Member Info for jange

There has been good news from Cameroon for Afferro Mining, as the iron ore miner's consultants have identified further potential direct shipping ore (DSO) zones at the company's Nkout project. High grade intercepts at Nkout East indicate a potential DSO zone similar to that delineated at Nkout Centre, the company revealed. Further high-grade intersections from Nkout Centre were also identified. In all, assays - metallurgical analyses - were returned from 77 diamond drill holes totalling 4,872 metres of drilling. Assays are currently outstanding from a further 108 holes, totalling 6,434 metres of drilling. The drilling programme is set to continue, with the aim of identifying further potential DSO resource at Nkout. Luis da Silva, Chief Executive Officer of Afferro, described the results as "excellent", and the market seemed to agree as the shares headed higher. "The results indicate a separate DSO zone in Nkout East, with wide intercepts grading up to 55% iron. Metallurgical testing has indicated that material with a 50% cut-off should be amenable to processing with a DSO plant," da Silva noted. "These results, the results from assays pending and results from further drilling will be collated in an updated Mineral Resource Estimate ... which will be used as the basis for a pre-feasibility study which is to commence in the first quarter of 2013," da Silva added. Afferro's portfolio includes the 100% owned Nkout, Ntem and Akonolinga iron ore projects. It also holds a 70% interest in the Ngoa project, an exploration target bordering Nkout.

Latin American oil and gas firm GeoPark's run of recent bad luck has continued with an underwhelming test result from exploration well Cerro Iturbe Oeste 1 in the Fell Block in Chile. The well was tested in September 2012 in the Springhill and Tobifera formations and showed low productivity from both reservoirs. The company is currently evaluating hydraulic fracture in the Springhill formation. The company is close to its recently lowered production guidance of an end-year total of 11,000 to 12,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), having increased oil and gas production in the third quarter by 21% to 10,723 boepd from 8,883 boepd the year before. However, this production level was down from the 11,930 boepd achieved in the first six months of 2012. The year-on-year increase resulted from growth in Chile oil production (from 3,018 bopd to 3,474 bopd) and new production from Colombian assets (3,625 bopd). Around two-thirds of GeoPark's total production is oil, up from 35% a year earlier, and production of the black stuff rose 131% year-on-year to 7,147 barrels per day from 3,088 barrels per day in the third quarter of 2011. The company had previously indicated it would drill between 42 and 48 new wells in 2012 but has now reduced the top end of this range to 46. The firm said it will add around 12 new wells to its already ambitious fourth quarter drilling programme. "We believe our fourth quarter programme will further improve these results and carry us into 2013 with significant momentum and the opportunity to increase our rate of growth," said James Park, Chief Executive Officer.

Specialist IT recruitment company InterQuest is to receive £1m as an out of court settlement from the vendors of CCL and should receive the money by December 7th 2012. As a result of the settlement InterQuest has discontinued its warranty claim. The settlement was reached on the basis that the vendors of CCL made no admission of liability or of wrongdoing in any respect relating to the subject matters of the claim. Background InterQuest purchased the entire share capital of CCL on June 21st 2011 for a consideration of £4m. On August 12th 2011, a major client of CCL terminated its contract with CCL. On December 23rd 2011, Interquest announced that it had issued formal notice against the vendors of CCL that it would be pursuing a warranty claim for a repayment of consideration of around £3.8m.

Initial production rates on Valiant Petroleum's Causeway field in the North Sea have proved lower than expected, due to problems associated with the long horizontal nature of the well. Valiant, with a 64.5% stake, is the operator of the field while Canada's Antrim Energy owns the rest of the rights to the field. The Causeway field in UKCS Block 211/23d has started production with gross output rates of around 4,500 barrels of oil per day (bopd) on a 53% choke; a "choke" is a device installed to restrict the flow of fluids. Valiant is currently investigating a range of well stimulation and intervention options to assist in achieving anticipated production rates, if necessary. The next phase of work on Causeway and the Fionn oil field is anticipated to commence early in 2013 and to be completed by the middle of the year, the company revealed. Stephen Greer, Antrim President and Chief Executive Officer, said the production of oil from its UK North Sea interests represents a major milestone for Antrim. "Causeway is expected to contribute substantial cash flow to Antrim, as we continue to develop our existing assets and explore other opportunities in the UK and elsewhere," Greer said. Valiant, meanwhile, said that with new Dons field wells coming on stream in the second half of 2012 and the addition of Causeway, it is anticipating a year-end exit rate in excess of 11,500 bopd. Due to start-up delays and production performance to date at Causeway, Valiant's production in 2012 is anticipated to average around 6,500 bopd.

