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Dr Abdul Jaleel Al Khalifa, CEO, commented: "Dragon Oil had a strong first quarter with a very solid production performance. A number of significant projects are being progressed this year to support our continued development of the Cheleken Contract Area, including two wellhead and production platforms and a gathering station. At the same time we are planning ahead for additional platforms to be installed in both the Dzheitune (Lam) and Dzhygalybeg (Zhdanov) fields as well as related connecting pipelines and onshore infrastructure."

Dragon Oil plc (Ticker: DGO), an international oil and gas exploration and production company, issues its Interim Management Statement in accordance with the EU Transparency Directive. The statement covers the period from 1 January 2011 to date. The financial and production data are for the period from 1 January to 31 March 2011. All other information, including details on operations, is up-to-date as at 20 April 2011. Key highlights for 1Q 2011 - Three new wells were put into production in the period from 1 January 2011 to date; - The average daily production rate was approximately 57,800 barrels of oil per day ("bopd") in 1Q 2011; and - Capital expenditure on infrastructure and drilling was approximately US$74 million for 1Q 2011.

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Outlook The Group has made good progress opening up its new site at Netherton in East Ayrshire. With over £8 million invested in its development it will become the cornerstone of future Group production and it is anticipated that output will now progressively increase until the site achieves its full rate of production during the final quarter of the financial year. In addition, the Group has hedged the majority of its gas oil requirements for the second half albeit at prices significantly higher than experienced during the first six months. The Group now expects that sales for the year will be in the region of 1.8 million tonnes. Whilst the impact of higher average selling prices is expected to maintain turnover in line with expectations, with higher gas oil prices and the impact of the exceptional write off of WIP at Glenmuckloch, earnings for the full year are expected to be below current market expectations. The Group remains on track to complete the first of its fixed price legacy contracts in March 2012, after which access to significantly higher priced coal, linked to market prices, should provide a natural hedge for gas oil price movements going forward. Demand for ATH's products remains strong in a market buoyed by positive projected dynamics for coal prices and the Board believes the steep rise in all energy commodities will only serve further to boost margins once the Group is free of its legacy contract positions. The Board remains confident that the medium and long-term prospects for the Group are strong.

Trading update During the first six months of the financial year the Group coped well with the difficult weather conditions, particularly those experienced in the first quarter. However, as highlighted in the AGM statement in January, the two fundamental issues facing the Group were the significant rise in gas oil prices which are now approximately 35 per cent. higher than in October 2010, and difficult geological conditions at Glenmuckloch. Glenmuckloch continued to impact production and this has led to a reassessment of remaining reserves at the site. This is likely to lead to an exceptional write down of deferred (non-cash) stripping costs (work in progress) of approximately £2 million. The main site at Glenmuckloch is now expected to be completely mined out by the autumn of 2011. The Group's net borrowings at the end of March 2011 were in line with expectations. Through a combination of forward hedging, lower operating costs and an increase in average selling prices, excluding the impact of the WIP write off, the Group has been able to mitigate much of the impact of higher gas oil prices and the production problems affecting Glenmuckloch in the first half.

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Aseana tips into the red Date: Wednesday 20 Apr 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - Malaysian and Vietnamese property developer Aseana Properties slipped into the red last year as the group took a loss on the sale of its 1 Mont' Kiara retail mall and office tower and saw a big increase in marketing expenses. While revenue in 2010 rose 55.6% to $179.3m from $115.3m the year before, the company made a loss before tax of $15.43m, versus a profit the year before of $4.35m. Profitability was hit by a $6.7m loss on the disposal of 1 Mont' Kiara and $10.0m of marketing expenses, up from $4.8m the year before. Net asset value (NAV) per share at the end of 2010 stood at $0.91, down from $0.96 at the end of 2009. The debt to equity ratio (total borrowings divided by total equity) expanded to 82.43% from 57.23%, but the net debt to equity (total borrowings less cash and equivalents divided by total equity) was cut to 6.17% from 27.65%, due to sale proceeds from 1 Mont' Kiara. No dividend was paid in 2010. --- jh

The Results The revenue loss has decreased from £901,000 in 2009 to £701,000 in 2010. The net asset value per share has shown a slight improvement of 0.7% from 473.7p in 2009 to 476.9p in 2010. As the revenue loss for 2010 includes a trading profit from the sale of our development site at Curtis Road, Dorking amounting to £591,000, the comparable running loss has effectively increased by £391,000 from £901,000 in 2009 to £1,292,000 in 2010. The principal reason for this increase is the sharp decline in rental income from £2,112,000 in 2009 to £1,435,000 in 2010 as a result of our policy of vacating space at Newton-le-Willows following the granting of residential planning consent and at Vincent Lane, Dorking where we anticipate obtaining residential and retail planning consent. This adverse variance was slightly offset by an increase in our dividend and interest income from £200,000 in 2009 to £446,000 in 2010 as a result of the acquisition of £5.5 million of corporate bonds following the successful sale of our Hallin Marine investment in February 2010 which was low yielding. Net Asset Value per share The net asset value per share increased by 3.2p to 476.9p as a result of the increase in the valuation of the property portfolio by £490,000 and gains on the securities portfolio of £813,000. These increases were offset by the revenue loss and costs of £297,000 in respect of fees payable on the Hallin Marine share disposal and the additional investment in Memorial Holdings Ltd which were required to be written off in the year.

