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Panmure Gordon reiterated its "buy" recommendation for e-Therapeutics (ETX), but with a reduced target price of 76p, from 80p. The healthcare company performed in-line with the broker's expectation for the year ending 31st January 2011 and operating losses better than forecast at 2.5 million pounds (expected 3.7 million pound loss). However, Panmure now expects a loss per share of 3.7p in 2013 revised from an 3.7p earning, due to a delay in the licensing of the group's Clostriban drug. This has lead the broker to reduced target price based on present value calculations.

Communisis (CMS) retained its "buy" rating from Brewin Dolphin with an increased target price of 52p, from 44p. The broker reports that the marketing services provider is performing in-line with forecasts, reporting an EBITA of 3.8 million pounds, up 25% year-on-year, and is encouraged by new business wins, worth over 15 million pounds per year. Brewin upgraded its target price based on an expected 2012 price to earnings ratio of 10 times and notes that the company is offering a 5% dividend yield.

Robust trading at Marston's Date: Wednesday 27 Jul 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - Pubs owner and ale brewer Marston’s said trading in the last 42 weeks had been robust, particularly in food sales, despite the difficult trading environment. Inns and Taverns, its managed pubs division, saw like-for-like sales for the 42 weeks to 23 July 2011 increase 2.9% from the same period last year. This included like-for-like food sales growth of 5% and like-for-like wet sales growth of 1.8%. Chief executive Ralph Findlay said he was "encouraged by the resilience of the business in the year to date." In the last ten weeks like-for-like sales rose 2% against strong trading over the same period last year, which included the World Cup and good weather. Operating margin has improved compared to last year, Marston's said. In its Pub Company, the group's tenanted and leased pubs division, underlying profit trends continued to improve. Like-for-like profits are expected to be 0.5% ahead of last year. "Our focus on offering value for money with high service standards in a quality pub environment is generating strong consumer appeal and maximising returns," the group said in a statement. Marston's Beer Company saw beer volumes rise 2% from last year, outperforming a declining market. "Our focus on localness and premium ales contributed to this growth with premium cask ale up 4%," Marston's explained. Net debt and cash flow are in line with company expectations.

A nice resume - Laird profit surges 65% Date: Wednesday 27 Jul 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - Electrical components manufacturer Laird reported a 65% surge in half year underlying pre-tax profit and expects further progress through the rest of 2011 and beyond. The group also gave an update on its recent Cooper Industries £493m bid rejection. It said new information available had been made available to the US group and the board has "remained open to any constructive conversation in the interests of shareholder value." Laird, which recently closed its underperforming handset antenna business, said underlying pre-tax profit rose to £25.4m in the six months to 30 June from £15.4m the year before. Revenue during the period rose to £243m, up 24% on 2010. Chief executive Peter Hill commented, "We have a compelling investment case based on the strong market positions of our core Performance Materials and Wireless Systems businesses. Together, these growth businesses have delivered a strong performance...and are well placed in fast growing end markets." Among its core bsuinesses performance materials revenue rose 15% while underlying operating profit increased 20%. Wireless systems revenue jumped 70% and underlying operating profit surged 228%. Looking ahead to future earnings Laird, which makes electromagnetic shielding devices used in mobile phones, said it expects organic revenue growth averaging 10% per year. An interim dividend of 2.7p has been declared compared to 2.1p in 2010. Laird expects a 2012 full year dividend of 10p to be offered and a 2013 full year dividend of 12p to be recommended.

BG or Not BG? – That's the Question Hello Share Fans, A flat Footsie. Boring eh? We need to look for some shares which are rising while others stay put or gently decay. There are always some upwardly mobile shares on the darkest of days. This week, BG (BG. ) Has been striding ahead. The old take-over rumours are back. As similar stories have kept reasserting themselves for BG every six months or so, this old punter is not getting excited. I don’t think the City will react positively for much longer, either. We all know that there is a lot of crying wolf going on in Crazyland. There always has been. What I do with persistent rumours is to take them with a pinch of salt. However, just in case, I do not sell shares which have a story hanging over them. I could not live with the thought of selling shares just before they were taken over and became worth a lot more. But BG aside, what do you do if a share is about to be taken over, if the announcement comes through that there is no doubt? Well, one of my policies is to sell straight away on the big leap that follows such an announcement. I might wait till the process rises a bit more, but in my experience it does not. If a share is to be taken over for a price of £5, say, the market price will not immediately rocket to £5. It will still be some way off this mark – to reflect the possibility that the deal falls through. I will probably sell on this slightly lower price than the asking figure. And yet sometimes another bidder will come out of the woodwork and offer even more. Therefore, perhaps the time to sell is not on the first announcement at all. This is a difficult decision, but a delicious one. However, take-overs have been rare in the last few months – and I bet the BG one will not happen in the near future, either. But I’m not selling my shares. Rock on. Posted by ShareCrazy on Jul 27, 06:57 AM in Thought For The Day

Wooly - just noticed your post 6 Jul - nae alas it was not I - not in here but finger has hoovered a couple of times - may bite the bullet very soon.

