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Baroness Shriti Vadera, a Non-Executive Director of BHP Billiton, the FTSE 100 multi-metal mining giant, has dug up 4,000 shares to add to her existing pile of 5,000. Ugandan-born Vadera, who joined the firm in her first UK non-executive role on 2010, bought the shares at 2,079.00p each for a total of £83,160. The former banker spent eight years as a Treasury advisor and was a close pal of former Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

BODYCOTE AND ZF LENKSYSTEME (JINAN / CHINA) SIGN 5-YEAR AGREEMENT MACCLESFIELD (U.K.) - Bodycote (LSE:BOY), the world's largest thermal processing services provider, today announces the signing of a five year contract with ZF Lenksysteme, a joint venture between Robert Bosch GmbH and ZF Friedrichshafen AG. Bodycote will provide ZF Lenksysteme (ZFL) with premium heat treatment services in China for heavy truck steering components, all of which are consumed within the local Asia market. ZFL's advanced truck steering mechanisms are much in demand in Asia due to their proven ability to safely control very heavily-loaded trucks under variable road conditions. The new contract involves direct support for the ZFL manufacturing facility in Jinan, Shandong Province. The services for ZFL were developed and proven at Bodycote's plant in Wuxi, Jiangsu province as a precursor to establishing a new Bodycote greenfield site in Jinan, near the ZFL facility. The work will be transferred to the Bodycote Jinan facility, once construction of this new site has been completed later this year. This will make way for further business development at Wuxi, while at the same time helping the expansion of Bodycote's services to other customers in the region of Jinan.

Commenting, Stephen Harris, Chief Executive said: "Bodycote's strategy is aimed at growing the business above and beyond the background growth rate of the global economy while delivering consistently superior value. The pace of execution of this strategy is gaining momentum and we enter 2012 in good shape. The macroeconomic environment may continue to be challenging, but with nearly half of the Group's activity in areas which have long term growth drivers that are less likely to be impacted by economic headwinds we believe there is a good prospect that the business will continue to move forward in the coming year."

Highlights · Revenue growth of 14.2% · Broad-based market recovery has continued · Significant benefit from growth initiatives · Headline operating profit margin improved from 10.4% to 15.0% · Continued strong cash generation, headline operating cash conversion6 112.3% · Year end net cash £0.1m · Dividend increased by 25.3% to 10.9p per share

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201202230700129445X

Energy XXI (Bermuda) (Di) Sell 21-Feb-12 $270,339.99 William Colvin 7,000 @ $38.62

A little more on the director buy John von Spreckelsen, Chairman of chocolate retailer Thorntons, has bought up 400,000 shares in the firm, one week after it reported that its pre-tax profit more than halved after heavy discounting. Spreckelsen, who last year announced his intention to quit the firm before the end of September, bumped up his stake in the company to 2.77%, equivalent to more than 1.89m shares, with the £99,440 transaction. The Chairman, who joined the firm midway through 2006, bought the shares over two days at an average price of 24.855p.

In the Telegraph Questor is crowing over its recommendation for Croda, the speciality chemicals firm. Since the first tip in 2008 the stock has gained 445% and is now a candidate for entry into the FTSE 100 when the reshuffle is announced in March. Croda’s stellar rise has left it at 15.6 2012 earnings with a yield at 2.7%. Questor thinks the shares may “take a breather” and suggests holding for now. For investors already into the stock, the suggestion is to sell half the position to take profits.

In the Times, Tempus points out the long term strategy of construction firm Morgan Sindall. It is using earnings from core construction work to invest in regeneration projects, like town centres. It may well pay off, thinks Tempus, highlighting the 6% yield, but in the near term profits will be hard to come by: “a long term play” is the conclusion.

Consumer packaging company Rexam saw underlying profits growth race ahead of sluggish sales growth on the back of a better than expected performance in its Beverage Cans business, primarily in Europe. Underlying profit before tax rose 15% in 2011 to £450m from £390m in 2010, ahead of market expectations of £443m. Sales edged up 2% to £4,734m from £4,619m in 2010; the median forecast from the range of analysts covering the stock was for sales of £4,716m.

