Member Info for mulledwine

Pittards (PTD) remains a "buy" for Merchant Securities following the release of interim results which were in line with expectations. The broker sees the pre-tax profit increase of 22% to 1.1 million pounds as positive and believes Pittards is well positioned to enhance revenue and profits given a strong order book. Merchant also believes there is scope for upside provided by the estimated price-to-earnings ratio of 6.8 times for 2012.

Evolution Securities has maintained its "buy" stance on Booker Group (BOK), and price target of 80p, as the wholesaler's second quarter results smashed the broker's profit and debt forecasts. Total second quarter sales and like-for-like sales were up 7.6% and 5.6%, significantly higher than Evolution's respective estimates of 5% and 3%. Booker remains the broker's top pick in the sector, offering stable growth, quality management and a strong focus on cash and returns

Ambrian reiterated its "buy" recommendation and 44p price target for Toledo Mining (TMC), expecting the markets to react positively to news that the firm is soon to complete its first shipment of high grade Nickel for its 56% owned Berong Mine. Nickel prices have also moved in favour of Toledo, which the broker estimates will see the group deliver revenue in excess of 16 million dollars (10.1 million pounds) for the first year of production.

arbymore - yes good potential here - when the sentiment returns, we should see significant upside - that may take a while though in the current climate

We've been buyers of Booker since November last year, when the shares were worth around 53p, according to the Investment Column in the Independent. The investment in the cash-and-carry wholesaler has, we are pleased to say, worked out well. So, is it time to bank profits? Firstly, yesterday's results showed that the business remains strong, with total sales in the twelve weeks to 9 September rising by "7.6 per cent on the same period last year". Total sales in the 24 weeks to 9 September were up by 8.5 per cent. The strong trading performance, and the international expansion, makes us think that the stock offers scope for upside gains. No need to sell, according to the Independent, which keeps its buy rating.

If you are looking to buy a recruitment magazine for the recruitment industry, a recursive idea, I appreciate, I might be able to get you a good price, says the Tempus column in the Times. This is the only non-core asset not yet sold by Centaur Media, the owner of trade titles such as The Lawyer, Design Weekand Money Marketing. When the trade press went into the downturn, there was a belief that it would be reasonably robust. Not true; the titles are reliant on advertising revenue, in particular for jobs. Centaur this summer completed a restructuring that involved the sale of those non-core titles, reorganisation into three divisions and the loss of about 10 per cent of the workforce. The market capitalisation is now significantly less than a year’s revenues, which makes the shares look cheap. But I would not buy yet, says the Times.

Cobham, the aerospace and defence group, is an innovative company working in a difficult market, according to the Investment Column in the Independent. Best known for its heavy aviation engineering, the company produces pipes and other devices for the oil tankers used to refuel the RAF aircraft flying to Libya and the bomb racks used in Boeing's F15E jets. Yesterday, it agreed to buy California's Trivec-Avant Corporation, a maker of satellite antennas for transport and logistics companies, for $126m (£80m), with an additional payment of up to $18m if it performs really well. It also announced a new $60m contract to supply an aerial refuelling pod for the KC-390 tanker aircraft being developed by Brazil's Embraer. Overall, Cobham appears to be doing everything right and its first-half results were encouraging. The trouble, however, is that about 70 per cent of its sales come from military customers at a time when many countries, including Britain and the US, are significantly cutting budgets as part of severe austerity programmes. Hold, says the Independent.

Any decision to pay £233 million for a City broking and fund management business, in today’s climate, looks like a brave one, says the Tempus column in the Times. Investec’s purchase price of Evolution Securities is reduced to £160 million by the amount of cash Evo has in the bank. The appeal of Evo is the £7 billion of private client wealth it has under management at Williams de Broë, which would bring Investec’s UK total to £22 billion, acquired at a price comparable to recent such deals. The shares are on about ten times’ this year’s earnings; some analysts believe the market is undervaluing the wealth management side, but it may take the rest of the market a while to come around to this point of view, says the Times.

