Member Info for jange

British American Tobacco PLC is a global tobacco company headquartered in London. It is the world’s second largest quoted tobacco company by global market share, with leading positions in more than 50 countries and a presence in more than 180 countries. The group’s core activity is the production, marketing and sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products. Brands include Dunhill, Rothmans, Pall Mall, Benson & Hedges, Kent, Lucky Strike and John Player Gold Leaf. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. It also maintains a secondary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

Positive Points: Shell is implementing a long-term strategy against the current volatile backdrop. Organic capital investment of around $32 billion in 2012 was announced and medium-term financial and production growth are on track, added management. Total oil and gas production was 3.103 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, an increase of 1.9% on the year as the ramp-up of its giant projects in Qatar and Canada helped offset the effects of losing some oil fields through asset sales. Shell has continuous improvement programmes in place to increase operational uptime and performance and to control costs. The group reported that more than 20 key upstream projects are presently under construction. The oil major said it is assessing new integrated gas options in North America. The company said it will continue to build high potential exploration acreage positions in 2012, including new liquids-rich shale and deepwater projects. Shell is one of the few international oil firms to operate an onshore gas field in China. In a separate announcement earlier this week, Shell said it agreed two partnership deals with China’s state run oil firm CNOOC in a move which will help secure longer term growth from projects in the world's second largest economy.

Negative Points: The group continues to see significant energy price volatility as a result of economic and political developments. Governments across the world continue to try to advance their share of the profits, whilst elements of the group's production (oil sands) generate higher costs than more traditional sources. The company's operating activities can be severely disrupted by the effects of natural disasters or industrial accidents. Changing political forces can affect Shell's pace of development activity in any country in which it operates. The company has interests in a number of Middle Eastern countries, including Syria.

Financial Highlights: The group reported earnings, on a current cost of supplies (CCS) basis of $5.7 billion compared with $6.6 billion in the second quarter 2011, a decrease of 13%. Total dividends distributed in the quarter were $2.8 billion. A total of 26.5 million shares were repurchased by the group during the quarter for a consideration of $0.9 billion. A second quarter dividend was announced of $0.43 per share, an increase of 2.4% compared with the second quarter 2011. Negative P

Second quarter results: A drop in earnings had been expected, but not to this extent as evidenced by the share price fall in early trade. Maintenance and outage issues have put pressure on the upstream business, whilst the deterioration in the oil price of late has weakened profitability. At a time when investors are looking towards blue chip reliability, the disappointment contained in the headline figures is palpable. Nonetheless, on a longer term view, there still seems much to go for. The company is extremely cash generative, allowing a further repurchase of shares and the ability to maintain an attractive dividend payment (currently yielding 4.7%), alongside future investment in new projects. Meanwhile, gearing has shown a significant reduction and divestments continue where considered appropriate. The share price performance over the last year (down 1% as compared to a 7% drop in the wider FTSE100) does not necessarily reflect the company's potential, even though today's statement has done little to reassure. Even so, the company's position as the preferred play in the sector is likely to remain intact, with the general market view of the shares as a buy being unaffected.

Royal Dutch Shell PLC is a major global oil and natural gas exploration, production and marketing company. In addition, it is a producer of chemical products. The Group has operating companies in more than 90 countries worldwide. Employing just over 100,000 employees, the group estimates that it delivers 2pc of the world’s oil and 3pc of its gas needs. Approximately 44,000 Shell service stations operate worldwide, whilst some 35 refineries and chemical plants are in operation. The group is headquartered in The Hague, the Netherlands, but incorporated in England and Wales.

