Member Info for mulledwine

Broker snap: Bovis still a 'hold' but results are strong, says Panmure Mon 20/08/2012 - 10:46:00 Panmure Gordon has upgraded its full-year forecasts for Bovis Homes after the house-builder's interim results came in ahead of expectations. "Whilst our recommendation remains 'hold' on valuation grounds, it is clear that the group is making strong progress against a stable market backdrop," Panmure said. Profit before tax (PBT) came in at £16.2m, up 100% year-on-year and ahead of the broker's £12.5m forecast. While volumes and selling prices were broadly in line, net interest payable and net margin beat predictions (the latter was 10.3%, 30 basis points above estimates). Panmure has raised its full-year PBT forecast from £47.6m to £51.3m, while the dividend per share estimate was lifted from 7.0p to 9.0p. The broker has raised its target price for the stock from 500p to 504p, which reflects a price-to-net asset value multiple of 0.89 times. "Looking at the mix of old/new land within the landbank at the current time, this looks sensible to us. We therefore maintain our 'hold' recommendation on valuation grounds for now," the broker said. .

more Broker snap: Wood Group deserves to trade at a premium, says Credit Suisse Tue 21/08/2012 - 10:42:00 Credit Suisse has reiterated its 'outperform' rating and 925p target price for Wood Group, saying that the oil and gas services firm outdid its UK peers with its first-half results. "Unlike UK peers we believe Wood Group's 1H results and outlook are solid," Credit Suisse said. "The outlook statement is positive, highlighting continued good growth and that uncertainty and lower commodity prices have 'not had any discernible impact on activity levels or the current outlook'." The broker highlighted Engineering and Gas Turbines as the key positive areas of the results with EBITA for each division up 44% and 69%, respectively. Nevertheless, the broker notes that there are still remains two areas of concern: the large Omani contract which continues to generate losses; and issues surrounding new orders for the Power Solutions business. "At our target the stock would trade at 15.0x [2013 earnings], a premium to the sector, which we believe is justified given the better balance sheet than history and strong organic growth," Credit Suisse said. Nevertheless, shares were down 1.29% at 724.72p by 10:38.

Broker snap: Westhouse downgrades African Barrick to 'neutral' Tue 21/08/2012 - 12:28:00 Westhouse Securities has downgraded its recommendation for African Barrick Gold (ABG) from 'strong buy' to 'neutral' following the recent surge in the shares. The holding company of ABG announced last Thursday that it is in talks with China National Gold Group about the possibility of selling its stake in the London-listed miner to China's largest gold producer. "ABG is up 36.6% since our 'strong buy' recommendation on the 23rd of July; hence we are now moving our recommendation to 'neutral', despite recognising the potential upside from a bid for Barrick's holding," said Westhouse analyst Rob Broke. "The scale of Barrick's in ABG has been a deterrent for investors in the past as they believed that it was impossible for ABG to operate under its own free will. The announcement that Barrick would consider selling its stake has therefore been met positively by the market, primarily because it could result in a bidding war from a number of potential suitors which could drive the price higher," he said. The broker has maintained its 435p target price on the stock. By midday on Tuesday, shares were up 3.81% at 449.5p.

Merrill Lynch downgrades Amlin from neutral to underperform, target price raised from 350p to 370p.

Canaccord Genuity downgrades Amlin from buy to hold, target price raised from 400p to 420p.

Credit Suisse has reiterated its 'outperform' rating and 925p target price for Wood Group, saying that the oil and gas services firm outdid its UK peers with its first-half results. "At our target the stock would trade at 15.0x [2013 earnings], a premium to the sector, which we believe is justified given the better balance sheet than history and strong organic growth," Credit Suisse said.

any potential rise in SP today with the good figures has been hauled back by the outlook with Companies reigning in exploration expenditure etc..one to keep on a watch list though for when the worm turns.

Outlook The first half of 2012 has seen increasing commentary from the global mining houses on initiatives to curtail capital and exploration expenditure commitments, and this trend has intensified in recent months. The Group has previously noted that we have experienced moderation in demand from highly elevated levels in 2011, and this moderation in demand has continued during the first half and the period since our pre-close statement. Despite a weaker demand environment, Capital Drilling has had a solid first half with record revenues and profitability. While commodity prices have eased, they remain strong compared to long-term trends and remain well above economical thresholds required for sustained exploration and mine development. Furthermore, while capital expenditure plans have been and are being reviewed and broadly reduced by the industry, growth plans remain at elevated levels with major miners enjoying strong balance sheets. While we have seen demand moderate, it remains robust on a historical basis. Our current level of equipment deployment remains high and the pricing environment supportive. Against this backdrop, Capital Drilling continues to operate under a disciplined capital allocation framework and will continue to support our blue chip customer base, many of whom continue to expand their operations. We anticipate that the volatility in the market place will continue through the second half, though we remain encouraged by levels of enquiries and the continued demand for quality drilling services. Capital Drilling is continuing to invest in not only its fleet, but also the operational platform in order for us to be able to continue to grow the business over the coming years. We look forward to continuing to harness our strategic advantages of having a high quality client list operating long life, low cost of production assets, and operating one of the youngest rig fleets available in the industry. Our performance continues to be supported by our resilient contracting base and, despite the weaker global environment, our earnings guidance for the full year remains on track

Commenting on the results, Jamie Boyton, Executive Chairman of Capital Drilling, said: "Capital Drilling had a strong first half with revenues and profitability continuing to demonstrate the strength of the Group's business model of focusing on its quality blue chip client base, with long life assets. The Company has delivered another strong performance in the first half despite increasing industry evidence of an easing in the capital expenditure intentions of a number of major mining houses, as well as some significant senior management restructuring in some of the industry's leading gold mining companies. Against this backdrop, the Company has seen a moderation in demand over the first half. However, we continue to operate in an environment of solid demand and our current level of equipment deployment remains high. Thus, while not immune to the volatility of the mining industry, with the Company experiencing elevated levels of rig mobilization in the first half, Capital Drilling has performed well and delivered another period of solid growth. Significantly, the Group has invested in its operations, equipment and management team in order to ensure the future growth prospects of the business. While the benefits of these initiatives, in the form of greater efficiencies and economies of scale, will be seen in the future, and we are now operating the business from a stronger platform and look forward to the challenges and rewards ahead".

