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Broker Peel Hunt is sticking with its “buy” recommendation despite the disappointing share price reaction to the trading update. The broker sees “scope for earnings per share growth to accelerate with recovery in Escrow growth rates, US growth and margin improvements.”

UK lags overseas growth at NCC Date: Tuesday 19 Apr 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - Computer security services firm NCC is on course to deliver the anticipated levels of growth and profitability with just over a month of the financial year left. In the first 10 months of the financial year, group revenues were 53% ahead of the same period last year at £57.6m (March 2010: £37.7m.) The group escrow business, which keeps computer code in a safe place in case the supplier goes out of business, saw 8% revenue growth in the period. Group escrow renewals are now forecast to be £15.5m for the year to 31 May 2011, up from £14.6m the year before. Growth was a bit slower in the group’s core market, the UK, however, with revenues 6% higher at the end of March than a year earlier, having shown 9% growth at the same stage in 2010. The European and North American escrow businesses saw growth of 10% and 14% respectively. Group escrow termination rates remain below 12% for contracts. The assurance division, which deals with cyber threats, saw revenues virtually double, partly as a result of the acquisition of the US-based security testing business, iSEC Partners. Organic growth stood at 15%. The overall order book in the Assurance Division currently stands at £19.1m, up from £7.2m in March 2010. Atul Patel, who has been acting as interim finance director, has been given the group finance director gig permanently.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201104190700141404F

Character confident despite expected second half slowdown Date: Tuesday 19 Apr 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - Toys and giftware distributor Character Group announced a strong rise revenue for the half year ended to 28th February but is bracing itself for a slowdown in sales in the second half. Profit before tax rose 78% to £6.64m from £3.73m the year before on sales that rose 34.7% to £6.64m from £43.1m a year earlier. Earnings per share rose even more, by 98%, to 20.28 pence. The company, best known for licensing characters such as Doctor Who and Peppa Pig, sought to temper market expectations regarding its outlook by reminding investors of “the current difficulties” at the retail level, the apparent reason for the anticipated “slowdown in sales in the second half”. The company expects, however, to further increase its market share and sees no reason to alter current market expectations regarding its full year performance. Current market consensus is for full year pre-tax profit of £9m on sales of £95.5m. Sales in the reporting period were affected by the pre-Christmas adverse weather conditions. During the half year the company bought back 2.89m ordinary shares, at a cost of £4.95m, with carte blanche to buy back up to a 5.6m more. "Our strategy remains to seek out and develop exciting products which meet domestic and international market demand. These will come from either from our own portfolio which has been developed in-house or those produced in partnership under licence or through distribution agreements,” said executive chairman, Richard King. Character Group has announced a 50% increase in its interim dividend, to 3.00 pence.

Coastal reduces offshore reserves Date: Tuesday 19 Apr 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - Thailand focused oil and gas company Coastal Energy ebbed despite moving into the black in 2010, as fourth quarter production was hit by bad weather. Revenues rose to $159.1m in 2010 from $78.5m in 2009. Profit before tax was $11.0m, compared with a loss of $8.0m the year before but after the taxman had taken his cut the company was stuck with a loss of $4.9m, which was, at least, less than the net loss of $8.7m it swallowed in 2009. In the fourth quarter total production averaged 7,578 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd). Offshore production was affected by 23 days of downtime, of which 15 were related to weather and 8 were for processing facilities upgrades. Total company production averaged 9,670 boepd for the full year of 2010, 31% above 2009 levels. Coastal announced a reduction in offshore proven plus probable (2P) reserves to 27.m barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe) at the end of 2010 from 32.9 mmboe at the end of 2009. The decline was attributed to a write down at the Bua Ban field following development drilling in the third quarter of 2010. "2011 is off to a terrific start,” enthused Randy Bartley, president and chief executive officer of Coastal Energy. “We have drilled successful exploration wells at Bua Ban North A and have already discovered over 50 million barrels of oil in place (per company estimates) in the first three and a half months of the year. Coastal has also successfully fractured two wells at Bua Ban, which we continue to evaluate. We are evaluating a development plan for horizontal wells and multi-stage fracs in both the Eocene and Lower Oligocene reservoirs at Bua Ban to increase production rates and ultimate recoveries,” Bartley added.

Nick Jefferies, Group Chief Executive commented: "We continue to see good trading conditions in the Electronics Division across Europe. With its strong order book, Electronics like for like sales1 increased by 21% in the last quarter. Overall, Group sales increased by 17%, with the non-Electronics businesses showing improved performance despite continued softness in our UK Medical business. The Board remains confident that our strategy for growth both organically and by further targeted acquisitions will continue to build long term value for shareholders."

