Member Info for mulledwine

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201210040700078821N

Dennis Millard, Chairman, commented: "Our trading stance together with the actions we took to capitalise on a successful summer of sport and improved weather meant we delivered a stronger Retail top line in the period, recovering some of the ground lost in the Spring. We continued to be encouraged by the performance of Autocentres. Our second-half planning assumptions, however, remain cautious given the prevailing pressures on the consumer as we approach the important winter and Christmas trading periods. By continuing to build on our service ethic and investing further in training and support for our colleagues, we aim to improve the quality of service for our Retail customers and thus drive sustainable medium-term growth. Amongst a number of initiatives to support our customer-service delivery, we have recently recruited over 450 new fitting colleagues and retrained existing colleagues to help grow sales of Retail wefit solutions. The management team continues to focus on active trading, cash generation, prudent cost management and executing against material opportunities to drive long-term value." The Halfords Group plc interim results will be published on 21 November 2012.

Group & Outlook · Group profit before tax for the first half is expected to be £40m-£42m reflecting the strong Q2 sales performance and an acceleration of operating-cost investment · First-half net debt is expected to be c.£115m, reflecting robust working capital and cash management · Full-year guidance and second-half planning assumptions of flat to mid-single-digit negative Retail LfLs remain unchanged; however, given the Q2 performance, FY13 PBT would now be in the upper half of the previously-stated range of £62-70m · As previously indicated, the intention is to declare an unchanged interim dividend of 8p per share, payable in Jan 2013 · Matt Davies is appointed Chief Executive with immediate effect; see separate announcement

Key Points for the Second Quarter Retail · Cycling: strong performance fuelled by active trading, better weather and Tour de France & Olympic successes · Car Maintenance: solid performance across all main categories and a further increase in 3Bs fitting penetration · Car Enhancement: growth in Audio and Car Cleaning partially offset the Sat Nav decline · Travel Solutions: reduced Camping demand and a focus on maximising cash margins in Child Travel · Enhanced multichannel offer and customer fulfilment delivered a 30.0% uplift in online sales Autocentres · Strongest LfL performance since acquisition in February 2010 · Better-than-expected increase in tyre participation · Good pipeline of new centres for opening this year

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201210040700078819N

Outlook Japanese equities continue to sell at a discount to most other world equity markets and it is difficult to know when investors will recognise this more broadly. In the meantime Japan has many companies which are growing and are expected to continue to do so, the most attractive of which are held by the Company.

The Baillie Gifford Japan Trust PLC outperformed its benchmark index over the year to 31 August 2012 by 3.5 percentage points. Net asset value per share, after deducting borrowings at fair value, rose 0.8%, while the benchmark index declined 2.7%. The share price rose 2.4%. ¾ Returns ahead of the Company's benchmark were as a result of good stock selection, particularly in the information, communication and utilities and electricals and electronics sectors. So-Net Entertainment and Endo Lighting being notable contributors. ¾ The Company's JPY borrowings were a small net negative contributor to performance and gearing stood at 19% of shareholders' funds at year end (18% - 31 August 2011). We continue to believe that the growth potential of specific stocks remains fundamentally understated by current share prices so borrowings continue to be invested in the market. ¾ Portfolio turnover over the period was 9% (11% for the year to 31 August 2011) reflecting the Managers' conviction in the current portfolio and long term investment horizon. Six new holdings were made and six holdings sold in entirety. ¾ The Japanese economy is forecast to grow 2% in 2012, significantly higher than the G10 average, driven by domestic demand. Although the macro environment is uncertain, corporate Japan would be well positioned to benefit from progress on deregulation, free trade and a more explicit inflation target. ¾ The Managers' focus on individual companies and the Company's focus on finding growth internationally, as well as domestically, remain points of differentiation from the index. The Baillie Gifford Japan Trust PLC aims to achieve long term capital growth principally through investment in medium to smaller sized Japanese companies which are believed to have above average prospects for growth. At 31 August 2012, the Company had total assets of £163.1m (before deduction of bank loans of £28.5m). Baillie Gifford & Co, the Edinburgh based fund management group with around £82billion under management and advice as at 3 October 2012, is appointed as investment managers and secretaries to The Baillie Gifford Japan Trust PLC.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201210040700068799N

Prospects The Board believes with the focus on growing our Companion Animal Identification business, the resumption of supply of Buprecare ampoules, and the planned launch of four new licensed veterinary products during the financial year Animalcare should return to growth. Your Board is encouraged by current trading for the beginning of the new financial year.

