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Travis Perkins acquires remaining 70% of Toolstation Limited Travis Perkins plc ("Travis Perkins"), the UK's largest builders' merchant and home improvement retailer, announces that it has acquired the remaining 70% of the issued share capital of Toolstation Limited ("Toolstation") it does not already own from Mark Goddard-Watts and his family trusts. Toolstation is a fast growing multi-channel business selling lightside building material products. The business has a strong internet and catalogue based operation and a rapidly expanding branch network operating throughout Great Britain. This network has expanded from 12 outlets in operation at the date Travis Perkins acquired its first interest in Toolstation in 2008, to 103 outlets now. In April 2008, Travis Perkins acquired a 30% equity interest in the company together with an option to buy the remaining shares. Toolstation currently has gross assets of £34m and generated EBITDA of £5m in the financial year to 31 December 2011. The aggregate consideration is £42 million (made up of £24m paid now and £18m previously paid for the initial 30% shareholding and option) plus a further payment dependent upon future performance and expansion of the business over the period to December 2013. Both the immediate consideration and any further consideration related to performance and expansion is payable in cash from existing resources. The current management team at Toolstation all remain in place following this acquisition of the outstanding equity. Toolstation is expected to generate excellent returns for the Group. New branches move into profit after an average of less than 9 months and even the oldest branches in the network, at up to 10 years old, have yet to reach sales maturity. This growth profile, together with multi-channel sales growing at several times current market growth rates, should ensure Toolstation becomes a significant profit contributor within the Group. Its acquisition is an expansion of the Group's consumer division, currently comprising Wickes, the home improvement retailer and Tile Giant, a ceramic tile merchant chain.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201201031245439005U

SSE (SSE) has made good progress at its Glyde, Griffin and Gordonbush onshore windfarm sites in Scotland and Slieve Kirk in Northern Ireland, raising production by over 300 megawatts. With this development, the energy company has commissioned over one gigawatt of onshore wind farm capacity for the first time, compared to just 40 megawatts six years ago. The company also noted that the level exceeds its hydro electric capacity of 1.15 gigawatts. Shares in SSE inched up 12p to 1,303p.

Informa (INF) kept its "outperform" rating from Credit Suisse, with a reduced target price of 480p, from 500p. The company is one of the broker's preferred mid-cap publishers, and the lowered price reflects a tougher economic climate than previously expected, with 2011 and 2012 earnings reduced by 3% to 37.53p and 40.72p respectively. However, Credit Suisse expects the the events and training division to benefit from an eventual economic recovery. Informa shares grew 4.3p to 365.6p.

Panmure Gordon reiterated its "sell" recommendation for Domino's Pizza (DOM), with a 350p target price, ahead of tomorrows fourth quarter update. The broker noted that the fast food company reported like-for-like sales growth of 3.9% in the third quarter, and expects this to decline to 3.3%. As a result, Panmure forecasts full year pre-tax profits of 41.7 million pounds, slightly below market expectations of 42.1 million pounds. Trading on a prospective earnings multiple of 21.4 times, the broker views the stock as overvalued. Nevertheless, the shares gained 11.3p to 413.8p.

On the technicals it can be seen from the price action that traders really are split down the middle, with a very volatile run of late. The best that can be said at this point is that today's gap down could very well be a “final” chance to bottom fish the recent range, although an end of day close back below the grey 20 day moving average at 461p would suggest that the chances of a December 548p resistance test are significantly reduced anytime soon. So reckons Zak Mir

Looks interesting - might have had a dabble here if it wasnt for the spread (33%) although a dummy BUY comes in at 0.9

During the quarter ended October 31, 2011: The net profit for the quarter was $62,983, versus a net loss of $(319,661) for the same quarter last year and for the three quarters was $333k, versus a net loss of $(694k) for the same period last year. The Company generated cash revenues in this quarter and confirms the Company's business model is producing initial positive results. This is expected to continue in the next quarter.

