Member Info for mulledwine

Shares in Xchanging (XCH) crashed by 60.5p to 56.5p after the provider of back-office services issued its second profit warning in the past seven months, scrapped its dividend and said its chief executive had resigned. Company founder David Andrews will step down from the board and leave the chief executive role with immediate effect, but will stay on at the group as senior adviser to the chairman. The company, sponsor of the Cambridge and Oxford boat race, added that underlying operating profit for the current year ended 31st December 2011 would be "below the lower end" of analysts' estimates of 55.5 million pounds to 80.2 million pounds.

Chip-maker CSR (CSR) posted a strong set of results for the fourth quarter ended 31st December 2010 with revenue coming in at the upper end of guidance and a further improvement in its underlying gross margin. The market leader in single chip wireless solutions reported that revenue in the three months was 184.8 million dollars (115 million pounds), down from 198 million dollars (123 million pounds) last year, but ahead of consensus forecasts. Looking ahead, the group reiterated it expectations to continue growing revenues in 2011. CSR shares advanced 37.8p to 445.3p.

News of an agreed merger between the London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) and its Canadian counterpart, TMX, saw the group's shares jump 28p to 920p. The all-paper deal will see LSE investors own 55% of the enlarged group, with TMX stock holders receiving 2.9963 LSE shares for every share held in the Toronto-based group. Xavier Rolet, the LSE's chief executive, will remain in the top job at the new company, which will be the biggest in the world by the number of companies listed on its exchanges.

Property owner Grainger (GRI) retained its cautious outlook on the UK housing sector as its sales pipeline for the year ended 31st January 2010 came in at 20 million pounds less than a year earlier. In an interim management statement, the UK's largest quoted residential property owner with in excess of 12,000 homes, said its sales pipeline for the year was 76.2 million pounds, while its acquisition pipeline stood at 13.4 million pounds, up from 8.6 million pounds a year earlier. "Conditions in the UK residential market remain challenging, as evidenced by low levels of sales and mortgage approvals," the company added.

Utility group Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) has applied for European Union funding to develop a carbon capture and storage (CCS) project at its gas-fired power station in Peterhead, Scotland. The group added that Shell UK and CO2 DeepStore, a subsidiary of Petrofac, will also be participating in the project by providing the offshore transport and storage elements of the proposal.

Singer Capital Markets commented on Blacks Leisure (BSLA), the outdoor clothing and equipment retailer. Following a long and protracted bid process, the broker thinks management can now focus completely on the final stage of their recovery plan. Progress has been made with the successful completion of the first two phases but there is still much work to be done, Singer added, particularly around the improvement of sales densities. That said, having been in blackout for the past 4 months, the broker is lowering its estimates to reflect a slower opening programme, additional store closures and caution on margin recovery in the wake of pricing pressures

Panmure Gordon initiated coverage on Aseana Properties (ASPL), an Asian property developer investing in Malaysia and Vietnam, with a "buy" recommendation and 75 cents (47 pence) target price. The broker is forecasting a progressive improvement in underlying earnings over the next two years while net debt levels should also increase as new projects are further advanced. However, although Panmure sees short-term stability with the Net Asset Value (NAV), beyond 2012 this should begin to accelerate, and debt start to reduce, as current major schemes achieve completion and sale.

Evolution Securities initiated coverage on Psion (PON), a provider of solutions for mobile computing and wireless data collection, with a "buy" rating and 150p target price. The broker notes the group's differentiated offering and improved operational performance, and believes they will both have a positive impact on financial returns this year. Moreover, Evolution is forecasting 5% revenue growth through its forecast periods but, nevertheless, sees potential upside to this figure from the release of new products into the marketplace