Continuing strong growth with Group like for like sales1 up 17% Acal plc (LSE : ACL, "The Group"), the European specialist provider of technology products and services, is today issuing a trading update for its year ended 31 March 2011, ahead of the announcement of its preliminary results on 1 June 2011. The Board is pleased to report that, since its second interim management statement on 3 February 2011, trading has continued to remain strong. In the fourth quarter ended 31 March 2011, Group like for like sales1 increased by 17% year on year. Group sales continue to be driven by a strong Electronics order book. The Electronics division (which accounts for approximately 78% of Group sales) reported a fourth quarter increase in like for like sales1 of 21% despite more challenging comparators. Sales of products manufactured in Japan (all of which are in the Electronics division and represent approximately 4% of Group revenues), were not significantly impacted by the earthquake in mid March and Acal has continued to meet its customers' needs. The acquisition of Compotron GmbH ("Compotron"), a specialist provider of electronic communication components, was completed with effect from 1 January 2011. Since the acquisition, Compotron has performed well and ahead of our expectations. In the non-Electronics businesses (approximately 22% of Group sales), total like for like sales1 in the fourth quarter were up 7%. As a result, we expect full year results for this year to be ahead of our previous expectations.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201104190700111357F

Record inflows at Hargreaves Lansdown Date: Tuesday 19 Apr 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - Record inflows helped wealth manager Hargreaves Lansdown outperform a flat UK stock market in the three months to 31 March. Assets under administration grew by £1.3bn during the three month period to £23.6bn and were up by 34% from the same period a year ago. “This should be considered in the context of the FTSE All-Share index standing just 5% higher than a year ago,” Hargreaves said. The company sounded a cautious note on future trading though. “The full effect of public sector cuts, tax rises and a focus on debt reduction may affect the UK population's investing behaviour,” it said. “Uncertainty persists around world events, particularly in key oil producing countries. With this economic outlook, investors may be more reluctant to invest excess cash.”

Commenting on the Interim Management Statement, Ian Gorham, Chief Executive, said: "The third quarter of our accounting year is historically the busiest. Activity and conditions in the run up to the tax year-end can be a key driver of annual results. This year, earthquakes in the Pacific region, uncertainty around North Africa and the Middle East, looming spending cuts and flat stock markets should have formed a less than ideal backdrop for equity investment. Conversely, last year saw excellent conditions, with the FTSE All-Share rising 5.4% in the 3 months to 31 March 2010 alone and further incentives to invest provided by fund launches, publicity around increased ISA allowances and the prospect of long term low interest rates. Despite this comparative headwind, I am pleased to report that at 31 March 2011 total Assets under Administration stand at new record levels of £23.6 billion, up £6.0 billion (34%) since 31 March 2010. This should be considered in the context of the FTSE All-Share index standing just 5% higher than a year ago. We have gathered a record £1.16 billion of net new assets in the quarter to 31 March 2011, a record for any quarter in the history of Hargreaves Lansdown and 15% better than the £1.01 billion gathered in the same period last year - the previous record. Client growth continues, with 366,000 active clients using our Vantage service at 31 March 2011, a rise of 20,000 in the quarter, up 11% on the 18,000 new clients we welcomed in the 3 months to 31 March 2010. We have had an excellent quarter, especially given the comparatively unfavourable conditions. The new tax year sees improvements and simplification in pension allowances that offer opportunity and we believe there may be value for investors in stock markets. Against that the full effect of public sector cuts, tax rises and a focus on debt reduction may affect the UK population's investing behaviour. Uncertainty persists around world events, particularly in key oil producing countries. With this economic outlook, investors may be more reluctant to invest excess cash. Where investment is made, we must give investors every possible reason to invest through Hargreaves Lansdown. Our market-leading position, excellent pricing, service and information will be enhanced by a raft of new initiatives in the next 6 months. These include Android and Apple mobile phone services, improved stockbroking functionality and tariff, and online overseas share dealing. We also expect to offer the new Junior ISA from November. The effect of these initiatives should be positive in the medium term. Our long term prospect, the Corporate Vantage service, also progresses well with further new clients added during the quarter. I am pleased to report all these initiatives are on track, on budget and on time. Finally, the quarter has been notable for the inclusion for the first time of Hargreaves Lansdown Plc in the

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201104190700101273F

Jupiter’s quarterly figures were welcomed by the market yesterday, and rightly so. The fund manager attracted net inflows of GBP333m, with increased interest from international investors and strong demand for its fund-of-fund range. The first quarter’s net inflows are an encouraging sign in the current volatile investment world. They may look a little disappointing compared with earlier quarters, but the lower figure is simply a reflection of the more challenging times faced by the industry. Buy, says the Independent.