INTERIM FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CICR is pleased to announce its third quarter report for the period ended 31 October 2011. Financial highlights: · Revenue C$1,181k (2010: C$266k) for the nine months ended 31 Oct 2011 · Net Profit of C$333k (2010: Loss of C$694k) for the nine months ended 31 Oct 2011 The Company has been working on a number of advisory mandates and the Company expects to see the final quarter positive.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201112301028067941U

eServGlobal announced on 22 November 2011 that it had changed its financial year end from 30 June to 31 October. The change of year-end is intended to better align the company's reporting period with the budgeting cycles of its customer base given the shift in customers and operations since the divestiture of the USP business and assets to Oracle Corporation. The consolidated entity achieved sales revenue for the four month period of $7.0M (year to 30 June 2011 $42.8M). The four month period from 1 July to 31 October is traditionally a slow period for eServGlobal, incorporating Ramadan and the Northern hemisphere summer. The EBITDA loss was $6.2M (year to 30 June 2011 EBITDA profit $52.2M). The net result of the consolidated entity for the four months to 31 October 2011 was a loss after tax and minority interest for the period of $9.3M (year to 30 June 2011 profit after tax and minority interest $39.2M). Loss per share was 4.7 cents (year to 30 June 2011: profit per share: 19.8 cents). The operating cash flow for the period was a net outflow of $8.8M. Total cash flow for the period was a net outflow of $50.6M as a result of a dividend and capital distribution to shareholders in August 2011 ($57.1M). Cash at 31 October 2011 was $10.1M. Subsequent Events On 30 July 2011 eServGlobal received notification from Oracle claiming that it had or anticipated incurring losses in connection with three alleged joint customer billing issues and was entitled to be indemnified by eServGlobal pursuant to the transaction agreements in connection with these losses. Oracle had claimed against the escrow fund in connection with these losses for the amount of $11.5 million. The claim on the escrow amount was resolved in November 2011. In accordance with the resolution, Oracle released the full $11.5M escrow amount to eServGlobal and eServGlobal paid for services delivered by Oracle.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201112300700157715U

Disposal of Spicers completed Further to our previous announcements in July and September 2011 regarding the disposal of Spicers to Unipapel SA, DS Smith Plc is pleased to confirm that this transaction has now completed. The enterprise value for Spicers is £200 million, and net proceeds, after tax and related costs, are c. £160 million. Following the disposal, the Group is focused on its recycled packaging businesses.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201112300700147702U

Declaration of Commerciality for Guará area, offshore Brazil BG Group today announced that its partner Petroleo Brasileiro S.A., as the operator of block BM-S-9 in the pre-salt Santos Basin offshore Brazil, has submitted a Declaration of Commerciality (DoC) with the Brazilian National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) for the accumulations of light oil and gas in the Guará area. The DoC marks the start of the production phase for the Guará field and is another significant milestone in the development of BG Group's large and high quality discoveries in the pre-salt Santos Basin. In the proposal, filed with the regulatory agency 12 months ahead of the ultimate deadline, the consortium suggests that the field, comprising excellent reservoirs with good quality 30˚ API oil, be named Sapinhoá. The DoC notification to the ANP also includes the operator's estimates of total recoverable volumes associated with the initial stage of development. The DoC, submitted following completion of an exploration and appraisal program that started in 2008, was accompanied by the Final Report on the Evaluation Plan. The Development Plan for the field will be submitted to ANP in February 2012. Four wells were drilled in the area, including one well designed for reservoir data acquisition. Drill stem tests were performed on three of the wells. In addition, a five-month extended well test (EWT) was carried out on the discovery well, confirming the excellent productivity of the Guará reservoir. Data gathered from this EWT will assist in the optimisation of the field development plan. BG Group has a 30% interest in the BM-S-9 concession, offshore Brazil (Petrobras, operator 45%, Repsol Sinopec Brasil 25%).

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201112300700157872U

Oil and gas development company Indus Gas (INDI) saw losses narrow 72% to 815,000 pounds in the six months to September as revenue increased 15-fold to 3.6 million pounds. The India focused firm reported gas production and sales had continued to perform "satisfactorily", with phase II, a production ramp up, to be completed by the first quarter of 2012. Indus reports it has a sufficient debt facility in place to support the working capital requirements of well stimulation. The shares jumped 20p to 700p.

CONT Yet as new share listings go, DPP is a pretty good bet: a proven franchise concept being introduced to one of Europe's fastest-growing economies, amenable to this kind of service. Inexpensive takeaway food mainly needs intelligent marketing and reliable delivery, and DPP looks to be off to a good start. Unless there is a pre-close update, say later January, to add any new information now there are 12 stores trading, the next statement will likely be mid-March prelims.

