Member Info for jange

Shares in Braemar Shipping Services on Thursday rose after the company said its shipbroking division saw an improvement in its performance during the last quarter. The company said the merger of ACM Shipping and Braemar Seascope in 2014 was in line with its plans. "We are encouraged by the progress of the enlarged division," Braemar wrote in a trading update. The falling of oil prices helped the group to improve shipbroking rates and its revenues in the sector, driven by an increased demand for oil tankers. Furthermore, the logistics and technical divisions also improved during a year of "transition and growth"

Wolseley's management has shown its ability to ride through the post-crash downturn. Trading in the US is growing nicely and, while mainland Europe remains tough, the region now forms a relatively modest part of group revenue. The dividend was increased by 25 per cent last year, but is still more than twice covered by after-tax earnings, and offers a decent yield. Uncertainties remain, but the group is taking market share and its US exposure is clearly a positive factor at the moment

Trading elsewhere is more or less treading water, but showing early signs of recovery. Like-for-like revenue in the UK, which makes up around 15 per cent of group revenue, grew by 0.5 per cent in the first quarter to October, while the acquisition last year of Fusion Provida, a supplier of utility infrastructure products, added a further 4.4 per cent to revenue growth. True, gross margins were down a little as a result of competitive pricing pressures, but operating costs were kept under control, and quarterly trading profits were just £1m down from a year earlier at £24m. Around 15 per cent of group revenue comes from the Nordic region, where slower trading in Finland was offset by growth in Denmark and Sweden, leaving like-for-like revenue growth of just under 2 per cent. However, margins slipped in the wake of the acquisition of Finnish timber and materials group Puukeskus and, although trading profits in the quarter slipped by £3m, two-thirds of this was due to unfavourable currency movements. Canada provides just 6 per cent of total revenue, and sales there grew by 1.7 per cent, although trading profits were flat on constant exchange rates. Group finances are in reasonable shape, and while net debt rose from £711m in July to £858m in October, this included buying back £120m of shares as part of a £250m share buyback programme announced in September last year. The group also has credit facilities of £2.2bn. Despite the tough trading climate in Europe, Wolseley has still managed to show a consistent improvement in operational metrics. Return on capital employed has nearly doubled in the past five years to 30.7 per cent, while trading margins have improved from 3.4 per cent in 2010 to 5.8 per cent in 2014.

Trading in Europe remains a hard slog, with the eurozone seemingly incapable of throwing off the threat of recession. Like-for-like revenue in the first quarter fell by 9.3 per cent, and gross margins were down too. However, steps have been taken to counter the effects of the weak economy through a reduction in operating costs. Even so, first-quarter trading profits were more than halved to £6m; that includes a £1m loss because of euro weakness. This has dented sentiment, but it's worth pointing out that revenue from central Europe and France only accounted for 6 per cent of the first-quarter total, and some assets, including the wood solutions business in France, are now up for sale.

Shares in Wolseley (WOS) may have risen sharply in the fourth quarter of last year, but there is still a long way to go before the heating and plumbing products giant repairs the damage it suffered during the economic downturn. From a peak in 2006, the financial crash drove the shares down by an astonishing 90 per cent to a trough in early 2009. Happily, since then the shares have shown a steady recovery, and the group is now ideally poised to take advantage of an upturn in activity in the US. The better tone here is crucial because Wolseley derives more than half its sales from the US and around three-quarters of group trading profits. Most of the income is generated from products in the repair, maintenance and improvement (RMI) market, and demand here is brisk. Growth in the new residential market remains more modest, though, while the commercial segment and a general increase in market share helped to push like-for-like revenue in the three months to the end of October up by 12.4 per cent. Three bolt-on acquisitions contributed an additional 3 per cent of revenue growth, and while continued investment in adopting new business models pushed up operating costs by 11 per cent, gross margins were still up for the 2014 financial year. After taking account of a £5m adverse currency movement, trading profits in the first quarter rose by 23 per cent to £174m. It's also worth noting that energy costs have been significantly lowered as a result of the recent downturn in commodity prices.

Given all the current uncertainty surrounding Smiths Group, it could be a while before shares return to levels seen at the beginning of last year. With that in mind, a PE ratio of 13 times 2015 forecast earnings does not seem so palatable, especially as many of its peers face brighter prospects and trade on similar ratings.......but as always dyor gl

Smiths' other core divisions seem unlikely to pick up the slack. For example, its medical device business, which accounted for 30 per cent of profit last year, faces years of turmoil as the US healthcare industry adjusts to budgetary constraints and the Affordable Care Act (ACA). A gain in patient volumes and procedures as a result of ACA has not succeeded in offsetting the 2.3 per cent medical device tax paid by manufacturers such as Smiths, leading to ongoing volume and pricing pressures. Elsewhere, Smiths Detection continues to battle with tight government budgets, a shift to larger contracts and increased competition. The US Budget Control Act of 2011, which sets out caps for spending through to 2021, means that investment in expensive, high-tech radars at ports and borders aren't likely to match post 9/11 levels for quite some time. Given its net debt of £817m, a £242m pension deficit and £227m of gross asbestos provisions, the group also looks as though it lacks the financial flexibility to use acquisitions or major investment to reinvigorate prospects. What's more, Panmure Gordon reckons free cash flow will only average £200m between 2015 and 2017 compared with last year's dividend bill of £157m, which means fears of a cut could soon come into play, especially in light of the impending appointment of a new boss.

