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BHP Billiton: Morgan Stanley cuts target from 2,180p to 2,100p, overweight rating kept.

Buy resilient fantasy miniatures designer and maker Games Workshop (GAW) for its forecast upgrade scope and cash-backed yield. Marshalled by Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mark Wells, the £216.4 million cap behind the Warhammer brand is well placed for steady growth in the UK as well as overseas, as its hobby builds a global presence. The company has more than 400 hobby centres in 19 countries, sells to 3,200 independent centres and works through distributors in emerging markets too. The US market offers the biggest near-term opportunity, although any country with a middle-class population should be home to ample numbers of potential hobbyists to further the fully-listed firm's growth. With the help of cost cutting and a management shake-up in its stores, Games Workshop returned to sales growth last year. Given high gross margins and revenue momentum, earnings upgrades are likely going forwards, while the launch of The Hobbit movie later this year is expected to give sales an additional shot in the arm. For the year to May, Peel Hunt scribe Charles Hall expects 8% growth in taxable profits to £21 million and a 2% gain in earnings per share to 47.6p. The analyst’s 750p price target implies 11.5% near-term upside and the shares could go higher if the interims please.

Play the positive trading momentum behind global photo booths market leader Photo-Me (PHTM) and buy the shares ahead of potential upgrades at December's half-year results. Last month (13 September), the £168.9 million cap pleased with news first-quarter profits to July were almost 25% higher on a year-on-year basis. Another robust turn from the operations division, which operates photobooths, digital printing kiosks and amusement machines, more than offset weakness in more economically-sensitive sales and servicing businesses. While the seasonally weaker second half is yet to come, profits upside could result as the company deploys dependable cashflow from its photobooth business to develop new products and enter new international markets. A growing net cashpile should also limit any share price downside. Photo-Me generated a near-12% improvement in taxable profits to £20.1 million in a tough year to April and treated investors to a 25% dividend increase to 2.5p. This year, a 10% profits advance to £22 million is expected, for earnings per share of 4.2p and a likely 2.8p dividend. While growth prospects are modest, Photo-Me is well worth pocketing for its prodigious cash generation and 5.7% yield.

Shares in TISSUE REGENIX (TRX) add 1.50p to 12.75p ● Shares up 12.75p after the latest clinical trial of its dCELL Dermis treated human skin delivers encouraging results. ● Twenty patients treated with dCELL Dermis saw ‘a significant reduction in the size of all wounds while 45% of patients completely healed.’

Pearson, the FTSE 100 education and publishing firm which labels itself as a 'leading learning company', has announced that its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Marjorie Scardino has decided to call it quits at the end of the year. Having led the firm since January 1997, Scardino is one of the FTSE 100's longest-serving CEOs. She is also the Chairman of the MacArthur Foundation, Vice Chairman of Nokia and a director of Oxfam. Glen Moreno, Pearson's Chairman, said: "Under Marjorie's leadership, Pearson has fundamentally shifted its business portfolio towards all kinds of learning, its geographic exposure towards fast-growing economies and its product mix towards digital and services. It has been a radical and highly successful transformation. "I know that many of Pearson's shareholders, customers and people will join me today in applauding her enormous contribution to the company," he said. She will be replaced by the CEO of Pearson's International Education division John Fallon. He has held that position since 2008 and before that was the head of the Europe, Middle East and Africa unit since 2003. The company said in a statement on Wednesday that, under Fallon's leadership, International Education sales have increased from £322m to £1.4bn and profits from £12m to almost £200m in the past decade. Incoming frontman Fallon commented: "Marjorie's legacy is a company with a strong performance record, a deep commitment to its wider social purpose and a unique culture. I am proud to be part of the company; it is a tremendous honour and responsibility to be asked to lead it.

