Member Info for mulledwine

http://www.halifaxmarketwatch.co.uk/rns.cgi?username=&ac=&action=news&rns=1&view=full&story_id=4249533

I do like the look of this share now - good SP progress of late - results are make or break. Im in since March.

Spotlight on Daisy Group (DAY) Shares of AIM-listed Daisy Group have been going nowhere in the past couple of years - trading between 84p and 110p. They now change hands at 94p as the market waits for this telecoms group to deliver on its growth promises. The company has, through a string of acquisitions, been building itself up as an independent supplier of all aspects of telecoms to small and medium-sized businesses. The half-year bulletin showed revenues surging from £31 million to £120 million as those acquisitions made their impact. Now analysts believe the group is about to break into profit. At the half-year stage there was a pre-tax loss of £9.8 million, but after disposals that translated into a net profit of £1 million. At any rate the consensus forecast from the five analysts who follow Daisy is that profits for the year to March will work out at £34.6 million, compared with a loss of £16.2 million, as revenues race up to £265 million from £134 million last year. For the current year the forecast is for profits of £44.08 million on revenues of £314 million, suggesting earnings per share of 12.27p and a forward multiple on the shares of 7.6. Four of the five brokers suggest Daisy shares are a 'strong buy'. But Andrew Darley of finnCap worries about the problem of maintaining revenues in acquired companies while cutting costs. Shares to buy, hold and sell Fri, 20/05/2011 - 17:00 | Jim Levi

Latchways (LTC), a specialist in safety systems, is back in favour with investors. After two years of declining profits, for the year just ended the group is expected to post record pre-tax returns of £9.2 million. Bullish brokers think the group can make more than £10 million pre-tax this year and £11.4 million next. The shares slumped to a low of 400p at the beginning of 2009, but now change hands at 1035p. With two thirds of its products exported and strong growth in North America, Latchways has found a formula for success. The shares yield 3% and sell on 14.4 times prospective earnings. Shares to buy, hold and sell Fri, 20/05/2011 - 17:00 | Jim Levi

If you had bought shares in West London brewers Fuller Smith and Turner (FSTA) 10 years ago, you would have seen the value of your investment multiply tenfold. The brewer is a steady, rather than spectacular, performer, but there is no doubting the quality of the management or the products. Profits are expected to rise from £26.8 million to £28 million in the year to March and to keep on rising for the next couple of years. The shares are not cheap - selling on a forward earnings multiple of 16 and yielding a smidgeon under 2%. Shares to buy, hold and sell Fri, 20/05/2011 - 17:00 | Jim Levi

A reassuring trading update from Hyder Consulting (HYC) at the beginning of April left brokers Panmure Gordon still enthusing about the prospects for this global design consultancy, which earns 80% of its profits overseas. Panmure is one of four brokers touting Hyder shares as a 'strong buy'. The company is involved in highway construction in Queensland (flooding) and sewage treatment in Bahrain (political unrest). But these projects, which are back on track, make up only a modest share of Hyder's total business mix. The shares are up from 241p to 369.5p in the past year, but were as high as 452p before the market got nervous about its activities in the Middle East. Now, Panmure has set a target price of 445p for the shares. Profits for the year just ended are expected to reach £19.85 million (£13.47 million after tax) and to continue their upward trend over the next two years. The dividend record is progressive. Shares to buy, hold and sell Fri, 20/05/2011 - 17:00 | Jim Levi

Polar Capital Holdings (POLR), an AIM-listed specialist investment management company, has a 'strong buy' signal from three brokers who follow its fortunes. Polar runs 16 different investment funds with assets under management totalling about £3.5 billion. The emphasis has always been on technology, but expansion into other specialist areas is under way with a rapid increase in funds under management. In the two years to March 2010, profits fell from £14.5 million to £3.13 million, reflecting the market turmoil in 2008/09. But profits for the year just ended are expected to rise to £8.6 million. Brokers forecast further rises this year and next. By 2013 they expect the dividend to have doubled to 9p a share, putting the shares at 136p on a prospective yield of 6.6%. Shares to buy, hold and sell Fri, 20/05/2011 - 17:00 | Jim Levi

Transport group Wincanton's (WIN) shares plunged in November in the wake of disappointing half-year figures and the decision to replace chief executive Graeme McFaull with Eric Born. The shares - down from over 200p in November - now sit at 114.75p. Broker forecasts for the next couple of years are quite hopeful. One analyst rates the shares a 'strong buy', while consensus forecasts suggest profits of £35.6 million for the year just ended and further modest progress for the next couple of years. The worry is that directors will decide to trim the dividend so shareholders share the pain of the cost-cutting programme. The yield on the shares - currently 8.48% - may come down to a more realistic 7.2%. Still an attractive return. Shares to buy, hold and sell Fri, 20/05/2011 - 17:00 | Jim Levi

