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Merrill Lynch reiterates underperform on Derwent London, target price raised from 1570p to 1735p

Merrill Lynch upgrades UNITE Group from neutral to buy, target price raised from 175p to 240p.

Numis initiates hold on Antofagasta, target price 1170p.

Staying on the topic of disease treatment, NextGen Group (NGG) announced it has filed for intellectual property on a combination of protein biomarkers which have the potential to diagnose cognitive changes in patients with early-stage dementia. The firm believes the product will have a duel purpose, to identify the progression of the disease in patients, but also to aid drug companies in the patient selection process for clinical trials. With more than 36 million people suffering from the disease globally, and almost 500 dementia and cognitive clinical trials currently in progress, the firm believes it is now in a strong position to exploit a huge market. NextGen shares surged 0.025p to 0.225p.

Current Trading & Outlook 2012 revenues to date are consistent with our expectations. We are pleased with the growth in our emerging markets business and are satisfied that the US market is starting to demonstrate growth, but we remain concerned about lack of visibility to recovery in Europe. We continue to focus on every sales opportunity, while maintaining tight controls on cost, and are using available resources to invest in China and India. The Board remains cautiously optimistic on the outcome for 2012. We are seeing encouraging trends in our market but it is still too early to tell if these will translate into -significantly higher levels of activity. Larry Horsch Non-Executive Chairman

Somero Enterprises, Inc. ®, ("Somero" or the "Company") is pleased to report results for the twelve months to 31 December 2011. Somero is a North American manufacturer of patented laser guided equipment used for the spreading and leveling of high volumes of concrete for floors in the construction industry. Somero has operations worldwide and is primarily focused on the non-residential construction industry. Financial Highlights · Exceeded full year revenue and earnings expectations · Revenue increased by 4% to US$21.9m (2010: US$21.0m) · Adjusted EBITDA decreased by 10% to US$0.9m (2010: US$1.0m)1 2 · Pre-tax loss of US$2.3m (2010 Pre-tax loss: US$2.4m) · Received US$0.3m US federal tax refund relating to fiscal 2010 · Adjusted net income/(loss) before amortization of US$0.0m (2010: US$0.1m)3 · EPS before amortization of US$0.00 (2010: US$0.00) · Basic EPS US($0.04) (2010: US($0.04)) · Reduced net debt by US$0.4m4 · Passed banking covenants as of December 31, 2011 Business Highlights · Continued focus on product development with the introduction of the new S-840 machine in November 2011 with US$0.6m in sales in Q4 · Increased investment in emerging markets resulted in a 3% increase in revenue from that region · Escalating sales and service presence in China · Increased utilization of our websites to find and interact with customers · Introduced service agreements in response to customer feedback

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201203130700192056Z

WH Ireland Securities initiates buy on Avesco, target price 225p.

Credit Suisse reiterates outperform on Hays, target price raised from 80p to 96p

Current trading and outlook The Group continues to see progressive growth in active client numbers, which is the key driver of long-term revenue growth. This growth is in turn underpinned by the on-going significant investment the Group makes in its technology platforms and systems. Activity levels picked up in the final month of the quarter and this trend has continued into March. The Group remains well capitalised and is strongly positioned competitively. The Board remains confident in the prospects of the Group.

Shares in IG Group Holdings (IGG) slipped by 13.2p to 453.2p after it announced a 3% year-on-year decline in revenues per client in its third quarter, ended 12th March 2012. However, a 4.6% increase in the number of active clients resulted in total revenues rising 1.5% to 75.1 million pounds. In the UK, turnover fell 1.4% to 39.4 million pounds, which the spread betting company attributed to reduced market volatility.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201203130700131871Z

Car retailer Inchcape (INCH) reported adjusted pre-tax profits of 227.7 million pounds for the year ended 31st December 2011, up 6.4% on 2010's performance, despite a decline in revenues of 0.1 billion pounds to 5.8 billion pounds. The group compensated for reduced supply from Japan, following the tsunami in March 2011, by employing a number of cost cutting initiatives. The company noted that while trading conditions are expected to remain challenging in Europe it believes it is well positioned to take advantage of growing demand in Asia Pacific. Inchcape shares soared by 41.3p to 418.2p

Citigroup has downgraded Inmarsat from neutral to sell, target price is cut from 480p to 410p.

