Member Info for mulledwine

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201104150857089858E

In a move to expand into the Australian market, 1Spatial Holdings* (SPA) is set to acquire Lagen Spatial, the Australian-based distributor of spatial and location software technologies, for 1 million Australian dollars (0.6 million pounds). "Lagen is a company with an excellent reputation in Australia and an important set of commercial relationships with leading international companies that the group is seeking to partner with," commented chief executive Nic Snape. 1Spatial shares were untouched at 37p.

Restaurant operator Richoux Group (RIC) swung to a annual pre-tax profit, due to the contribution made by the new Zippers and Dean's Diner restaurants and the closure of under-performing restaurants, and said a further expansion of the new concepts is envisaged. The owner and operator of 13 restaurants reported a pre-tax profit of 0.5 million pounds for the 12-months ended 26th December 2010, which compares with a loss of 1.5 million pounds a year earlier, on revenue up 16% at 5.8 million pounds. Richoux shares gained a tasty 0.5p to close at 11p.

Philip Shotter, Chairman of Richoux Group plc said: "The core Richoux business remains profitable and continues to trade in line with expectations. The Company has undergone relatively significant expansion during the year, opening seven new restaurants and rebranding an existing site under its Zippers and Dean's Diner concepts. A measured development of both concepts is envisaged to further assess their suitability for wider roll-out."

Key points: § Seven new restaurants opened during the period. § Currently thirteen restaurants trading. § Dean's Diner, a 1950s style American Diner concept launched. § Small operating profit of £0.14 million. § Cash of £3.61 million held at year end.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201104150700079654E

Shares in Salamander Energy (SMDR) crawled down by 12.4p to 300.3p after the Asian-focused oil and gas firm said a gas well in Thailand "failed to flow at a sustained commercial rate" and would be temporarily suspended for potential re-entry at a later date. Commenting on this, chief executive James Menzies said: "While it is disappointing that we did not encounter commercial gas at our first Dao Ruang location, it is clear from drilling that there is a significant gas column in the structure."

Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) has sold three wind farms, with a total capacity of 96.8 megawatts, for 173.6 million pounds as the energy giant attempts to optimise its wind farm portfolio through disposals and acquisitions. The wind farms - Dalswinton and Minsca in Scotland and Slieve Divena in Ireland - were sold to Infinis, a Terra Firma company. Shares in SSE, who last year sold its interest in Ardrossan wind farm to Infinis, slipped by 1p to 1,315p.

GE&CR reiterated its "buy" recommendation for ReThink Group* (RTG), the IT recruitment and consulting business, with a 14.8p target price. Following the release of full-year results, which were in-line with previously upgraded expectations, the research house has left its 2011 forecasts for the group unchanged. However, with projected earnings per share growth of 75%, GE&CR argues that its price-to-earnings valuation of 12.7 times is undemanding. ReThink shares stayed flat at 8.75p

Damn was working today so missed an opportunity here ! well done folks if you got in at the 260's

Micro Focus chief leaves after less than a year Date: Friday 15 Apr 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - Shares of Micro Focus International slumped 14% after it confirmed chief executive Nigel Clifford is leaving the software group after less than a year in the job. Clifford is leaving the company with immediate effect after just 11 months. David Maloney has been appointed deputy chairman and will continue to perform his role as senior independent director. Executive chairman Kevin Loosemore commented, "We are grateful to Nigel for his contribution to the company and we wish him well for the future. My immediate priority is to deliver the year end in line with shareholder expectations." Micro Focus said there is no change to the guidance previously given to the market in relation to trading for the current financial year.

Hikma takes strategic stake in Indian firm Date: Friday 15 Apr 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - Jordan-based Hikma Pharmaceuticals has entered into a strategic partnership with the Indian pharmaceutical company Unimark Remedies. Hikma is paying $33.3m to take a minority stake in privately held Unimark, one of India's leading manufacturers of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and API intermediates. The two companies will collaborate on the development of strategic APIs and abbreviated new drug applications. “Unimark's strong technical and R&D [research & development] capabilities will complement Hikma's in-house R&D efforts and are expected to enable Hikma to bring more products in more therapeutic categories to market globally,” said Said Darwazah, chief executive officer of Hikma. The transaction is subject to certain conditions precedent and is expected to close in mid-May. It will be funded by a combination of cash and existing debt financing.

