ATB

Why would they be suspended Newbie? As is the case with every takeover they will remain listed and trade-able until the offer becomes unconditional. If and when an offer is actually made all of the relevant dates will be listed in the prospectus. Even if you don't accept the offer initially it will remain open for a period after the deal is done on the same terms. ATB

Hello Queenie, long time and all that humbug.....how the devil are you? Not near the top or even close to where it was last summer but, as you say, has built nicely over the years reinvesting the divs into new shares. Now very very close to the big 3-score-years so this will save me having to decide which of my babies to cull to pay the bills for the next few months and to keep Mrs B in handbags and body lotion for a while. Hope you're expecting some snow soon as we're spending 10 days over Christmas in Glasgow this year as No 1 Son is now working up there. ATB

Hate to say I told you so but........ Unlikely to recover prior to the merger of the Eclipse and Apollo VCT's into one company, with the last day for dealing in these being Dec 16th. ATB.

Just be wary of the sp drop when the div is paid, as these VCT's don't behave like normal shares. Take a look at the 5yr chart, precious little upside as divs are a way of returning cash to holders from the fund in a tax efficient way. The main beneficiaries are those that bought at launch and were able to claim back the then 40% tax relief. ATB

A Special Dividend of 8p per share is due to be paid on 2nd Dec to shareholders on the register on 18th Nov. This is due to the significant amount of cash received when the company exited its holding in Tristar back in June. ATB.

Partly down to looking for companies with a large element of foreign earnings which, with the pound being low, will boost profits. Plus BP's div is declared in dollars which should see the yield rise. ATB.

I've always loved round numbers.....and not just the financial ones! ATB.

Get in! ATB

Those 500,000 shares that were purchased and added to their Treasury stock should just about cover the Scrip div they will have to pay me in Aug lol!! Ok, enough to cover me, Gerry and a couple of others maybe. All part of their share buy-back scheme, nothing to get exited about. ATB.

Guessing Mulder's crystal ball could do with a clean!!! Don't think 300p is coming any time soon. ATB

110p paid out and still the sp rises.....if only every share was this good. ATB.

Hi Gerry, we meet again on yet another different board. I did think that was the case but just wanted to check in case I had missed anything obvious. As you probably remember I do love a good scrip and always take them if they are offered. Usually they just get absorbed into the pot and the only way to keep track of them is to monitor how the holding has grown with time. So it'll be quite interesting to see how all of the 'A's, and the 'A's that they generate from their own scrip, mount up over say 5-10 years compared to BG's cash divi's which just ended up getting spent. ATB.

As a newcomer here due to the t/o of BG is it normal for the 'B' share Scrip div to be issued as 'A' shares, or did I tick the wrong box? I opted to hold my shares in the RDS Nominee Service and ticked the boxes for the Scrip programme. Would I also be correct in thinking that for the next div I will receive 'A' shares for both the 'A' and 'B' shares I hold? Presumably the only way around this would be to take my 'B' divs as cash and reinvest in 'B' shares myself, but this may not be cost effective once dealing charges are taken into account. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. ATB.

Couldn't agree more Mike. Currently a return of 110p in each of the next 6 calendar years - starting 1/4/16 - which, at the current sp, equates to a 5.3% return. ATB.

Yes. The default amount was 383p for every BG share held, and you will receive more or less than that amount if you opted for cash or shares under the mix and match facility. According to the shareholder guide of 22/12 and the latest information on the BG website, settlement is expected within 14 days of 15/2 which is today. So expect postie to deliver a cheque if you held in certificated form, or as soon as your broker can work out your share of the cash they will have received for their nominee holding.

Benroon, the answer to your question depends on how much you can earn on your £20k elsewhere. Even if you don't have any DD's on the account to earn cashback you would still earn £20,000 x 3% = £600, less 12 x £5 fees = £60, to give interest of £540 for a true return of 2.7% - depending on your tax situation. From April 6th you will (as a basic rate taxpayer) have a PSA (personal savings allowance) and be able to earn £1,000 of interest without having to pay any tax at all. We have 3 of these accounts and earn approx. £9 a month in cashback so three sets of fees only cost £6 a month. So the rate we receive is £60,000 x 3% = £1,800, less 12 x £6 fees = £72, to give interest of £1,728 for a true return of 2.88%. If you can better that return on an instant access account I would love to know where you do it. ATB.

Rik De Vos, Chief Executive Officer, commented: "We are pleased with our progress in the first half and the improved profitability following the launch of our strategic transformation plan. The commitment and focus of the McBride team on the execution and delivery of our objectives is very encouraging and a critical aspect for future success. The ongoing actions of our "Repair" phase, which in part will result in lower second half revenues, are nevertheless expected to provide further progress in profitability. As a consequence, the Board is now expecting full year results to be modestly ahead of its previous expectations."

Revenue increased by 0.4% on a constant currency basis. On a reported basis, revenues were 5.6% lower due to the impact of a weaker Euro on translated results. Group adjusted operating profit increased 57.1% on a constant currency basis (40.8% as reported). UK restructuring project on track to deliver annualised savings of £12.0 million by 30 June 2016. Adjusted profit before income tax up by 56.3% to £13.6 million (2014: £8.7m). Interim payment to shareholders of 1.2 pence, in line with new policy outlined in September 2015.