Member Info for mulledwine

Lex in the FT is no fan of the BAE/EADS merger, struggling to see the upside as possible synergies between the two groups look thin. Without offering a clear recommendation, it’s clear the column wouldn’t be putting its money where Ian King and Tom Enders are putting their mouths.

In the Telegraph, Questor continues its buy recommendation on infrastructure group Kier. Trading at 10 times this year’s earnings and with a decent order book, “real growth” is not far away thinks the column.

In the Times, the Tempus column notes the big surge yesterday by electronic components distributor Premier Farnell. This was probably because of an impressive performance in August when sales increased. The company is seen as a canary in the coal mine indicator of global trends because it has almost no forward visibility of orders. If its numbers improve, so might the rest of the economy’s. Tempus isn’t convinced, noting the long-term decline in sales. Hold, the paper recommends.

Average revenue per instrument from the Group's reagent rental accounts was £79,000 (31 March 2012: £84,000). The volume of IDS-iSYS system placements with reagent rental IDS end user customers reported for the last two financial years has averaged 80 systems per year and it is expected to be at a similar level in the current financial year. Operating costs are being carefully managed and remain in line with our expectations for the full year. Importantly, the Company has continued to be strongly cash generative over the first five months of the current financial year. Unaudited net cash as at 10 September 2012 was £11.0m, an increase of £4.2m from the reported net cash balances at 31 March 2012. Outlook The Board expects the impact of exchange rates compared to the prior year to continue to have an adverse effect on full year revenues. The earnings impact of this exchange difference is expected to be mitigated to some extent as the cost base of the Group's foreign currency denominated operations will generate a favourable variance. The anticipated decline in manual vitamin D test volumes combined with more competitive pricing in this market continues to be in line with our expectations. The planned increase in IDS-iSYS derived revenues from new placements and an increasing number of automated assays, whilst encouraging, is however not materialising at a rate that will fully offset the ongoing manual revenue decline in the current financial year and accordingly the Board's expectation is that revenues for the year ending 31 March 2013 will be in the range of £48m to £50m.

Trading Update Unaudited revenues for the five months ended 31 August 2012 are £19.9m (2011: £22.7m) and reflect an adverse £0.5m impact of exchange differences between the two periods. The following revenue comparisons in this statement are reported at constant exchange rates. Like-for-like revenues reduced by 9% over the prior period. The five month period to 31 August 2011 included a £0.4m one off licence fee and no such fees were generated in the comparable period to 31 August 2012. This licence fee has been excluded from prior period revenue to calculate the like-for-like revenue variance. IDS-iSYS revenues (excluding the one off licence fee in 2011) grew strongly by 15% over the prior period whereas manual revenues declined, as expected, by 19%, reflecting the continuing competitive environment of this market place and the transition of certain laboratories from manual to automated testing. A total of 32 IDS-iSYS instruments have been sold or placed to reagent rental IDS end user customers during the period, net of returns, representing an increase of 18% over the installed base as at 31 March 2012. The Board has recently reviewed the criterion that is used to both classify instrument placements and also to define a live system. This has resulted in the following adjustments to the Group's installed base of IDS-iSYS instruments.

Immunodiagnostic Systems Holdings PLC AGM Statement and Trading Update Immunodiagnostic Systems Holdings PLC ("IDS" or "the Company" or "the Group"), a leading producer of manual and automated specialist diagnostic testing kits and instrumentation for the clinical and research markets, will today hold its Annual General Meeting at noon at its registered office at 10 Didcot Way, Boldon Business Park, Boldon, Tyne & Wear, NE35 9PD. At the meeting Chairman, Anthony Martin, will make the following statement to shareholders. Strategy update The Board continues to believe that IDS-iSYS' carefully selected portfolio of specialised assay panels provides the Group with a compelling market opportunity that will appeal to a range of laboratories which will be increasingly enhanced as further assays are successively launched. The recent launches of 1,25 Dihydroxy vitamin D, renin and aldosterone automated assays have been well received in the market, although the timing of some of the launches were later than planned. There have also been some significant account openings with other automated assays, particularly IGF-1. As part of the Group's strategy of expanding its automated assay menu, all of these new automated assays have helped the placement rate of IDS-iSYS systems and reinforced the Board's belief in this core element of the Group's strategy. The Board was delighted to announce the appointment of Patrik Dahlen as Chief Executive Officer in July 2012. Patrik will provide additional detail as to the Group's strategy at the interim results which are expected to be released in November 2012.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201209140700102534M

Standard Life Buy 12-Sep-12 £27,700.00 Noel Harwerth 10,000 @ 277.00p

zine - good morning - what issues does your friend refer to ...overspending, wastage ? Why did your friend leave ? regards MW

Elektron Technology Buy 13-Sep-12 £42,500.00 Keith Anthony Daley 250,000 @ 17.00p

Xchanging Buy 12-Sep-12 £39,339.72 Stephen Wilson 33,768 @ 116.50p

EADS is to win the big prizes in its €48bn tie-up with BAE Systems, providing both the chief executive and the headquarters for the merged aerospace and defence giant. As talks around Europe between EADS and BAE and the British, German and French governments continued yesterday, it emerged that London and Farnborough may yet play a significant role in the merged group. It is understood that Britain would be the base of the enlarged company’s defence interests, although the sop to UK political sensitivities outraged MPs already doubtful about the merger. Up to 20 MPs will meet on Monday amid growing concerns about the deal, The Times says.