Positive Points: Current full year earnings guidance has been left unchanged. The AstraZeneca pipeline now includes 90 projects, of which 83 projects are in the clinical phase of development and a further 7 are either approved or launched. There are 9 new molecular entity (NME) projects currently in late stage development, either in Phase III or under regulatory review. In the first half of 2012, across the clinical portfolio, 22 projects had successfully progressed to their next phase (including 7 projects entering first human testing); 10 projects had been withdrawn. The previous acquisition of Ardea adds to the group's potential for new blockbuster drugs. Along with potential treatment for gout, a treatment for cancer is being developed under a global license agreement with Bayer HealthCare. AstraZeneca has also recently signed a collaboration deal to jointly develop and sell five biotech drugs currently in Amgen's developmental pipeline. Amgen is the world's largest biotechnology company engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of human therapeutics based on advances in cellular and molecular biology. Under the terms of the agreement, AstraZeneca will make a one-time $50 million upfront payment and the companies will share both costs and profits. Despite reported operational problems, the underlying problems have now been largely resolved according to management. Production is now responding to ongoing demand, including filling back orders and restoring normal inventories in the distribution channels. The UK Government recently announced lower taxes on patents in a bid to try to encourage companies to carry out more research in the UK. The board has recommended a first interim dividend of $0.90 (58.1 pence, 6.26 SEK). The amount of the first interim dividend is a reflection of the Board's intent to rebalance the first and second interim dividends, with the aim of setting the first interim dividend at around a third of the prior year dividend, which last year was $2.80. The group intends to complete net share repurchases in the amount of $4.5 billion during 2012. In the first half of 2012 it repurchased 41.0 million shares for a total of $1,854 million. A focus on reducing costs remains.

Negative Points: Drug patent losses reduced group revenue. The loss of exclusivity on several key brands accounted for 15% of the revenue decline reported. Management has previously warned that the coming years would be "challenging for the industry and for the company". The pharmaceuticals industry has come under pressure because its major players have struggled to invent new blockbuster drugs as patents on existing best sellers expire, leaving them open to cheap competition. US revenues were down 29% in Q2, with the loss of exclusivity for Seroquel accounting for 80% of the revenue decline. Revenues were reduced by an estimated $300 million as a result of government cost cutting in Europe and some other markets. The negative impact of US healthcare reform on Q2 revenue and costs was approximately $150 million. Continued disruptions to its supply chain from the implementation of an enterprise resource planning IT system in Sweden dragged on sales. The estimated impact on Q2 revenue was around 2%. Management estimates that the impact for the full year will be around 1% of revenue. Although seen as a potential growth driver, revenues in the Emerging Markets rose by just 1%. Concerns regarding the group's ability to discover new drugs were previously expressed. About one third of previously announced job cuts were expected to come from research and development. At 30 June 2012, outstanding group gross debt (interest-bearing loans and borrowings) was $9.318 billion (31 December 2011: $9.328 billion). Of the gross debt outstanding at 30 June 2012, $2.008 billion is due within one year (31 December 2011: $1.990 billion).

Financial Highlights: Group revenue declined by 18% on a constant currency basis to $6.66 billion. Core Earnings Per Share (EPS) declined by 6% to $1.53 on a constant currency basis. The board has recommended a first interim dividend of $0.90. Core EPS target range for the full year maintained at $5.85 to $6.15 against $7.28 in 2011.

Second quarter results: The loss of patents on certain drugs, pricing pressures across Europe as governments attempted to reduce health budgets and operational difficulties all impacted during the period. Revenue declined by 18% on a constant currency basis and by 21% on an actual basis. The loss of exclusivity on several key brands (including Seroquel - antipsychotic medicine - from the end of March) accounted for 15% of the revenue decline. Revenues were reduced by an estimated $300 million as a result of government cost cutting in Europe and some other markets, while continued disruptions to its supply chain from the implementation of an enterprise resource planning IT system in Sweden also played its part. Nonetheless, with acquisitions and deals currently aiding its pipeline of potential future drugs and a share buy-back scheme providing support, financial targets for the full year were left unchanged.

Company overview AstraZeneca is a global, biopharmaceutical business with a primary focus on the discovery, development and commercialisation of prescription medicines for gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, neuroscience, respiratory and inflammation, oncology and infectious disease. Headquartered in London, it operates in over 100 countries, with its medicines used by millions of patients worldwide. The group's primary listing is on the London Stock Exchange, with secondary listings on the New York Stock Exchange and the OMX Exchange.

Positive Points: The group's agreement to sell its 60%t stake in Comgás, a Brazilian gas distribution business, realised $1.7 billion. BG Group note that it reached key project delivery milestones and delivered further exploration success across its portfolio. In LNG, the quarter’s performance was consistent with group expectations. Total operating profit for the full year will be at the upper end of the $2.6 billion to $2.8 billion guidance, added the company. Net debt reduced by $1 billion in the quarter. Net debt stood at $10.2 billion at the end of June. A progressive dividend policy continues to be pursued. The interim dividend saw an increase of 10%.

