Member Info for mulledwine

Trading Update Volex plc ('Volex' or the 'Group'), the global provider of electrical, digital and optical connections, today releases the following trading update for the three months ended 1 April 2012. Trading in the final quarter of FY2012 remained resilient despite continuing economic uncertainty. Consumer revenue for the final quarter was in line with the same period last year, while year-on-year revenue growth in the Healthcare sector was again in excess of 20%. Telecoms/Datacoms revenue in the quarter continued to be affected by reduced spend by telecoms operators while trading in the Industrial sector, as predicted, largely recovered from the customer destocking experienced in Q3 FY2012. Consequently overall Q4 FY2012 Group revenue was down slightly on the same period last year, but still up almost 6% for the year as a whole. The exceptional start-up costs reported in the Interim Management Statement of 13 January 2012 have, as anticipated, been winding down during the course of Q4 due to the on-going operational efficiency and quality improvements. As a result we have exited the year at the targeted yields and the costs for the full year FY2012 are at the lower end of the $5m-$6m range communicated in the IMS. Excluding the impact of these start-up costs, normalised(i) gross margin in Q4 FY2012 was modestly above management's stated objective of exiting the year at around 20%. As a result, full year normalised(i) operating profit will be slightly ahead of market expectations for the twelve months to 1 April 2012. Despite significantly increased investment in capital expenditures and other areas of the business, cash generation continues to be strong with a net cash position again reported at the year end, ahead of market expectations. Whilst economic conditions are expected to continue to be challenging in FY2013, the Board is confident that on-going investments, particularly in the areas of sales, operations and technology, will enable the business to deliver continued growth in revenues, margins and profit in line with management's expectations. Results for the year ended 1 April 2012 will be announced on Tuesday 29 May 2012.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201204120700111608B

Shore Capital kept its "sell" recommendation for InterContinental Hotels (IHG), noting speculation that the firm was planning to sell its Barkley Hotel in New York for 200 million pounds. The broker believes that most of the proceeds will be returned to shareholders through a special dividend but remains concerned over the firm's high historic earnings multiple of around 20 times

WH Ireland maintained its "buy" rating for Skywest Airlines* (SKYW) with a 45p target price. The broker noted that Virgin could acquire a 10% stake in the business jet company, following the issue of an 8 million Australian dollar (5.2 million pound) convertible loan. WH Ireland believes that this will allow the firm to expand further in Australia, in order to cover the growing demand from charter services the natural resources industry. The broker forecasts that this could lead to revenues of around 400 million Australian dollars (259.2 million pounds) by 2018, over double its current levels

Seymour Pierce retained its "buy" stance on Aggreko (AGK) with a target price of 2,500p. The temporary power and chiller rental company enjoyed a strong 2011 performance, with revenue growth of 25%, and the broker expects this trend to have continued into the new financial year. Seymour Pierce noted that the firm's International Power Projects business had a strong intake of 300 megawatts of new orders in the first two months of the new year alone.

Panmure Gordon noted: "The company expects no material financial benefit in financial year 2013 from the store reduction and cost-saving plans announced today" and as a result placed its 'sell' recommendation under review.

Mothercare During the financial year to the end of March, Mothercare reported that worldwide net sales increased 4.3%, bring the total group sales up 0.7%. International retail sales grew by 16%, however, total UK sales declined by 6.3%, and like-for-like UK sales dropped by 6.2%. Similarly during the fourth quarter, the firm saw UK like-for-like sales slip by 8.2%, which the company said was expected and reflects "our decision to clear excess Christmas stock last year". Since November the company has announced a structural and operational review of the size of its business, which is anticipated to deliver a strategy that will transform the UK business over the next three years, alongside international growth. The growth strategy, which it hopes will save the company £33 million, includes the reduction of UK central costs, offering customers improved value, competitive product ranges and enhancing customer experience. It is also consists of further expansion for the business internationally, and the launch of the combined online and in-store customer options. Alan Parker, executive chairman said the strategy "will see us operate a lean, more competitive business, focused on the existing profitable stores in a smaller UK portfolio, combined with a state-of-the-art online platform. Our international business continues to perform strongly and we plan to further accelerate growth".

Jefferies has raised its earnings per share (EPS) forecast for recruitment firm Hays after better-than-expected results in the third quarter. "In our view, net fee growth has bottomed out at a higher level than feared at the end of 2011, and consequently we have raised our Q412E estimate to 5% (from 2%) and FY13E to 5% (from 0%)," the broker said.