James Lambert, Chairman of Animalcare, said: "As anticipated, this has been a difficult year for Animalcare but I believe the measures the Board has taken during it will see the business beginning to grow again during the current financial year. The board believes with the focus on growing our Companion Animal Identification business, the resumption of supply of Buprecare ampoules, and the planned launch of four new licensed veterinary products during the financial year Animalcare should return to growth. Your Board is encouraged by current trading for the beginning of the new financial year."

Operational Highlights · Launch of five new generic veterinary medicines during the year · Growth in UK sales of licensed veterinary medicines significantly ahead of market · Development pipeline on track for products already in regulatory review and new products in development · Successful development and implementation of new identification microchip database · Strong net cash flow from operating activities of £1.1m (2011: cash outflow £0.4m) Post-period end · Launch of Vitofyllin in the UK and Ireland in a market worth approximately £1.5m per annum

Full Year Results Animalcare Group plc ("the Group" or "Animalcare"), a leading supplier of veterinary medicines, announces results for the year ended 30 June 2012. Animalcare is made up of three product groups: Licensed Veterinary Medicines, Companion Animal Identification and Animal Welfare products. Financial Highlights · Revenue from continuing operations down 8.2% to £10.9m (2011: £11.8m) o Sales of licensed veterinary medicines (excluding Buprecare ampoules) up 16.8% · Underlying profit before tax from continuing operations* down 21.7% to £2.3m (2011: £3.0m) · Underlying basic earnings per share* down 25% to 8.8p (2011: 11.8p) · Year end cash position grew from £1.18m to £2.3m · Total dividend for the year up 12.5% to 4.5p (2011: 4p) * Underlying measures exclude, where applicable, amortisation of acquired intangibles, impairment of goodwill, fair value movements on interest hedging, impairments to current and non-current assets and other charges relating to Group reorganisation.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201210040700098871N

Oriel Securities upgrades SThree from hold to add, target price 315p.

WYG Buy 02-Oct-12 £49,748.62 David Jeffcoat 95,441 @ 52.13p

and a decent amount too Alkane Energy Buy 02-Oct-12 £51,125.00 Roger McDowell 250,000 @ 20.45p

PureCircle Ltd. (DI) Buy 02-Oct-12 £43,000.00 Mei ("May") Sian Tan 20,000 @ 215.00p

walkley - I didnt have time to read this today but I agree entirely - very encouraging indeed

Louise Makin, BTG's CEO, commented: "Based on our strong first-half performance and with a positive outlook for the second half, we have raised our revenue guidance for the second time this year. We are progressing towards submission of the US NDA for Varisolve® at the end of the calendar year. The transition to direct US sales in our Beads business has gone well and we are continuing to actively progress our indication and geographic expansion activities. In addition, we also anticipate progress in the coming months with our partnered programmes, including the potential US and EU approvals of Zytiga® in mCRPC patients who have not yet had chemotherapy."

Within Interventional Medicine, end-market sales of BTG's interventional oncology Bead products continue to grow at a double-digit percentage. The transition to direct sales in January 2012 has gone well however first-half revenues do not yet fully reflect the underlying end-market sales owing to relatively high levels of customer inventory at the time of the transition. Customer inventory is expected to revert to more normal levels during the second half, with full year revenues in line with expectations. The strong performance in Licensing & Biotechnology reflects the previously announced final royalty payment from Pfizer relating to BeneFIX® (factor IX) of $22m, the continued growth of Zytiga® royalties and the £5.4m of additional deferred income relating to AZD9773. Additional marketing applications have been submitted for Zytiga® in the US and EU to extend its use to include the treatment of patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) who are asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic after failure of androgen deprivation therapy and before chemotherapy.