Negative Points: BG said it would also take a $1.3 billion impairment charge against its shale gas business in the United States. BG's profits are sensitive to changes in oil and natural gas prices, which can fluctuate significantly as a result of economic and geopolitical forces. The current Chief Executive is due to retire sometime during 2013. He has led company growth since 2000. The group may face changing political implications as it increases its global reach. BG maintains key positions in Australia, Brazil and Tanzania.

Financial Highlights: Including exceptional charges and gains, pre-tax profits for the quarter slipped sharply from £2.2 billion to $609 million. Second quarter revenues rose from $5.1 billion to $5.6 billion. For the half year, profits fell from $3.7 billion to $2.8 billion, with interim revenues that stood at just under $10 billion. BG Group increased its interim dividend 10% to 11.88 cents per share.

Second quarter results: BG Group reported a steep decline in profits, dragged down by an impairment charge on its United States shale gas assets. The $1.3 billion charge followed the group's warning in February that it would cut back on shale drilling due to a weak gas price. BG’s 2012 production exit rate dropped from 0.75m to 0.72m boed (barrels of oil equivalent per day), while total oil and gas production was 673,000 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day, four per cent higher than the same period in 2011 and slightly higher than expectations of 664,000 boe. Chief Executive, Sir Frank Chapman said: "Cash flow from operations grew by 21% to $3.1billion, in a quarter where higher exploration and production costs, including an exploration charge of $203 million, resulted in an 8.0% fall in total operating profit to $2.0 billion. "For the half year, cash flow from operations was up 32%, operating profit was 6% higher, and earnings grew by 21%, on the back of a 4% production increase and a 25% growth in LNG (liquefied natural gas) profits.

BG Group (the former British Gas company minus the retail distribution arm Centrica) conducts its business via three key divisions: 1) Exploration and Production of both gas and oil. 2) Liquefied Natural Gas - the management of export and import plants 3) Transmission and Distribution - the division is the operator of major pipelines and distribution networks to industry. A previous fourth division - Power Generation – has recently (September 2010) seen the majority of its operations sold, with remaining units allocated to other group divisions. Gas accounts for approximately 70pc of overall group volumes, while oil and liquids represent the remaining 10 pc and 20 pc respectively.

Positive Points: The group's diversified business model is designed to help it to weather difficult trading conditions. The company is currently forecasting total capital and investment expenditure of just over £1.6 billion for 2012/13. SSE has been rumoured to be a potential acquisition target. The group's progressive dividend policy remains attractive to investors in a low interest rate environment. The company said it remained on course to deliver a full-year dividend increase of at least RPI + 2%.

Negative Points: Accompanying management comments highlighted that energy market conditions remained challenging, with upward pressures seen on the cost of supplying energy, and are expected to remain so for some time. SSE is expected to have regulatory reviews affecting its electricity transmission and gas distribution businesses in the next two years. The group is exposed to movements in commodity prices and evolving energy markets. The energy company operates in a highly regulated environment.

Financial Highlights: The company's stated that its core financial objective is to deliver annual, above-RPI inflation increases in the dividend payable to shareholders, and it said it remained on course to deliver a full year dividend increase of at least 2% more than RPI inflation for 2012/13 and above-RPI inflation dividend increases from 2013/14 onwards.

Interim statement: SSE Plc (formerly Scottish and Southern Energy) said it had made a solid start to the financial year, with good progress seen in operations and investments. The utility giant saw the number of customers in the UK and Ireland increase from 9.55 million to 9.66 million in the first three months. This included 130,000 gained through its acquisition of Phoenix Holdings. The average consumption of electricity by SSE's household customers in Great Britain during the quarter increased by almost 6%, while average consumption of gas by SSE's household customers increased by 42%, reflecting cooler weather conditions. The group added that its onshore wind farm capacity in operation had increased by 50MW to 1,353MW as a result of progress at the Clyde wind farm development, while commissioned offshore wind farm capacity had increased by 69MW to 256MW as a result of the completion of Walney and ongoing construction progress at Greater Gabbard, where 137 of the 140 turbines have now generated electricity