Prime Markets has reiterated its buy recommendation for temporary power and temperature control solutions group Aggreko, impressed by the firm's strong start the year. "The sheer momentum currently behind Aggreko is so strong, that the trials and tribulations of the Eurozone and subsequent market crash have gone all but unnoticed," said Prime Markets' Richard Curr. Prime Markets expects the stock to hit its near-term target of 2,360p in the next week or so.

rockylin - if you have any gems of info we would appreciate the insight

If the health of a consultancy such as WS Atkins can be measured by the number of consultants it can afford to employ, and this is at least a crude measure of performance, then Atkins’ UK business is in good shape. The company added a modest 100 staff members in the second half, the first real growth since 2009. In North America however, where in 2010 Atkins bought the privately owned consultancy The PBSJ Corporation, the picture is more mixed, not helped by the relatively high numbers of public holidays in the third quarter. Further downsizing took place in the autumn; the private sector is spending on health and IT, but states and the federal government seem gridlocked and this could last until the November elections and beyond. On the other hand, Atkins has won the job of providing Qatar’s first central planning authority, although this does not preclude further significant work as preparations for the World Cup really get under way. The company´s share price has rallied sharply since the autumn but then come off a bit with the rest of the market. The shares, up 12p at 719½p last night, now sell on nine times’ earnings. The company´s stock is attractive at this level, but there is no obvious reason for any immediate outperformance, Tempus says.

Celso Marranzini, Vice President of CDEEE has said, "this agreement is part of the short term solution to the energy situation that the country has suffered for more than 40 years, and the presence of Aggreko in the Dominican Republic is a clear sign of confidence in the country's economic stability and the continued support that President Leonel Fernández has given to the electrical sector." Rupert Soames, Chief Executive of Aggreko said, "we are delighted to be have been selected to be of service to CDEEE to help address the temporary power needs in the Dominican Republic. This will improve the stability of the national grid which has had to deal with rapidly increasing demand due to the rapid economic growth of the country".

Aggreko signs 100 MW gas project for Dominican Republic Aggreko is pleased to announce the award of a two year project, subject to final approvals and closing conditions usual for an agreement of this type, for 100 MW of gas powered generation in the Dominican Republic. The agreement, which is valued at circa $80 million over a two year period will serve as an interim emergency solution to Edenorte, the Northern electrical distribution company of CDEEE, in the Dominican Republic. There is an urgent need for utility power in the Dominican Republic due to a rapid increase in demand for electricity, driven by economic growth in the country, which has affected national grid stability.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201204120700281914B

Computacenter Buy 11-Apr-12 £26,917.33 Greg Lock 6,562 @ 410.20p

Continued progress for HomeSend eServGlobal also takes this opportunity to welcome a recently released study by industry body CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) which found that international remittance is now a significant form of money transfer into developing countries and has experienced considerable growth over the past decade. In the study, CGAP described the HomeSend service as a market leading technology which aims to open the one direction corridors and grow a network that connects all users across the world. The study, CGAP Landscape Study on International Remittances through Mobile Money, states that, "The hub model of HomeSend is one of the most intriguing innovations in the mobile international remittance market currently … This open model would lend itself to reaching more people, faster, and would likely lead to greater financial inclusion." HomeSend is strategic partnership between BICS and eServGobal with a vision to become the world's leading mobile-to-mobile international remittance platform. To date, HomeSend has signed partnerships with mobile operators, including three multinational groups, to the point where the potential user base is now over 325 million and growing.

Business Update Paris: 12 April 2012 eServGlobal (LSE: ESG & ASX: ESV), a global telecoms software vendor specialising in Mobile Money and Value-Added Services provides the following update. Completion of contract transfers to Oracle As part of the Asset Purchase Agreement of the USP Business and Assets by Oracle in August 2010, eServGlobal agreed to continue to support clients whose contracts were not eligible to be directly transferred to Oracle upon completion of the sale with the understanding that both parties would endeavour to transition contracts across as appropriate and feasible. Based on the mutually beneficial outcome of the settlement reached between eServGlobal and Oracle in November 2011 the two companies have successfully accelerated this transition. eServGlobal is pleased to report that all material contracts have now been transferred on or before schedule with one remaining contract ending in January 2013. Low margin pass-through revenues will therefore reduce commensurately with this successful transfer. This represents the completion of the Board's strategy to refocus the business on the high growth area of Mobile Money and Mobile International Remittance. Core Business Outlook Despite the political instability in some of the Company's core geographies, particularly the Middle East, eServGlobal has announced four significant new customers since 31 October 2011, the end of its financial year, bringing the total customer count to 82. The challenging environment in the region is expected to continue which, given the scale and strategic nature of the projects for end customers, is likely to affect the timing of new contracts and recognition on contracts already won. However, the Company is working to diversify exposure to this region in order to limit the potential impact on the business.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201204120700091743B

David Jacob, Managing Director of Investment Management at fund manager Henderson Group, has sold 429,000 shares at 120.60p. The £517,374 sale was made after the director acquired just over two million shares on the vesting of a share plan. Following the transaction Jacob now holds around 2.466m shares. His wife continues to own 710,920 shares.

Nomura has maintained its buy rating and 2,700p target price for oil giant Royal Dutch Shell saying that while the investment case is very much second-half weighted, the year-to-date underperformance and first quarter results should provide catalysts to the stock. Shell has underperformed the European market and the oil sector by 15% and 8%, respectively, in 2012 so far. Meanwhile, the broker argues that there are increasingly fewer attractive stories or entry points elsewhere in ‘Big Oil’.