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Evolution Securities retained its "buy" recommendation for Psion (PON), the provider of solutions for mobile computing and wireless data collection, with a 150p target price. Following the release of full-year results, the broker believes the stock will hold significant value if the group is able to come anywhere near to its 10% operating margin target. Moreover, Evolution thinks the dearth of formal guidance for the expected financial performance for 2011 will keep earnings expectations down and ultimately provide for potentially greater upside surprise. Psion shares inched down 0.25p to 90.75p.

The performance of heavyweight investment trust Foreign & Colonial in 2010 was on par with that of the trust’s benchmark index but lagged that of its peer group. The net asset value per share (NAV) rose 13.6% to 346.1p with debt priced at market value. With debt priced at its nominal value, NAV improved to 351.24p at the end of 2010 from 309.84p at the end of 2009.

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Shore Capital says... Buy. Fund performance at Brewin Dolphin remains impressive and it is encouraging to note that around 80 per cent of inflows in the last quarter of 2010 were into discretionary funds. At 115 basis points, these generate a higher revenue yield than advisory funds, at around 85 basis points. We continue to believe that the group remains vastly under-rated relative to its peer group, and expect adjusted pre-tax profits for end-September 2011 of £48m and EPS of 14.6p.

Canaccord Genuity says... Buy. Total revenue rose 15.9 per cent in the fourth quarter to £65.9m, and this helped boost management fees by 32 per cent - although this was countered by the rather weak increase in investment management commission. We expect to see adjusted pre-tax profits of £46.4m for 2011 and EPS of 14.2p. And the impact of the sale of the corporate and broking side isn't expected to come through until 2012, when profits are likely to be around 3.5 per cent lower than they would have been. On our estimates, the shares are trading on around 12 times forecast earnings - which represents a significant discount to rivals such as Rathbone Brothers, trading on 16 times.

Brewin Dolphin growth story continues Created: 4 March 2011 Written by: Jonas Crosland What's new... ■ Growth of discretionary funds under management ■ Cash generated from disposal ■ Stronger focus on asset management Brewin Dolphin is shifting its business model more towards becoming a pure asset manager, providing an advisory service for private investors as well as financial planning services for charities and pension funds. It took a step towards achieving this last month by disposing of its corporate advisory and broking business, bringing with it the added bonus of freeing-up regulatory capital. What's more, a trading update in January reported that discretionary funds under management - which typically commands higher fee income than advisory funds - grew 7.9 per cent in the last quarter of 2010 to £15.1bn. That outperformed the 4.7 per cent rise in the FTSE private investor balanced portfolio index over the same period. The increase translates into an annualised outperformance over the index of more than 12 per cent, easily beating the group's key performance target of 5 per cent growth. Investment management commission was up by a modest £0.8m at £25.3m, although this included the Christmas period where client activity typically contracts. Group finances remain in good shape too, with £15m of capital in excess of adequacy requirements, and cash balances of £41m. However, there will be a £6m charge levied through the financial services compensation scheme relating to the failure of Keydata.

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Article on NGP - love him or hate him ! http://brokermandaniel.com/

Pearson buys qualifications group EDI Date: Monday 07 Mar 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - Financial Times publisher Pearson has added to its educational activities with the purchase of qualifications group Educational Development International (EDI). Pearson is paying 200p a share for EDI, which values the company at about £112.7m. Shares in EDI shot up after the announcement. Educational Development accredits vocational courses for teachers, taxi drivers and other professions and provides qualifications for overseas English students in countries such as Malaysia and Burma. “Pearson believes that the addition of EDI will complement Pearson's existing work-based learning business and will create an enlarged qualifications group offering a comprehensive range of vocational and academic services to the UK and international markets,” John Fallon, chief executive of Pearson’s International Education Business said. EDI’s chief executive Nigel Snook said: “The offer price to acquire the EDI business reflects the value created for shareholders over the past 10 years through the hard work and commitment of the staff and management team. “We now look forward to working with our Pearson colleagues to take the business on to its next stage, creating a world-class organisation supporting vocational education and training programmes in the UK and internationally.”

Pearson buys qualifications group EDI Date: Monday 07 Mar 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - Financial Times publisher Pearson has added to its educational activities with the purchase of qualifications group Educational Development International (EDI). Pearson is paying 200p a share for EDI, which values the company at about £112.7m. Shares in EDI shot up after the announcement. Educational Development accredits vocational courses for teachers, taxi drivers and other professions and provides qualifications for overseas English students in countries such as Malaysia and Burma. “Pearson believes that the addition of EDI will complement Pearson's existing work-based learning business and will create an enlarged qualifications group offering a comprehensive range of vocational and academic services to the UK and international markets,” John Fallon, chief executive of Pearson’s International Education Business said. EDI’s chief executive Nigel Snook said: “The offer price to acquire the EDI business reflects the value created for shareholders over the past 10 years through the hard work and commitment of the staff and management team. “We now look forward to working with our Pearson colleagues to take the business on to its next stage, creating a world-class organisation supporting vocational education and training programmes in the UK and internationally.”

