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In the meantime the pressure is on the new Daytona imaging device to deliver the profits. Unfortunately, installations of the Daytona machine, which is a much smaller and more practical than its predecessor, have been running behind schedule. The company has installed about 400 Daytonas so far this year, with about 220 sold outright, but that is still well off the 1,000-1,200 installations is targeting this year to deal with the decline in operating income from its older P200 machine estate. If it doesn't hit the target - itself well down from previous forecasts of 1,500 machines - then further downgrades are inevitable. Software issues, which have now been resolved but hampered initial sales of Daytona, means there is significant ground to make up. Meanwhile the price tag of the company's more expensive 200Tx devices is proving off-putting at a time when capital is tight with broker Numis calculating that lower sales of the product accounted for half the $10m revenue shortfall to its first-half predictions. The performance of Optos' recent acquisitions since is also a matter of concern. While Optos should soon benefit from new product launches following its $17.5m purchase of Opko Health in 2011, results so far have been disappointing. And whether Optos can boost its position through further acquisitions is a moot point as the balance sheet is looking rather stretched - net debt rose by $7.6m in the 12 months to the end of March to $55.8m.

Medical devices companies are often favoured over pharmaceutical companies by investors because they perceived to carry less risk during the initial development phases. For examples, devices require a shorter testing period and can consequently make it faster to market. However, devices companies can be difficult to manage as the situation at retinal imaging company Optos (OPTS) proves. Optos is about three years into a turnaround plan, but the company's poor recent results bring into question how much progress has actually been made. Add in high operational gearing that makes profits highly vulnerable to small changes in top-line revenue, plus a business structure that has a reputation for being difficult to manage, and it isn't hard to understand why investors have been exiting in growing numbers. The interim results showed how the company's natural operational gearing allowed a 15 per cent fall in revenues to $73m (£47.72m) to turn a $6.8m operating profit into a $600,000 loss for the half, despite ongoing cost cutting. Part of the problem for Optos is that it going through the process of trying to persuade customers who 'rented' retina scanning machines with an operating lease to either buy them outright, or shift over to a finance lease. The advantage to the company of a finance lease is that Optos carries less risk while outright sales mean Optos can book all its income in one go, which helps to boost the financial results. That effort is taking time, there are 621 operating leases remaining.

A recovery this good in an income-paying giant such as Deutsche Post DHL hasn't gone unnoticed - the shares have almost doubled in the past 18 months. But current year forecast PE ratio of 14 times is still well behind sector peer UPS on around 17 times earnings. And we think unfairly so given its outperformance on DHL growth rates and pricing resilience. With five months of the current year already in the bag and management confirming everything is on track, it isn't such a leap to achieve the group's 2015 operating profit targets which would put shares on a multiple of about 11 times earnings. That is too cheap in our view. So with the shares just pulling back from 12-month highs, now looks like a good time to buy.....

Those growth targets look ambitious in an industry where performance is closely linked to global growth rates - the IMF only recently downgraded the growth outlook for China, for example, from 8 to 7.75 per cent. However, the progress at DHL is being helped by other factors, including its global coverage, stealing work from rival TNT, and the scope to increase margins through its restructuring. In the past, restructuring charges, one-off fines and high levels of capital investment have all been a drain. Analysts now believe the heavy lifting is largely complete, with improved operational performance decreasing the risk of fines. In the first quarter, group capital expenditure was 28.5 per cent lower at €218m and this, when combined with the mail division reversing last year's €206m operating cash outflow to a €105m cash inflow, meant free cash flow improved by €516m to a €140m outflow. JPMorgan Cazenove forecasts the group will generate almost €1bn of free cash in 2013, a nearly €3bn improvement on last year. This means the historic 3.6 per cent yield is 1.2 times covered by expected free cash flow, and almost two times by EPS. It also adds credibility to analysts' forecasts for the dividend to increase by 9 per cent this year and 12 per cent in 2014.

This all provides a stable platform for the express courier and logistics operations of DHL to really take off. Operating profits are expected to grow at between 13-15 per cent a year until 2015. The signs are encouraging. In the most recent 2012 full-year results, DHL increased revenues by 7 per cent, while operating profit moved ahead by almost a fifth to just over €2bn. Much of this momentum continued into the first quarter with express volumes improving by 10 per cent, well ahead of peers TNT and UPS that could achieve only half that rate.

