Member Info for mulledwine

Arbuthnot initiates buy on Tribal Group, target price 100p.

Brigadier Richard Toomey, from the Army's Collective Training Group, said: "I look forward to working with Serco. The successful delivery of this contract is critical to the successful preparation of our troops before they deploy on operations." Christopher Hyman, Chief Executive of Serco Group, said: "We are delighted to have been selected for the provision of such an important service to the British Army. This contract builds on our proven track record in helping the Armed Forces in the UK, US and Australia, and recognises our high quality, efficient and innovative approach in training services."

Serco signs new contract to provide pre-deployment training and support for British Army 27 January 2012 Serco Group plc (Serco), the international service company, announces that it has signed a contract with the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) to provide training and support to the British Army prior to deployment on operations around the world. Known as the Contemporary Operating Environment Force (COEFOR), and awarded by the British Army's Headquarters, the contract will start in April 2012. Including an option year, the contract has a total value to Serco of approximately £55m through to December 2014. Under the contract Serco will provide critical pre-deployment training including essential language, culture and operational environment skills, and will create realistic training conditions to prepare UK military forces for deployed operations primarily in Afghanistan, but also worldwide. To deliver the programme, Serco has created new partnerships with a number of small and medium sized enterprises to supply some of the specialised training services. Serco is a leading provider of training services to the UK Government and other nations and provides pre-deployment training for the Royal Navy, helicopter flying training and fixed wing pilot training to the Royal Air Force (RAF) and supports the operation of the Emergency Planning College, the International Fire Training Centre and the Defence Academy.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=20120127070000PE838

Tom - with the current SP momentum and the rally in the gold price you may well get the 550 next week - but its a fickle business trying to determine SP future levels . GL though - we all need that.

Commenting on the expanded Mineral Resource at Nyanzaga, CEO Greg Hawkins said: "This confirmation of the potential scale of the Nyanzaga project represents an extremely important step in the development of ABG as one of the leading gold companies in Africa and underpins our confidence in the future growth potential of the Company. We already operate three of the continent's foremost gold mines and this is evidence of the potential for Nyanzaga to be a fourth."

Michael Turner, Chairman, commented as follows: "The Company has traded well since we last reported and we have had another strong Christmas. We have now completed or exchanged on 14 acquisitions so far this financial year which gives us good momentum going into a summer of sport and celebration that should lift the national mood. 2012 is finally here and with the world's attention focused on London, we at Fuller's, our capital city's only long-standing brewer, intend to showcase what is great about British Beer and Pubs." The Company will next report on 31 May 2012 when it releases its preliminary results for the 52 weeks to 31 March 2012.

nterim Management Statement 27-Jan-2012: Interim Management Statement Fuller, Smith & Turner P.L.C. ('Fuller's' or 'the Company') today reports its trading performance for the 42 weeks to 21 January 2012. In the 9 weeks to 21 January 2012, the Company has traded well with like for like sales in Managed Pubs and Hotels up 5.1%, bringing the like for like sales growth for the 42 weeks to 4.1%. Like for like profits in the Tenanted Inns division increased 1% and Own Beer volumes for the Fuller's Beer Company grew 1% for the 42 week period. The Company's balance sheet and cash generation remain strong. As at 31 December 2011, net debt was £109.4m, up from £92.5m at the half year following the previously announced acquisition of five pubs from Marston's on 1 November 2011 for £16m, the purchase of the freehold of one of our formerly leasehold sites, The Old Fish Market in Bristol, and £5.1m of share buy-backs in the quarter. Fuller's once again enjoyed a strong Christmas, with over 40 managed pubs having record weeks. Trade has also been good in January, but like-for-like performance in these nine weeks versus prior year has been boosted by the snow in the previous year. Given the high level of economic uncertainty in the UK and the rest of Europe we must remain cautious about the outlook for 2012. However, we are confident that our acquisitions pipeline and refurbishment programme will continue to give us good momentum going into a summer of sport and celebration that should lift the national mood. We have exchanged on two more pubs that are due to complete before the end of March and the two recent acquisitions that are currently closed for extensive work, The Crown Inn, Bishop's Waltham and The White Swan Hotel, Stratford-upon-Avon, will reopen in March and April respectively.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=20120127070000P3528

Not sure how to try and call this one - there has been no 'bounce' here so I take it the consensus of opinion is that that will not happen until a further drop has occurred and thus there has been no concerted PI buy back - I do think that medium to longterm she will head back up - that is if the PBIT is only 'slightly lower' as stated - if thats the case then the cost cutting should , as they have said, kick in a a later date.