Homewares retailer Dunelm said total first quarter sales increased 13.8 per cent as cash conscious shoppers opted for its value for money range. Like-for-like (LFL) sales grew 3% in the 13-week period from July 1st to September 29th 2012. Total sales value increased to £151.8m in the period compared to £133.4m the same time a year earlier. Gross margin continued to increase year-on-year, with an estimated 40 basis points rise compared with the equivalent quarter last year, the group said. However going forward, the rate of increase is expected to slow due to strategic price investment in key product areas, it added. Chief Executive Nick Wharton commented: "This solid quarter of trading reflects the unrivalled choice and excellent value which form the core of our Simply Value For Money proposition, leading to a further gain in market share on a like-for-like basis." "Despite the challenging consumer environment, this performance further reinforces our confidence in our strategy and in the opportunity for future growth both through new stores, where our pipeline remains strong, and multi-channel." Dunelm opened four new superstores during the first quarter bringing the estate to 118 superstores across the UK.

Meanwhile, Stagecoach released a statement this morning, saying: "Stagecoach also notes the DfT's plans to conduct independent reviews into both the specific InterCity West Coast competition and rail franchising more widely. We will be in discussions with the DfT regarding these developments and will update the market as appropriate." Stagecoach's shares were up 1.31% at 287p this morning.

The group has had its pub estate and other properties revalued, resulting in a £163m increase in the value of the managed estate. Unfortunately, the value of the tenanted and franchised estate has reduced by £186m reflecting the lower multiples being achieved from the sale of tenanted pubs in the current market. Accordingly, there will be a non-cash pre-tax exceptional charge of around £215m through the income statement in the results for the year to September 29th 2012. "The recent valuation exercise demonstrates the inherent quality of our pub estate and in particular highlights the significant value created by our new-build pub-restaurants," Findlay claimed

Britain's soggy summer has not been able to knock pubs group and brewer Marston's off course, with the group saying underlying earnings per share will be in line with expectations. In its managed pubs estate, like-for-like sales in the year to September 29th were 2.2% ahead of last year, with like-for-like food sales growth of 2.4% and like-for-like wet sales growth of 2.1%. Operating margins were slightly ahead of the previous year, the Pedigree bitter brewer revealed. In the leased, tenanted and franchised pubs estate, operating profits are estimated to be around 3% ahead of last year. This improvement is largely down to the growth of the franchised estate, which now constitutes around 500 pubs. Pubs operated under the traditional leased and tenanted model contributed profits in line with last year. In brewing, Marston's own-brewed beer volumes were 2% higher than last year with growth in both premium cask and bottled ales. Peter Dalzell, who joined Marston's in 1995, has been promoted to the main board following the decision to bring together the management of all of the group's pubs in one team; Dalzell, who has been instrumental in the development of Marston's franchise business since 2011, will head up this team. Stephen Oliver will continue to report to Ralph Findlay, Chief Executive Officer, as Managing Director of Marston's Beer Company. "We have been encouraged by the performance of all areas of our business this year despite the challenging consumer environment and the poor weather," said Findlay.

BTG, the specialist healthcare company, said it had outperformed in the first half and was boosting its revenue expectations for the full year. The firm said is raising its revenue estimate for the year ending March 31st 2013 from £190m-£200m to £205m-£215m after a strong first half performance and a positive outlook for the second. Trading during the six months to the end of September was ahead of expectations, driven principally by high demand for its snake anti-venom CroFab. It also saw a strong start from post-chemotherapy drug Voraxaze following its US nationwide launch at the end of April 2012 Among other products, it also noted the continued growth of royalties from Johnson & Johnson's prostate cancer drug Zytig. First half revenue also included £5.4m of additional deferred income relating to a previous licence agreement that had been fully following AstraZeneca's decision axe development of CytoFab, nn experimental treatment for severe sepsis that failed in trials.