E-mail was supposed to herald the beginning of the end for post, but the growth being forecast for Deutsche Post DHL (DE:DPW) tells a different story. We think the shares' recent strong run will continue as the group emerges leaner and more profitable from a multiyear restructuring. Analysts now expect earnings to grow at double digits for the next two years, which leaves the shares looking too cheap compared with peers - add in a chunky dividend yield, too, and we rate them a long-term buy. First-quarter results for 2013 easily beat analysts' expectations in the mail operations, which in 2012 were responsible for a quarter of revenues and just over a third of operating profits. Parcel delivery was the standout performer with volumes up 6.4 per cent and revenues 7 per cent ahead on the prior period, as an online shopping boom means over three million parcels are now delivered every day. Letter delivery rose 1.4 per cent, which was impressive against the backdrop of a mail market in structural decline of between 2-4 per cent every year. This encouraging start led chief executive Frank Appel to reiterate that the mail operations can maintain a stable performance, with revenues and operating profit at around the €14bn and €1bn mark, respectively, for the foreseeable future. In fact, for 2013 he has pencilled in profits of €1.1-€1.2bn, underpinning group operating profits in the range of €2.7-€2.95bn. Analysts at JPMorgan Cazenove recently upgraded forecasts to €2.93bn. Flat or slightly better results at Deutsche Post may sound boring, but that is exactly what is required. The mail operation holds a dominant position in the economic engine room of Europe, and recently negotiated a 2.8 per cent regulated price increase, the first for 15 years. Angry unions have also been mollified by a two-year pay deal, with a 3.1 per cent increase this August, followed by 2.6 per cent next year, removing the threat of costly strike action.

Yet these will soon disappear. Notably, LondonMetric's expensive transformation into a real-estate investment trust in 2010 will be fully amortised in September. That should allow the company to return to book-value growth within two years - and within one if the regional property market picks up in earnest. Beyond that, Mr Vaughan and Mr Jones look a safe pair of hands for investors that require income over several years without wanting to risk capital. LondonMetric's shares trade roughly in line with expected book value - a similar rating to the wider sector, despite better growth prospects..but as always dyor gl

There are also two practical reasons why it makes sense for LondonMetric to switch out of prime. First, Mr Vaughan and his highly-experienced team can justifiably claim a competitive edge in shops that they do not have in other property sectors. Relationships stretching back decades should enable them to buy or develop shops and e-commerce hubs that meet retailers' fast-changing needs. Second, the company currently pays uncovered dividends. Having sold a portfolio of 17 distribution warehouses in April 2012 and its stake in Meadowhall shopping centre in October, underlying profits fell 12 per cent to £21.3m over the year to the end of March compared with £38m paid out. Mr Jones believes the current high level of dividends is sustainable as long as the proceeds of its residential and office disposal programme can be reinvested in regional retail or industrial stock - a process he expects to complete by next March. Uncovered dividends are a problem because, in the absence of portfolio growth, they eat into the company's book value. That is one reason why LondonMetric's book value has been falling for the last two years. Another is so-called exceptional costs, which last year wiped out reported profits entirely.

Three big deals, all concluded since the merger, illustrate the direction of travel. First, the company spent £92.4m on a portfolio of six retail parks - a deal Mr Jones labels "opportunistic". It then bought Primark's British distribution hub for £60.5m. Finally, it launched a road show in London and Asia to sell the company's London flats. So far sales have been agreed worth £59.6m on 116 units out of 520. The company has also put one of its two City offices up for sale. The risk with this strategy is that income merely replaces capital growth as low-yielding London continues to pull head of the provinces - the London flats accounted for virtually all the company's 1.7 per cent valuation improvement over the year to 31 March. Yet Mr Jones reckons "good secondary" properties will now start to outperform in many sectors, as the hunt for yield finally spreads beyond the M25.

London & Stamford's star has faded since the heady days of 2009, when its veteran managers Raymond Mould and Patrick Vaughan were feted across the property industry for a number of perfectly-timed acquisitions. Yet the merger in January with retail landlord Metric Property Investments has brought fresh energy and strategic focus to the company, paving the way for a return to outperformance. Renamed LondonMetric (LMP), the company is now led by Mr Vaughan as chairman and Andrew Jones of Metric as chief executive. With the exception of Mr Mould, who has taken the opportunity to retire, the new executive team reunites the key figures at Pillar, a portfolio of retail parks founded by Mr Mould and Mr Vaughan in 1991 and sold to British Land in 2005. They want to refocus LondonMetric on the retail sector - but with a difference. Instead of concentrating exclusively on shops, of which they readily admit Britain has too many, they will also invest in the distribution centres retailers need to meet online orders. At the same time, Mr Jones is not ruling out the kind of opportunistic deals for which London & Stamford became renowned. This strategy has involved reshaping the portfolio. Intriguingly, the company is selling off its prime London assets and replacing them with higher-yielding ones outside the capital - a call that remains contrarian after three years of relentless outperformance by London.

