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Xchanging plc Acquisition of Italian fund administration business AR Enterprise S.r.l. Xchanging plc ('Xchanging'), the business process, procurement and technology services provider and integrator, today announces that its subsidiary, Kedrios S.p.A. ('Kedrios'), has acquired 100% of the share capital of AR Enterprise S.r.l. ('AR'). AR, based in Milan, is a leading provider of software packages and comprehensive IT solutions for the securities brokerage and asset management industry in Italy, with a customer base comprising more than 100 leading financial institutions. Xchanging will combine the newly acquired AR business with Kedrios, which operates in the same business segment. The acquisition will provide a significantly improved proprietary technology platform and a much improved customer base to Kedrios. Operating synergies will also lead to reductions in the combined cost base, with restructuring costs self-funded from existing and future cash flow generated by the combined business. The acquisition will enable Xchanging to accelerate the profit growth of the combined business, creating a stronger profitable business with scale and the ability to compete successfully in the Italian financial services, technology services and business processing markets. It was planned that Kedrios would reach a breakeven run rate by the end of 2013; but without scale and significant investment in upgraded technology, its ability to sustain a strong competitive position in the long term would have remained weak.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/xchanging-plc-(xch)/rns/acquisition/201211080700116057Q/

Outlook The outlook for the global economy continues to be defined by uncertainty, leading to weakness, particularly in pricing. Together with the build-up of ferroalloy inventories in China, currency moves have created cost opportunities for South African ferroalloy producers, leading to the market experiencing oversupply and resulting in weaker spot prices. We expect this trend to continue through to the year end. Regarding iron ore, we do not foresee any material change to pricing before the year end. The Group has striven to reduce cost inflation for the full year 2012 against the guidance given earlier in the year. We anticipate unit cost growth year-on-year including Mineral Extraction Tax to rise for Ferroalloys by up to 5% and for Iron Ore, Alumina, Coal and Electricity by between 10 and 15%. Some inflation for materials and energy, higher stripping and mine development costs, as well as growing D&A charges will continue to be the main costs drivers for the remainder of 2012. We will remain focused on production efficiency programmes and cost savings initiatives to maintain our relative low cost advantage.

"Market conditions and the current pricing environment remain challenging. We continue to focus on maintaining our industry leading cost position, having made excellent progress in implementation of cost efficiency programmes across the Group during the year. Our comprehensive review of capital expenditure is now complete, with a clear plan to focus on those projects that will be cash generative in the near term." Felix J Vulis, Chief Executive Officer

Recent Developments and Outlook for the Full Year 2012 o Production expected to be at full available capacity across most of our principal commodities; o Revenue to continue to be impacted by the weak commodity price environment, particularly for ferroalloys and iron ore; o Planned capital expenditure for the year expected to be approximately US$2.2 billion; planned total spend in 2013 of US$1.7 billion; o Capital expenditure review complete; in addition to sustaining investments of US$3.6 billion, total expansionary spend expected over the next 5 years of US$4.4 billion, of which US$3.2 billion to be spent on 5 key projects - the New Aktobe Ferroalloys Plant, Frontier and RTR, followed by the Boss Mining Concentrator and SSGPO iron ore expansion; o Good progress with on-going production efficiency programmes to contain unit cost growth below previous guidance; o Frontier licence in DRC acquired for US$101.5 million.

London - Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation PLC ('ENRC' or, together with its subsidiaries, the 'Group') today announces its November 2012 Interim Management Statement and its Production Report for the Third Quarter ended 30 September 2012. ENRC will be hosting a conference call for analysts and investors regarding the Group's Interim Management Statement and Third Quarter Production Report today at 9:30am. Conference call details are provided below. Highlights for the Nine Months ended 30 September 2012 o Revenue decreased sharply compared to the corresponding period, largely due to lower selling prices for our principal commodities; o Saleable copper production increased by 31% compared to the corresponding period; o Cost of sales increased only moderately compared to the first nine months of 2011; o Net debt of US$3.9 billion as at 30 September 2012; o Organic growth programme on track; capital expenditure year to date of US$1.7 billion.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/eurasian-natural-res-(enrc)/rns/q3-production-report-and-ims/201211080700116059Q/

Trading update The Group is continuing to experience solid trading in both its core divisions of Social Housing and Care and, excluding the impact of the acquisition of Morrison, the anticipated outcome for the full year results remains in line with management's expectations. The first half of 2012 saw the most intense period of new contract mobilisation in our history, with seven significant new contracts commencing in this period with an annual value of in excess of £50 million. As we reported in our interim results on 14 August 2012, the quality of the mobilisations and the subsequent service delivery had exceeded our high expectations, however, the large volume of new works had resulted in a dilution of the social housing operating margin in the first half, as mobilisation costs are expensed upfront. Since 1 July 2012, the newly mobilised contracts have bedded down further, and in line with our expectations, we are seeing an improvement in the operating margin of those contracts.

