Member Info for mulledwine

OUTLOOK The Group has made progress in the first half delivering organic revenue growth, earnings per share up 9% and a further step in rebalancing the portfolio towards our commercial markets. Cobham remains positive on the outlook for commercial and non US defence/security businesses which now represent 60% of revenue. The outlook for the US defence/security market for the end of 2012 and 2013 is particularly uncertain due to the upcoming US elections and the lack of political consensus on US Government budgets. The July 2012 divestments of the Beacon businesses and the more first half weighted contribution from the 2011 share buy-back will result in full year EPS growth being lower than the first half. The Board therefore expects full year 2012 EPS to be similar to the prior year taking account of the Beacon divestments, assuming any hiatus in US order placement is no more severe than the usual delays in approving US Government budgets. Given the uncertainties referred to Cobham is approaching 2013 with caution and building flexibility into its operating model including preparations for appropriate cost management in response to differing US Government budgetary outcomes. Cobham's strategy, together with its strong balance sheet and inherently cash generative characteristics, give the Board confidence that Cobham will continue to make progress over the medium term.

Bob Murphy, Cobham Chief Executive, said: "We have made progress in the first half delivering organic revenue growth, earnings per share up 9% and a further step in rebalancing the portfolio towards our commercial markets. "We remain positive on the outlook for our commercial and non US defence/security businesses which now represent 60% of revenue. The outlook for the US defence/security market for the end of 2012 and 2013 is particularly uncertain due to the upcoming US elections and the lack of political consensus on US Government budgets. "The July 2012 divestment of the Beacon businesses and the more first half weighted contribution from the 2011 share buy-back will result in full year EPS growth being lower than the first half. The Board therefore expects full year 2012 EPS to be similar to the prior year taking account of the Beacon divestments, assuming any hiatus in US order placement is no more severe than the usual delays in approving US Government budgets. "Given the uncertainties referred to we are approaching 2013 with caution and building flexibility into the operating model including preparations for appropriate cost management in response to differing US Government budgetary outcomes."

· £2.5bn order book with strength in Mission Systems and Aviation Services and good order intake in shorter cycle businesses - Group total affected by Analytic Solutions divestment · Organic revenue growth of 1.7% in the core businesses - Group total affected by Analytic Solutions divestment · Underlying EPS growth of 9% underpinned by share buy-back and lower tax rate · Excellence in Delivery on track to deliver expected £42m of annualised, year-on-year efficiency savings since inception in 2010 to the end of 2012 · £281m Thrane & Thrane acquisition completed; expected to be strongly accretive in 2013 and adds further strength in commercial markets · Interim dividend increased to 2.40p, rebalancing the full year dividend in line with Group's long standing, progressive dividend policy, after last year's step change

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201208080700055277J

Currency headwinds were a problem for South African insurance group Old Mutual in the first half of 2012, as were falling interest rates, which hit investment returns. Profit before tax in the six months to the end of June fell to £733m from £909m in 2011. Adjusted operating profit on an international financial reporting standards (IFRS) basis rose 1% to £791m from £785m the year before, but was up 12% on a constant exchange rates basis.

Tempus is also keen on Legal & General, which the column believes is likely to evolve into a more international player under its new Chief Executive Nigel Wilson. Legal & General Investment Management now sits at a whopping £381bn assets under management while the group is also determined to re-enter the mortgage market. Trading at just 9.7 times earnings, Tempus thinks the shares look cheap: buy.

Tempus in The Times is still fond of aerospace engineer Meggitt. Its military division is still doing well despite worries over budgets in the US while the civilian sector is ticking along nicely with orders from Boeing and Airbus. With the small, but growing, energy division performing very well, Meggitt, at just 12 times 2012 earnings is a buy.

Questor in the Telegraph takes on the issue du jour, Standard Chartered, arguing the bank which faces damaging money laundering accusations in the US will, ultimately weather the storm. Trading at eight times current year earnings, the stock is still more expensive than poor old Barclays (at 5.4 times earnings). But Questor believes, eventually, the underlying value of banks will be realised when the financial crisis ends and the regulatory problems are resolved. The advice then is to hold the stock and “forget” about it until the good times come again.

Max James, Chief Executive of Quintain, said: "I am delighted that, as a new management team at Quintain, we have had such a productive first quarter delivering real momentum to both our large London regeneration schemes at Greenwich and Wembley. "The completion last month of our new joint venture with Knight Dragon at Greenwich, with the ongoing provision of up to £300 million of funding, guarantees the long-term financing for the 14 million sq ft development while securing significant additional income streams for Quintain. "The emergence of Wembley as a major London leisure, retail and residential destination is now well underway with the openings of the new 4-star Hilton Hotel and the 660-room student accommodation block, and the ongoing development of the London Designer Outlet. "In addition, we have made good progress in reducing gearing, with the receipt of more than £90 million of cash from disposals since the year end and a further £54 million due later this month. This increases further the financial strength and flexibility of the Company as we seek to benefit from our extensive exposure to the resilient London market."