CONT Each outlet is said to need 12 months' operation to reach sales maturity, so it is going to be a while before DPP's accounts show just how cash generative they can be. In this context the target for 27 stores by end-2012 looks ambitious, to be self-funded, but it is early days to judge. There is no sign yet of any debt, but growing cash flow might support it. If the business continues to evolve to plan, what makes DPP interesting is exposure to a proven franchising concept "at the ground floor" compared with the well-established Domino's Pizza (DOM) UK/Ireland group. Its shares are down from an all-time high of 586p last January to about 400p, but even so the forward price-earnings multiple is about 19 times when annual growth in earnings per share is expected to slip from 27% in 2010 to 16% in 2011 and 12% in 2012. DOM has an excellent earnings and dividend growth record, with a prospective yield of about 3.5% - the kind of share to consider for capital protection rather than, say, being in cash/gilts. But for long-term growth, do you want to be with a group of well over 500 stores, or the same concept being launched in an economy sporting growth rates over 4%? Things haven't gone exactly to plan, mind. Store building costs and central costs have been higher than expected, and management changes meant a slower than planned roll-out in the first half. But these are typical start-up issues and overall the company has met its 2011 target. From September's outlook statement, (expected) soft trading during the summer was followed by "encouraging" sales with a further increase expected as cooler, wetter weather encouraged people to order food in. "We believe that the rapid roll-out of our stores in Warsaw this year and next is key to driving sales growth." Judging management is also a priority until the company establishes a track record. There are only three directors, the original executive chairman having died unexpectedly in early October 2010. The chief executive is another founder, previously international marketing director for Coffeeheaven International and with varied consumer brand marketing experience. While this appears to put a lot of emphasis on one man, the admission document details further management including a financial controller. A key matter going forward will be the quality of local managers it is possible to bring in as franchisees, to expand the group. Only the financial results will tell. So at this stage, DPP shares have to be rated highly speculative and a risk-averse stockmarket is likely to await more evidence of development and how finances will evolve.

This article is for information and discussion purposes only and does not form a recommendation to invest or otherwise. The value of an investment may fall. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser. Can the proven international success story of Domino's Pizza be repeated in Poland? It is interesting to follow the AIM-listed shares in DP Poland (DPP) now they have halved to about 65p currently, back near where they started 2011 after floating in July 2010. Raising £6.5 million gross at 50p a share, the company established a market capitalisation near £10 million, so is very much a small cap. Yet with the exclusive master franchise for Domino's Pizza in Poland, and roll-out proceeding overall to plan, this is a share to watch in 2012. Opening the 11th and 12th stores in Warsaw has just met the company's target for 2011 and according to last September's interims "many other potential sites [are] under negotiation." In 2008, cafes, restaurants and takeaways in Poland were estimated a £6.5 billion business, and DPP believes the home food delivery market is worth about £286 million in gross sales. Euromonitor has projected the Polish pizza food service market to grow by 7% in 2011. There are four existing chains: Telepizza, Da Grasso, Pizza Hut and Pizza Dominium, which in mid-2010 had 107,170, 48 and 53 stores respectively. While this begins to have the appearance of a "me too" industry, only Telepizza is part home delivery/takeaway; the others are restaurants. One of the main reasons why Poles do not yet buy much take-away/home delivery pizza is quality and delivery service being seen as poor; however DPP is required to ensure the highest standards to meet regular audits by the international franchiser. Despite the European debt crisis, it may be worth recalling how PizzaExpress became a leading growth share out of the UK recession twenty years ago. Admittedly this was restaurants but it showed how pizza is able to thrive in difficult times, and a well-managed roll-out can translate into financial success. From the website www.dppoland.com, the directors aim to open at least 27 wholly-owned stores in and around Warsaw by the end of 2012. A national roll-out, which may include sub-franchising, aims to achieve some 65 stores by the end of 2014. While all this sounds exciting, realists may wonder how it relates to cash resources and what mix of (hopefully) self-funding from cash generation and debt/equity may be involved. By end-June the group had opened two stores while balance sheet cash ran down from £5.0 million to £3.7 million over the first six months of 2011. Only about £0.5 million, however, was evidenced for investing activities, from the cash-flow statement, and the income statement cites pre-opening expenses under £34,000.