Commenting, David Miles, Chief Executive, Mears Group, said: "I am delighted with the progress Mears has made in recent months. The acquisition of Morrison will further consolidate our market leading position and contract profile in Social Housing. Group revenue visibility stands at 99% and our order book and pipeline are particularly strong. "The new contract success with Cambridgeshire County Council is extremely positive. We expect this strategic partnership to develop in a way similar to many of our housing contracts, with a focus on achieving a range of life enhancing outcomes for our clients rather than just the traditional task and time approach that is common within care services today. Cambridgeshire County Council has shown real vision by recognising that the best way to meet some of the most difficult challenges within health and social care is through working closely together in partnership. This is an important milestone for us and I remain positive in our ability to shape and prosper in this market."

Social Housing Division: · April mobilisations now bedded down with a positive impact on H2 margins. · New contracts awarded to the Social Housing division in the last 3 months with a value of £107m. · Successful mobilisations of new contracts with Southwark Council and Notting Hill Housing Trust. · Our on-going commitment to provide energy solutions to address fuel poverty has given rise to a number of opportunities with existing clients. Care Division: · New contracts awarded to the Care division in the last 3 months with a value of £19m. · Notable new contract success with Cambridgeshire County Council under a Strategic Partnership arrangement.

Interim Management Statement Mears releases its Interim Management Statement ("IMS") for the period from 1 July 2012 to date. Mears today also announces the acquisition of Morrison Facilities Services Limited ("Morrison"). The information included in this IMS Statement does not reflect the impact of this acquisition. Summary of Key Highlights Group: · Today separately announces the acquisition of Morrison. · The Group is continuing to experience solid trading in both its core divisions of Social Housing and Care. · Group order book of £2.6 billion with secured revenues of 99% of current consensus forecast revenues for 2012, 86% for 2013. · Bid pipeline remains in excess of £3.0 billion, with an immediate bidding opportunity of £1.1 billion, underpinning the Board's continuing confidence in the future.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/mears-grp-plc-(mer)/rns/interim-management-statement/201211080700166082Q/

Tempus writes that strength of the Central London property market never ceases to amaze. Capital & Counties Properties, whose Covent Garden estate is its main asset, has lifted the estimated rental value of those properties to between £60m and £65m by the end of 2015; only in March, it was shooting for £50m by the end of 2013. The new estimate was part of a £149m cashraising in September; Capco has pledged to spend £200m on Covent Garden, which was valued at £850m in June, and has already spent more than £60m since then. This includes a deal for a corner site at a little more than £800 a sq ft, against an average £1,000 per sq ft for the estate as a whole. Capco shares, below 200p in May, have risen to reflect the prospects for Covent Garden. They are on a 13% premium to estimated net asset value, in line with equivalent London property companies, and look about up with events, Tempus says.

Tempus in The Times writes that Fenner, with more than two thirds of revenues across the group coming from repeat orders for equipment that has come to the end of its natural life, should not be as exposed to a slowdown in new investment as some of its peers. Fenner shares rose by 9.5p to 359.5p on the release of a positive set of results to the end of September. Pre-tax profits came in 30% higher at £103.9m, while a final dividend of 7p increases the total by a generous 31% to 10.5p. Fenner is never going to be immune to global economic trend but the shares, on about 10 times earnings, look like good long-term value, the paper says.

Yes - looks quite positive here just now.

Summary The Group continues to make progress, with all regions expected to contribute to profits in the fourth quarter. The launch of the MSAT product has been successful and testament to Vislink's ability to quickly respond to customer needs with market leading products. The macroeconomic environment remains challenging, however this is mitigated by a much more efficient and scalable cost base for the business. The Group has returned to consistent profitability and has a realistic strategy to deliver long term growth and generate positive shareholder value.

Trading The Group traded in line with management expectations for the third quarter ending 30 September 2012. Year to date adjusted profit1 for the nine months was £2.0m. Group revenues for the nine months were £41.3m (2011: £35.0m) up 18.0% on last year, and orders received year to date were £40.4m (2011: £39.5m) up 2.3%. The Group recently launched the Mantis MSAT portable satellite data terminal, suitable for both broadcast and surveillance markets, which has begun to make volume shipments. A £0.8m shipment of this product, originally due to be made September 2012 was delayed until early October 2012 awaiting customer sign offs. This would have had a beneficial impact on both revenue and profit for the third quarter. The sales pipeline for MSAT continues to grow. The Gigawave acquisition has been fully integrated into the Group's UK operations, with associated operational efficiencies realised and the revenues being generated are in line with expectations. On finalising the valuation of assets acquired as part of the business, the planned deferred consideration to the Gigawave shareholders has been reduced, with £0.5m now payable in the fourth quarter of 2012 and £0.25m payable in the first quarter of 2013. The Group remains debt free and after paying dividends of £1.4m in the third quarter and cash absorption from higher inventory to support MSAT shipments, the net cash balance as at the 30 September was £6.3m. In addition the Board reaffirms that it is on track to achieve its three year financial goal of achieving £80m revenues and £8m PBT by financial year ending 2014.

Valuation: Upside from execution to plan The shares have fallen by over 20% since the end of August and are now at a substantial discount to our indicative value of 35p, which we proposed in March 2012. would give a cash-adjusted P/E of 14.4x for FY12e, falling to 9.2x in FY13e. Further share price appreciation longer term towards the net asset value of 41.3p/share (endFY11) appears possible as progress towards this stated strategic target is continued.

http://www.edisoninvestmentresearch.co.uk/researchreports/Vislink081112update.pdf

Could be a bitter day for TATE