Life hasn't been rosy for Smiths Group (SMIN) of late. Shares in the engineering giant steadily fell through most of 2014, following a series of poor results, and then tanked when the price of oil went south, finishing the year among the worst performers in their large-cap peer group. We believe 2015 could continue to prove torrid for shareholders. Alongside a host of other issues, Smiths now finds itself in a position of management uncertainty. This month, chief executive Philip Bowman announced plans to retire at the end of 2015, joining the group's finance director, who is due to leave early this year. Given the lack of momentum over recent years a change in leadership could be seen as positive, but it also means that the widely discussed and required break-up will probably not occur until a new boss is installed. When Mr Bowman joined Smiths in 2007 speculation was rife that his reputation as a dealmaker would spark a break-up of the five-division conglomerate. When we tipped Smiths off this potential and healthier end markets back in 2013, the chief admitted that he was keen to sell a division or two and refocus the group, yet issues including pension liabilities and asbestos litigation complicated things. The value opportunity looks to have passed, too, now that the group's breadwinner of recent years, John Crane, is under threat from a falling oil price. Providing seals that help extract and transport oil and gas safely at extreme pressures and temperatures was in strong demand over the past decade as global demand for energy soared. But now, with oil supply continuing to outpace demand, the segment that accounted for almost one-third of group sales last year and 44 per cent of underlying profit looks likely to struggle due to expected cancellations and delays to projects. In fact, broker Panmure Gordon expects John Crane's sales to fall by 2 per cent in 2015 and a further 4 per cent a year in the following two years

But after the shares fell to just 506p in mid-December - their lowest level since 2010 - post-Catlin takeover rumours have helped them to rally around 10 per cent since. Yet they still trade on just 1.3 times Westhouse's end-2014 NTA estimate (of 625¢) - that's merely average for the sector and notably cheap compared with the share ratings of some rivals, such as Hiscox (HSX) or Beazley (BEZ), at around 1.7 times. With bid chatter still very much alive, and given the impressive income characteristics, expect more upside ahead.

Even if a deal doesn't materialise - and Lloyd's is littered with past failed bid attempts - the group's robust underwriting record still leaves Lancashire looking attractive. Indeed, the company reported a highly profitable combined ratio (comparing claims to premiums) of nearly 75 per cent for the nine months to end-September 2014 - that's a notably better underwriting performance than at most of its peers, which typically report ratios in the mid-80 per cent range. Moreover, the group is managing to deliver that robust underwriting result despite an increasingly soft pricing backdrop: in the first nine months, for instance, Lancashire's premium rates for property retrocession and reinsurance cover fell to 87 per cent of the levels achieved a year earlier. Such pricing slippage, however, is entirely in line with the sector's wider experience. With rates under pressure, analysts also expect Lancashire to continue to return capital to shareholders that it can't profitably utilise and that signals excellent dividend prospects. In fact, Westhouse anticipates end-2014's total dividend - the base dividend plus special dividends - to reach a chunky 135¢ (89p), implying a prospective yield of 16 per cent. Even for the historically high-yielding insurance sector, that's a fat payout: the average prospective yield for the sector is nearer 6 per cent according to broker Numis Securities. True, sentiment towards Lancashire's shares has suffered after founder Richard Brindle said he was stepping down as chief executive back in April - he was replaced by former chief underwriting officer Alex Maloney. That sentiment problem has been compounded by rumours that Mr Brindle is looking to launch a new rival insurer during the course of this year as it's feared he could poach business and staff from Lancashire

News late last month that New York-listed insurer XL Group (US:XL) had made an approach for Lloyd's underwriter Catling (CGL) has helped fuel speculation that wider sector consolidation could be on the cards. At present, insurance analysts mainly think that deal-doing in the UK is more likely to manifest itself through bolt-on acquisitions among the sector's smaller players and, crucially, mid-sized Lancashire (LRE) is being mooted as a potential target. Add that to the group's fairly modest share price rating, as well as its impressive dividend prospects, and snapping up Lancashire's shares now could prove lucrative. The arguments in favour of consolidation are certainly sound. Significantly, after several years without big costly catastrophe claims, insurers have more than enough capital to fund deals. What's more, that capital glut is also driving down premium rates as underwriters compete on price and such a relatively depressed market backdrop is making consolidation look more attractive. "Surplus capital will inevitably accelerate M&A," notes insurance analyst Joanna Parsons of broker Westhouse Securities. "A typical reaction to constrained growth and large balance sheets is that, if you can't get it organically, you buy it." She names Lloyd's insurer Novae (NVA) - but also Lancashire - as "easy to swallow deals". XL's offer for Catlin was set at about 1.5 times analysts' forecasts for end-2014's net tangible assets (NTA). Applying a similar multiple to Lancashire's shares implies a takeout price of over 620p, or roughly 11 per cent above the current share price

more buys than sells again today and 10% down............games my friends.

Topped up last week and have a good average here........convinced they have the right team here to take this forward and institutional investors agree with a higher than usual investments here good luck to all of us here.....but still cheap for new investors to jump aboard imho.......

http://www.lse.co.uk/share-regulatory-news.asp?shareprice=TPET&ArticleCode=kk1pxtlb&ArticleHeadline=Investor_Presentation

Hi guys hope your both well.....same has you still adding when i can hoping for news soon convinced it will come but only my opinion .........

Hold a shade over 5million here now...... may top up some more next week if we dont get news gl

Roll on friday something is brewing i can feel it in my water lol.....

Or lost my friend.......But hopefully more wins than losses lol...........

merry xmas all........

In the same position as you have built-up a big holding here now so alot to lose but masive upside if we can sort out the local issues i believe they will get sorted but only my opinion...........Iwas one of the original holders in REM at 0.08 and the stick i used to get but look at rem now......Good luck mate.