JPMorgan US Smaller Companies Inv Trust (JUSC) Director name: Ms Julia Le Blan Amount purchased: 1,500 @ 1,003.00p Value: £15,045

DotDigital Group (DOTD) Director name: Ms Simone Jennifer Mary Barratt Amount purchased: 215,000 @ 13.00p Value: £27,950

Top Director Buys Admiral Group (ADM) Director name: Mr John Sussens Amount purchased: 10,000 @ 1,064.00p Value: £106,400

Cheryl Sussens, the wife of the Non-Executive Director John Sussens, has bought 10,000 shares in car insurer Admiral, a purchase which follows a positive note out from analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch last Friday. Sussens, who was appointed as the Senior Independent Non-Executive Director in August 2004, handed over 1,064p per share and paid a total of £106,400. Friday's note - which upgraded the stock from underperform to buy - and boosted the company's shares by 24p at the end of last week, led to another jump higher, by 33p, on Monday. In the note, Analyst William Hardcastle said: "We are shifting our focus [...] to the 2013 estimated dividend yield of 9.1%. This is now the highest in the sector (and FTSE 100) following 18 percentage point relative underperformance since 2011 results, and can't be ignored in our view. We now see Admiral as an income rather than growth stock." The note continued: "We are now forecasting just 4% volume growth, in line with its distribution channel, and already have margin deterioration as a result of the price declines baked in." Shares in the company have soared 29.76%, equal to 250p, in the past year. In the past week alone the stock has gained 23p, equal to 2.16%.

Naloxegol is part of the exclusive worldwide licence agreement announced on 21 September 2009 between AstraZeneca and US drugs developer Nektar Therapeutics. Naloxegol was developed using Nektar's oral small molecule polymer conjugate technology. "The top-line results of the pivotal KODIAC studies provide important new information on the safety and efficacy of naloxegol as a potential treatment for opioid-induced constipation and we are looking forward to advancing this programme," said Martin Mackay, President of Research and Development at AstraZeneca. Worldwide, some 40-50% (28m to 35m) of patients taking opioids for long-term pain develop constipation. About 40-50% (11m - 18m) of those OIC sufferers achieve the desired treatment outcomes with current options that include over-the-counter and prescription laxative.

Drugs giant AstraZeneca has announced a clutch of positive test results relating to its naloxegol product, a treatment for opioid-induced constipation (OIC). The results come from two Phase III trials and one safety extension trial in patients with non-cancer related pain and OIC. The Phase III KODIAC trials evaluated the safety and efficacy of naloxegol over a 12 week period. The primary end-point in the KODIAC-04 and KODIAC-05 trials was the percentage of OIC responders versus the placebo, where a responder was defined as having at least three spontaneous bowel movements (SBM) per week, with at least one SBM per week increase over baseline, for at least nine out of 12 weeks, and at least three out of the last four weeks. Under the design of both trials, statistical significance for the primary end-point would be achieved if at least one of the two naloxegol doses had a p-value less than 0.025 compared with placebo; the p-value measures consistency between the results from the trial and the "blind luck" explanation for those results. Analysis of the data indicates that in KODIAC-04 both naloxegol doses (12.5 mg and 25 mg) demonstrated statistically significant results for the primary end-point, Astra revealed. P-values were 0.015 and 0.001 respectively. The analyses also showed no clinically relevant imbalances in serious adverse events (SAEs), including externally adjudicated major cardiovascular events, across the three treatment arms in KODIAC-04, -05 and -07.