Nice results

Commenting on the results, Ian Gorham, Chief Executive said: I am pleased to report that for the six months to 31 December 2010 we have achieved record revenue, profits and total assets under administration (AUA). This has been achieved with a backdrop of continuing economic uncertainties both at home and abroad. Stock markets have risen and net business inflows have virtually matched last year's record amounts, resulting in a significant increase in our AUA of £4.8 billion in just 6 months. Despite increased costs relating to our new office building, continued investment in IT systems, increased loyalty bonus payments to clients and most notably a Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) additional levy of £3.0 million, our costs have been tightly controlled. This prudence, allied to income from assets and an enhanced cash management strategy have delivered a 41 per cent rise in profit before tax and an associated increased profit margin. The reputation of the Hargreaves Lansdown business is still growing, and fundamental to this is that we do not rest on our laurels. We must continue to ensure our clients receive the best information, best service and best prices. Client feedback, industry awards and the growing presence of our expert commentators in the media all help to reinforce our continued success. New initiatives such as applications for mobile phones, enhanced stockbroking capability and the Corporate Vantage service all proceed to plan and should help promote further long term growth. In respect of the FSCS levy, it is disappointing that shareholders in a reputable firm such as Hargreaves Lansdown must foot the bill for the incompetence of others. We have made our feelings on the matter known and believe the way the FSCS is funded and operates needs to be reviewed.

Highlights to 31 December 2010 ·Continued strong growth ·Total assets under administration up £4.8 billion (27%) since 30 June 2010 at £22.3 billion ·346,000 active Vantage clients, an increase of 16,000 since 30 June 2010 ·Total net business inflows for the 6 months of £1.34 billion ·Revenue increased by 30% to £97.0 million ·Underlying profit* before tax up 38% at £59.3 million ·Reported profit before tax up 41% at £56.3 million ·Total interim dividend of 4.5 pence per share

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201102100700089726A

Commenting on the results, Andrew Affleck, Executive Chairman of Low Carbon Investors Limited, LCA's investment manager said: "The management team is once again extremely pleased with the performance of the fund and ongoing generation of the underlying value of its portfolio of companies during the year. This has been epitomised by the strong performance of Proven Energy Limited, which has made demonstrable progress and resulted in a 100% uplift in the value of the Group's investment in the company." "The Adjusted NAV has risen 36.7% since 31 May 2009 reflecting the real progress made by our portfolio companies despite the ongoing challenges of the wider economic environment. The Investment Manager is now executing a strategy to drive these investments to cash realisation over the next two years."

Highlights of the report include: · Adjusted NAV growth of 19.9% in the last 12 months · Aggregate uplift in value for two portfolio companies of £10.7 m in the year · Majority of portfolio companies have matured and demonstrating real traction · Increase in the value of Proven Energy Limited from an initial cost of £9.25m to £19.9m · Proven Energy Limited delivered significant top line growth and reached profitability, becoming the clear leader in Europe in the distributed wind turbine market · Disciplined approach in supporting the strongest companies in the portfolio has continued to prove successful

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201102100700139838A

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201102100700119811A

Commenting on today's news, Alex Halliday, CEO stated: "We're very pleased to have been able to take advantage of further demand for our shares, which will secure funding for the upcoming launch of Version 2 of SocialGO, our next generation platform. "As is evident from the ongoing take-up of SocialGO's offer, a diverse array of interest groups, from schools, sports clubs, churches and political movements, are all wanting a personalised platform on which to interact. That trend is only going to continue and we believe we're uniquely well placed to capture the opportunity." "We look forward to providing further updates of our progress over the next few months."

Placing to raise £1,335,500 SocialGO, the AIM-quoted company specialising in group social networks, is pleased to announce that the Company has placed 45,271,186 new ordinary shares of 1 pence each (the "Placing Shares"), representing approximately 10.18% per cent. of the Company's enlarged issued share capital. The Placing Shares have been placed with institutional investors at a price of 2.95 pence per share, for gross proceeds of £1,335,500 (the "Placing"). The proceeds of the Placing will fund the launch of SocialGO™ version 2 over the coming months, which in the Directors' opinion will significantly move the business forward. The Placing is subject to shareholder approval at a General Meeting (GM) of the Company to be convened for 28 February 2011 and to admission to trading on AIM. A special resolution will be proposed at the GM to disapply pre-emption rights in relation to the issue of the Placing Shares (the "Resolution"). The Placing Shares will represent 10.18% of the enlarged share capital of the Company of 444,596,605 ordinary shares. Today's announcement follows the earlier placing of shares announced on 12 January 2011, which raised gross proceeds of £300,000 for additional working capital. That placing effectively removed the Company's reliance on an equity draw down facility put in place in June 2010 by Veddis Ventures, a significant shareholder in the Company.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201102100700129833A

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201102100700139861A