The transaction is subject to certain conditions precedent and is expected to close in mid-May. It will be funded by a combination of cash and existing debt financing. Yes Bank acted as Hikma's sole financial adviser on the transaction. KPMG India acted as sole financial adviser to Unimark on the transaction

Commenting on the transaction, Said Darwazah, CEO of Hikma said, "Through this strategic partnership, Hikma and Unimark will collaborate on the development of strategic APIs and ANDAs. Unimark's strong technical and R&D capabilities will complement Hikma's in-house R&D efforts and are expected to enable Hikma to bring more products in more therapeutic categories to market globally. Unimark has an excellent reputation for quality and we look forward to working with their experienced management and operational teams." Commenting on the transaction, Mehul Parekh, Managing Director of Unimark said, "This partnership reaffirms Unimark's strong capabilities in both the development and manufacturing of APIs and its growing presence in formulations for both emerging and developed markets. Hikma is amongst the world's leading generic companies with a strong presence in the MENA, US and European markets. We look forward to working with Hikma to nurture a mutually beneficial and long term partnership."

Hikma enters into a strategic partnership with the Indian pharmaceutical company Unimark Remedies Limited London, 15 April 2011 - Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC (LSE: HIK) (NASDAQ Dubai: HIK) ("Hikma"), the fast growing multinational pharmaceutical group, today announces that it has agreed to acquire a minority interest in Unimark Remedies Limited ("Unimark") through the subscription of new equity for a cash consideration of $33.3 million. Unimark, a privately held company, is one of India's leading manufacturers of active pharmaceutical ingredients ("API") and API intermediates. Unimark's broad product range includes betalactams, cephalosporins, carbapenems and covers a number of therapeutic segments including cardiovascular, anti-asthma and anti-infectives. Unimark operates three API facilities, two of which are US FDA approved, and two R&D centres, all of which are in India.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201104150700079635E

Rather a one way chart - its surely got to turn around or its gone!

The Market didnt take too kindly to "broadly in line with market expectations"! Down 11.62%

Record on target for FY Date: Friday 15 Apr 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - Specialist currency manager Record said it expects pre-tax profits for the financial year ended 31 March 2011 to be broadly in line with market expectations. Assets under management as at 31 March 2011 totalled £19.6bn compared to £20.1bn the same time a year earlier. "Sterling showed mixed performance during the period and as a result our Dynamic Hedging product, for UK investors, delivered gains in January and February as Sterling strengthened. In March, as a result of Sterling weakness and range trading behaviour, some of the earlier gains were eroded," explained chief executive James Wood-Collins. In dollars AuM totalled $31.4bn for the year, unchanged from the same time last year. Record will announce its financial results for the year ended 31 March 2011 on 14 June 2011 and its first quarter trading update on 15 July 2011.

4 CHIEF EXECUTIVE'S COMMENT Chief Executive James Wood-Collins, commenting on trading, said "As the US dollar weakened throughout the period from January to March 2011, our Dynamic Hedging product from the US perspective allowed investors to participate in the majority of the currency gains. Sterling showed mixed performance during the period and as a result our Dynamic Hedging product, for UK investors, delivered gains in January and February as Sterling strengthened. In March, as a result of Sterling weakness and range trading behaviour, some of the earlier gains were eroded. Whilst it is clearly disappointing not to have won any new mandates for Dynamic Hedging in the financial year ending 31st March 2011, we have seen requests for proposals (RFPs) for Dynamic Hedging and are hopeful that there could be further client additions in 2011. We have also seen interest in both execution only and Passive Hedging and believe that additional mandates are likely to be secured in the coming months. This business is attractive in its own right, and also offers opportunities to seek to migrate at least some of these new clients to higher value-added services in the future. For the established Currency for Return product, investment performance for the year ending 31st March 2011 has been negative with an overall return of our Alpha Composite of -3.39%. The continuing poor performance and the overall three year negative performance has seen further client redemptions over the last twelve months. We remain committed to the investment philosophy and process underpinning this product, and to supporting it for our clients. Whilst we may see continued client losses from this product, the overall impact on the business will be less pronounced in the coming period due to the relative size of the Currency for Return business compared to Dynamic Hedging. We continue to engage with investment consultants, current and prospective clients with regards to the FTSE FRB10 Index fund and the Emerging Market Currency fund, and are optimistic about both these funds' longer-term prospects." Record will announce its financial results for the year ended 31st March 2011 on 14th June 2011 and its first quarter trading update on 15th July 2011.