Reflecting its undeniable strengths - including strong cash generation, an impressive growth track record and a focus on busy locations - Restaurant Group's shares have raced ahead by a third in the year to date and now trade on 19 times Nuims' 2013 earnings estimate. Not only is that pricey compared with shares in such restaurant and bars sub-sector peers as JD Wetherspoon (JDW) or Marston's (MARS), but it's also well above the company's own 11-year historic average share price rating of 13.5 times. With costs rising, consumers struggling and sales growth apparently slowing, that hefty rating could come under pressure.....but as always dyor gl

Restaurant Group's expansion plans look demanding, too. Historically, new openings have been a major growth driver for the company, with 140 new sites opened in the past five years - bringing the total estate to over 420. But just three new restaurants were opened in the first 19 weeks of the year, yet management is still sticking with its target of between 30 and 35 new openings for the year as a whole. After such modest progress with new openings so far this year, reaching that target could prove challenging. Still, the balance sheet is robust and impressive cash generation leaves Restaurant Group well placed to fund its expansion plans. Cash flow from operations, for instance, rose by £10.2m in 2012 to £102m, which also allowed the net debt pile to be cut by £5.6m last year to £36m. A prospective dividend yield of 2.5 per cent in the current financial year, based on Numis' full-year forecast payout, isn't much to shout about, though.

As well as potentially slowing sales, cost pressures are also mounting. For example, Numis expects the group's food costs to rise by between 3 per cent and 4.5 per cent and anticipates that pension auto-enrolment, which began in March, will mean a £0.5m-£1m cost annually. Then there are inflation-busting utility costs to worry about. Numis expects the group's utility costs to rise by 7 per cent, or by about £1.3m, this year. The company is also experiencing an acceleration in rental costs and the broker says that the near-£60m annual rent bill is rising at between 1.5 per cent and 1.6 per cent, compared with 1 per cent a year ago. That doesn't bode well for profit margins, which Numis expects will "fall slightly over the full year due to a combination of higher costs and slowing LFL [like-for-like sales] sales".

Restaurant Group (RTN), which operates such eateries as Chiquito, Frankie & Benny's and Garfunkel's, boasts an impressive track record, but times are getting tougher. A trading update last month suggested that its impressive growth profile could be on the verge of slipping, leaving the shares, which have soared this year, looking precariously rated. During the first eight weeks of 2013, group like-for-like sales rose 6.5 per cent year on year. But that dropped to 4.5 per cent growth for the first 19 weeks of the year which, says broker Numis Securities, means underlying sales during the period from March to mid-May grew just 2.5 per cent. That's partly down to weaker cinema attendance figures - many of its restaurants are located in leisure parks with cinemas. The Film Distributors' Association reported that UK cinema admissions in March fell 7 per cent year on year, and by 9 per cent in February. In the longer term, growing competition in Restaurant Group's preferred locations could hit growth. The group's focus on leisure parks and airports does guarantee decent footfall levels, but that's a strength that isn't lost on rivals. Greene King (GNK) and Mitchells & Butlers (MAB), for instance, are keen to grab a bigger slice of such business.

Neil Carson, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of chemicals group Johnson Matthey, exercised share options and sold them immediately afterwards on the same day the company impressed the market with its full-year results. Carson, who joined the company back in 1980 and became CEO in 2004, exercised 33,407 options and disposed of the shares at a price of 2,734p each, earning him a total of £913,347. The executive share options were granted back in 2003 and had an exercise price of 898p. Carson's total holding after the transaction stood at 213,271 shares. Johnson Matthey said on Thursday that underlying profit before tax was £389.2m in the year to March 31st, down 9.0% year-on-year but ahead of the £381m consensus estimate due to a better-than-expected performance in the Environmental Technologies division. Prior to the results this week, the stock had gained nearly 9.0% since the start of 2013