Burberry, the luxury goods group, is expected to maintain its strong momentum by posting a sharp uplift in second-half sales today. Burberry’s shares – which are up by more than 60% in the past year – have also been buoyed by persistent bid speculation. Given the valuation of 21 times forward earnings for 2012, we think such a takeover scenario is unlikely. This reinforces the Independent’s view that Burberry’s shares are well worth buying, but only when they have cooled down a bit. Hold, the newspaper recommends.

The relevant RNS http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201104190800011371F

19th April 2011 Analyst: Philip Morrish Email: philip.morrish@gecr.co.uk Tel: 0207 562 3362 Plastics Capital: Positive Trading Update Confirms Forecasts; Target Price – 116p; Reiterate Buy

Poland lifts IPF Q1 profit Date: Tuesday 19 Apr 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - Emerging markets lender International Personal Finance posted a four fold increase in pre-tax during the first quarter after a bumper performance in Poland and as it reduced impairment charges. IPF enjoyed a strong start to 2011 and said it is well placed to deliver stronger growth across the rest of the year. The group, which has operations in Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Mexico, said, "The growth momentum achieved in the final quarter of 2010 has been maintained in the first quarter of 2011. This growth, coupled with much lower impairment, has delivered a substantial improvement in quarter one profit." For the quarter ended 31 March pre-tax profit rose to £8.3m from £2m the same period a year earlier. Its Polish business produced a £5.4m profit compared to £3.4m loss the year before. Impairment charges fell to £61.6m from £66.1m previously.

Chief Executive Officer, John Harnett commented: "The growth momentum achieved in the final quarter of 2010 has been maintained in the first quarter of 2011. This growth, coupled with much lower impairment, has delivered a substantial improvement in Quarter 1 profit. The Group has made a good start to 2011 and is well placed to deliver stronger growth across the rest of the year."

Quarter 1 highlights · Continued strong growth, effective credit and collections management and tight cost control delivered a £6.3 million increase in pre-tax profit to £8.3 million (Q1 2010: £2.0 million), after absorbing approximately £5.8 million from the combined impact of increased funding costs and early settlement rebates: o Strong year-on-year growth in customers (6%), receivables (8%), revenue (6%) and credit issued (9%); o Annualised impairment reduced to 26.6% of revenue (Dec 2010: 27.6%); and o Year-on-year cost increases limited to 2%. · Credit controls eased selectively in April to support further growth; plans in place to recruit additional agents, increase marketing spend and expand branch networks in Mexico and Romania.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201104190700101286F

UBM growth driven by events Date: Tuesday 19 Apr 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - Events and publishing group United Business Media (UBM) is on track to hit its full year targets after a first quarter that saw underlying year on year revenue growth of 7.5%. Overall, revenue was up 13.7% to £237.7m from £209.1m in the first quarter of 2010. Events revenue jumped 33.9%, or 15.9% on an underlying basis, to £84.1m from £62.8m the year before. The Targeting, Distribution & Monitoring unit, which includes PR Newswire, saw underlying revenue growth of 8.3%, while in Data Services underlying revenue growth was 14.2%. The Print division let the side down, with a 10% fall (-13.1% on an underlying basis) in revenue to £31.4m from £34.9m a year earlier. Adjusted operating profit jumped 18.6% to £44.6m from £37.6m a year earlier, while the operating profit margin increased to 18.8% from 18.0% in the first quarter of last year, driven by fat margins in the events business. The Events business saw the operating profit margin climb to 32.9% from 26.3% the year before. The margin in the Print division almost disappeared, however, sliding to 0.6% from 2.9% a year earlier, after the company disposed of some titles that enjoyed healthy margins. “We continue to expect the margins in print to improve over time, however following the disposals (which had enjoyed 8.1% margins), 2011 margins are expected to be broadly similar to 2010,” the company said. UBM's consolidated net debt stood at £459.0m as at 31 March 2011. “As we said at the full year we expect the improved quality and shape of the business to result in sustained underlying revenue growth during 2011 broadly in line with the 5.6% growth enjoyed in 2010. Overall we anticipate continued growth in profit largely driven by a full year of contribution from our acquisitions and continued momentum in our Events business tempered by targeted investment in Data Services, TD&M and Online," said David Levin, chief executive officer of UBM.