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Acquisition of Pulse Instrumentation Porvair, the specialist filtration and environmental technology group, today announces the acquisition of the business and assets of Pulse Instrumentation ("Pulse"), a Canadian business focussed on environmental laboratory supplies. Pulse manufactures and distributes water analysis products, principally supplying environmental laboratories in the Americas. Its main line of business is consumable lab-ware. The acquisition expands Porvair's capabilities in the water analysis market by increasing the installed base of laboratories served; widening the range of products offered; and increasing the proportion of consumables sold. Pulse will be integrated into Porvair's Microfiltration Division. The acquisition will be immediately earnings enhancing.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201204180700165339B

Martin Coles, CEO of HaloSource commented, "We are delighted to announce the news of our agreement with Perfect, a global leader in consumer product sales in China. The agreement ties completely to our new strategy of building strong partnerships with leading companies that are able to deploy successfully our technologies. We are proud of the HaloPure® media's distinction as the first and only drinking water purification technology to be approved under a new tough standard developed by China's Ministry of Health (MOH) in April 2011, engaging with Perfect shortly thereafter to begin development of this breakthrough line of products." In 2010, Perfect was ranked as one of the Top 10 Global Direct Sales companies in the world by Power Networking monthly magazine, with US $1.6 billion in sales. It was also the second enterprise to be approved by the Chinese government to market its products directly to consumers, through more than 6,000 outlets across China.

Perfect Water Purification Manufacturing Co. Ltd will deploy HaloPure® technology in drinking water purification devices HaloSource, Inc. ("HaloSource" or the "Company") (HAL.LN, HALO.LN), the clean water technology company, today announces a partnership with its first Chinese partner, Perfect Water Purification Manufacturing Co. Ltd., a leading global supplier of consumer goods with US$1.6 billion in sales in 2010. The partnership marks HaloSource's entry into the direct selling channel for drinking water purification devices in China. Under the terms of the partnership agreement, HaloSource's HaloPure® cartridges will be inserted into Perfect's multi-stage water purifier to deliver 99.9% reduction of virus and bacteria. HaloSource has granted Perfect the exclusive right to sell devices powered by HaloPure® technology through its direct sales channels in the pressurized water purification segment in China. To maintain this exclusive right, Perfect is required to purchase a minimum of 500,000 units annually, representing approximately US$4.5 million of revenue for HaloSource. The overall market for drinking water devices in China is estimated to be worth more than US$2.5 billion annually and growing at more than 20% CAGR, according to research group Frost & Sullivan.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201204170700164478B

WH Ireland Securities initiates buy on Environmental Recycling Technologies, target price 3.34p.

WH Ireland Securities initiates buy on William Sinclair Holdings, target price 245p.

http://www.iii.co.uk/articles/32485/stock-watch-smart-metering-systems

http://www.iii.co.uk/articles/32485/stock-watch-smart-metering-systems

AGGREKO COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF POWER RENTAL BUSINESS IN SOUTH AMERICA Aggreko is pleased to confirm that the acquisition of the entire share capital of Companhia Brasileira de Locações ("Poit Energia"), first announced on 26 March 2012, completed on 16 April 2012 on terms stated in that initial announcement. Poit Energia offers complete power rental solutions, including generators, lighting towers, containers and loadbanks, as well as accessories such as cables, transformers and switchgear. As of December 2011 Poit Energia had a fleet of over 1,300 generators equating to around 350MW and employed over 450 people. Poit Energia is headquartered in Sao Paulo and operates from 14 locations in Brazil, two in Chile and one each in Argentina and Peru. Lazard & Co., Limited served as financial adviser to Aggreko; Pinheiro Neto Advogados served as legal adviser to Aggreko and Deloitte LLP provided transaction services advice.

Buzle - apologies I have just seen your post - today's announcement shows they have been gnashing many a set of molars and pulling hair to sort out direction and how to get there - never easy when staff livelihoods are at stake

Mark Allen, Chief Executive of Dairy Crest, commented: "Dairy Crest is a broadly based business which has delivered against our strategy despite challenging trading conditions. Our Foods business has performed strongly and sales of our five key brands continue to grow. However, along with the rest of the sector, our Dairies business is under sustained pressure and we have to continue to act decisively to protect its future. The decision to consult on the closure of our Aintree and Fenstanton facilities has not been taken lightly, but we believe that this proposed restructuring of our Dairies business is the right decision for the long-term. We will do all we can to help employees who may be affected by these proposals. The proposals we are announcing today are part of a series of actions designed to restore our Dairies business to an acceptable level of profitability over the medium term. With lower net debts at the year end than we anticipated, the Group has positioned itself well to absorb the cash costs associated with these closures. The challenges in the liquid milk industry are further underlined by the disappointing loss of the Tesco liquid milk supply contract. However it represents just 3% of our total liquid milk volumes and has not driven the restructuring decisions which we are announcing. Tesco remains a large and important customer for our key UK brands Cathedral City, Country Life, Clover and Frijj. ".

