Member Info for jange

The company is a member of the FTSE 100 index and is currently valued over £37 billion. It operates in around 180 countries, with around two thirds of business generated in Europe and North America. Diageo's recent half year results were solid. Organic sales rose 7% to £5.8 billion, with emerging markets leading the way. Latin American and Caribbean sales jumped 23%, whilst net sales in Africa grew by 18%, both driven by the Johnnie Walker Scotch whisky brand. Sales in emerging European economies helped to offset difficult Southern European regions. In the US, whilst volumes were flat, price increases helped net sales grow 5%.

The global drinks manufacturer and distributor with brands including Smirnoff, Johnnie Walker, Guinness, Baileys and Captain Morgan, generates almost 40% of its business from emerging markets. Brand-focused consumers, especially in China, are keen to spend new found wealth on western luxury items.

The pace and scope of change in the emerging economies is likely to be an investment story for decades to come, as China jostles to be the world's largest economy, and Asia in general becomes an economic force in its own right. Whilst there are various funds aiming to capitalise on growth in this higher risk area, private investors could also benefit indirectly by investing into companies exposed to these burgeoning areas. There are several shares to choose from in the FTSE 100 that fall into this category, and Diageo is one such stock.

The general market view is that Weir Group is a buy and the recent share price weakness could be seen as potential entry point.

Despite these positive results the share price has since come under significant pressure, falling 19% in the last few months. There was some disappointment that management guidance for 2012 had not been revised upwards but the main drivers behind the share price falls are worries about a general slowdown in activity from shale gas producers which could affect their oil & gas business.

Acquisitions have been sought out to bolster future prospects and accompanying management comments were understandably upbeat: 'The Group enters 2012 with a strong order book and with our clear strategy and flexible business model we expect a year of further good progress consistent with current consensus expectations.' Management confidence was further underlined by a 22% dividend increase. The company has also recognised its potential dependence on economic growth and has made efforts to concentrate on less cyclical after-sales service in recent years. In addition, any improvement in the US economy is likely to benefit Weir, since over 40% of its 2011 sales came from the US.

February's full-year results contained some impressive headline figures and pointed towards positive prospects. Operating profit rose 33% to £413 million and stronger commodity prices underpinned future growth. The continued rebound in business from North America helped the oil & gas divisions profits rise 61%, whilst China's growing demand for commodities helped profits rise 22% in the minerals (mining) division. They also met their target, of doubling 2009 profits by 2014, well ahead of schedule.

The company has gone from strength to strength, consistently growing earnings, revenue, profit and dividends. It now operates in over 70 countries, employs around 14,000 people and offers far more than just valves and pumps. It is well established in three main markets; minerals (including the provision of slurry handling equipment and mining), oil & gas (designing and manufacturing pumps for that industry) and power (support for global industrial power generation).

On the face of it the current environment could be classed as the best and the worst of times for recruitment agencies like SThree (STHR). Bulls will be hoping for more of the kind of cautious optimism delivered in the March update with gross group profits up 15% year-on-year and average placement fees for the quarter up strongly. With the current permanent deal pipeline showing an increase of 11% year on year, and £30m in cash, SThree appears to be a company with solid fundamentals.

Train set maker Hornby (HRN) reports finals after a profit warning in January, as pre-Christmas sales in the UK fell below 2010. So far this year the rate of growth is ‘below management expectations’, but observers will be checking to see if this bearish call by the company is too cautious and if new products such as Scalextric Star Wars can halt a bruising decline for the shares from 130p at the start of the year to as low as 80p.

The big name in the mix is chemicals group Johnson Matthey (JMAT), which reported substantial improvements in its Q3 update in February as sales rose by 22% between October and December 2011, and net debt shrank by £175m to £442m. Credit Suisse rated the stock a short term buy on May 29th ahead of finals, which means that for the time being worries over falling Platinum prices can be put to one side.

Good set of results published today,i bought a few of these for my sons portfollio a few years back,so im very glad its doing well in these uncertain times.........

"However, the board and the manager continue to believe that in the present difficult market environment the current defensive investment approach provides resilience whilst still providing the opportunity for creating growth in shareholder value over the long term."

In regards to the outlook, Pettigrew admitted that "there appears to be no realistic end in sight to the ongoing difficult economic and market environment." He said that "relatively concentrated nature of the portfolio may from time to time result in material short-term performance deviations from the benchmark

Looking at its portfolio, the company is weighted heavily in the defensive sectors - assets investors often pour into when markets are volatile - and that strategy seemed to work during the year with its share price jumping 17.6%, compared with the FTSE All-Share Index which rose by only 1.4%. The group has a great deal of exposure to pharmaceuticals, tobacco and telecoms stocks. "Economic and market conditions have remained challenging throughout the past 12 months. However, against this backdrop, the company's defensively positioned investment portfolio delivered substantial out-performance against the broader market for the year ended March 31st 2012," said Chairman Jim Pettigrew.

Edinburgh Investment Trust, the FTSE 250 group focused on UK securities, put in a resilient performance in the year to March 31st, growing net asset value (NAV) by a tenth in spite of the volatile market conditions during the period. NAV per share at market value increased by 10.2% over the period, from 434.02p to 478.3p. Revenue return per share excluding VAT recovered on management fees and interest increased by 6.3% from 20.8p to 22.1p. The final dividend was raised by 5.8% from 20.8p to 22p.

"The London office investment markets remain a challenging and competitive environment. Deploying capital into the fund's development and refurbishment activities is a prudent and cost effective course of action for us to adopt," Deacon said.

"Over the longer term, these two adjoining properties offer a superb development opportunity in one of the West End's premier sub markets, potentially delivering material uplift in both the quantity and quality of accommodation on the site," he added. As for Henderson, Nick Deacon, Director of Property at Henderson Global Investors, said the proceeds from the sale would be reinvested into the firm's CLOF 1 fund's development programme over the near term, including the fund's joint venture with Istithmar P&O at Regent Quarter in King's Cross, the proposed redevelopment of 54-57 Great Marlborough Street in Soho and Bishop's Court in Spitalfields.

The properties are held leasehold from The Crown Estate, with the leases expiring in 2057 and 2053, respectively. They have a total fixed ground rent of £13,250 per annum. Handily, the properties adjoin the Piccadilly Estate, a 130,000 square foot office and retail holding owned by the Great Capital Partnership, GPE's 50:50 Partnership with Capital and Counties Properties. "The acquisition offers an attractive net initial yield of 5.1% which we expect to be able to grow to around 7% over the next 24 months as a result of imminent lease events and focused asset management," said Toby Courtauld, GPE's Chief Executive.

Real estate investment trust Great Portland Estates (GPE) has bought interests in two properties in the heart of London's St James's district from fund management firm Henderson Global Investors. GPE is paying £39.0m for the leasehold interests in French Railways House and 50 Jermyn Street, SW1. The purchase price reflects a net initial yield of 5.1% and a capital value of £782 per square foot. The 1950's properties are multi-let to nine tenants, producing a gross rent of £2.12m per annum, which reflects an average rent of £46.50 per square foot on the offices and £125 per square foot Zone A on the retail space.