The latest Investing Matters Podcast episode featuring Jeremy Skillington, CEO of Poolbeg Pharma has just been released. Listen here.
Afferro is currently under exclusivity obligations with one other party which preclude Afferro from engaging in discussions with IMIC until January 13, 2013. Afferro wishes to stress that there is no certainty that the approach by IMIC or the other discussions will lead to an offer being made to the company. Shareholders are not presently advised or required to take any action. Afferro does not intend commenting further on the approach or other discussions unless a definitive agreement is reached or unless otherwise required by law or applicable regulation.
Response to Press Speculation Further to the press speculation on 30 December 2012, the board of Afferro Mining Inc. ("Afferro", TSX-V & AIM: AFF) confirms that it has received an initial approach from International Mining and Infrastructure Corporation plc ("IMIC"). IMIC would be prepared to make an offer, subject to completion of satisfactory due diligence and certain other conditions, for the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Afferro at between 115 and 140 pence per Afferro share. The consideration is to be satisfied by an undisclosed mix of cash, yet to be raised by IMIC, and new IMIC shares. The approach from IMIC is at a very early stage and there can be no certainty that a formal offer will be forthcoming. In addition, Afferro continues to have discussions with other interested parties regarding a possible offer for the issued and to be issued share capital of Afferro.
Highlights · Over US$100 million to be received by Heritage in January 2013 from Shoreline Power · The proceeds will be used in part as security against the existing facility to Shoreline and also for general corporate purposes by Heritage · Average field production for OML 30 in November 2012 was 35,704 bopd gross, 15,665 bopd net to Heritage · Revenues net to Heritage from OML 30 for November 2012 production are expected to total approximately US$52 million with final pricing to be determined following lifting · Shoreline received payment of US$38.3 million on 27 December 2012 towards proceeds from its first crude lifting in Q1 2013 · Planning and further work has commenced on improvement of the gaslift system, an area of production optimisation
Preliminary Tax Notification Madagascar Oil announces that it has received a preliminary tax notification relating to a routine government audit of its tax returns for the year 2009 in the total amount of approximately US$1.4 million. The Company has thirty days to make representations regarding the notification.
Chief executive Mark Bristow said the full extent of the damage was still being assessed but the mills themselves have been unaffected and that the mine had already started to make short term repairs including temporary relining of the various pieces of equipment whilst sourcing replacement parts. Tongon aims to have both milling circuits operational again within ten days. Both mill classification circuits are expected to be fully operational within three to four weeks following receipt of the spare parts which are currently being sourced for air-freighting to the mine. The flash flotation circuit repairs are dependent on the lead time for the replacement blowers, which are expected to be evident within the week. Bristow said that while Randgold's flagship Loulo complex was on track to achieve its full year guidance of 500 000 ounces and Morila would comfortably exceed its guidance at 200 000 ounces, the fire would further impact on a difficult year for Tongon and that the revised annual production for that operation was now expected to be approximately 208 000 ounces. He said a full update would be given when Randgold reports its Q4 results on 4 February 2013.
FIRE AT TONGON PLANT Tongon, Côte d'Ivoire, 26 December 2012 - Randgold Resources said today production at its Tongon gold mine in Côte d'Ivoire had been impacted by a fire in the mill section. The fire started on 24 December during a planned shutdown for repairs to the No 1 mill cyclone feed pipe. The fire then spread upwards into the No 1 cyclone cluster and moved to the No 2 cyclone cluster. The fire has been fully extinguished and no injuries have been reported but both cyclone clusters, flotation cells and blowers along with associated infrastructure for both milling circuits suffered damage.
Andrew Whalley, Chief Executive Officer of REG, said: "We have enjoyed a good relationship with our development partner and it is thus excellent news that we are now moving Burnthouse Farm into construction. This is our first purchase of Gamesa G80 turbines which have a proven track record of success around the world. We hope that Burnthouse Farm will be the first of a number of REG projects to move into construction during the next twelve months, helping the UK move towards meeting its long term emissions targets".
Turbine supply agreement signed with Gamesa SPA for three G80 2MW turbines Renewable Energy Generation Limited ("REG") (AIM: WIND), the UK renewable energy group, announces that it has signed a turbine supply agreement with Gamesa SPA for three 2MW G80 turbines for a new project at Burnthouse Farm in Cambridgeshire. This project was developed under an agreement between REG and a development partner and received planning permission in the summer of 2011. However, the project was only freed to enter construction when a key aviation planning condition was discharged earlier this year. The cost of Burnthouse Farm will be in line with the construction of REG's recent projects and will be wholly financed from REG's existing cash resources. It will have an annual energy production of approximately 14GWh per annum and is expected to be operational midway through 2013.
Queue-beating company Lo-Q has also more than tripled in price from 119p to 380p since The Financial Mail on Sunday´s Midas column recommended it in May 2010. The shares should gain further momentum following this month’s £13.7m acquisition of American rival accesso. Lo-Q designs gadgets and phone services that help theme park visitors avoid spending hours queuing for attractions. In the year to October 2010, profits were £2.4m, last year they were £2.8m and figures for the year to October 2012 are expected to show profits of £3.3m when they are announced early next year. For Midas column: “ The accesso deal should boost Lo-Q’s figures and brokers estimate profits of £4.5m for the year to next October with further increases in 2014. The shares have done well and investors should sell half of their stock to take advantage of the strong performance. Keep the rest in the hope that accesso delivers on its promises.”