Solid performance - interesting

George Lossius, Chief Executive of Publishing Technology, commented: "We believe that content providers who invest in their technological future will be opening the door to enormous growth opportunities and that there has never been a more exciting time to be central to the global publishing industry. From core supply chain services to cutting-edge marketing solutions, our products, including advance and pub2web, are essential to publishers' success. From trend-setting innovation in the academic sector through to e-book delivery, revenue generation in the publishing landscape is dependent on technology and we are in the best position to provide it." Martyn Rose, Non-Executive Chairman of Publishing Technology, commented: "We delivered solid results in a challenging climate in 2010, which was a year that saw global expansion, new products delivered to the market and consolidation of office space. Product wins and prudent expenditure combined to deliver increased profitability. These results are in line with expectations and demonstrate that Publishing Technology's products play a vital role in the publishing industry which continues to take advantage of all digital advances and opportunities for expansion. I look forward to even greater growth in 2011"

2010 successes: ■ Five sales of our new advance products including two multi-million dollar deals ■ Continued high levels of contract renewals ■ Highest levels of new publisher wins on ingentaconnect since 2007 ■ First software sales in Brazil and opening of our office in São Paulo ■ The launch of our first Japanese site (www.pieronline.jp) ■ 43% improvement in profit before tax ■ 77% improvement in earnings per share Financial highlights for full reporting period: ■ EBITDA up 21% to £1.1m (2009: £0.9m) ■ Total revenues down 1.6% to £15.0m (2009: £15.3m) ■ Gross profit up 1.7% to £6.2m (2009: £6.1m) ■ Pre-tax profit up 43% to £0.4m (2009: £0.3m) ■ Earnings per share up 77% to 10.52p (2009: 5.95p) ■ £0.5m of positive cash flow

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Good start to 2011 for Publishing Technology Date: Monday 07 Mar 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - Publishing Technology reported flat revenues in 2010 but it is confident that it is well-placed to do better in 2011. The AIM-quoted publishing software and services provider says that contract renewals remain strong and it believes that there will be a need for publishers to invest more in technology so that they are up to date with digital systems. Contract wins late in 2010 have already provided a positive start to 2011 and since then some delayed contracts have come through. Secured revenues are higher than for any year since the company’s formation in 2007. Revenues edged down from £15.3m to £15m but that was mainly due to the removal of lower margin business. Tight control of costs and a foreign exchange gain, following the previous year’s loss, helped profit before restructuring costs to improve from £345,000 to £672,000. Cash generation from operations helped to reduce net debt from £2.88m to £2.37m by the end of 2010. There was a £154,000 R&D tax credit receipt. There are ongoing discussions about converting the company’s loan notes. That would leave the business with an overdraft facility – around £900,000 was utilised at the end of 2010 - and no other debt. Publishing Technology will invest a further £2m in its technology this year.

Forth Ports set for £16.30 bid Date: Monday 07 Mar 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - Forth Ports has agreed to let its major shareholder Arcus Capital go through its books ahead of a possible £16.30 bid that would value the Scotland-based port group at just shy of £750m. The indicative offer is 16% higher than a previous offer from Northstream, an Arcus–led consortium, which was rejected by Forth last May. Arcus will also pay a 20p per share final dividend for 2010 if it can conclude a deal. It already owns 22.8% of Forth. It acquired most of its stake from the ashes of the European Infrastructure Fund of Babcock & Brown, which it took over. Forth operates a series of ports in east-central Scotland and the Port of Tilbury, on the river Thames as well as owning substantial development land around its base.

CEVA delivers peak revenues Date: Monday 07 Mar 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - Logistics management provider CEVA Group has rebuilt its revenues to above the level they were prior to the recession and it is confident that it will continue to grow revenues and profit. Revenue rose by one-quarter to €6.85m in 2010, while EBITDA before exceptional rose a similar amount to €292m. That figure does not include restructuring and integration costs. The reorganisation of the business is still going on. There was strong growth in Asia Pacific and the Americas. China, India and Indonesia were growing markets. Northern Europe revenues were higher but the recovery has not been as strong as elsewhere. Debt has been refinanced so more of it is longer-term. Much of the debt is repayable in 2017 and 2018.