Continued strategic progress · Strengthening of the Group organisational structure with appointment of Geoff Fardell as CEO, and key appointments of Chief Financial Officer, Group Asset Manager, Group Business Development Manager, Chief Commercial Officer, Human Resources Manager and Supply Chain and Logistics Manager Africa to build a platform for the future growth of the Group. · Continued focus on blue chip clients and resources - 79% of clients in H1 2012 are major miners. · Maintained a young fleet, average age of less than 5 years. · Restructured debt to strengthen balance sheet.

Operational Highlights · Further fleet expansion, adding six rigs and decommissioning one rig to end the period with 90 rigs. Further rig deliveries due in H2 2012 in line with client demand. · Investment in capital expenditure supported by steady operating cash flows and refinanced debt facility. · New contract wins, extensions and expansions awarded in H1 2012 include: v Antofagasta in Chile. v Centamin in Egypt. v Compania Minera del Pacifico in Chile. v Continental Nickel in Tanzania. v Kinross Gold in Ghana · Recently awarded new contract extension in H2 2012: v Xstrata in Tanzania (one existing diamond rig).

Financial Highlights · Record half year revenue of $79.1m, up 33% (H1 2011 $59.5m). · EBITDA of $21.0m (H1 2011 $16.3m), EBIT of $13.4m (H1 2011 $11.2m) and NPAT of $9.4m (H1 2011 $8.6m), all substantially improved over H1 2011 and H2 2011. · Increased ARPOR over the period with H1 2012 ARPOR of $197,000 ($154,000 H1 2011), up 28% on a weighted average fleet of 87 rigs (76 rigs H1 2011). Utilisation of 75% (81% H1 2011) due to higher rig mobilisation. · Gained momentum in Q2 2012 with ARPOR of $209,000 (Q1 2012 $186,000) and utilisation of 75% (Q1 2012 74%) on a weighted average fleet of 88 rigs (Q1 2012 85 rigs). · Increasing ARPOR contributed to record half year NPAT of $9.4m, up 9% on H1 2011. · Improved gross profit, EBITDA and EBIT margins on H2 2011, although NPAT margins lower given a higher effective tax rate. · Diluted EPS growth of 9% compared to H1 2011. · Strong and resilient balance sheet with increased investment in capital expenditure and working capital facilitated by refinanced term and revolving loan facilities. · Fully financed to fund continued growth.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201208210700043995K

Update on oil sales - August 2012 The Board of Jupiter Energy Limited, the Kazakhstan-focused oil exploration and production company, quoted on AIM ("JPRL") and ASX ("JPR"), is pleased to provide shareholders with the following update regarding oil sales. The Company has concluded an agreement with a local Kazakh oil trader for the sale of 2,000 tonnes of oil (~14,000 barrels) at a price of $US365/tonne (~$US52/barrel). This price is a reduction of some 8.25% from the last round of oil sales and reflects the softening in global oil prices since late April 2012, when the last contract was signed. Like the April contract, under this sale arrangement the cost of transportation from the field and storage at the facility is borne by Jupiter. The sale price of ~$US52/barrel adjusted for the budgeted costs of transportation and storage at ~$US6/barrel, equates to a net price of ~$US46/barrel. The total amount of $US730,000 has been prepaid and all monies received. Oil deliveries under this contract commenced on 17 August 2012 and are anticipated to be completed by 1 September 2012. The Company is currently reviewing its ongoing arrangements in terms of the methodology used for the transportation and storage of oil and any changes to the process will be reflected in the September round of oil sales.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201208210700043914K

Wish they would lay out headers a little more boldly etc so you get an easier read!

Outlook In Wood Group GTS, we expect good growth in EBITA for the year, weighted to the second half. In Maintenance, we are seeing some signs of improvement in the US power market. In Power Solutions, we have good visibility for 2012 and are active on a number of future prospects although constraints in the project financing market, together with some uncertainty around the outlook for global GDP growth, is holding back contract awards.

Outlook Wood Group PSN We anticipate an improved performance for Wood Group PSN in 2012 resulting from the full year benefit of the PSN acquisition, continued strength in the North Sea, North America, Australia and Africa, together with the reduction of overall contract losses compared to 2011.

Outlook Wood Group GTS Activity levels remain high and are supported by a strong order book and future prospects. As a result, we anticipate that Engineering will deliver full year EBITA up over 30% on 2011.

Sir Ian Wood, Chairman, and Allister Langlands, Chief Executive commented: "In the first half the Group has delivered growth across all three divisions, and we are confident of achieving full year performance in line with expectations. The Group is well placed with a balance of opex and capex related activities across key geographical areas of industry growth and a robust balance sheet. In July we announced a number of board changes and our strong management team is well set to further develop our leading positions across engineering, production facilities support and gas turbine services."