Member Info for mulledwine

BAE Systems and EADS are to ask for an extension to the October 10 deadline set by the Takeover Panel to agree merger terms because political differences are slowing progress to create a €38bn (£30bn) European defence and aerospace giant. Worries about job losses, industrial strategy and the "national interest" are being voiced by Angela Merkel, German Chancellor and Francois Hollande, the French president, as they consider the price to be paid for their support for the ambitious deal. BAE and EADS are expected to ask the Panel for an extension to the merger timetable to give politicians with more time to agree a common position. The move comes amid reports that BAE will walk away from a deal if it waters down its relationship with the Pentagon, which has allowed the British defence giant to work on lucrative US security projects, The Telegraph reports.

BAE Systems has warned it will walk away from its proposed 35bn euro tie-up with EADS if the deal waters down its special relationship with the Pentagon. “BAE will not do this deal if its Special Security Arrangement has to change to look more like that of EADS,” said one person close to BAE, in a sign of the complexities surrounding one of Europe’s largest and most sensitive industrial mergers in years. This SSA, specifies that BAE’s senior leadership in the US is made up of Americans, among other things, and has allowed the UK’s biggest defence company to work on many lucrative US national security projects. These include the 1,500bn dollar F-35 joint strike fighter programme to develop the most advanced radar-evading jet fighter, The Financial Times says.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201209240700079176M

Valuation: Strong growth potential – 20.2x 2013e P/E We believe that DDD has established a strong position of leadership for 2D to 3D conversion across multiple display segments and that DDD should be able to participate fully in the growth in the 3D market through its 2D to 3D offerings in the 3D TV, PC, gaming, mobile and content markets. Our proxy comparator matrices (see Exhibits 1 and 2) suggest that DDD’s share price has potential upside.

http://www.edisoninvestmentresearch.co.uk/researchreports/DDD240912update.pdf

John McLean, Chairman of China Food Company, commented: "The period under review has seen sustained and committed investment from the Group in developing Xaka, the Group's premium soya sauce brand and, as such, we are pleased to report strong gains in terms of sales of the product. Whilst the marketing expenditure in establishing the Xaka brand has impinged upon profitability, the Board believes that it has established a robust platform which will provide the Group with a much greater foundation for growth over the coming years. "The sale of the Group's feed business is ongoing and in line with the Group's core focus on the vast condiments market within Northern China. In turn, we are pleased to report the appointment of Clifford Halvorsen as Non-Executive Director, whose experience will prove invaluable as the Group embarks on this next period of growth."

Post period end · Entered into an agreement to dispose of Fuss Feed to Wisehand Planning Co. Ltd for a total consideration of US$16 million payable in stages. Regulatory approval on behalf of the buyer from the Korean Financial Supervisory Service remains outstanding · Appointment of Clifford Halvorsen as Non-Executive Director · The sales growth rate in the second half is expected to exceed 20% with the latest monthly soya sales figures already in excess of this amount · Modest profitability expected in H2 on increased sales and reduced marketing spend

China Food Company Plc (AIM:CFC), a leading Chinese manufacturer of cooking and dipping sauces, announces its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2012. Highlights · Revenue of the condiments business increased by 15.9% to £9.7 million (2011: £8.4 million) of which soya sauce increased by 30% · Xaka revenues have increased to £2.2 million over the last six months from a standing start · Gross profit of £2.7 million in respect of the condiments business · Cash position of the Group stands at £7.2 million as at 30 June 2012 · Secured over 173 tier-one distributors (defined as those distributors with an annual turnover in excess of RMB30 million (£3 million)) · Strong momentum gained in terms of sales of Xaka, the Group's premium brand soya sauce. Since the launch, £4.2 million (H1 2011: £0.75 million) has been invested in sales and marketing, resulting in a loss after tax for the continuing operations of £2.8 million (H1 2011: profit of £0.4 million) · Significant brand-building investment in Xaka has now created a platform and the focus for the future is on sales and local promotion · Feed business revenues increased by 12.5% to £11.8 million - now shown as discontinued operations

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201209240700119189M

Ignore the last link - It is old and so am I.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=20120718100600Z5343

Martin Gilbert, Chief Executive of Aberdeen, commented: "With uncertainty surrounding the global macro-economic situation our disciplined and fundamental approach to investing continues to attract flows from a wide range of clients from around the world. Our strong performance across a variety of capabilities and products means we remain well positioned to meet the needs of investors in a constantly changing environment."