REVIEW AND OUTLOOK Despite ongoing economic uncertainty in 2011, the business has performed well and has good trading momentum which we expect to continue. We have had some significant contract wins in the last year which demonstrate the outsourcing model, particularly in the public sector in the UK, is delivering real benefit to the group. We expect these outsourcing trends to continue and will focus on bidding and winning an increasing proportion of larger, more complex contracts. 2012 will be a year of mobilisation across a broad range of complex contracts and delivery of the security requirements of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games - a unique opportunity for us to showcase our large scale security capabilities. Contract phasing and mobilisation may impact margins in the short term, but we expect margins to recover for the full year. We will continue to build on our successes and we remain confident about the outlook for 2012 when we expect to deliver an improved organic revenue growth performance whilst continuing to maintain our discipline on margins for the full year and on meeting our cash generation targets.

Commenting on the results, Tidjane Thiam, Group Chief Executive, said: "Prudential has delivered another strong performance in 2011 led by Asia, where our life insurance business1 for the first time became the single largest contributor2 to our Group IFRS operating profit. Since 2008, Asia's contribution to this benchmark profit measure has almost trebled from £257 million to £709 million. "As a Group, we have continued to grow across our key metrics of IFRS, new business profit and cash while maintaining a robust capital position. This performance has been achieved against both a more challenging global economy in 2011 and the demanding comparator of 2010, our best year ever until now. In line with our strategy of value optimisation and capital conservation, higher sales and higher profit in 2011 have been achieved while consuming less capital in both relative and absolute terms than in 2010. "The heart of our strategy remains Asia, where our positive momentum has been maintained in 2011, with total IFRS operating profit up 30 per cent and a cash remittance to the Group of £206 million. Asia is generating both growth and cash and our focus on the fast-growing markets of South-East Asia continues to pay off. In the US, Jackson is one of the leading providers of variable annuities in the world's largest retirement market. Compared to 2010, we have continued to grow our sales profitably while increasing cash generation, with new business profit up 7 per cent and new business margin at a level significantly above historic levels. In the UK, we continued to focus on value over volume and on increased IFRS operating profit. In asset management, both M&G and our business in Asia have seen continued net inflows and record IFRS operating profit. "We remain on track to deliver the 2013 profit growth and cash generation objectives we announced in December 2010. In this uncertain macroeconomic environment, our clear strategy and the strength of our products and distribution - combined with our balanced portfolio of businesses and market-leading positions in Asia - mean we are well positioned to deliver continued relative outperformance in the medium-term."

A strong performance from its Asian life insurance business saw Prudential's (PRU) pre-tax profits jump 33% to 1.9 billion pounds for the year ended 31st December 2011. The insurance provider's strongest markets were in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia, supporting development in Vietnam and Thailand. The group has high hopes for its US subsidiary, Jackson National Life Insurance Company, as the "baby boomer" generation hits retirement. The firm expects over 10,000 people to retire every day over the next 20 years and aims to generate significant business in the pension market. The shares jumped by 35p to 763p.

G4S (GFS) also suffered the wrath of investors after profits were impacted by legal settlement costs of 55 million pounds following the failed takeover bid for Danish security services firm ISS. As a result, the company announced a fall in pre-tax profits of 16.7% for the year ended 31st December to 279 million pounds. The group also noted that demand in developed countries remained subdued, but believes that a strong performance at the London Olympics, for which it is the official security provider, will help demonstrate its capabilities. G4S shares dropped 6p to 283.5p

Chilean miner Antofagasta (ANTO) reported a 22.9% rise in copper production to 640,500 tonnes for the year ended 31st December, with gold production also up at 196,800 ounces. However, the results fell short of broker Fox Davies' expectations of 715,000 tonnes of copper and 324,000 ounces of gold. Investors were also unimpressed to hear that the group cut its dividend by 62.1% to 44 cents (28.1p), although this was against a strong comparable in 2010 which included a special dividend of 100 cents (63.9p). The shares lost 29p to 1,241p.

CONT. Despite the improvement in the copper price since the year-end, macro-economic uncertainty means that prices in the short-term are likely to remain volatile. Nevertheless, long-term market fundamentals remain positive for copper, with inventories remaining at low levels by historic standards. Our continued production growth from our portfolio of low-cost assets, and our strong financial position, mean that we are well placed to make the most of these conditions.""