Member Info for mulledwine

Revelator - apologies - just back to the board and observed your question - it would be easy for me to say now because of todays drop that the language in the RNS could have been more positive! You have some posters in here that seem to know their uranium - chalkminer yes from what little I know URA seems to stand very well up against URU. I have been looking to get in here and may well do so soon but I think revelator is correct in that this may be a longer term play than I first thought and I would imagine they will require more cash along the way.

Uranium Resources narrows down targets Date: Tuesday 01 Mar 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - AIM-quoted Uranium Resources says that the drilling programme at the Mtonya Project, Songea, Tanzania confirms its expectations. The uranium explorer says that “conditions favourable for roll-front uranium mineralisation exist well below the already known horizons”. “Roll-front uranium deposits form in flat-lying, permeable clastic sediments at the interface of advancing oxidizing groundwater and reducing conditions”, it adds. The information garnered from the exploration, along with geological and geochemical modelling, will help in the selection of drilling targets for 2011.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201103010700130268C

Molins almost doubles profit Date: Tuesday 01 Mar 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - Shares in cigarette vending machine maker Molins rose 6% after it almost doubled annual pre-tax profit and increased revenue following a strong final quarter. Performance in Packaging Machinery improved significantly in the year and Scientific Services continued to perform strongly, the group said. Trading at Tobacco Machinery was lower than in the previous year and as a result the group has reduced its cost base. "Although the economic environment remains uncertain and market conditions are challenging, we are cautiously optimistic about the future performance of the group," said chief executive Dick Hunter. Pre-tax profit on continuing operations rose to £4.1m in the year ended 31 December 2010 from £2.1m before. Revenue rose to £86.4m from £83.8m previously. The group incurred exceptional charges in the year of £1.6m before tax in respect of reorganisations within the Tobacco Machinery division. Molins said it entered 2011 with an order book only slightly lower than that of the year before, with satisfactory levels of prospective projects under discussion. The final dividend has been maintained at 2.5p per share.

jixie - FXPO for 26p in Nov or Dec !?

sell off seems a bit harsh on the face of it - surely one to consider for a recovery of todays loss over next few weeks - however need to dig deeper before I commit !

UBM agrees to acquire stake in Famdent, India's largest dental exhibition and conference business Expands UBM Medica's Indian event portfolio into the dental sector United Business Media Limited today announces that it has agreed to form a joint venture with Drs Anil and Jyotika Arora to operate the Famdent dental exhibition and conference business in India. UBM will own 60% of the Famdent business, with the remainder of the business being owned by Drs Anil and Jyotika Arora. The transaction is expected to complete in the next three months. UBM is forming the joint venture on behalf of its UBM Medica business. Established 11 years ago, Famdent (www.famdent.com) launched its first event for the professional dentistry community in Mumbai in 2005, adding its Delhi event in 2009. The shows combine exhibition and conference elements, between them attracting more than 120 exhibitors, 2,200 conference delegates and 3,300 exhibition visitors. The success of Famdent's events reflects the rapid expansion of the Indian dentistry profession, estimated to be a $120 million industry and growing 15-20% annually. There are more than 100,000 qualified dentists currently practising in India, with around 13,000 new dentists entering the market each year from 191 dental colleges. India's major cities now have approximately 12,000 dental clinics. Famdent's events are supported by an eponymous clinical dental publication which has a controlled circulation of up to 12,000 copies per quarter. The publication contributed around 30% of the business' revenues in 2010. Famdent's founders, Drs Anil and Jyotika Arora, will remain with the business following the formation of the joint venture, together with a further 13 employees. For the year ended 31 March 2010, the business generated revenues of approximately £0.4 million. Its gross assets were £0.3m. UBM's investment in the joint venure is anticipated to provide a return in excess of UBM's cost of capital criterion in its first full year of operation. Henry Elkington, Chief Executive of UBM Medica said: "The creation of our Famdent joint venture brings us a leading position in India's rapidly-growing dental industry. I look forward to working with Anil and Jyotika Arora to grow the Famdent shows and to extend them to new territories across India and Asia. With our expanded platform in this space, we will also seek to broaden our offering in other Indian medical exhibition and conference markets."