Kier, the construction, house-building and contracting firm, has, to its credit, managed to come through the slump rather well, drawing strength from the diversity of its operations and sound strategic moves, according to the Investment Column in the Independent. This was reflected in its results yesterday, when it revealed that underlying pre-tax profits had climbed to nearly £70m in the year to the end of June, up from £55.5m in 2010. The full year dividend was up by 10 per cent, while construction margins improved and services margins remained stable. The valuation – the stock trades on under 8 times forward earnings – is also supportive. These factors argue against selling. The gloomy mood in the markets, however, argues against buying at this point. Hold, says the Independent.

Pierre Jungels, CBE, Chairman of Oxford Catalysts, said: "The Group has demonstrated commercial momentum in the first half of the year and the outlook is positive, especially in the GTL market. Our partners continue to invest in progressing the Group's products, and following the successful demonstration in Austria we're now looking forward to additional achievements in Brazil." "The Board is excited about the prospects of the Group and looks to the future with confidence."

Interim Results for the Period Ended 30th June 2011 Oxford Catalysts Group PLC, the leading technology innovator for synthetic oil production, is pleased to announce its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2011. Highlights · Orders received for commercial scale FT units: one for SGCE and, post period end, two for a Fortune 500 company · GTL demonstration unit arrived in Brazil and is in pre-commission phase · Selected to participate in GTL engineering study to evaluate 5,000-15,000 bpd facility in North America · Successfully ramping up manufacturing capacity to produce significant numbers of FT units from 2012 onwards · Revenue of £2.9 million (H1 2010: £4.1 million) reflecting the continuing transition to commercial income · Raised £21.0m before expenses through an oversubscribed equity placing · Cash* at period end of £21.4 million (H1 2010: £8.8 million)

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201109160700113426O

Drilling update 16 September 2011 16 September 2011 - Exillon Energy plc ("Exillon Energy", the "Company" or the "Group") (EXI.LN), a British listed independent oil producer with assets in two oil-rich regions of northern Russia, Timan-Pechora ("Exillon TP") and West Siberia ("Exillon WS"), is pleased to announce that well EWS I - 44 successfully found oil on the south-eastern part of the East EWS I field. EWS I - 44 EWS I - 44 well which was spudded on 1 August 2011 was drilled on a south-eastern part of the East EWS I field from well pad 32. The well flowed water-free oil naturally to the surface with a flow rate of 768 bbl/day on a 10 mm choke. The well encountered the Jurassic P reservoir at 1,834 meters, confirming 7.3 meters of effective net oil pay within the Jurassic and 3.1 meters of oil-water transition zone. These results support the existing geological model of the Group. The completion and cementation of the well were conducted under revised procedures adopted by the Group subsequent to the well completion issues described in the interim results announced on 26 August 2011. The well was drilled directionally 1.3 km to the west from the existing well pad. On completion of testing the well will be connected up to existing production facilities.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201109160700133711O

TEN Media In April 2011 we announced that we had invested US$50 million for a 15 per cent interest in TEN Media, a business set up to provide solutions to the egg industry. Progress has continued to be positive and we expect the first financial returns from this business to start in the second quarter of our next financial year. Outlook After 10 months results are in line with expectations for the year. It is not yet clear whether the recent slowing in activity levels is a short term effect caused by current general negative economic sentiment, or is signalling a longer term slowdown in capital spend. We are restricting incremental costs until the situation becomes clearer. The Board remains confident about our competitive position and in the long term prospects for the Group.