"We are working to grow the business of the Company in three main ways: · The raising of a new fund to invest in recessionary resilient relatively high yielding UK commercial investment property; · The raising of a new fund to invest in debt secured on income producing UK commercial investment property; · Expanding assets under management in Fprop Opportunities plc (FOP). "We are making progress in raising new funds and hope to report further in this respect in due course. We are also working on some attractive property investment opportunities on behalf of FOP and similarly hope to report on these in due course. "We plan to report our interim results in November 2012."

AGM Statement First Property Group plc (AIM: FPO), the commercial property fund management group, will hold its Annual General Meeting today at 12 noon. At the AGM, the Company's Chairman, Alasdair Locke, will make the following statement: "The Company continues to trade well and in accordance with expectations despite the difficult banking and economic conditions. Our client funds have also performed well in these difficult circumstances. The weakening Euro has resulted in some capital value reductions in Sterling terms, resulting in a decrease in our overall assets under management from £365 million at 31 March 2012 to around £350 million presently, but the underlying income generation of our client funds remains robust.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201209140700082464M

Operational highlights In line with our 'More Space' strategy, we continue to focus on driving organic growth by striking the right balance between occupancy and rate growth to maximise RevPAF. UK - responding well to strategic investments and pricing change Trading in the UK is responding well to our strategy of driving performance through enhanced sales and marketing and a focus on yield management. Total revenue in the UK for Q3 2012 was up 5.8% compared to Q3 2011. Major contributing factors included strengthened brand awareness following our advertising campaign launched in May 2012, which has received more than one million views on the internet; further pricing strategy refinements and further growth in national accounts, with total occupied space from these now almost 188,000 sq ft., up 48% on the same period last year. UK RevPAF was £18.71, up 6.0% on the same period last year. Occupancy across all stores in the UK was 2.69 million sq ft or 65.5% at 31 July 2012, up 4.5 percentage points compared to 31 July 2011. Occupancy in the UK mature store portfolio stands at 67.6%. The average self storage rate per sq ft for Q3 in the UK was £22.99, 4.4% lower than Q3 than last year, reflecting our pricing strategy and the changing mix effect as we deliver higher growth from long-term customers and in lower priced new and regional stores. France - further growth from mature stores and new suburban markets Trading in Paris remains robust, reflecting our strong competitive position amid the challenges of the Eurozone economy. Total revenue for Q3 2012 was up 5.6% over the prior year in constant exchange rates but down 3.4% in sterling, reflecting the significant fall in Euro exchange rates. Paris RevPAF was €31.87 up 7.2% on the same period last year. Occupancy in Paris was 0.74 million sq ft or 74.4% at 31 July 2012, up 1.9 percentage points compared to 31 July 2011. Occupancy in the Parisian mature store portfolio now stands at 77.6%. The average self storage rate per sq ft for Q3 2012 in Paris was €36.48, 1.0% lower than the same period last year. The blended average rate reduction is largely driven by the rapid growth in our recently opened suburban stores, which trade at a lower price point than their central Parisian counterparts. Finance Expense Gross debt remains broadly unchanged from the half year at approximately £353 million. Following our successful refinancing earlier in the year, the terms of which were announced on 9th May 2012, this is expected to result in a full year net bank interest expense of approximately £19.5 million. This excludes the exceptional items arising from our refinancing and interest on finance lease obligations. Tax The company's total reported tax, using the EPRA6 measure which includes deferred taxes, is expected to be approximately £5.1 million for the full year. However, we expect the company's cash tax for the full year to be

Outlook We have seen a slower start to the fourth quarter in terms of new lets, particularly during the London 2012 events. However, this is traditionally one of our softer trading periods and revenue growth remains solid, with August revenues up 5.4% on last year in constant exchange rates and up 2.7% in sterling. As we progress through the fourth quarter, macro-economic conditions remain challenging and the Euro exchange rate remains weak. The Euro exchange rate for Q3 2012 was 10.4% lower than Q3 2011 and we estimate this negatively impacted group revenue by around £600,0005 in the quarter. With Euro rates remaining at similar levels, we would expect a similar impact in the fourth quarter. In the UK, the Government intends to impose standard rate VAT on all self-storage with effect from 1 October 2012. We continue to actively pursue all options available to us to challenge this decision on behalf of our customers and shareholders. However, as the majority of Safestore customers pay in advance for their storage, to comply with anti-forestalling legislation we have already been required to inform customers of the increase in VAT. We therefore estimate a potential negative revenue impact in the final month of this financial year of approximately £500,000, consistent with the assumptions for the estimated full year impact we set out in our results in June 2012. Despite these challenges, trading for the full year remains in line with the board's expectations. Adjusted EPRA earnings for the full year will be impacted by the changes in interest expense and slightly higher EPRA tax levels outlined above. Looking beyond the short-term headwinds of foreign exchange movements and the introduction of VAT, the company remains well positioned to drive further RevPAF and growth.

Peter Gowers, Chief Executive Officer commented: "While macro-economic conditions remain challenging, we are making good progress as we implement the 'More Space' strategy outlined in January 2012. During the quarter, we delivered strong constant currency revenue growth, as well as further progress on our strategic priorities to strengthen the brand, drive operational excellence, build a powerful team and create value. As we progress through the fourth quarter, our scale and strong competitive position leave us well positioned to withstand the short-term headwinds of adverse foreign currency movements and the introduction of VAT on UK self-storage."

Highlights · Continued strong revenue and RevPAF growth in constant exchange rates · Further occupancy gains, building on last year's record levels, with closing occupancy4 up 8.8%, at 67.2% of Maximum Lettable Area ("MLA") or 3.43 million square feet ("sq ft") · National accounts occupancy up 48%, further strengthening our corporate customer base · 49,500 sq ft store opened at Paris-Vélizy in August, with no further new builds currently planned.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201209130700041393M