Member Info for mulledwine

Titimukhta throughput increase Polyus Gold International Limited (LSE - PLGL, OTC (US) - PLZLY)("PGIL" or "the Company"), the largest gold producer in Russia, announces that it has completed an expansion project at its Titimukhta mine aimed at increasing the mine throughput from 2.2 to 2.4 million tonnes of ore per year. The project, completed on time and within budget (USD 25 million), is an example of the low-risk cost-efficient expansion initiatives implemented by the Company at its operating mines to increase output and maximise returns. The project included the installation of a 5.0 by 7.5 metres ball mill (replacing a 2.7 by 3.6 metres ball mill), three Knelson gravity concentrators, additional CAVEX hydrocyclones, thickeners and auxiliary equipment. Following the completion of the project, production at Titimukhta is expected to be in the range of 120-125 thousand ounces of refined gold in 2012, an increase of approximately 13% year-on-year (2011: 109 thousand ounces). Ore processing volume in 2012 is expected to be approximately 2.18 million tonnes of ore compared to 1.92 million tonnes in 2011.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201205210705487304D

CONT At 11 May 2012, the Company's portfolio comprised of three companies with an aggregate value of US$3.22 million and cash and cash equivalents of US$9.79 million. The Company's largest holding, QKL Stores, which represented 98.2% of the investment portfolio at 11 May 2012, reported in April the resignation of the director who served as Chairman of the Nominating and Corporate Governance committees and a member of the Audit and Compensation committees. Whilst that director confirmed to QKL Stores that he had no disagreements relating to its operations, policies or practices, he did recommend that it would benefit from a stronger internal governance mechanism and should review its development strategies. Although the Investment Manager has not informed us of any specific concerns flowing from such resignation, the resigning director's recommendations cause us concern in the current environment of heightened sensitivity for US-listed Chinese companies. Your Board remains focussed on ensuring the Company's ongoing expenditure is kept to a minimum and remains focussed on returning cash to Shareholders once the Company is in a position to do so. Until the Astrata matter becomes more clear, we are monitoring the market value of the shares in QKL Stores in the hope that the value can recover during the remaining life of the Company. In accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards, the Company's investment in QKL Stores is valued at fair value, which assumes that it will be realised in an orderly manner and sold at closing bid prices without any discount or premium resulting from the large stake the Company holds in it or the illiquid nature of its stock. The exact timing of the realisation of this investment, together with market conditions at the relevant time, could result in actual realised amounts differing significantly from its valuation at that time.

Chairman's Statement Period ended 31 March 2012 In the Annual Report which was published on 20 February 2012, I explained to Shareholders that the previous financial year had been very difficult, although the Company was able to fully exit six investments and opportunistically reduce its two largest holdings, QKL Stores and Shengkai Innovations, as liquidity in those stocks emerged. As a result, at 30 September 2011, the Company held six investments with a total value of US$10.55 million and cash and cash equivalents of US$8.37 million. If I were writing purely about the half year period ending 31 March 2012, I would not be able to report any significant progress in realising the Company's remaining investments. During much of that period, the Company was engaged in discussions regarding the potential sale of its entire investment portfolio which prevented it from reducing its holdings through the market. Those discussions were terminated in late March. Accordingly, at the period end, the Company's investment portfolio still comprised of six companies, which had an aggregate value of US$6.32 million, and the Company held US$7.21 million in cash and cash equivalents. I am pleased to report that since then, the situation has improved slightly. As announced on 27 April 2012, since the period end the Company managed to monetise its remaining holding in Shengkai Innovations (VALV) and all its warrants in VALV, Tianyin Pharmaceuticals and Keyuan Petrochemicals, achieving gross sale proceeds of US$2.85 million. Whilst the Investment Manager reported to us that the sales were at prices near the historic lows for these positions, the market value of the companies had been falling for some time and, historically, liquidity had been scarce. We endorsed the Investment Manager's recommendation to sell at that time to capitalise on the available liquidity and in the knowledge that the market value of these companies could decline even further.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201205210700327035D

Interim CEO, Jeremy Pelczer, said: "We are obviously extremely disappointed with the decision by P&G. Although the resulting revenue shortfall will constrain growth we will continue to pursue a range of commercialisation opportunities while we conduct the strategic review."

PDX (AIM:PDX), the developer of the PDX Atomiser and PDX Reactor products and technology, announces that the Company has been informed by Procter & Gamble ("P&G") that, following completion of their evaluation trials on 18 May, P&G does not intend to pursue further evaluation or development at this stage or enter into exclusive licensing discussions with PDX as the Company had envisaged under the Joint Development Agreement between PDX and P&G. As a result of this, the Company's revenues for the year ending 30 September 2012 will be materially below the Company's earlier expectations. The Company has been undertaking a strategic review of the business and in light of the P&G decision the review will be accelerated to allow an update to be provided by the end of June 2012.

knig - you will be right there

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201205210720117307D

Mr Manduca, the former chief executive of Rothschild Asset Management, has been chosen by Prudential’s board after a lengthy search of internal and external candidates. It is understood that in recent days the board has passed his name to the Financial Services Authority, which is in the process of vetting his credentials and past experience. As the potential chairman of the high-profile and complex insurer, not to mention the head of one of the UK’s largest fund managers in Prudential’s M&G division, the regulator must be certain that Mr Manduca has the appropriate skills to lead the board before sanctioning the appointment. It is expected an announcement on Mr Manduca’s appointment, subject to regulatory clearance, could be made as early as this week, The Telegraph reports.