DOMINO PRINTING SCIENCES PLC INTERIM MANAGEMENT STATEMENT This statement is issued in accordance with the requirements of the Disclosure and Transparency Rules and relates to the period from 1 May 2011 to 15 September 2011. The Group operates a financial year from 1 November to 31 October. The results for the first half of our financial year, the six months ended 30 April 2011, were discussed in our Interim Statement published on 21 June 2011. After 10 months of the financial year, results are in line with expectations for the year. Sales for the 10 months to the end of August are 4 per cent ahead of the corresponding period last year. At the half year sales growth was 8 per cent; in the subsequent four months sales were 1 per cent below those of the corresponding months in the prior year. The impact of foreign currency movements was negligible. Sales activity for new equipment in Asia, Middle East, South America and parts of Europe remains good, with our overall strength in these regions positioning us well for continued development and growth. However, demand levels for new equipment in Western Europe and North America have been subdued, especially since the beginning of August, and are expected to remain so for the balance of the year. Sales of consumables and spares across the whole of the Group continue to grow in line with the increase in size of the global installed base of equipment. Overall, we continue to be pleased with the progress and performance of our new and existing product ranges. Group headcount has grown by 3 per cent in the year to date, principally enhancing our selling capacity in Asia where we continue to see increasing activity levels and sales. Following the payment of the dividend in the period, the Group had net cash at the end of August of £17.3 million.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201109160700113470O

CONT We continue to work with our legal advisors on restructuring our balance sheet to enable the payment of dividends in the future and we expect this restructuring to have taken place before year-end. Our retail shop expansion at the Yeovil headquarters will be opening in the next few weeks and spearheading our entry into the consumer product arena, which is an important part of our strategy. Daines and Hathaway, our premium leather goods branded subsidiary, is gaining ground in its sector with a number of new customers and a renewed presence in the USA. Two exciting new ranges of leather garments, created by our Yeovil based design team, were launched at the PURE show in Olympia in August and are already gaining attention in the fashion world. Our garment production unit in Ethiopia has just moved to larger rented premises pending the completion of the new factory we are building for garments and leather goods on the Addis ring-road. The neighbouring factory is nearing completion for leather goods and gloves production. We are in the process of training glove makers there in order to service a new order for industrial gloving from a prominent US based wholesaler, which represents a major new opportunity for us. Work on improving animal husbandry in Ethiopia to improve both skin quality and meat yield and quality continues with GIZ (the German agency for sustainable international development) and we are seeking two or more farms to establish our own flocks which would be bred and farmed in accordance with best practice. We were delighted to be one of six finalists in the PricewaterhouseCooper West of England Business of the Year Awards in June at only our first attempt. The judges were looking for performance against six criteria, including innovation, business management and contribution to the region and were very complimentary about our business. We have also been shortlisted for two categories in the UK Fashion and Textiles Awards in their 25th year celebrations which will take place in the presence of HRH the Princess Royal in October. There is some uncertainty about the strength of global demand in the coming months and we continue to face inflationary pressures on raw materials. However our order book remains strong, our relationships with key customers are good and our offshore presence enables us to manufacture in lower cost environments, all of which provide some resilience against adverse conditions.

The results for the first half of 2011 demonstrate further progress over 2010 as the Group continues to expand its activities globally. We achieved a profit from trading activities of £1.3m, an improvement of 20% compared to the same period last year, despite an environment of fairly severe price inflation on raw materials. Finance costs of £0.2m were slightly higher than last year as we invested more in plant, property and equipment around the Group to support the recovery and increased demand for our products. The Directors also considered it appropriate to release a further £0.5m from the unrecognised deferred taxation asset, carrying on from the £1.0m released at the end of 2010. This led to a tax credit of £0.4m for the period and hence a profit on continuing operations after taxation of £1.5m (2010: £0.9m). Revenue for the six months totalled £20.3m, an improvement of 22% on 2010 (£16.6m), reflecting our strong order book throughout this period and despite the dollar being some 6% weaker than in the corresponding period in 2010. Export sales represented 94% of revenue (2010: 92%). The increased revenue is fairly evenly spread across the product range. Sales of sheepskin and goat based products benefitted from early winter cold spells in UK and USA which led customers to restock pipelines. Demand for sports glove leathers was also strong. Sales of hide based products were similarly robust with the military and services sector faring well alongside sport and casual footwear. Net assets at the end of June 2011 were £12.2m (2010: £8.7m). This improvement reflects continued profitability, the release of a proportion of the previously unrecognised deferred tax asset and further payments against loans. Net borrowings at the end of the period of £4.5m compared favourably with the 2010 figure of £6.5m as inventories and receivables were tightly managed despite increased activity levels, and this led to a gearing ratio of 37% compared to 75% in 2010.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201109150700182608O