Finsbury Food's shares were in high demand yesterday, and no wonder. The maker of cakes, bread and gluten-free bakery products pleased investors with a robust trading update, signalling better-than-expected sales for the year ending July 2011. The icing on the cake for us is that we said "buy" at 17.5p in July 2010. But even after yesterday's rises, the shares still look ridiculously cheap, trading on just 2.8 times forecast earnings for the 2011 financial year. Tuck in, suggests the Independent.

The market reaction to second-quarter figures from BP and BG Group yesterday is instructive. Both showed respectable enough profits growth, BG’s underlying earnings up 27% to $1.12 billion, but BP shares ended down 12% at 463.25p while BG climbed 4.3% to £14.86¾p. The difference is in levels of production. Production this year for BG is expected to be about 5% higher than in 2010 but should hit double-digit growth rates from 2012 and beyond. There is the option of selling a stake in Brazil and no shortage of buyers, but that rapid jump in its worth suggests the company is in no mood to do so in haste. Meanwhile, a 10% rise in the halfway dividend to 10.8 cents is encouraging, although BG is not an income stock. I suspect the shares have a bit further to run, suggests the Times.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201107270700171319L

Cigarettes maker British American Tobacco saw interim adjusted diluted earnings per share improve by 10% to 96.1p from 87.1p the year before. The interim dividend has been hiked by 15% to 38.1p from 33.2p. Group revenue was up 2%, while organic revenue at constant rates of exchange grew by 7%.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201107270700061159L

Accountancy software titan Sage said it has continued to deliver good growth despite an uncertain economic backdrop, and full year results should be in line with the board's expectations. Net debt at the end of June stood at £67m, down from £106m at the end of March.

Rumour control had it that AGS was a take over possibility at 200 when the Synovate sale was complete - certainly no reaction so far with regards the SP

Jerry Buhlmann, Chief Executive Officer of Aegis Group plc, said: "The announcement today of the proposed sale of Synovate to Ipsos represents the largest structural change in the history of Aegis Group plc. For Aegis shareholders, the offer from Ipsos provides value and certainty and enables the Group to increase its focus on delivering communications services based on media, digital and content creation. "Aegis Media's strategy is based on capturing organic growth from the rapidly changing media market. The outcome of this transaction will enable us to accelerate the delivery of that strategy and focus our resources on value-enhancing acquisitions to support us in driving sustainable profitable growth." Didier Truchot, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ipsos S.A., said: "We are delighted to be buying Synovate, a business operating in exciting growth markets with a strong management and committed professionals. This deal has been driven by our relentless focus on providing the best possible service to our clients and our ambition to become the leader in each of our areas of expertise. "This deal will meet our goals to make Ipsos brand a worldwide brand, synonymous with excellence in each of its fields of specialisation and better able to attract and keep clients. I look forward to welcoming the Synovate team to Ipsos and together creating a leading player in market research, with the best talent in the industry."

Use of proceeds - highlights: · The Board of Aegis intends to return £200 million of the proceeds of the Sale to shareholders (the "Return of Capital") by means of a special dividend and an associated 10 for 11 consolidation of Aegis ordinary shares ("Ordinary Shares"), (the "Share Consolidation"). The Share Consolidation is subject to the approval of Aegis shareholders ("Ordinary Shareholders"); · The balance of the proceeds from the Sale is intended to provide increased financial flexibility to invest in value-enhancing acquisitions by the Retained Group; · The Group will continue to pursue acquisition opportunities, in line with its strategic and investment criteria, that provide scale, in-fill and innovation, with a specific focus on faster-growing regions and digital businesses. The Sale is conditional upon the approval of Ordinary Shareholders and certain mandatory anti-trust clearances. The Company has received an irrevocable undertaking from Mr Vincent Bolloré to procure that relevant companies in Groupe Bolloré vote in favour of the resolution to approve the Sale to be proposed at a General Meeting of the Company, in respect of a total of 340,911,920 Aegis ordinary shares, representing approximately 26.5% per cent of the Company's existing issued share capital as at the date of this announcement. A circular will shortly be sent to Ordinary Shareholders containing further details of the Sale, the Return of Capital and Share Consolidation, together with a notice convening a General Meeting of the Company to consider and, if thought fit, approve the Sale and Share Consolidation. The Board considers that the Sale is in the best interests of the Group and its shareholders, and intends to recommend that Ordinary Shareholders vote in favour of the resolutions to be considered at the General Meeting. As a result of the potential conflict of interest represented by Robert Philpott's potential future employment with the Purchaser's group, Robert Philpott did not take part in the discussions of the Board relating to the recommendation to Ordinary Shareholders in respect of the Sale.