Tanzania-focused gold producer African Barrick Gold (ABG) has raised its reserves estimate at the Bulyanhulu Upper East Project as it continues to expand the project. The company said that the acceleration of mining of the Upper East Zone at Bulyanhulu has continued and it has received approval to begin the ordering of certain long lead items for the project. The project was previously solely based on the 1.2m ounces (Moz) of reserves located in Reed 1 but it has now completed a scoping study to incorporate the 0.9m ounces of gold in reserves in Reef 2. The incorporation of Reef 2 is said to significant enhance the project economics, driving a post-tax internal rate of return (IRR) of 34% at $1,700 per ounce. As a result, the project is thought to need around $100m of pre-production capital to be spent in 2013 and 2014 and is planned to deliver life of mine production of 1.86Moz over the next 20 years. ABG's Chief Executive Officer Greg Hawkins said: "One of our key aims for this year is to progress the expansion of Bulyanhulu in order to accelerate the realisation of the value provided by the scale of the reserve base. In May we received board approval for the CIL expansion, and we have now successfully expanded the scope of the Upper East Project whilst maintaining our planned timeline for first production. "With the two expansion projects, we now have a clear path to increasing production levels at Bulyanhulu towards 400,000 ounces per annum over the coming years."

Fijian miner Vatukoula Gold Mines has run into some regulatory delays with its share placing, but the good news is that strategic investor Shengen Xintai is still keen to pump money into the firm. Vatukoula rose 2p to 42p shortly after announcing that the funding and binding placing agreement with Chinese company Shengen Xintai International Mine Industry has been put back due to delays in obtaining the approval of state authorities in China. Under the placing, to be completed in two tranches, Xintai will invest a total of £10.3m to acquire a total of 20m new ordinary shares, equivalent to 17% of the enlarged share capital of Vatukoula. Vatukoula has now granted a non-exclusive extension to the placing until the end of November 2012 at Xintai's request. It was supposed to have completed by October 3rd 2012. The Chief Executive Officer of Xintai, Dingli Wang, commented: "Xintai remains committed to the placing and we continue to believe that Vatukoula represents an excellent investment opportunity. We have spent considerable time at the operations in Fiji and remain confident that the right strategy and management team are in place and are capable of delivering on their stated goals." Mining minnow Vatukoula will use the funds to fund development of its gold mine in Fiji.

"Whilst the economic outlook remains challenging, our robust position gives us confidence for the current financial year," McIver added. The full year dividend has been maintained at 1.7p. Shares in Sportingbet fell to 50p from 53p overnight in the first hour of trading after the results before recovering somewhat.

The market consensus forecast for pre-tax profit was £28.94m. Even adding back the exceptional charge and throwing in a £10.7m contribution from non-core businesses, the pre-tax profit only rises to £26.1m. Looking at the exceptional items, £18.1m were costs associated with the disposal of the Turkish language website and £16.8m related to the acquisition and integration of Centrebet. An impairment charge of £18.7m was taken relating to these transactions for computer hardware and software. A further £14.7m was incurred settling a Spanish tax charge. The exceptional charge has resulted in a cash outflow of £48.8m this year and a further £4.6m will be cash outflows in future periods. Adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) slipped to 5.3p from 6.3p the year before, but those exceptional costs mean the unadjusted figures were very different, with a loss per share of 6.8p, versus a positive figure of 3.9p the year before. "With over 80% of our revenue coming from regulated countries we are confident that the increased advertising opportunities, improved payment processing and stable business platform provided by our regulated market presence will drive profitable growth in the medium-term," said Andrew McIver, Group Chief Executive.