Positive Points: Overall, the company expects to make steady progress in 2013/14 notwithstanding the loss of revenue from Anglo Platinum. In the medium term, growth is expected to accelerate in 2014/15 and beyond, driven particularly by tighter vehicle emissions legislation and demand for Process Technologies' products, especially in China. The company continued with its expansion projects within Emission Control Technologies' where demand for high technology products are required for tighter emission legislation which is driving demand for auto catalysts and emission reduction technology. In March, Johnson Matthey acquired Forox, a leading global provider of catalysts. It will also enable the group to grow its position in the global petrochemicals market. In October, Johnson Matthey acquired the Axeon Group for £40.6 million in cash. Axeon is a specialist in the design, development and manufacture of integrated battery modules and systems.

Negative Points: Johnson Matthey accepted it had been a very disappointing year at its Precious Metal Products Division, particularly in its Services businesses, with sales 6% down and underlying operating profit 27% lower. The loss of the group's current contracts with Anglo American Platinum will also impact in the fourth quarter 2013/14 results warned management. Johnson Matthey's performance is closely linked to the automotive industry. A stalling of the recent recovery in the US and European autos volumes would negatively impact sales estimates. Net debt rose sharply to £835 million from £381 million, due to a combination of a special dividend payment, the acquisitions of Axeon and Formox, and a £40 million increase in working capital requirements.

Financial Highlights: Underlying pre-tax profits of £389.2 million were down 9% for the year ended 31 March but ahead of analyst expectations. Revenues dropped 11% to £10.7 billion (£12 billion - 2012). Lower average precious metal prices impacted on that division with revenues down 14% to £8.5 billion The board proposed a final dividend of 41.5 pence that would result in a 4% rise in the full year dividend to 57 pence. The company reaffirmed its strong balance sheet.

Full year results: London headquartered speciality chemicals and precious metals company Johnson Matthey acknowledged it had been a challenging year as it declared a drop in annual profits. Nonetheless it added that it remains very well positioned to grow the business over the medium and long term. Its shares rose more than 7% in early trade, and were the biggest gainer on the FTSE 100 index. The company accepted it had been a "very disappointing year" at its Precious Metal Products Division, particularly in its Services businesses, where sales were 6% down and underlying operating profit 27% lower. The division, primarily associated to platinum was impacted by lower metal prices, lower volumes and operational issues at the Salt Lake City refinery. The loss of its current contracts with Anglo American Platinum will also impact the group's fourth quarter 2013/14 results, added the group. Elsewhere, Johnson Matthey saw continued growth in Environmental Technologies Division with sales 2% ahead of last year and underlying operating profit 7% higher at £226 million. Emission Control Technologies (ECT) was impacted by the weak European car market but heavy duty diesel catalyst business continued to grow, it added. Process Technologies' sales were slightly ahead on last year while operating profit increased significantly, boosted by a solid result from Davy Process Technology (DPT). CEO Neil Carson said the current year would be a time of transition and the increase in dividend reflects a confidence in the group's medium term prospects. Based on the combined estimates of analysts covering the company,

Aim-listed DDD has licensed its 3D mobile technology to Chinese computer developer Hampoo for the 'world's first' 3D android tablet computer. Los Angeles-based DDD will receive quarterly royalty revenues from Hampoo based on the volume of 3D tablets the Shenzen-based company ships to retailers. DDD's TriDef technology allows Hampoo's new product to automatically convert 2D photos, videos and games into 3D images without the user needing 3D glasses. Hampoo's new 10.1-inch 3D tablets, using this technology, are being showcased at Computex 2013 this week in Taipei, the world's second largest computer exhibition. DDD said the new product is expected to be launched in the third quarter of 2013. The company said the technology would enable over 50 of the latest popular Android mobile games, such as Angry Birds, Blood and Glory and Cordy, to be played in stereoscopic 3D 'off the shelf', even though the games were not specifically developed for viewing in 3D format. Hampoo's Chief Executive Star Wang said: "With DDD's proven TriDef 3D solutions we can offer a full range of 3D entertainment and gaming with our new glasses-free 3D tablets, which is very important for our customers. We are committed to bringing more innovative solutions to the market in future." The Hampoo tablets are also compatible with DDD's soon-to-be-released Yabazam 3D Android app, which provides original 3D programming. Yabazam has over 80 streaming 3D movie titles for viewing on 3D consumer devices and that number is expected to grow significantly over the next year.