Proposed Sale of Synovate for £525 million Return of Capital of £200 million by means of a special dividend Enables acceleration of Aegis Media strategy, supported by targeted acquisitions Aegis Group plc ("Aegis" or "the Company") today announces that it has agreed the sale of its market research business, Synovate ("Synovate"), excluding Aztec ("Aztec"), the scan data services business, to Ipsos S.A. ("Ipsos" or "the Purchaser") for an enterprise value of £525 million (the "Sale"). Following the completion of the Sale ("Completion"), the retained group of Aegis companies ("the Group" or "the Retained Group") will be a more focused business with scope to accelerate the delivery of sustainable, profitable growth through the implementation of the Aegis Media strategy. The board of directors of Aegis ("the Board") intends to return £200 million of the proceeds of the Sale to shareholders. The balance of the proceeds will be used to provide increased financial flexibility to allow for investment in value-enhancing acquisitions by the Retained Group. The Sale of Synovate to Ipsos - highlights: · The Board of Aegis believes that the Sale is in the best interests of the Group and its shareholders; · Enterprise value of £525 million, subject to customary adjustments for the levels of cash, debt and working capital in Synovate at the date of completion of the Sale; · The Sale excludes Aztec, the Group's scan data services business, which will remain part of the Retained Group and will be run separately from Aegis Media; · Aegis Group, comprised of Aegis Media and Aztec, is well-placed to accelerate the delivery of sustainable, profitable growth by continuing to position Aegis Media for the rapidly changing media environment, supported by focused acquisitions.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201107270700191333L

OUTLOOK We expect third quarter revenues to be in the range of $200m to $220m for CSR as a standalone business, which excludes any revenues from the proposed merger with Zoran.

Joep van Beurden, Chief Executive Officer, said: "Our business has been resilient in the second quarter, with underlying operating profit reflecting the strong gross margin and our lower operating expenses. "We are delivering on our portfolio of new generation products on the 40nm node, which increases our competitiveness. During the second quarter, we demonstrated our next-generation location platform and we are in the final stages of development of our Bluetooth/Wi-Fi combo chip. "Despite increasing economic uncertainty and weakness in some areas of the handset market, we expect our overall business to display normal seasonality in the second half of the year, as we increase our strength in the consumer and automotive markets. Our Audio & Consumer business is expecting growth particularly in the audio market where we maintain our market leadership, while our Automotive & PND businesses is expected to benefit from the lifting of capacity constraints. "We look forward to completing our proposed merger with Zoran Corporation during the third quarter, which will bring us strategic benefits as we bring together our expertise in location and connectivity with Zoran's strength in imaging and video."

CSR plc ("CSR" and "the Company") today reports second quarter results for the 13 weeks to 1 July 2011 and results for the first half year: · Second quarter and first half financial performance o Revenues in Q2 of $193.9m (Q2 2010: $220.7m) in line with management guidance (H1 2011 $357.8m, H1 2010 $393.8m), o Increased gross margin in Q2 under IFRS of 49.0% (Q2 2010: 47.0%), underlying gross margin of 49.8% (Q2 2010: 47.5%) reflecting business shift towards Audio & Consumer and Automotive & PND, o Reduced SG&A and R&D costs in Q2 under IFRS of $81.8m (Q2 2010: $85.9m), underlying operating expenses of $72.3m (Q2 2010: $80.9m) reflecting lower litigation, IP and employee-related costs, o Operating profit in Q2 under IFRS of $13.2m (Q2 2010: $17.7m), underlying operating profit of $24.2m (Q2 2010: $24.0m), (H1 2011: $9.9m, H1 2010: $22.7m), o IFRS EPS in Q2 of $0.07 (Q2 2010: $0.07), underlying EPS of $0.09 (Q2 2010: $0.12) after underlying tax charge.