Housebuilding and construction firm Galliford Try surged higher this morning on the back of its interim results, with the rise being helped by Panmure Gordon, which upped its price target for the firm from 581p to 590p. "Interim results from Galliford Try are exceptionally strong and well ahead of expectations. The company has announced a significantly enhanced dividend including a stepped increase for 2012E and a commitment to grow dividends progressively going forward," said Panmure Gordon.

Transport industry-focused software and services company Tracsis (TRCS) has received a 2.9 million pound order for its datalogging and condition monitoring equipment. The project will be delivered within the next 12 months, however revenue will be recognised in the current financial year ended July. As a result, and in additional to strong trading throughout the year, revenue and profit figures for the period are likely to be ahead of current expectations. The shares jumped 6p to 74.5p.

Optical components manufacturer Gooch and Housego (GHH) reported profits for the year ended September 2012 are likely to be significantly below the board's expectations following challenging market conditions. The microelectronic sector, which has enjoyed two years of strong growth, is now experiencing a downturn following soft demand from China. As a result group sales in the first half will be below the record level achieved in 2011. Management is now reducing the cost base to a more appropriate level and seeking further efficiencies via the integration of acquisitions made last year. The shares nose-dived by 79.75p to 383.75p

Croda International (CRDA) announced that pre-tax profits for the year ended 31st December 2011 were 25.9% higher than in 2010, at 242.2 million pounds. The speciality chemicals developer saw a strong performance from its consumer care division, through increased exposure to emerging markets. To reflect its strength the group raised its full year dividend by 57.1% to 55p and has also completed a 50 million pound share buyback programme. Croda shares gained 92p to 2,123p.

In order to increase its presence in the Asian market, ICAP's (IAP) shipping subsidiary has acquired Singapore based Island Shipbrokers for an undisclosed amount. The target has net assets of 2.4 million dollars (1.5 million pounds) and specialises in tanker chartering, sale and purchase. The interdealer broker noted that it has enjoyed a working relationship with Island Shipbrokers since its inception and therefore expects integration to be relatively straight forward. The shares rose 6.2p to 395.8p.

Just keeps rising

Engineering consultant Amec (AMEC) reported revenues of 3.3 billion pounds for the year ended 31st December 2011, 10.5% higher than in 2010. The order book also rose, by 19.4%, to 3.7 billion pounds. The company attributed the improved performance to strong demand from the oil and metals markets compensating for reduced US federal operations. Over the year, the group invested 263 million pounds in acquisitions, which it noted are integrating well. Broker Seymour Pierce believes that the group's primary focus in 2012 will be on improving organic expansion, targeting double digit underlying growth. Shares in Amec crept up by 3p to 1,111p

Daniel Stewart retained its "buy" stance on Playtech (PTEC), with a target price of 462p. With the US online poker bill passing through the subcommittee level in Iowa, the broker believes that this is a strong sign of the state considering introducing online gambling. Daniel Stewart noted that the gaming software developer's joint venture SciPlay has already secured a contract in California and believes that it is one of two front runners to service Iowa. The shares advanced 6.5p to 317.75p.

N+1 Brewin kept its "buy" recommendation for Senior (SNR), with a 224p target price, ahead of its full year results release on Monday 27th February. The broker forecasts pre-tax profits of 74.6 million pounds, driven by the engineering group's increasing presence in the commercial aerospace market, operating on both Boeing and Airbus projects. However, Brewin raised some concern over the automotive division, which could be impacted by subdued trading in Europe, although the US market is showing signs of improvement. The shares edged down 0.2p to 185.9p.

Panmure Gordon reiterated its "buy" recommendation for ASOS (ASC), with an increased target price of 2,131p, up from 1,865p. The broker notes that online clothing retail is a rapidly growing market and pointed to the firm's strong third quarter update, with gross margins beating expectations. Furthermore, Panmure pointed out that pure play retailers gained market share against more diversified competitors over the Christmas period. ASOS shares fell by 17p to 1,875p.