Investec reiterated its "buy" recommendation on specialist publications company Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM), noting that despite near term pressure from volatile market movements, the firm remains a 'high quality operator'. The company has been focusing on increasing its subscription base in the US and emerging markets, limiting its risk to current problems within the Eurozone. In addition, although Euromoney's valuation trades roughly in line with its peers - at eight times EV/EBITDA - the broker holds a positive view of management, installing belief that the shares offer medium term potential.

Seymour Pierce upgraded its stance on Berendsen (BRSN) from "add" to buy", and setting a 545p price target as talks with management reinforced the broker's view that the support services group has a solid platform for growth. The firm boasts both geographical and sector diversification, which limits downside risk, while still offering good growth opportunities, believes Seymour Pierce. Trading on a prospective earnings multiple of 9.3 times and offering a 5% dividend yield, the shares are deemed as an attractive prospect.

From providing finger food to the Welsh Assembly to serving strawberries at Wimbledon, Compass’s operations make it the largest catering group in the world. Last week’s interim numbers not only showed the defensive nature of the business but the cash-generating ability that makes its shares attractive. In the first half, underlying free cash flow rose 5.4 per cent to 368m pounds. This is an important measure of financial performance as it is from this pot that dividends and buy-backs come from. The company has been focusing on cutting costs, although the operating margin was flat in the first half at 7.2 per cent. An improvement is likely in the second half. The US is shaping up nicely and the company generates about 44 per cent of business from the region. Emerging markets are also likely to continue to grow, with organic growth in the segment jumping 12.4 per cent in the first half, more than making up for a 0.4 per cent fall in like-for-like in Europe. Indeed, revenue from fast-growing markets is now almost half the revenue generated from Europe. Trading on a September 2012 multiple of 14.3, falling to 13.1 in 2013, compared with a historical forward , earnings average of 16.7, the shares are a buy, Questor says.

Kofax Buy 16-May-12 £151,800.00 Greg Lock 60,000 @ 253.00p

Whitbread Sell 17-May-12 £1,007,739.84 Patrick Dempsey 54,458 @ 1,850.49p

Tim Martin, non-executive chairman of JD Wetherspoon, the pub group, has bumped up his stake in the company. In one hell-of-a-large round, he bought around £2.5m-worth of shares in the popular pub chain. Martin, who founded the business in 1979 and took on the role of chairman four years later, bought up 657,000 shares at 377.4377p each, parting with a total of £2,479,765 and taking his stake in the company to 26.56%.

http://www.growthcompany.co.uk/news/2103518/jkx-wins-adygea-license.thtml

As opposed to the market share gains achieved by Dixons in the UK Kesa Electricals unveiled a weak fourth quarter trading update, analysts at Nomura write this morning. In particular they highlight the weaker than expected gross margin figures and the weaker than expected pace of growth in LFL sales at its ‘developing businesses.’ On the other hand, LFL sales remained strong at its other established businesses (+6.2%). In their own words, “In our view, the weak 4Q trading shows that the pace of initiatives undertaken by Kesa (including roll-out of the Darty concept, development of multi-channel sales and cost savings) have not been enough to offset the weak macro and competitive pressures.” The broker has retained its neutral rating on the stock given the sharp price decline, but reduces its target price to 62p, which translates to approximately 9 times our fiscal year 2013 earnings per share forecast of 8.2, from 90p.

Pubs group Mitchells & Butlers reported profit before tax (PBT) of 68m pounds (12.4p earnings per share) for the 28 weeks to April 7th; slightly ahead of Panmure Gordon´s forecast of 63m pounds (11.3p earnings per share), reflecting an 8m pound reduction in interest charges. Year to date like-for-like (LFL) sales are up 2.0%, compared to +4.4% after 17 weeks to the 21st of January implying a fall of approximately -0.5% in the last 16 weeks. Nevertheless the group is confident it can report fiscal year results in line with expectations (consensus £169m PBT), which have moved down in recent weeks. In line with the above Panmure Gordon has trimmed its forecast for profit before tax to £169m (30.9p earnings per share) and consequently reduced its price target from 240p to 225p, while maintaining a sell recommendation

CONT Looking ahead to 2012, despite uncertainty in the financial and commodity markets, we anticipate that Fresnillo plc will continue to strengthen its precious metals position. While our ore resource inventory is strong, reserve replenishment and exploration of new projects will continue to underpin our long-term growth strategy. The Board has authorised a risk capital investment in exploration budget of US$360.4 million for 2012, which is more than double the 2011 expenditure, reflecting our confidence that such investments today are vital to the long-term growth of the Group. I would like to thank my fellow Board members for their service and contribution in the year. And I am particularly pleased that last month we were able to announce the appointment of two new non-executive directors - Ms. María Asunción Aramburuzabala and Mr. Alejandro Baillères - both of whom bring invaluable experience and expertise to the Board. Finally, on behalf of the Board I extend my deepest gratitude to all our people for their hard work and commitment to delivering results year after year."