Buy Elektron (EKT) at 43.5p Says James Faulkner of WatsHot.com The current year is said to have begun strongly with the group well positioned to continue its growth curve and committed to growing both organically and through further acquisitions. The company expects to continue investing in its technical, sales and marketing resources in 2011 and has budgeted some 9.3 million pounds of costs for this purpose. The current financial year will also see a full years contribution from Hartest thus ensuring that revenues jump dramatically once again. Clearly this is a business built through acquisitions, and it does seem that further consolidatory activity is on the cards this year, especially given that the integration of Hartest is now almost complete. Any such acquisitions are likely to be focused on giving the company a competitive edge in the high-growth markets of the East, with the company stating that we are now widening our search to include further businesses based overseas. Indeed, with just 42.6% of revenues derived from the UK, this is essentially an international business, yet it is not yet rated as such. Research house Brokerlink now anticipates pre-tax profits (before exceptional items) of 6.7 million pounds on revenues of 68 million pounds during the year to January 31st 2012. Forecast earnings per share of 4.7p implies a current multiple of 9.3, which completely fails to do justice to the growth on offer here. Elektron focuses on high margin, niche markets and its geographical footprint is impressive for a company this size (c. 46 million pounds market cap). The firm should reap the rewards of better operational efficiency following its structural shake-up, whilst further brand acquisitions should quickly augment the bottom line as Elektron integrates them into its extensive sales and marketing network which is itself the recipient of significant investment this year. The shares remain a great value buy, at 43.5p.

While I might argue that Next being anywhere near current levels is ridiculous on a fundamental level, three gaps higher on the daily chart since March make this a rather difficult argument to back up technically. The current position is that while above the May intraday low so far at 2,229p on an end of day close stop loss basis one would be looking for a retest of recent resistance at 2,350p plus by the end of June. So reckons zak mir

It has been a great push higher for Imperial Tobacco over the past 4-6 weeks, rather better to my mind than the fundamentals in terms of smoking habits may suggest. Nevertheless, there is little suggestion at this stage that the uptrend is likely to end anytime soon, just that there will be a test for support over the next couple of weeks. The favoured area is the floor of a rising April price channel / black 200 period moving average at 2,129p. Only sustained price action below this area would upset the bull prospect of these shares. So reckons zak mir

Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) Things are not shaping up very nicely for the bulls at M&B in the sense that there has been a gap down for the stock through the black 200 day moving average now at 323p. Adding to this is the overall falling price channel from January heading as low as 288p. The implication is that while there is no end of day close back above the 200 day line as a minimum we will probably see a sub 290p target over the next 2 - 4 weeks. So reckons zak mir

Due to cost pressures at Mitchells & Butlers, Nomura reduces its “ahead-of-consensus” 2012 earnings estimates, however the ‘buy’ rating and price target of 435p are kept in place. The pub chain reported earnings before inte rest and tax (EBIT) of £141m in the first half, £5m of which was from sites now disposed. As a result, the remaining £136m for the retained estate was flat year-on-year, and with a pre-tax profit of £63m, the figures were in line with the Japanese broker’s forecasts. However, increased assumed energy costs (including carbon tax) and food costs have prompted the broker reduces 2012 EBIT by £9m (3%) from £329m to £320m. 2011 forecasts are unchanged.

Numis has upgraded banknotes and passports printer De La Rue to ‘add’, from ‘hold’, on potential bid activity and anticipation of some earnings recovery. The broker says that if the group can deliver mid-cycl e earnings of £100m/72p per share (Numis estimate) in a “visible time frame” (e.g. year ending March 2014), then – with the right prospects further out – it could justify a 1,000-1,300 share price over the next few years (up from the current share price of around 845p on Friday). Furthermore, recent press comment concerning potential bidder Oberthur suggest that it may potentially have €1bn of extra cash after selling 60% of its smart card business. “This would enable it to credibly return to the bid table from July 25th,” said analyst Francesca Raleigh. A price target of 950p is retained for De La Rue.

Concurrent Technologies (CNC) is looking to the defence sector for opportunities, the developer of computer products for critical applications revealed as it reported continued strong performance since the year-end results. The firm added that with the resolution of modern conflicts becoming ever more reliant on powerful computing technology, its products, capabilities and track record are well suited to providing this technology. Shares in Concurrent, whose applications are used in the defence, aerospace, telecommunications, transportation, scientific and industrial markets, advanced 3p to 45.5p.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201105201333480217H

In a move to further establish its global leadership in marketing analytics and insight, Ebiquity (EBQ) has acquired Echo Research, the global reputation analysis, media measurement and stakeholder research specialist, for a maximum consideration of 10 million pounds. Separately, the group revealed that it will be "comfortably in line with market expectations" for the full-year ended 30th April 2011. Ebiquity shares rose 1.5p to 93.5p.

Operating margins for the full-year are likely to be around 0.7% lower than previously expected at Swallowfield (SWL), the service provider to global brands and leading retailers announced after the escalation in raw material costs was worse than anticipated. Nevertheless, the group added that it has continued to drive revenue growth in spite of the difficult market background and expects further new product launches in the coming months to continue. Shares in Swallowfield fell 4p to 112.5p.

Consistent with its acquisition policy, UK Commercial Property Trust (UKCM) has purchased The Rotunda Leisure Scheme in Kingston upon Thames from Curo Property Funds for 50.7 million pounds, reflecting an initial yield of 6.47%. Commenting on this, the group said: "The Rotunda is UKCPT`s first acquisition in the leisure sector which has proven to be resilient at both an occupational and investment level." The shares edged up 0.2p to 83.1p.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201105200701069707G