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=20110301070200PFC0D

UBM disposes of UK licensed trade portfolio United Business Media Limited today announces that it has signed an agreement to dispose of its UK licensed trade portfolio to William Reed for an initial cash consideration of £1.5m and further deferred performance-related consideration of up to £150,000. UBM is selling the portfolio on behalf of its UBM Connect division. The transaction is expected to close within a month, subject to the conclusion of a TUPE consultation process. The sale of the portfolio - which comprises The Publican print magazine title, websites and awards event, together with the Theme and Bar Show brands - augments William Reed's existing portfolio serving this market. This transaction involves a total of 14 staff transfering to William Reed in accordance with the application of TUPE.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=20110301070200P915E

UBM acquires Indian travel tradeshow SATTE Acquires the largest Indian travel and tourism tradeshow for UBM Asia United Business Media Limited today announces that it has acquired SATTE, India's largest travel and tourism exhibition. UBM has acquired the event on behalf of UBM Asia from Cross Section Publications Pvt Ltd. Launched 17 years ago, SATTE (www.satte.org) takes place each January in New Delhi and is now India's largest travel and tourism event. The show performed strongly in 2011 attracting approximately 600 exhibitors and 9,300 attendees from more than 40 countries. SATTE has progressively expanded beyond its original focus on inbound travel to India and now also supports the outbound market. This reflects the rapid rise of domestic Indian spending on international travel. The 2011 edition of SATTE took place on 27 January. SATTE is supported by T3, the leading controlled circulation monthly publication for the Indian travel indusry and which is an official publication at many of India's travel industry events. T3 contributed around 15% of the business's $1.6m revenues in 2010. Completion of the acquisition of T3 is subject to Indian regulatory approval. Approval is expected to be granted by the end of April. As at 31 March 2010, SATTE's gross assets were £630,000. Navin Berry, SATTE's founder, owner and publisher of Cross Section will remain with the business post-completion. In addition to Mr Berry, the business employs 12 staff in New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. The acquisition is anticipated to exceed UBM's cost of capital criterion in its first full year of ownership. Jimé Essink, President & Chief Executive Officer of UBM Asia said: "The acquisition of SATTE brings us a leading position in India's rapidly-growing travel and tourism industry and adds to our portfolio of tradeshows in India where we are already one of the country's largest commercial event organisers. We are committed to continuing to invest in and expand our business in India, leveraging UBM's existing worldwide interests in the travel and aviation markets."

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=20110301070200P42B0

UBM disposes of French medical print business United Business Media Limited today announces that it has sold its French medical newspaper and magazine business to a management buyout team led by Gérard Kouchner, the business's Chief Executive since 2005. UBM has sold the business on behalf of its UBM Medica division and will retain a 37.1% equity stake. The cash consideration was €4.4m and UBM has extended vendor finance of €6m to the management buyout team, valuing the transaction at €13m on an enterprise basis. The business publishes weekly, bi-weekly, monthly and other subscription and controlled circulation titles for the French healthcare professional community. It also has a number of smaller print media and customised marketing products for the French medical community. In 2010 the business generated revenues of approximately €40m and employed around 170 staff at its Paris premises. The transaction further rationalises UBM's print product portfolio and continues UBM's progression towards a portfolio of integrated cross-media marketing services designed to serve specific commercial and professional communities.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=20110301070200P39CF

David Levin, UBM's Chief Executive Officer, commented: "UBM has delivered a robust performance in 2010 achieving 4.9% headline revenue growth, bolstered by 20% growth in our largest Emerging Markets of China, India and Brazil which now account for a quarter of our adjusted operating profit. Our consistent strategy of developing products in winning formats, targeting attractive business communities in growing geographies, provides us with a good platform for growth. We are investing in our people, our products and services and, in addition, we made 22 acquisitions during 2010 which have strengthened our offering and geographic reach. Initial trading in 2011 is encouraging and we are cautiously optimistic about our results for the full year."