Carnival shares sank by 6 per cent after the cruise operator reported a fall in 2012 profit and disappointed the City with its outlook for 2013. Have the falls presented a buying opportunity? True enough, the company´s “net yield” at stable currency rates fell 4.5 per cent, but that was compared with company guidance for a 5 per cent to 6 per cent fall. This is an important figure. It is a similar metric to revenue per available room, or Revpar, for hotel groups, so the fall is a negative. As well, it is too late to buy the shares to qualify for the special dividend. The company´s prospective yield in 2013 is 2.9 per cent. Nevertheless, the prospects for the global cruise industry are very bright – as people who take these holidays are one of the largest growing demographics in the world. Furthermore, cruise ship penetration is also relatively small, with less than a quarter of the US population ever going on a cruise. Carnival and Riyal Carribean account for 72 per cent of the global cruise market. Carnival is well managed and is operating in a growing market. Hopes for future cash returns should provide support for the shares. Buy, says The Sunday Telegraph´s Questor team.
David Nel CEO said: "I am very pleased overall with the operational progress made at the Elitheni mine. Whilst the wash plant output rate is not yet at peak production, I am confident, based on the commitment of the manufacturer, PJ Technologies, that this will be fixed in January. I am optimistic, based on what has been achieved during 2012, that the coming year will be a successful one for the Company and its shareholders."
Operational update Following on from the Company's recent resources and related reserves update and announcement of its interim results, announced on 29 and 30 November 2012 respectively, the Company is today providing the following operational update. Underground mining commenced in November 2012 with the encouraging news that initial coal seam thickness is greater than predicted by Minxcon in the recent resources and related reserves update. This will greatly assist the Company in achieving its forecast production rates. Staff recruitment and training is on target and additional mining equipment, which will allow the Company to increase it's mining capacity, is due to arrive in January 2013, as scheduled. The wash plant at the Elitheni mine commenced operation on the 21st of November, but is experiencing commissioning teething problems and, as a result has not yet achieved predicted output rates. The manufacturer, PJ Technologies, have their experts on site and have informed the Company that they are confident that they can get the wash plant up to predicted output rates during January 2013. While sufficient coal has been mined by the Company at the Elitheni Mine to fulfill the first sales cargo, given the delays in achieving predicted wash plant output levels, the board of SNR has today taken the decision to delay the shipment of the first cargo of SNR coal to late January/February 2013 in order to ensure the wash plant is operating at optimal capacity before exporting through East London. As a result, SNR will satisfy its contractual commitment for a late December/early January cargo through coal trading.
The 20 staff currently working on all three products are expected to be transferred to Micro Focus and it is anticipated that a further 10 staff will be recruited into the business. As at 31 August 2012, based on information reviewed in due diligence the gross assets being acquired were approximately $6m. Micro Focus anticipates that due to the timing of maintenance billings and the terms of the agreement reached with Progress, there may be a short-term working capital outflow in the period from completion to 30 April 2013 which may impact the current year's cash conversion ratio for Micro Focus, but that thereafter the product lines will be strongly cash generative. Progress has not historically published or determined separate profit & loss account information for Orbix, Orbacus and Artix, but based on information reviewed in due diligence revenue for the twelve month period ended 31 August 2012 was approximately $28m, of which $8m was licence and $20m was maintenance. A significant part of these revenues was derived from contracts of a one off nature. The product lines contributed profit before tax of $9m for the twelve months ended 31 August 2012. Micro Focus anticipates that the acquisition will contribute a minimum of $4m of revenue in the period from completion to 30 April 2013. In the year commencing May 2013 Micro Focus expects the acquisition to contribute to the stabilisation of the Visibroker business and to deliver at least $14m in revenues. Micro Focus expects that in the year commencing May 2013 it will manage the acquisition to deliver Adjusted EBITDA margin at least in line with the Group's latest reported average level of 44.5%. Through this acquisition of the Orbix, Orbacus and Artix product lines, Micro Focus will consolidate its position as a leading provider of CORBA software. The acquisition is expected to meet Micro Focus' tight financial parameters for acquisitions, and to be earnings enhancing in the current and future financial years.
Orbacus is a source available CORBA 2.6 implementation and designed for rapid development, deployment and support and its small footprint allows it to be easily embedded into memory constrained applications. Artix is an Extensible Enterprise Service Bus ("ESB") for the deployment, management and securement of a Service-Oriented Architecture. The acquisition of Artix provides Micro Focus with an enhanced capability to serve customers in their core systems and enables the deployment of new solutions addressing the challenges posed by the increasing use of Mobile, Virtual and Cloud based applications.
Micro Focus International plc Acquisition of Orbix, Artix and Orbacus software product lines for $15m Micro Focus International plc ("Micro Focus", "the Company" or "the Group", LSE: MCRO.L) announces that one of its subsidiaries has reached a definitive agreement with Progress Software Corporation ("Progress") for the acquisition of intellectual property and other assets and the assumption of liabilities associated with Progress's Orbix, Orbacus and Artix software product lines, for a total consideration of $15m. The consideration will be satisfied in cash at completion using Micro Focus' existing banking facility. Completion of the transaction is subject to certain conditions, primarily relating to transfer of staff and certain contractual consents, and is currently expected to take place on or before 21 January 2013. These product lines, which were originally acquired by Progress as part of its acquisition of IONA Technologies plc, are complementary to Micro Focus' Visibroker range. The product lines will be maintained, developed and supported by Micro Focus going forward. These product lines are used by approximately 200 enterprise customers which overlap with the Micro Focus customer base and include large multinational organisations in the telecommunications, financial services and government verticals.