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Trading statement: GKN has today agreed to buy the aerospace division from Swedish based Volvo Group for £633 million. The engineering company is one of the world’s biggest makers of structures and products used in aircraft manufacture, but it does not produce the advanced engine parts Volvo Aero specialises in. The deal, which is expected to be completed during the third quarter, subject to regulatory approval, is expected to significantly enhance GKN Aerospace's engine components business. The transaction will be funded by new debt and a placing of £140 million, which represents approximately 5% of GKN's current market capitalisation. Overall, GKN said its business performance in April and May had continued in line with the first quarter of the year. Group sales for the five months to 31 May increased 17%, with underlying sales up 9%. The Board continues to expect that 2012 will be another year of good progress. GKN is expected to announce half year results on 31 July

GKN plc is a multinational engineering company headquartered in Redditch, United Kingdom. The company was formerly known as Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds and can trace its origins back to 1759, the birth of the industrial revolution. GKN is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index

Shire: UBS cuts target from 2,250p to 2,200p, buy recommendation maintaine

National Grid: Nomura cuts target from 735p to 730p, buy rating kept.

Ladbrokes: UBS cuts target from 180p to 175p, buy rating kept.

Kingfisher: Nomura reduces target from 340p to 325p, buy rating kept.

GKN: Arden Partners upgrades to buy.

Drax: HCBS downgrades to neutral, 630p target kept.

Cineworld: Merchant Securities gives buy rating and 244p target.

Britvic: Nomura cuts target from 425p to 375p, buy rating kept.

Bellway: UBS raises target from 800p to 900p, neutral stance unchanged.

Babcock: Jefferies keeps buy recommendation and 970p target.

Ashmore: Citigroup cuts target from 400p to 350p, neutral rating kept.

ARM Holdings: Jefferies maintains hold rating and 485p target

Investec has reiterated its 'buy' recommendation for engineering group GKN after the news that it has agreed to acquire Volvo Aero. "The acquisition of Volvo Aerospace has been announced on terms that are better than anticipated in the media," the broker said in a research note on Thursday. "Compared to some predictions, the cost (enterprise value) of £633m is lower, the equity raise is lower (5% placing), expected returns are higher (return on invested capital, with operating margins to be boosted by c£25m of cost savings)."

Tyne and Wear-based Utilitywise (UTW) helps business clients use energy more efficiently. The energy broker and auditor only joined London's junior market last month (12 June) at 60p per share, and it is quickly building an investor fan base. Shares Magazine are among its fans. The £39 million cap helps businesses get the best possible energy price deals, and then analyses consumption trends to squeeze usage cost savings. Growth to date has been all self-funded through its own cashflows aided by a very impressive 50% of contracts that renew. The company believes it can get this metric up as high as 70% in future. As many as 80% of contracts run for longer than one year, promising high visibility and reliability of future earnings. Several significant contracts are up for grabs over the coming few months. It already supplies data analytics that fuel British Gas' Energy Insight scheme. Broker finnCap believes pre-tax profits will rise 17.1% to £4.1 million this year to end July, pushing on to £6.6 million in 2013 and potentially nearly doubling to £11.7 million the following year. Earnings forecasts have yet to be made public but Utilitywise seems to be cleverly positioned as energy use becomes an increasingly big-picture theme.

Utility Pennon (PNN) is really a story of structural growth from the firm's Viridor energy-from-waste (EfW) business. EfW involves burning waste to generate high-pressure steam which is converted into electricity and piped into the national grid. It ties in neatly with Viridor's recycling operations as both help cut the need for expensive and less eco-friendly landfill. While the returns from the regulated South West Water business are predictable, if pedestrian, Pennon has big expansion plans for Viridor, with construction set to start on several projects over the next couple of years. Projects in Oxfordshire and Exeter are expected to have already begun, while EfW plants at Cardiff, Avonmouth and Dunbar are pencilled for construction starts between the middle of 2012 and 2014. These could more than double Viridor's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), according to analysts at Investec. They expect last year's EBITDA of £110.3 million (to end March) to hit close on £290 million by 2016. This would allow the group to comfortably meet its dividend growth target set at 4% above the Retail Prices Index. This year's expected full-year payout of 26.6p implies a 3.5% yield, and meeting its dividend policy growth target would build in a hedge against rising inflation going forward.

Looking ahead to the second half of the financial year, Cineworld's plans to open a new seven screen cinema in Aldershot and the conversion of its digital projection estate by the end of the summer are all progressing on schedule. Cineworld added: "While the timing of the Olympics is expected to add to the challenges of a tough third quarter comparative, the film line up has strong 3D product in the second half, which includes 'The Amazing Spiderman', 'Ice Age 4' and 'The Hobbit' and is matched by an exciting range of 2D films including 'The Dark Knight Rises', the concluding film of the Twilight series 'Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn (part 2)' and the next Bond title 'Skyfall'." "As a result we remain confident of delivering growth for the year as a whole in line with current market expectations."

Cinema chain Cineworld reported a small increase in revenue at the interim stage despite a fall in admissions, and remains confident of delivering growth for the full year in line with current market expectations. The group saw a 1.1% increase in revenue during the 26 weeks ended June 28th. Box Office revenue climbed 4.1% on the back of a higher average ticket price and marginally lower admission levels, which were down 0.8%. Total retail revenue fell 2.1% after slightly lower spend per person. Other Income fell 18.7% due primarily by the removal of the booking fee, as well as lower sales of 3D glasses. Cineworld was the first UK cinema chain to drop all online booking fees. Cineworld's box office market share was at 24.7% compared to 24.9% in 2011. Screen advertising revenues, which make up over half of "Other Income", were down 10.9% from the previous year, reflecting the general trend in the wider advertising market, and the anticipated focus of advertising on the European football championships, the group explained.

New and used car dealer Lookers announced that it has bought Scottish based Lomond Motors for £15m. "The acquisition strengthens the group's presence in Scotland, where it operates as Taggarts Motor Group in Glasgow and Motherwell and represents the Land Rover," Lookers said in a company statement. Lomond operates four Audi Centre dealerships in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stirling and Ayr, as well as the distribution of trade parts for the VW Group in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Lookers bought the entire issued share capital of Lomond using the group's existing bank facilities. The statutory accounts of Lomond for the year ending 31 December 2011 reported a pre-tax profit of £0.7m, with gross assets of £36.8m and net assets of £5.3m. Lookers Chief Executive, Peter Jones, said: "The acquisition is an important development in the group's representation of the Audi brand and our relationship with the VW Group and we are very pleased to be representing the brands in such key locations."