BALANCE SHEET Management has further strengthened the balance sheet, reducing leverage with the receipt of £90 million of cash since 1st April 2012. This figure includes the proceeds received on completion of the Greenwich transaction with Knight Dragon, the disposal of the Plaza Hotel and the disposal to Keystone & Partners Real Estate SA of the Wembley student accommodation building. In addition, Quintain will this month receive £54 million following the completion of the iQ Shoreditch student scheme, of which £24.5 million will be used to meet final development costs. After receiving the net proceeds from iQ Shoreditch, on a pro-forma basis gearing (for banking covenant purposes) will reduce from 87% at the year end to approximately 75%.

Q1 Interim Management Statement BUILDING MOMENTUM: COMPLETION OF TRANSFORMATIONAL DEAL AT GREENWICH, DELIVERY OF THREE KEY LONDON ASSETS AND FURTHER STRENGTHENING OF THE BALANCE SHEET HIGHLIGHTS · Completion of transformational joint venture deal with Knight Dragon at Greenwich, including £300m of ongoing development funding · Completion of 620,000 sq ft of development, with the Hilton Hotel and student accommodation at Wembley and iQ Shoreditch delivered on time and within budget · Balance sheet strengthening further, with £90m of capital received since 1st April and a further £54m to be received this month following the completion of iQ Shoreditch

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201208080700055281J

Louise Makin, BTG's CEO, commented: "These results are obviously disappointing, as the treatment of severe sepsis remains a major unmet need. Our core business and trading continue on track, as described in our recent interim management statement." BTG does not anticipate conducting any further development of AZD9773. Consequently, BTG anticipates taking a charge of approximately £28m in the current financial year, of which £25m relates to a non-cash impairment of intangible and tangible fixed assets.

BTG Announces Data from Phase IIb Study of AZD9773 London, UK, 8 August 2012: BTG plc (LSE: BTG), announces top-line data from a global double-blind Phase IIb study comparing the efficacy and safety of two doses of AZD9773 (CytoFab™) with placebo in patients with severe sepsis and/or septic shock, conducted by AstraZeneca. Treatment with AZD9773 did not show any significant improvements versus placebo in respect of the primary endpoint, ventilator-free days, or secondary endpoints including mortality. In light of these data, AstraZeneca has decided to halt any further development of AZD9773 for the treatment of severe sepsis and/or septic shock, and will hand the asset back to BTG.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201208080700055282J

Group Outlook We have delivered another year of solid growth in terms of revenue (+33per cent) and passed through the £100 million revenue milestone along the way. Profit has now increased to £4.3 million on an adjusted basis, despite the challenging economic outlook we face in many of our chosen markets. We expect the retail business to be driven by growth in our own EXPANSYS.COM websites and the partner business with scope for further growth based upon better KPI execution, which still requires improvement to be considered benchmark for the sector. We are expecting significant growth in the USA and Asia, with an improved profitability in the UK and continued revenue growth in Europe. DSNS and PJMedia will work together to develop the 'Network Services' aspect of our business, which we believe offers significant growth opportunities. The DSNS business will continue to develop the contribution from international markets, as well as value added services, and the Board believes both offer significant scope for growth. PJMedia will continue the successful development of its new business pipeline and we expect to announce further contract wins going forward. The Group itself is now emerging as a provider of end to end services for network operators and manufacturers in the telecoms and consumer electronics markets, through our unique mix of retail, distribution and software development skills. We are uniquely positioned to offer agile, efficient and relevant solutions to our partners and customers and continue to believe we can offer attractive growth in revenues and earnings.

Anthony Catterson, CEO of EXPANSYS, commented: "EXPANSYS has delivered another year of significant revenue growth, passing through the £100 million revenue mark whilst increasing profit to £4.3 million on an adjusted basis. This was despite a very challenging environment. Through our mix of retail, distribution and multi-channel commerce skills, the Group is now emerging as a unique provider of end to end services for network operators and manufacturers in the telecoms and consumer electronics markets globally. We believe these full service capabilities will continue to drive attractive revenue and earnings growth in the medium to long term. We are expecting significant growth in the USA and Asia to continue, with improved retail profitability in the UK."

Singer Capital reiterated its "buy" recommendation for F&C Asset Management (FCAM) with a 110p target price. The broker said that the group has achieved additional annual cost savings of 3 million pounds, bringing the total since October 2011 to 48.8 million pounds, and believes that further savings are on the way. While Singer noted that the group's performance may suffer from Euro weakness in the short-term it maintained that the shares remain attractive, trading on a prospective earnings multiple of 8.2 times for the 2013 financial year. The shares crept up by 0.15p to 88.25p.

Canaccord Genuity retained its "buy" stance on Anite (AIE) with a 143p target price. The broker noted that the mobile software developer's shares have fallen by around 8% in recent weeks, which it attributed to the market misguidedly reading across from the poor performance of Spirent Communications (SPT). Canaccord believes the group is well positioned to take advantage of 4G testing software requirements in emerging markets. The broker added that the firm may look to dispose of its Travel division, which would allow it to focus on the wireless testing market. Shares in Anite gained 4.8p to 126.6p.

Panmure Gordon maintained its "buy" rating for NetDimensions (NETD) with a target price of 76p. With the learning software company looking to trade its shares on the OTCQX International trading platform, the broker believes the firm will gain greater exposure to investors in the US, where tech companies trade at a 28% premium to UK peers on an EV/EBITDA basis. Panmure also pointed to the group's strong client base, including Metersbonwe, which has 20,000 employees, and Best Buy International. The shares inched up by 0.25p to 31.5p.