Member Info for mulledwine

Jeezo ! apologies for the last post

Personally I see no major problems here except its not moving as fast as we would like - but that is the way of many plans and projects ...I have just had roof repairs done - estimated 2 days - took 4 and a bit extra cash because of unforeseen problem - took longer but outcome the same !... yes i wanted a much quicker return and I could have been out several times with a healthy profit but I remain confident that ultimately this will reap rewards for us all , no matter what price we bought in at....some will see it differently I know.

Stobart hits the brakes on profit LONDON (SHARECAST) - Logistics firm Stobart said underlying pre-tax profit fell as the recessionary climate continues to hurt growth in the transport sector, however it said long term expectations across the business remain robust. The haulage firm, which has been streamlining the business, said it is confident it has positioned itself well in a challenging economic environment. Underlying pre-tax profit fell to £13.2m for the six months ended August 31st 2012 from £16.4m the same time a year earlier. Revenue slipped to £278.5m during the period from £281.1m before. Chief Executive Officer Andrew Tinkler said: "We have worked hard to improve margins and profitability in our core transport business despite tough trading conditions. We are well underway with delivering the stated plan for the group." Underlying pre-tax profit in its Transport & Distribution division business increased to £14.2m from £13.7m before. Pre-tax profit fell to £6.6m from £14.7m after restructuring costs in chilled distribution business, transaction costs and higher interest charges. Net cash generated from operations fell to £10.9m from £27.8m in 2011.

Luis da Silva, Chief Executive Officer of Afferro, commented: "Drilling results at Ngoa are encouraging with multiple intersections from surface above 40% Fe and a number of down-hole length intersections in excess of 55% Fe. We believe Ngoa can become a satellite resource to support scalable mining of up to 35mtpa at Nkout, which is situated less than 5km to the north of Ngoa. The recent preliminary economic assessment showed Nkout to be a robust project; additional high grade resources at Ngoa will enhance the already attractive economics. "Afferro continues to explore all four of its exploration permits in Cameroon. With these initial results for Ngoa, Afferro has defined mineralised banded iron formations in three of these permits. Further results from additional drilling at Nkout are pending."

24/10 http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201210240700053716P

Valuation: Dented by the poor sector sentiment With c US$51m in cash on hand, Afferro trades at EV/Resource of just US$0.05/t compared to the sector-weighted average of US$0.63/t (including the early stage producers). Assuming an additional guaranteed payment of at least US$50m (pre-tax, callable in mid-2013) from Severstal, the stock would trade at a negative EV. While the deterioration in commodity pricing and demand weighed on the sector’s valuation, the quality of Afferro’s asset base and its strong balance sheet suggest that the company should be able to weather the downturn and further advance its projects.

http://www.edisoninvestmentresearch.co.uk/researchreports/Afferro251012update.pdf

Valuation: Unchanged at £0.24 un-risked SOTP Despite the recent softening of the tungsten APT price to US$350/mtu due to the uncertainly in short-term outlook for the global economy, we believe the price is supported by the tightness of the global supply-demand balance. We maintain our valuation at £0.24/share based on the un-risked SOTP, which is driven by the company’s advanced Barruecopardo tungsten project. Although the stock is trading at a premium to peers on an EV/resource multiple, Ormonde benefits from the lowcapital intensity of the Barruecopardo project, its relatively advanced stage and robust economics. While the commodity price volatility may continue to affect the share price, we see the Barruecopardo permitting as a major catalyst for the stock unlocking the company’s intrinsic value. We also note the potential upside in the JV projects such as Pino de Oro, Peralonzo and Cabeza (all with Aurum Mining), although at this stage the JV projects are at early stages of development and lack a JORC-compliant resource

http://www.edisoninvestmentresearch.co.uk/researchreports/Ormondeupdate241012.pdf

Handbag group Mulberry has seen its shares plunge 28% this year as fears over future growth mount as the financial crisis hits top-end buyers. This week’s profit warning gave the shares another handbagging after the company announced that it expected group revenue growth to be below market expectations and said profits would be lower than last year. Even after the recent falls, the company’s rating remains high. The shares are trading on a 2013 earnings multiple of 22.1, falling to 17. This is still discounting a significant amount of future growth. Questor in The Telegraph thinks the company has a substantial opportunity, but regards the rating as still too high. It last said avoid at £15.66 in June and the shares are now 35% lower. On valuation terms, the rating has to remain ‘avoid’.

Tempus in The Times says the trading update from Reckitt Benckiser, which has been at the heart of the discounting wars, suggests that in Europe and North America the picture may be improving. Like-for-like growth here in the third quarter was two per cent. This might not seem like much, but it compares with a one per cent fall in each of the previous two quarters. It is also rather better than seen or expected from its peers. Like-for-like growth in the first three quarters from household products was up 4 per cent, rather better than had been expected and prompting yesterday’s 3.7 per cent rise in the shares to £37.68. The shares are on an expensive 15 times’ earnings, which suggests immediate progress may be limited, but they are a strong 'hold' long-term.