Proposal to close Aintree and Fenstanton dairies The pre-close trading update indicated that Dairy Crest was looking at a range of options to restore its Dairies business to a satisfactory level of profitability. Today the Board is announcing that the Company is entering into consultation with employees and their representatives on proposals to close two of the Group's dairies at Aintree, Liverpool and Fenstanton, Cambridgeshire later this year. The proposed closures of these dairies has been facilitated by the ongoing £75 million investment programme in the Dairies business. This has driven efficiencies and increased capacity at the Group's other three polybottle dairies at Severnside, Gloucestershire, Chadwell Heath, London and Foston, Derbyshire. Aintree is predominantly a glass-bottling dairy. There has been a fall in the sales of milk in glass bottles as residential sales continue to decline overall and customers increasingly opt for plastic bottles and milk bags. Dairy Crest will continue to supply residential customers with milk in glass bottles from its Hanworth dairy in London should Aintree close. At Fenstanton Dairy Crest packs milk into polybottles. Most of the volume here can be transferred to other, more highly invested Dairy Crest dairies. Dairy Crest anticipates that there will be cash exceptional costs associated with these closures of around £15 million, to be charged in 2012/13. It will review the March 2012 carrying value of assets at these sites and goodwill in its Dairies business in the light of these proposals. Dairy Crest expects to treat all these charges, together with any required impairment of goodwill, as exceptional items.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201204170702284673B

Group - On an adjusted basis*, both operating profits and profit before tax for the first half of the year are expected to be lower than in 2011, although the outlook for the full year remains unchanged. The half year results will reflect the expected reduced profitability from dmg events and lower profits from Associated due in part to lower advertising revenues, higher average newsprint costs and additional promotional activity in respect of our digital businesses. Net finance costs will also be higher due mainly to the acceleration of interest of £6 million, being the premium on redemption of £110m of 7.5% Bonds due 2013, purchased in December 2011. - The Group is likely to report exceptional costs for the half year of around £40 million (around half of which are cash items), mainly in A&N Media. This charge will include reorganisation costs and accelerated depreciation of property, plant and equipment, principally relating to the move of printing facilities to Thurrock. - Net debt at the half year has risen since the year end, as expected, due to acquisitions, payment into the Group's pension schemes, the timing of interest payments and the usual seasonal cash outflows. Net debt is expected to fall in the second half of the year.

Daily Mail and General Trust plc (`DMGT') Trading Update Ahead of DMGT's Investor Day tomorrow afternoon, this statement provides an update on the Group's progress in the current year. It covers the six month period to the end of March 2012. Summary - Solid Group revenue performance, up 2% underlying# - Good underlying# growth from B2B operations - Resilient revenue performance at Associated; circulation and digital revenue growth largely offsetting print advertising weakness - Active portfolio management; targeted acquisitions and disposal of non-core assets - Outlook for the year remains unchanged.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=20120417071500P14B9

Glyn Bottomley, Manroy's Chief Executive, said: "The novation of these contracts to MUSA and the accreditation of its production capabilities is a major step forward in our planned expansion into the US defence market. This will also enable MUSA to bid directly for future defence contracts for the supply of the M2 HMG to the DoD for which it is qualified. "MUSA continues to be the cornerstone of our expansion into this part of the world's largest defence market thereby enhancing the Group's overall ability and future performance."

CONT MUSA's credentials have also been further strengthened by its Small Business Accreditation status which was granted in June 2011 by the US Government. This is important as it allows the Company to bid for contracts that are 'set aside' for small businesses without competition from large companies. The Directors believe the DoD has an annual requirement for approximately 10,000 M2 HMG barrels, of which approximately half were supplied by Sabre prior to its cessation of trade in 2010. Now the above contracts have been successfully novated, MUSA plans to bid for, and be involved with, this major DoD requirement. MUSA's extensive barrel manufacturing capability can be used for both the Group's US and UK businesses and so secure continuity of supply and quality for customers without reliance on external contractors. The Group is currently completing a qualification process for barrels provided by MUSA. This process is expected to complete in the summer and will then trigger the supply of barrels from MUSA, keeping cash within the Group and helping to reduce UK barrel costs. In March 2012, MUSA's previous premises in Alabama were sold and all production operations have been moved to Spindale. In addition, the small operations still being performed at Sabre's previous premises at Nashville will be closed in Autumn 2012, resulting in all production activities being managed from the company's sole US site at Spindale.

MANROY PLC US$10.4m (£6.6m) US DEFENCE CONTRACTS NOVATED TO MANROY USA Manroy PLC ("Manroy" or the "Group"), the AIM-quoted leading UK manufacturer of heavy machine guns and related products, today announces that the US Department of Defense (the "DoD") has novated a total of US$10.4m (£6.6m) of contracts to Manroy USA ("MUSA" or the "Company"), in which Manroy owns a 49% interest. The novations are in relation to unfulfilled contracts that formed part of a larger circa US$34m (£21.5m) order placed by the DoD with Sabre Industries ("Sabre"), whose assets were acquired by MUSA in March 2011. The contract awards include US$7.7m (£4.9m) of M2 Heavy Machine Gun ("HMG") barrels and bolts as well as a further US$2.5m (£1.6m) of M16 weapons, along with orders for M10 Chargers. Initial production by MUSA to obtain First Article Acceptance ("FAA")* by the DoD for these contracts will commence during April 2012 at MUSA's new 125,000 sq. ft headquarters and manufacturing facility in Spindale, North Carolina. It is anticipated that product deliveries following FAA will commence in August 2012 with the majority of production deliveries being completed during 2013, subject to FAA. This novation marks a highly important stage in MUSA's development as it follows a lengthy and detailed, but wholly successful, series of audits conducted by the DoD to approve the Company for this significant contract award. The audit procedure covered all aspects of the business including, operations, quality, finance, safety, government property storage and security. As a result, MUSA's Spindale facility is now fully qualified to accept DoD contracts that involve weapons and ammunition. These approvals also qualify the Company to bid for further DoD contracts in the world's largest defence market. This award follows on from $2.0m (£1.3m) of contract awards won by MUSA over the past few weeks ($1.7m (£1.1m) of which were announced on 22 March 2012), and is a real turning point for the business, with further contract awards anticipated in the near term.