Solid results - Investing for growth Results for the Year Ended 31 December 2010 - Headline revenue growth of 4.9% - underlying revenue growth of 5.6% - Adjusted operating profit broadly flat at £171.8m reflecting higher investment in new product development, sales and IT - Adjusted EPS of 51.0p per share (2009: 55.1p) - Final dividend of 19.0p to give full year dividend of 25.0p (2009: 24.2p) up 3.3% - Emerging Markets(a) now 28.6% of total adjusted operating profit, up 20.6% - Acquisition strategy continues: 22 acquisitions with £258.0m invested during the year - Canon integration on track; business performing well - Cash generated from operations up 8.4% to £154.7m - Comfortable debt maturity profile following successful $350m bond issue

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=20110301070000PB60F

UBM suffers sell-off Date: Tuesday 01 Mar 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - Full year numbers from events and publishing group United Business Media (UBM) looked harmless enough, but investors are spooked, sending the shares down 10%. Adjusted profit before tax fell 5.3% to £156.4m, although a 4.5% increase in revenue at constant currency to £889.2m was better than expected. Underlying revenue grew 5.6%, up from 2.1% for the nine months. “We expect the improved quality and shape of the business to result in sustained underlying revenue growth during 2011 broadly in line with that enjoyed in 2010,” it said. “Overall we anticipate continued growth in profit largely driven by a full year of contribution from our acquisitions and continued momentum in our Events business tempered by targeted investment in Data Services, TD&M and Online.” The firm has also been in deal mode, selling its French medical newspaper and magazine business for €13m on an enterprise basis, and its UK licensed trade portfolio for up to £1.65m. But the money won’t be burning a hole in UBM’s pocket. It has bought a stake in Famdent, India's largest dental exhibition and conference business, and snapped up SATTE, India's largest travel and tourism exhibition. The final dividend of 19p a share gives a full-year payout of 25p, up 3%.

Driver, the global consultancy to the construction and engineering industries, is holding its Annual General Meeting later today. At the meeting, Executive Chairman, Steve Driver, will make the following statement: "At the time of the announcement of Driver's preliminary results we stated that we expected the UK and Middle East construction markets to remain challenging in the current financial year and that our efforts would focus on controlling the cost base of the business in these areas to match the revenue profile. We also stated that we had a strong pipeline of enquiries for our expert witness services and were looking to develop the new service streams implemented in the last financial year." "I am pleased to confirm that trading over the first half to date has been in line with our expectations. Our European and Africa regions are performing well whereas the live construction market in the Middle East is particularly challenging in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Last year we invested in the industrial and power sector of the UK and opened new offices in Africa and Qatar. Our business in the UK industrial and power sector is out-performing management expectations despite the tough UK construction market whilst Africa is in line with expectations. We secured our trading licence in Qatar in October 2010 and are now starting to see a developing pipeline of opportunities. There remains a high level of enquiries for expert services in the Middle East and we have been awarded some significant expert witness appointments in the UK." "January 2011 appears to mark a turning point as we return to profitability in the month with revenues and gross margin estimates for the second quarter up on those of Q1. We have also continued to work to reduce the overheads across the Group and have made significant savings at Group level and regional overhead savings in the UK and the Middle East which will benefit the second half of the year." "With our preliminary results we announced that I was to take a non executive role as of 1 March 2011 and we were looking to appoint a non executive Chairman. This remains our position and we are in the final stages of making this appointment. As previously announced Mike Davis will retire following the AGM and consequently I will be non executive Chairman and Chairman of the Remuneration and Audit Committees until the appointment of a new Chairman. We look forward to updating shareholders on the appointment of our new Chairman in due course and will provide details of further progress with the interim results in June."

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201103010700089719B