Member Info for mulledwine

AGM STATEMENT Colefax will be holding its Annual General Meeting today and Alan Smith, Non Executive Director, will make the following comment on current trading, "Since we announced our final results in July, trading conditions have remained generally difficult but broadly in line with expectations. In our core Fabric Division, overall sales for the four months to 31st August 2012 are down 1% on a constant currency basis. Sales in the US, which is our largest market, were up 6%, sales in the UK were down 8% and European sales were down 7%. As the Group enters its important autumn selling season we remain cautious about the trading outlook especially in the UK and Europe."

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201209110700039249L

Joe Oatley, Chief Executive of Cape, commented: "We are pleased to enter into this joint venture with Lancaster, which builds on more than twelve years of safe and successful Cape operations in Kazakhstan. This provides an excellent opportunity to expand our business and to deliver future success for our shareholders."

Cape establishes joint venture in Kazakhstan Cape plc, the international provider of essential, non-mechanical support services to the energy and mineral resources sectors, announces the establishment of a new Joint Venture, 'Cape Caspian LLP', in Kazakhstan. The joint venture is jointly owned by Cape and the Lancaster Group, a highly reputable private company consisting of several divisions operating in different sectors of the Kazakhstan economy including the energy, oil services and mining sectors, where Lancaster has a number of international partners. Cape has operated successfully in Kazakhstan for over twelve years. One of its clients, ERSAI Caspian Contractor, a Lancaster Group and Saipem joint venture based in Mangystau region, is among the biggest contractors for Kashagan oilfield development, one of the largest oil discoveries in recent history. By building on the strong local presence of Lancaster Group, the Cape Caspian joint venture will expand the range of opportunities for Cape in the growing Kazakhstan market.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201209110700049356L

The Brazilian chief financial officer of BG Group who has been tipped for the company’s top job has been granted a medical leave of absence until the end of the year. Fabio Barbosa will travel to Brazil to undergo treatment for a recently diagnosed condition. A spokesman for the company would not discuss the problem, saying only that it was a “private matter for Fabio and his family”. Mr Barbosa is one of three internal candidates being groomed to replace Sir Frank Chapman, the longstanding chief executive who is retiring next June. BG’s spokesman insisted that Mr Barbosa would remain involved in the selection process, which also involves external candidates, The Times reports.

Valuation: Still a play on the Disney windfall Avesco shares have performed well over the past year, helped by profit upgrades. Taking the average of FY12e and FY13e profits the current P/E and EV/EBITDA of 12.5x and 2.5x respectively still look reasonable, despite the tough economic backdrop. The shares are underpinned by a 152p NAV but particularly, by the hopedfor share of the Disney/Celador proceeds (worth US$60m to Avesco, or 140p per share). The oral arguments for Disney’s appeal are scheduled for 10 October with a decision likely within 12 months (although further appeals are possible and hence the timing of any payout remains unclear).

http://www.edisoninvestmentresearch.co.uk/researchreports/Avesco110912update.pdf

Valuation: Still well placed, value undemanding High levels of investment suppress earnings, so the P/E is high. However, at 1.7x FY13 sales the EV/Sales ratio does not strike us as at all demanding for a business we feel remains a strong play on the migration to 10/40/100Gb networks, and growing regulatory and commercial drivers for enterprises to have visibility over the traffic flowing over them

http://www.edisoninvestmentresearch.co.uk/researchreports/Endace110912update.pdf

Jefferies has reiterated its 'hold' rating and 275p target price for security giant G4S ahead of the firm's first reputation test since the contract issues with the Olympics hit the firm. "The award of some UK prison outsourcing contracts next week will be G4S’s first litmus test of post-Olympics reputational damage," the broker said on Tuesday morning.

Eric Prescott, Havelock CEO, said: "Significant progress has been made across the Group and I am pleased to report that our focused efforts to control costs, increase efficiency and provide additional services to our customers has improved overall performance. Looking ahead, the markets will continue to remain challenging. However, we are in a much stronger position to deliver continued progress in the second half aided by an increased order book both in the UK and overseas."

nh - afternoon - a good day for you here ....been a nice response since the 8p in August

Ewan Lloyd-Baker, Chief Executive Officer, commented: "We expect to see a substantial improvement in the operational performance of the Group in the second half driven in part by the elimination of loss making contracts in the manufacturing division, savings from the restructuring of the Luton operations, a significantly strengthened balance sheet and a stronger Q4 2012 performance by the aftermarket business which has been held back by financial constraints prior to the new financing. These changes combined with an improving outlook mean that the Board therefore looks to the future with increased confidence."

Business Highlights: § Order intake in H1 2012 was £15.9 million (H1 2011: £16.5 million); further strong contract wins in July saw order intake rise to £20.3 million to the end of July against £18.8 million for the equivalent period last year; § Hayward Tyler's largest ever oil and gas related contract secured with a value of £2.7 million in July; § A second syngas project valued at USD1.6 million (£1.0 million) won by Hayward Tyler's business in the USA in June; § Hayward Tyler's Luton operations restructured and the Group head office closed, which together are expected to deliver annualised cost savings of around £1.0 million; § Significant progress made on the supply chain development project with MBE Cologne; § New board composition following completion of the new financing arrangements.

Specialist Energy Group plc - Unaudited interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2012 Specialist Energy Group plc (AIM: SEGR), the specialist engineering group, today announces its interim results for the six month period ended 30 June 2012. The results include the contribution from its operating subsidiary, Hayward Tyler Group Limited ("Hayward Tyler"), a market leader in the design, manufacture and service of critical application pumps and motors to the power generation and oil and gas markets. Financial Highlights: § £5.0 million raised from MBE Mineral Technologies Pte Limited ("MBE") in May 2012 through a successful equity issue priced at 50 pence per ordinary share, a premium of 108% to the market price prior to the announcement; § New banking and borrowing arrangements of £14.0 million concluded post period (15 August 2012), which together with the new equity, provide a much stronger platform for the Group; § Net debt decreased to £5.6 million at 30 June 2012 (31 December 2011: £10.0 million) as a result of the equity proceeds; § H1 revenues flat at £14.3 million (H1 2011: £14.4 million); § Gross profit margin decreased to 31% (H1 2011: 34%) as a result of the manufacturing business; § EBITDA* of £0.7 million (H1 2011: £0.8 million); § Operating profit* of £0.4 million (H1 2011: £0.5 million); § Profit before tax of £0.3 million (H1 2011: loss of £0.2 million).

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201209110700039259L

Diary Interim accounts will be available from the RTC Group Plc website ( www.RTCGROUPPLC.co.uk ) on the 24th September 2012.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201209110700059399L

Angela Ahrendts, Chief Executive Officer, commented: "As we stated in July, the external environment is becoming more challenging. In this context, second quarter retail sales growth has slowed against historically high comparatives. Given this background, we are tightly managing discretionary costs and taking appropriate actions to protect short term profitability, while continuing to execute on our proven five key strategies."