Creston, the research and communications company, has issued a profits warning after seeing a slower than expected inflow of new business during the fourth quarter of its fiscal year to date. The firm experienced other problems as well, including staffing costs, client projects being delayed and operating losses associated with start-up ventures. Creston also says that revenue growth was over 22% in the last three months of 2011 versus the previous year. Like-for-like revenue growth (which strips out acquisitions) was 7%. In 2012, like-for-like revenue growth has been 5%. The warning on profits, however, has seen Creston drop 23% this morning. The stock is 37% down over the last 12 months.

Capital Shopping Centre's agreement to buy land from its biggest shareholder Peel Group is "confusing", according to City analysts. The FTSE 100 retail property group will pay an initial £13.3m to acquire land next to its Braehead shopping centre in Glasgow and a development plot in Malaga, Spain. However, it could eventually pay about £100m because of clauses in the agreement, and the proposals have met a backlash from analysts and investors. "Two deals totalling £13m at first seem immaterial, but they are not," said Robert Duncan at Jefferies. "The Spanish land option is confusing and we are concerned that CSC risks diluting its core UK franchise investing in a market in which it has no track record through a transaction with its major shareholder." The land in Spain has planning consent for an 860,000 sq ft shopping centre, The Telegraph writes.

In the Times's Tempus column, Martin Waller rehearses the arguments for and against the banking software company Misys. It keeps missing targets and has seen potential suitors walk away, bringing down the share price. On the other hand, orders are healthy, especially in fast growth Asia. Waller, however, thinks that for the cautious minded, Misys would bring too much anxiety: avoid.

Yes some very nice movement just now - it will be getting day traded but long term there is still a good deal of mileage in the SP - with what we know or think we know !

Panmure Gordon has maintained its neutral position for Aveva, but acknowledges that the third quarter was positive and highlights an increasing momentum in China

Shares of internet and catalogue home shopping specialist N. Brown were given a lift on Friday morning after UBS upgraded its rating on the stock from neutral to buy. "With almost 50% of sales now generated on the internet, significant exposure to a niche, but rapidly growing, oversize clothing market, international growth opportunities and trial UK rollout, N. Brown should continue to outperform its retail peers," analysts at the Swiss bank said. The broker said that the firm's flexibility to generate sales and ongoing income from its credit offering should be valued at a premium rather than a discount to the sector. Nevertheless, UBS says it values N. Brown in line with the sector average price-to-earnings (calendar year ending 2012) multiple of 10.4 which equates to a target price of 280p, which is unchanged.

Singer Capital upgraded Renishaw (RSW) from "fair value" to "buy" with a significantly increased target price of 1,490p, from 900p. With 11% revenue growth of 11% to 147.1 million pounds in its first half and significant investment in additional staff and infrastructure, the broker says the high precision automated measurement product developer is in a much better position that at the end of its first quarter. Additionally, Singer believes the group will see demand for a number of new markets, including automotive, agriculture and energy

Dunelm (DNLM) retained its "buy" rating from Panmure Gordon, with a target price of 600p, ahead of its interim results due on February 8th. The furnishing company is expected to report pre-tax profits of 52 million pounds, and with its competitors struggling the broker believes the firm has the potential to exceed forecasts in the short to medium term. The broker highlights this by pointing out that Home Retail Group (HOME) plans to abandon its HomeStore&More pilot. Panmure anticipates steady expansion from the company with between 10 and 12 new store openings per year until 2016, bringing the total to around 162.

BBA Aviation (BBA) has been downgraded from "add" to "hold" by Brewin Dolphin, with a 200p target price. The aviation services company's shares have enjoyed a rally in 2012, which the broker notes is in-line with the improving sentiment towards the US economy. However, with flight activity remaining subdued, with data from Avinode suggesting that US flight activity was 6% lower in the first three weeks of January than in 2012, Brewin sees little upside for BBA

WH Ireland initiated coverage of Avon Rubber (AVON) with a "buy" recommendation and 370p target price. The broker believes that the group holds strong market positions in both the respiratory and dairy markets and has clear margin improvement potential. With the company investing in product development and global expansion WH Ireland believes that its existing products can be easily customised to suit new markets such as the industrial and mining sectors