Tough times

Commenting on the results, Nigel Newton, Chief Executive, said: "The Group continues to make good progress. We have acquired two new businesses further boosting our presence in the academic market, particularly in the USA, and have launched our own sales and publishing operation in India, a market which has the potential to become one of the largest English language book markets in the world. Higher ebook sales and academic turnover continue to increase the weighting of our sales to the second half. In addition we have a strong second half list, including potential best sellers, and are targeting a significant number of rights and services contracts. We remain well positioned for the future and results continue to show a positive trend over the longer term."

Operating highlights · Further growth in ebook sales o ebook sales in the six months to 31 August 2012 increased by 89% to £4.5 million (2011: £2.4m) o New e-reader devices expected to have a positive impact on Q4 ebook sales · Strategic progress in Academic & Professional division o Academic division now represents 28% of Group continuing sales (2011: 20%) o Acquisition of Fairchild Books for $6.1 million (£3.8 million) o Acquisition of Applied Visual Arts Publishing for CHF 2.6 million (£1.7 million) o Launch of The Churchill Archive, www.churchillarchive.com, with strong demand · Major prize wins and shortlists include: o Winner Orange Prize for Fiction 2012 o Winner International IMPAC Dublin Award 2012 o 2 shortlists for Man Booker Prize 2012 o Shortlist for Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award 2012 · Strong list for the second half o Hugh's Three Good Things - Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall o How to Bake - Paul Hollywood o Hogwarts Library Boxed Set - J. K. Rowling o Umbrella - Will Self o The first ever Wisden India Cricketers Almanac 2012

Unaudited Interim Results for the six months ended 31 August 2012 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc today announces six month results for the period ended 31 August 2012. Financial highlights · Turnover £43.5 million (2011: £42.4 million) +2% · Profit before taxation and highlighted items* £2.1 million (2011: £3.3 million) -37% · Profit before taxation £0.9 million (2011: £1.5 million) · Interim dividend 0.94 pence per share (2011: 0.89 pence) +6% · Basic earnings per share before highlighted items* 2.20 pence (2011: 3.27 pence) · Basic earnings per share of 0.87 pence (2011: 1.45 pence)

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201210250700074750P

Current trading and outlook n FY 2012 quarter 3 preliminary revised forecasts| Continued softness currently forecast in quarter four, particularly in North America, but Asia Pacific improving, with overall like-for-like full year revenue growth of 2.5% - 3.0%;headline operating margin target remains 14.8%, up 0.5 margin points in a more challenging environment n Dual focus in 2012HTMLPIPESYMBOL 1. Increased emphasis on balancing revenue growth with headcount and staff cost increases to achieve target operating margin in 2012; 2. Ensuring headcount and staff costs run rates are in line with anticipated revenue growth for 2013 n Long-term targets reaffirmedategically targeted acquisitions to add 0% - 5% revenues p.a.; improvement in staff cost/revenue ratio of 0.3 - 0.6 points p.a. depending on revenue and gross margin growth; operating margin expansion of 0.5 margin points or more; and PBIT growth of 10% - 15% p.a. from margin expansion and acquisitions

Quarter 3 and first nine months highlights n Revenue growth of 1.6%, with like-for-like growth of 1.9%, 2.9% growth from acquisitions and -3.2% from currency. Q3 slower than Q2, particularly in September and in North America and Continental Europe and functionally in advertising and media investment management and public relations and public affairs n However, constant currency growth achieved in all regions and business sectors, maintaining strong growth geographically in Asia Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East and Africa and functionally in advertising and media investment management and specialist communications n Operating profits and operating margins in the first nine months in line with budget and ahead of last year n Average net debt increased by £329m (-12%) to £3.105 billion compared to last year, but continuing to reflect an improvement on the 2011 comparative year end position of over £200 million n Net new business of $1.415 billion in the third quarter, compared to $2.289 billion in the third quarter last year and $5.375 billion in the first nine months compared to $4.211 billion in the same period last year, again ranking first in all net new business tables

WPP Third Quarter Trading Update n Reported revenues up 1.6% at £2.496 billion n In other major currencies reported revenues almost flat at $3.948 billion and up 12.5% at €3.151 billion n Third quarter like-for-like revenues up 1.9% n Reported revenues up 4.2% at £7.468 billion in first nine months, in other major currencies, reported revenues up 1.9% at $11.792 billion and up 11.9% at €9.201 billion n Like-for-like revenues up 3.0% in first nine months n Operating margin targeted to be up 0.5 margin points

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201210250700094853P