Member Info for mulledwine

This announcement contains the interim results of Booker Group plc ('Booker') for the 24 weeks ended 14 September 2012. We acquired Makro Holding Limited and two subsidiaries; Makro Properties Limited and Makro Self Service Wholesalers Limited, ('Makro') on 4 July 2012. We have notified the transaction to the Office of Fair Trading ('OFT') and the competition review process is ongoing. Until this review is complete, we are required to hold the Makro business separate from the rest of Booker and the results of Makro are, therefore, not reflected in these results but are treated as an investment. Financial Highlights (Makro not consolidated) · Total sales £1.9 bn, +3.3% · Like-for-like sales were +3.1%: - non-tobacco +3.8% - tobacco +1.8% • Like-for-like sales to caterers were +4.7% and to retailers +2.2% • Operating profit (pre £3m exceptional charge related to Makro acquisition costs) +12.4% to £51.6m (2011: £45.9m) • Profit before tax (post exceptional charge) +13.3% to £51.0m (2011: £45.0m) • Profit after tax (post exceptional charge) +13.0% to £40.8m (2011: £36.1m) • Basic earnings per share (post exceptional charge) +6.4% to 2.50p (2011: 2.35p) • Net cash £69.8m (2011: £58.7m), after spending £15.8m on the cash element of the Makro consideration • Interim dividend per share up 15.2% to 0.38 pence (2011: 0.33 pence) • Subject to obtaining competition clearance, we expect Makro to reduce Group operating profit in 2012/13 by £nil to £10m, and increase operating profit in 2013/14 by circa £10m

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201210180700089527O

Will Ethridge, CEO of Pearson North America, said, "The acquisition of EmbanetCompass extends Pearson's investment in two areas where we see great opportunities for growth and impact-online education and educational services. The combination of Pearson and EmbanetCompass creates the premier provider of online learning and education services and will further enable us to advance the goals of the institutions and students we serve with innovative and proven programs." Founded in 1995, with locations in Chicago, Orlando, and Toronto, EmbanetCompass has 580 employees and is headed by Steve Fireng. He will stay on as CEO of EmbanetCompass and as a senior executive at Pearson. Steve Fireng said, "In the next five years, we expect nearly 4 million fully online learners will be in this market," said Steve Fireng, EmbanetCompass President and CEO. "By joining Pearson, the world's premier provider of educational content, programs, services and platforms, EmbanetCompass has a tremendous opportunity to strengthen our relationships with academic partners, expand programs and services at our current academic partners, and continue to expand into new exciting markets both domestically and around the globe."

PEARSON ACQUIRES EMBANETCOMPASS: EXPANDS CAPACITY AND EXTENDS LEADERSHIP IN FAST-GROWING MARKET FOR ONLINE LEARNING Pearson, the world's leading learning company, is announcing today the acquisition of EmbanetCompass from an investor group led by Technology Crossover Ventures and Knowledge Universe, for $650m in cash. EmbanetCompass partners with leading non-profit colleges and universities in North America to provide fully online learning solutions for more than 100 university programmes. It provides a full range of services including: programme design and development, marketing and student recruitment, faculty training and support, data-driven student retention and learning analytics; student services (counselling, tutoring, mentoring), technology support and launch funding. Institutional services are one of the fastest growing areas of the US higher education market. Out of 6,700 degree-granting institutions in the US, approximately 175 institutions engage third-party vendors to power online programmes. Of a total post-secondary student population of 22 million, 2.5 million participate in purely online programmes with over 6 million taking at least one online course. Pearson believes the number of students learning online and the number of institutions serving those students will grow rapidly, as academic institutions seek low-risk and cost-effective ways to better serve new and existing customers by boosting student access, affordability, achievement and retention. EmbanetCompass revenues have grown strongly in each of the last three years and are expected to be approximately $130m in 2012. The transaction is subject to a Hart-Scott-Rodino review. Pearson expects the acquisition to enhance adjusted earnings per share and to generate a return on invested capital above Pearson's weighted average cost of capital from 2014. For Pearson, the acquisition builds on and broadens our leading position in the fast-growing online educational services market established through our partnerships with institutions such as Arizona State University, California State University Online (CSU Online) and the community college systems in West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Iowa and Colorado. It also makes our content businesses more valuable and brings the opportunity to apply EmbanetCompass skills and technologies in new segments and geographic markets. It extends Pearson's investment in education services and technologies that have both a direct connection with the learner and a strong record of enhancing student achievement helped by data analytics.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201210161620538355O