Funeral service provider Dignity's third quarter results demonstrate that death in the UK is still a growth business if you know how to cater for it. Revenues of £169.4m for the third quarter were up 8.7% on the same period a year previously, while underlying profit was 10.3% ahead at £53.4m. Much of this was driven by pre-arranged funeral plan sales, and it expects the pre-arranged funeral business to continue to make progress next year. Mike McCollum, Chief Executive of Dignity commented: "Our outlook for 2012 remains positive and our overall expectations for 2013 remain unchanged." During the year Dignity has increased its number of crematoria from 35 to 37 and growth is even more marked in its funeral business. Since the group's last results announcement on July 31st 2012, 10 funeral locations have been acquired (for an investment of £5.6m) and nine new satellite locations have been opened. This brings the total number of funeral locations acquired to 18 (for a total investment of £10.8m) and new satellite locations opened to 18 since the start of the year. The only negative was provided by the comment that "The trust funds should remain fully funded despite historically low bond yields. However, any improvement in marketing profit in 2013 may be offset by a reduction in or cancellation of recoveries of surplus from the trusts. Such recoveries have been £1.5m in each of the last six years."

Heritage used the money from Genel to partially finance the acquisition of a 45% interest in a producing oil mining licence in Nigeria (OML 30). "The divestment of our remaining 49% interest in Miran will allow Heritage to monetise the asset at an attractive valuation and the total proceeds will have funded a significant part of the completed acquisition of OML 30 in Nigeria," said Heritage's Chief Executive Tony Buckingham. "Completion of these transactions will provide Heritage with a balanced portfolio of assets generating cash flow from production which will assist with work programmes on high impact exploration whilst allowing the Company to continue considering further opportunities."

FTSE 250 oil and gas group Heritage Oil is to sell off half of its stake in a production sharing contract (PSC) in Iraq to Genel Energy, led by ex-BP frontman Tony Hayward, in order to pay back a loan. Heritage has proposed divesting of Heritage Energy Middle East's (HEME's) 49% interest in the PSC at the Miran Block in the Kurdistan region, under the terms of $294m exchangeable loan provided to it by Genel in August, including the sum of cash calls paid by Genel to the operator of Miran on HEME's behalf. The sale will reduce Heritage's interest in the Miran Block to nil. The divestment will need the approval from the shareholders before completion. Heritage said that its "board of directors believe that the proposed divestment is the most advantageous option to repay the loan due to the attractive valuation secured for a development asset with a very significant future capital expenditure requirement." HEME sold a 26% interest in the Miran PSC and Miran join operating agreement to Genel in August for a cash consideration of $156m in August. At the same time, the companies entered into a loan agreement in which Genel agreed to loan Heritage $294m at an interest rate of 8% ending in February 2014.

Bovis, the FTSE 250 construction, project management, and consulting provider, said it remains on track to deliver a strong increase in revenue in 2012. The group saw a significant increase in private average sales prices due to an improving mix and expects to legally complete around 2,350 homes during 2012 to date. Average sales price achieved in the year to date for private reservations expected to legally complete in 2012 is around £190,000 compared ith £180,100 achieved on private legal completions in 2011. Gross profit margin for 2012 is expected to increase to roughly 22%, reflecting the increasing proportion of homes sold on post-downturn sites, Bovis explained. The significant increase in operating margin combined with improved capital turn will provide an increase in ROCE to nearly 7.5% for 2012 from 5% in 2011. "Subject to stable market conditions continuing, the group is confident that it can deliver further growth in revenue with strong increases in profit margins. This profit growth combined with a stable capital base will deliver further strong improvements in ROCE in 2013 and beyond," the group said in a statement.

It saw a 27% increase in gross premiums written by its US arm, reflecting the impact of the accounting change relating to quota share reinsurance treaties written by the division. Excluding the impact of the accounting change, gross premiums written by the US hub grew by 12%, due to rate increases and new business written, particularly in energy, casualty and reinsurance classes. The company saw strong growth across all its product groups except aerospace, where gross premiums fell by 1%. It put this down to continued rate pressure for airline business as well as delays in the number of satellite launches during the period. Rates continued to increase for many classes of business, particularly catastrophe-exposed business. Average weighted premium rates across the group's underwriting portfolio increased by 5% during the nine-month period. Average weighted premium rates for catastrophe-exposed business increased by 9%, while average weighted premium rates for non-catastrophe classes rose by 2%.