ABERDEEN ASSET MANAGEMENT PLC PRE-CLOSE TRADING UPDATE Highlights · AuM at 31 August 2012: £184.3 billion (30 June 2012: £182.7 billion) · Gross new business of £6.1 billion in the two month period under review, net outflows of £0.1 billion · Trend of new business flows into higher margin products continues · Overall performance across asset classes remains robust Gross new business flows for the two months to 31 August 2012 totalled £6.1 billion, bringing the total for the 11 months year to date to £33.1 billion (11 months to 31 August 2011: £39.9 billion). Net new business showed outflows of £0.1 billion for the two months to 31 August 2012, resulting in net outflows of £0.2 billion for the 11 month period (11 months to 31 August 2011: net outflow £0.8 billion). Inflows continue to be biased towards higher margin pooled products with outflows mainly from lower margin segregated mandates. The main contributors of inflows have again been our Asia Pacific, global emerging markets and global equities products, with encouraging inflows also seen into our emerging market debt capability. We estimate that the net flows for the two month period to 31 August will add approximately £10 million of annualised recurring fee income. Investment performance has been good as our investment philosophy and disciplined process have continued to deliver through variable market conditions. While markets have been more settled recently, we retain a degree of caution in our outlook but we believe we are well placed to continue our progress. The announcement of the company's annual results for the year to 30 September 2012 will be made on 26 November 2012.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201209240700069074M

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201209240700099404M

Mining giant Bumi said it was investigating allegations of financial and other irregularities at its Indonesian operations. The investigation centres on PT Bumi Resources, in which the company has a 29%. interest, with particular focus on that firm's development funds. "The extensive development funds in PT Bumi Resources Tbk and the one development asset in PT Berau Coal Energy Tbk were marked down to zero in the accounts of Bumi plc as at December 31st 2011, except for one investment with a carrying value of $39m in the consolidated financial statements," the statement said.

Fund manager Aberdeen Asset Management saw its assets under management (AuM) edge up in the first two months of the second half of the year. AuM at the end of August stood at £184.3bn, up from £182.7bn at the end of June. Gross new business during July and August totalled £6.1bn, but overall the group saw a net outflow of £0.1bn. Martin Gilbert, Chief Executive of Aberdeen, commented: "Our strong performance across a variety of capabilities and products means we remain well positioned to meet the needs of investors in a constantly changing environment."

Improved financial position Following the sale of St Hubert, our financial position is much improved. We received €430 million on 28 August 2012 which has been used in part to repay drawdowns from our revolving credit facility. The balance has been placed on short-term deposits, with the position for the longer term currently under review. Our aim in deploying cash will be to preserve the Group's capacity to make acquisitions, while providing appropriate long-term funding for the pension fund and driving towards a more efficient debt structure. Mark Allen, Chief Executive, commented: 'We are pleased with our first half performance despite the significant pressures on our business. Although we expect these to continue into the second half our first half performance together with our plans for the second half means that our profit expectations for the full year remain unchanged. At the same time we have continued to move the business forward and the proceeds from the sale of St Hubert leave us much stronger financially.' Dairy Crest is hosting a visit for analysts and investors at its Kirkby Spreads manufacturing facility on the afternoon of Monday 24 and Tuesday 25 September. The management team will make presentations on our Spreads and Dairies Businesses, as well as the Group's sales and marketing activities. These will be made available on Dairy Crest's website at www.dairycrest.co.uk/investors. No material new information will be disclosed in these presentations.

Decisive action in Dairies Our Dairies business has been facing unprecedented market conditions but we remain focused on achieving a 3% return on sales in this business in the medium term. We continue to take a number of decisive actions to achieve this, including implementing milk selling price increases, closing our Aintree creamery, consolidating milk rounds to allow the closure of 23 depots in the six months and reducing overheads. Plans are on track to close our Fenstanton dairy, as previously announced, this autumn. We increased the price we pay our non-aligned supplier farmers for milk by 1.85 pence per litre from 1 October 2011, but a steep fall in cream prices led to a price reduction of 2 pence per litre from 1 May 2012. A second planned reduction, due to take place on 1 August 2012 was postponed while we negotiated price increases with our customers and this had a small adverse effect on profits in the period. We have today announced higher farmgate milk prices for our suppliers. These reflect the expectations of improving returns from commodity markets and higher selling prices.

TRADING UPDATE FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDING 30 SEPTEMBER 2012 Dairy Crest is issuing the following pre-close trading update for the six months ending 30 September 2012 ahead of announcing its Interim Results on 8 November 2012. Trading in the first half of the year has remained challenging and our profits, having adjusted for the disposal of our French spreads business, St Hubert, will be lower than the same period last year. However, our profit expectations for the full year ending 31 March 2013 remain unchanged. Strong momentum in Brands Our four key UK brands (Cathedral City, Country Life, Clover and Frijj) have continued to perform strongly in the first half. Increased marketing expenditure behind these brands is supporting this growth. All four have been advertised on television in the period - the first time that has ever happened. Innovation remains a focus in our ongoing drive for added value sales. For example, Chedds, natural cheese for children (whose annual retail sales now exceed £7 million), Frijj Incredibles and Cathedral City Selections are all performing strongly. Further innovations are planned for the second half, including a long-life variant of Frijj. This is aimed at the convenience market and provides a significant opportunity for further growth. As part of our continued drive to grow and improve efficiency across our business, we have decided to consult with employees on plans to consolidate our spreads production into a single UK location, our existing facility at Kirkby, Merseyside. As a result of the consolidation our site in Crudgington, Shropshire, will potentially close in 2014.