Nomura comments this morning on Pearson’s acquisition of Embanet for $650m dollars (£406m), or five times sales, calling attention to the similarities between Embanet and the Deltak business acquired recently by John Wiley for $220m (4x sales). Furthermore, its analysts highlight how –in their opinion: “the business provides more scale to Pearson’s existing college solutions business (e.g., Arizona State and Calstate), and allows the company to capture more of the college’s value chain without the significant working capital in books.” Nomura adds that: “There will be some accretion in fiscal year 2013 but limited by integration charges. We estimate a 0.5% boost to organic growth. To reach targets, we estimate the revenue growth will have to be over 50% in fiscal year 2013 and circa 25% in fiscal year 2014, which poses some execution challenges. Post-acquisition valuation remains high and free-cash flow (FCF) around 7-8%.” Following on from the above, Nomura has raised its price target to 1,250p from 1,200p, while maintaining its reduce rating.

more. re broker note Analysts at Panmure Gordon have today issued a biting note on Carpetright, with analyst Philip Dorgan indicating that: “We are slightly surprised to see that UK second quarter like-for-like sales growth slowed from quarter one, given kitten soft comparables. However, gross margin guidance is retained and, despite a marked deterioration in the Netherlands, we don't expect that consensus forecasts will change. We remain sellers, because it will be a while before profits catch up with the valuation (66.2x prospective earnings)." The broker has placed a target price of 400p on the shares of the flooring retailer.

Engineering group GKN was the largest faller in the FTSE 100 yesterday, after it warned of weakening demand in the European car market. Questor in The Telegraph writes that its shares had already been underperforming prior to the statement, as had the whole sector. Recent news flow appears to indicate that the European industrial market is sliding back into trouble. Questor last said buy on August 4th when the shares were at 210.6p. They are now 3% below this. For now, trading on a 2012 earning multiple of 8.1, falling to 7.1 and yielding 5%, Questor says hold.

Against this backdrop, management continues to manage costs tightly, ensuring any bottom line impact is limited. Consequently, we continue to expect healthy profit growth across PCI in 2012. Q4 trends should also be helped by the early impact of new product launches, notably within Informa Healthcare. We are particularly excited by the development of our Chinese medical product, which will offer exclusive access to valuable local medical records data. One positive impact of the tough market environment is that price expectations for assets, even high quality digital subscription businesses, have eased. We are well placed, both strategically and financially, to capitalise on this trend through selective bolt-on acquisitions. While these are likely to continue to be relatively small-scale, the pipeline is healthy, as illustrated by the recent successful acquisitions of Primal Pictures and Zephyr Associates.

Peter Rigby, Chief Executive said: "We continue to actively manage our portfolio to improve the underlying quality of group earnings, with recent bolt-on acquisitions such as Zephyr bolstering our digital subscription base further and MMPI in Canada expanding our portfolio of large-scale B2B exhibitions. Equally, we have a history of disposing of assets or exiting lower quality revenue streams where the structural growth profile is weak and this remains a key focus, with management continually re-assessing the potential future returns from our asset base. The quality of our content and brands puts us in a strong position even in what remains a lacklustre macro environment, whilst our bias to subscription revenues affords Informa great visibility and cashflow strength. In combination with an experienced management team, resolutely focused on cost efficiency, this is enabling us to deliver healthy profit growth despite the tough backdrop and we remain confident of meeting our expectations for the full year."