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Arbuthnot retained its "buy" recommendation for Gresham House (GHE), the property and early-stage investment trust, with a 428p target price. The broker notes that the full-year results contained few surprises in terms of financials with revenue loss reduced to 0.7 million pounds, against 0.9 million pounds, and net asset value (NAV) up from 474p to 477p. The announcement that Gresham intends to realise the groups assets over the next two years, with a view to returning capital to shareholders thereafter, should provide a catalyst for a "significant" reduction in the share price discount to NAV, Arbuthnot added. The shares advanced 27.5p to 345p.

Singer Capital Markets issued a "buy" rating for Creston (CRE), the marketing services group, with a 152p target price. The broker notes the group's pre-close statement in which revenue growth of 10% was revealed in the fourth quarter, and said it saw a continuation of strong revenue growth going forward. That said, provided Creston can demonstrate the recent acquisition is working and can sustain a reasonable level of revenue growth, Singer believes the stock should re-rate. The shares were higher 2.5p to 97p.

Shore Capital retained its "buy" recommendation for Trifast (TRI), the manufacturer of industrial fastenings. Commenting on the group's trading update, the broker said it was strong and notes that the recent natural disasters in Japan and the unrest in the Middle East have had little impact on the business. In terms of the outlook, Shore added, management has suggested that the underlying improvement in the trading environment will enable salaries to rise in financial year 2012. Trifast shares added 2.5p to 49.5p.

Following the announcement of the group's debt re-financing package, Panmure Gordon maintained its "sell" rating for Northgate (NTG), the commercial vehicle hire company, with a 250p target price. While the debt re-financing should be taken well, as this removes some uncertainty, the broker continues to believe it will remain difficult to deliver ongoing debt reduction, hire rate growth and an improving return of capital employed on a sustainable basis. Concerns over Spain are likely to persist, Panmure added, while the residual market will remain fragile from here. Northgate shares rose 1.5p to 332p.

ILX resumes divi as international sales swell By Benjamin Chiou Date: Wednesday 20 Apr 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - Shares in ILX rose higher on Wednesday after the company announced the resumption of a dividend payment at 1.5p and an 8% rise in revenues, helped by a strong performance its international division. The e-learning and consultancy group reported that, from continuing operations, turnover in the twelve months ended 31 March is estimated to be £12.9m, up from the £11.9m reported previously, and pre-tax profit is expected to jump by at least 75%, from £0.8m to above £1.4m. The international division has seen sales climb by 70% to £3m, helped by its Australian office which exceeded expectations, achieving sales in its first year of AUS$2.3m. “The continuing business has performed extremely well and we now have a vibrant and growing company with considerable potential for future growth both in the UK, where market conditions remain challenging, and Internationally,” said chief executive Ken Scott.

Farouq Sheikh, Executive Chairman commented: "We are pleased that trading in the first half of our financial year is in line with Directors expectations. The high quality and integrated nature of our range of services places the Group in a favourable competitive position to gain market share in a challenging environment of constrained public spending".

Trading Update CareTech Holdings PLC (AIM: CTH), a leading UK provider of specialist social care services, issues the following trading update. The Group expects to announce its interim results for the six months ended 31 March 2011 in the week commencing 13 June 2011. The trading performance of the Group for the first half of the financial year was in line with Directors expectations and reflects further development of its care pathway range of activities. During the first six months of our financial year we have increased capacity by 121 places to 1,930 with occupancy levels of approximately 92% in established services and around 87% including facilities being developed. Fee rate pressure is being experienced across the specialist social care market and we are in discussions with a small number of funding authorities who have requested fee reductions. Annual reviews usually take place following the commencement of the fiscal year and it is therefore too early to judge their overall outcome. The acquisition of Care UK's children fostering operations and Phoenix Therapy and Care Ltd were announced last December and we are delighted to report that both businesses are performing well. The enhanced geographical coverage of CareTech's fostering services provides a platform for scalable growth, a service which is attractive to placement authorities and it complements our residential children and family assessment activities. Net debt of £122m at 31 March 2011 was significantly better than Directors expectations mainly due to the reappraisal of a number of bolt-on acquisition opportunities. In the current environment the Board has decided to focus resources on the delivery of organic growth from the existing portfolio in priority to the pursuit of acquisition opportunities, which will only be considered on a selective basis where the Directors believe that the sustainable returns to shareholders are compelling. Consequently this has lowered the Directors' expectations of growth for the full year whilst the reduction in expenditure will provide further headroom on our banking facilities and covenants.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201104200700122238F

Creston's full year expected to be 'in line' By Benjamin Chiou Date: Wednesday 20 Apr 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - Marketing and communications group Creston expects to report an 11% increase in revenue (on a continuing basis) for the twelve months ended 31 March, in line with expectations, after a strong end to the year. The second six months of the year reported higher revenues, operating profits and margins compared with the first half, and the final three months saw a like-for-like revenue increase of 10%. The first three months trading of the Conney/Waters and Alembis Health business - acquired in December 2010 – have exceeded expectations “whilst their integration is making good progress under the newly-appointed chief financial officer,” the group said.

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