Bermuda-based property insurer Catlin said it did not yet know what impact Hurricane Sandy would have on it due to the sheer size of the storm and the many different types of claims it has created. The company compared the US 'superstorm' to the New Zealand earthquake, Japanese earthquake/tsunami and Thai floods in 2011. It said "existing catastrophe models are unlikely to predict the quantum of insured damage with a high degree of certainty". The losses to Catlin are expected to be clearer when the group reports its 2012 full-year results. The firm saw gross premiums rise by 11% in the first nine months of the year as prices went up and its took on new business. However, this rise was slightly flattered by changes in its accounting methods in the US, with like-for-like sales up 8%. The firm said its London hub continued to respond to favourable underwriting opportunities as they arose, posting an 8% rise in the period to the end of September.

Mining firm Polymetal International has extended the life-of-mine projections for its Khakanja and Omolon mines in Russia by two years after releasing the first set of ore reserves estimates for its Tsokol, Ozerny, Avlayakan, and Dalniy deposits. As of July 1st, mineral Resources (in addition to ore resources) were estimated at 2.3m tonnes with an average grade of 4.8 grams per tonne (g/t) of gold equivalent (Au Eq) containing 0.36m ounces of Au Eq (88% gold, 12% silver). Mineral Resources were estimated using a gold price of $1500 per ounce and a silver price of $26 per ounce. The Tsokol and Avlayakan deposits are already in production while the remaining two (Ozerny, Dalniy) are expected to start producing ore and generating cash flows within the next 18 months. The mining firm said discovery costs of around $80 an ounce of reserves, including original asset purchase costs, are "very attractive" given the high grade of the deposits, along with the the ability to process ore at the existing processing facilities with very modest further investment, and also hold out the prospect of further significant exploration upside, particularly at Ozerny and Tsokol. "Such results demonstrate excellent returns on investment in our brownfield exploration activities and we expect further reserve additions at Khakanja and Omolon in 2013," said Vitaly Nesis, Chief Executive Officer of Polymetal.

AVEVA which provide engineering data and designs IT systems, scored solid half year profit gains after a robust overseas performance, in particular Asia Pacific. The Cambridge based group, which makes software for designing industrial structures like oil rigs, said pre-tax profit increased to £25.8m for the six months ended September 30th 2012 from £23.8m the year before. Revenue for the period jumped 15% to £97.6m. Asia Pacific logged revenue growth of 21%, EMEA increased 13% while the Americas posted a 6% gain. AVEVA said its new China business returned to growth, following recent reorganisation, and after strong demand from Oil & Gas and Power customers. The group also said its expansion plans in India are on track, with good revenue growth in the first half. Meanwhile recurring rental contracts in North America renewed on broadly the same terms as previous periods however in Latin America its first half performance was hurt by delays in some project start-ups in Brazil. Chief Executive Richard Longdon commented: "These results highlight the breadth, quality and scale of our global business today, with multiple growth drivers across geographies and industries." "The recent launch of our new, leading-edge product, AVEVA Everything3D, highlights our ability to maintain technology leadership through continuous innovation." AVEVA has recommended an interim dividend payment of 4.5p, up from 4p the year before.

Both units remain strong across Africa, Kentz added. Its Construction division recently won a further contract with FTSE 250 miner Kenmare Resources on the Moma Sands project in Mozambique. During the period, the company also won a $50m shutdown services and operations support contract with Exxon Neftegas in Russia. "Our balance sheet remains strong and continues to support the further development of the business," the firm said.

Engineering and construction group Kentz expects to generate 'in-line' earnings this year and said it is confident of achieving double-digit profit growth in 2013. The company, which works across 29 countries, said that its operations have performed well in the period between July 1st and November 11th, with growth underpinned through new project awards together with natural growth on existing contracts. Kentz's backlog at the end of the third quarter (September 30th) was flat at $2.53bn (July: $2.54bn, October 2011: $2.38bn). Chief Executive Christian Brown said: "We continue to perform well across our global operations and expect to deliver 2012 earnings in line with current market expectations. We are confident that our backlog and current prospects will continue to support double digit earnings growth in 2013." The group said that operations in North and South America have produced solid results so far this year, with its Construction and Technical Support Services (TSS) divisions executing projects on the Kearl Oil Sands projects for Imperial Oil, the Aurora Mine Relocation (AMR) project for Syncrude, Barrick Mine in the Dominican Republic and on a number of other smaller projects.