Interim Management Statement Informa plc ("Informa" or the "Group") is releasing an interim management statement providing an update on the performance and financial position of the Group since the half year ended 30 June 2012 based on the results for the nine months ended 30 September 2012 with comments reflecting trading up until the date of this release. Highlights Full year expectations remain unchanged Quality of group earnings continues to improve through pro-active portfolio optimisation Highly attractive cash dynamics - on track for 100% full year cash conversion Group nine month organic revenue growth of -2% Academic Information trading in line, resilient business model Profit growth on track at PCI, despite ongoing market weakness and product rationalisation Large events growing strongly, smaller conferences and corporate training still muted

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=20121016071600T8638

Tempus writes that Informa, a trade and publication events group, delivered more disappointment yesterday. It reports that the company stuck to its guns for an improvement for the full-year, although to achieve full year progress it will have to have a good fourth quarter. This won’t be easy, given the market for smaller conferences remains weak and its trade magazine and data businesses both underperformed. The key question remains whether the stock has hit the bottom. Tempus concludes: "Although Informa trades at a modest ten times 2012 profits, investors may wish to see how the final quarter goes before making up their minds."

Current Trading Trading at the start of the final quarter of 2012 has been strong, especially in B2C, with average daily revenue over seven per cent higher in the first two weeks of the quarter compared to Q4 2011. The period has also seen an increase in first time depositors, bets and deposits, although Bingo remains challenging. As at 12th October 2012 the Group had US$81 million of cash and cash equivalents, and US$46 million liabilities to customers.

Commenting on today's announcement Brian Mattingley, Chief Executive Officer, said: "Our core business has continued to perform well during the quarter, with our targeted marketing campaigns contributing towards our ongoing success and Spain outperforming our expectations. The final quarter has started positively with average daily revenues more than seven per cent. ahead of the strong Q4 2011. A disciplined approach to our costs, and our analytics driven marketing spend proving highly efficient, means we now expect our EBITDA for the full year to be significantly ahead of current market expectations."

Interim Management Statement Q3 2012 Key Performance Indicators and Trading Update* 888, one of the world's most popular online gaming entertainment and solutions providers, is pleased to provide the following trading update for the third quarter of 2012. Financial Highlights · Group revenue US$92 million (Q3 2011: US$86 million), an increase of 7% year on year · Revenue B2C US$80 million (Q3 2011: US$74 million), an increase of 8% year on year · Revenue B2C Casino US$38 million (Q3 2011: US$37 million), an increase of 2% year on year · Revenue B2C Poker US$22 million (Q3 2011: US$18 million), an increase of 21% year on year · Revenue B2C Emerging Offering US$7 million (Q3 2011: US$5 million), an increase of 27% year on year · Group revenue during the first three quarters of 2012 at US$278 million (2011: US$240 million), an increase of 16% · Number of active customers B2C Casino and Poker at 454,000 (Q3 2011: 442,000), a 3% increase compared to Q3 2011 · As at 30 September 2012, 888 had 12.5 million Casino, Poker and Sport real money registered customer accounts, representing an increase of 24% since 30 September 2011

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201210170700298476O

Nat Rothschild is “completely, 100% wrong” about the controversial “divorce” deal facing Bumi, according to the man trying to steady the troubled London coal group in the wake of the financier’s shock resignation. The former Vodafone executive spoke out after Mr Rothschild outlined his lack of confidence in the board’s ability to “do the right thing”, flagging his opposition to a £750m deal from key Indonesian shareholders, the Bakries, to sever ties with Bumi. Sir Julian said the financier was wrong to argue that agreeing to part of the deal risked creating a backdoor way for the Bakries to get all the FTSE 250 company’s assets on the cheap, The Telegraph says.

Indonesia’s market regulator is investigating the use of funds raised in an initial public offering of one of London-listed Bumi Plc ’s key assets. Bapepam, the financial watchdog, has requested data and information over several months from Bumi Resources Minerals, which in late 2010 raised about $230m through a flotation in Jakarta. BRM is a subsidiary of Bumi Resources , the Indonesian coal miner controlled by the influential Bakrie family in which the London group has a 29 per cent stake. Allegations over the BRM funds also form part of the Bumi Plc board’s probe into what it says are potential financial irregularities at its Indonesian businesses. According to one person familiar with the matter, the board was examining an allegation that $110m in IPO funds was used to back a bank loan to a special purpose vehicle, known as Blue Quartz, The Financial Times reports.

Shore Capital maintained its "buy" rating for Marston's (MARS), noting that the majority of the pub manager's debt is securitised, meaning it does not burden the core business. The broker values the group's assets that are outside of securitisation vehicles at around 100p per share, implying that the market is currently valuing the rest of the firm's business at around 2.5 times projected earnings. Shore expects value to be created as the group deleverages