Bid stock Sportingbet fell into the red last year after tax charges and mergers & acquisitions costs bit hard. The year ended July 31st 2012 was described as one of "significant change" by company Chairman, Peter Dicks, as the online bookie offloaded its Turkish operations and assimilated its Centrebet acquisition. Amounts wagered in the year rose to £2,349.2m from £2,053.9m the year before. Core net gaming revenue (NGR), however, eased to £188.9m from £206.3m. The market had been expecting core total revenue of around £199m. NGR was down 2% on a like-for-like basis, as business was hit by Greece and Spain making changes to gambling duties. The disposal of the Turkish business, the acquisition of Australian operator Centrebet and the passing of online gaming laws in two of its largest markets, Greece and Spain, saw the bookmaker's revenue mix shift decisively towards licensed and taxed jurisdictions. The group's revenue derived from regulated and/or taxed countries has risen to a current run rate of over 80%, Sportingbet revealed. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation improved to £56.8m from £51.4m a year earlier, but a £71.6m exceptional charge tipped the company into the red, with a core pre-tax loss of £56.2m, versus a profit of £20.7m the year before

One point in particular that appears to have been overlooked by many investors is the possibility that Trinity Mirror could unlock the value of its property assets. The nominal book value of its freehold assets was £176.8m as of January 1st 2012, equivalent to approximately 68p a share. The opportunity of a strong bounce-back from these levels is probably the reason that it can still number the following among its major shareholders: Schroder (16.7%), Aviva (11.5%), Standard Life (9%), Royal London Asset Management (5.3%), BlackRock (4.9%), JP Morgan (4.9%) and Old Mutual (4.9%). Consensus estimates for the year ending December 31st 2012 are for earnings per share of 26.75p, putting the company on a price earnings ratio of just over 2.

This was followed on August 30th by the news that Simon Fox - boss of media entertainment retailer HMV - was leaving to become Chief Executive at Trinity Mirror. "He was dealt a losing hand at HMV, but he moved them into live-music which is where the money is these days in the pop & rock biz," comments Managing Editor John Harrington at Digital Look.com. Reduction in debt Strong cash flows have enabled a reduction in net debt from £265.9m at the start of 2011 to £180.9m by the time of its interims to July 1st. A major concern has been its pensions deficit, although it is making progress in this area. At the end of 2011 its pensions deficit stood at £230m, yet by July 1st it had fallen to £209.9m. In parallel, the company successfully managed to reduce overpayments on its pensions from £33m a year to £10m a year for the next three years (until 2015), and these liabilities, while significant, appear manageable, some observers believe.

Trinity Mirror, best known as the publisher of five national newspapers, has continued its dramatic bounce back from an all-time low of 27p during the summer. Its share price has collapsed over the past couple of years due to concerns about falling ad revenues and circulation figures from its newspapers, high levels of debt and an ongoing pensions deficit. However, sentiment appears to have changed with the arrival of new management and the belated recognition that the business is being turned around with a move into digital channels and a reduction in debt. New management First came the arrival in August of a new Chairman, David Grigson, a big-hitter who knows the media business. He was a financial director at publishing and exhibitions firm Emap in the 90s and chairman of Emap Digital, before becoming financial director at financial information firm Reuters, helping to restructure its failing businesses and leading it into a successful merger with Canadian publishing giant Thomson in 2008.

Utilities group National Grid has agreed with Long Island Power Authority to modify and extend their power supply agreement for at least another 12 years. National Grid owns and manages a number of power plants on Long Island, with a generation capacity of 3,700 megawatts. The company has been supplying that electricity to communities and businesses across Long Island since 1998, under an agreement with Long Island Power that is currently set to expire in May next year. Once all regulatory approvals are received, the new agreement would give National Grid and Long Island Power new options for updating and modernising the power plants through retiring, or "repowering," existing facilities while reducing energy costs and improving environmental performance.

Gas giant BG Group is to sell its majority interest in India's Gujarat Gas Company (GGCL) for approximately INR 24.6bn - around 470m dollars. The 65.12% controlling interest in GGCL, India's largest private sector natural gas distribution company, will go to GSPC Distribution Networks, a subsidiary of Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation. BG Group Chief Executive Sir Frank Chapman said: "With this announcement, we have non-core asset sales agreements in place that will release some $4bn from our balance sheet". "We have made outstanding progress since announcing our two-year $5bn release program only eight months ago, and we remain focused on the successful delivery of our growth projects," he said.