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Dods pondering acquisitions Date: Monday 04 Apr 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - The political information publisher, Dods Group, saw a sharp fall in revenue in 2010 after it sold off its Education Division. Unadjusted revenues for 2010 to fell to £17.7m from £25.3m the year before. Stripping out the effects of the disposal, sales came in at £16.1m versus £17.3m in 2009. For the whole group the retained business delivered earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of £2.01m (2009: £2.55m). Directors ascribed the fall in trading performance mainly to the public sector spending cuts, which were implemented both more deeply and quickly than had been expected. This resulted, amongst other things, in a “vastly reduced performance in our public sector training businesses”. The company has indicated that it sees uncertainty regarding the longer-term trajectory of the part of the business that sells to the British civil service, while the short-term outlook for its training business is also cloudy. However, it believes that, “Dods remains a robust, cash-generative business, with high quality, high margin digital and event products”. So much so in fact that, “The board is confident that 2011 will show continued growth in the core business and a strong overall result”. Further down the road the company may undertake acquisitions within its core markets. The company has not proposed a final dividend.

Clarity revenues will fail to meet expectations Date: Monday 04 Apr 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - Software solutions firm Clarity Commerce Solutions saw shares drop by almost a quarter after it revealed that a series of delays will result in full-year revenue being “significantly below” market forecasts. Clarity said that the challenging market conditions and associated lengthening of sales order cycles addressed in the first half have continued to effect it in the second, with key orders being delayed until the new financial year. As these orders were expected to include large elements of upfront licence income, it will have a consequent impact the “profit or loss position” for the year ended 31 March. “The board does not expect any change in market conditions in the short term, but given the quality of the sales pipeline and the opportunities for cost reduction, the Directors remain optimistic about prospects for the new financial year,” said chief executive officer Ken Smith. bc

Apologies last post is on wrong board

Daisy makes yet another acquisition Date: Monday 04 Apr 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - Telecom and hosting services provider Daisy Group has acquired two data and managed service providers from Niu Solutions for £15.4m cash, its second acquisition in less than a week. Daisy will purchase the trading assets of Telinet and certain trading assets of Ipotimi. Both companies supply data solutions, telephone systems, communications and connectivity solutions to mid-market customers. “This deal will further strengthen Daisy's position as a leading provider of unified communications to the mid-market. The acquired businesses are well-established and recognised as key competitors in the data solutions and managed services market,” said chief executive officer Matthew Riley. The consideration will be made up of a £12.4m cash payment on completion and £3m deferred for up to two years. On Thursday, Daisy acquired the Vodafone mobile service business of Outsourcery for £12m.

Daisy makes yet another acquisition Date: Monday 04 Apr 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - Telecom and hosting services provider Daisy Group has acquired two data and managed service providers from Niu Solutions for £15.4m cash, its second acquisition in less than a week. Daisy will purchase the trading assets of Telinet and certain trading assets of Ipotimi. Both companies supply data solutions, telephone systems, communications and connectivity solutions to mid-market customers. “This deal will further strengthen Daisy's position as a leading provider of unified communications to the mid-market. The acquired businesses are well-established and recognised as key competitors in the data solutions and managed services market,” said chief executive officer Matthew Riley. The consideration will be made up of a £12.4m cash payment on completion and £3m deferred for up to two years. On Thursday, Daisy acquired the Vodafone mobile service business of Outsourcery for £12m.

i-design soars after trading update Date: Monday 04 Apr 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - Cash machine solutions group i-design saw shares jump by almost 30% after it said that media revenues in the first half should show a marked increase on both the preceding six months and the first half of 2010. The statement highlights the signing of a major new ATM owner, YourCash, in October which boosted software sales income over the comparable period last year. YourCash added 500 ATMs to i-design’s ATM and self-service estate, taking the total licensed estate to around 17,000, helping the group to enter into a new market in the Netherlands. Analyst Robert Sanders from Arbuthnot said that the update is “most encouraging”, and “with the company viewing its second half prospects positively, we would hope that the risks to numbers are on the upside.” The broker labels the group with a ‘strong buy’ recommendation.

If they are looking at revenue decreased by 10% then one assumes the loss will be wider but by how much - Back in November the CEO said "Looking ahead to the second half, Alterian has a good market position, strong recurring revenue model and sound financial characteristics, and we aim to benefit from the product development, managed services and distribution investments we have made. While there are continuing global economic uncertainties, we are making good progress in the Americas and Asia Pacific. As in the past, the exact timing of sales on major contracts is difficult to predict, particularly when they relate to new products. However, since the period end Alterian has continued to trade in line with management expectations and our pipeline remains relatively strong." Obviously the plan didnt quite pan out but does a 10% drop in revenue warrant an 19% drop today - fall over done?

Alterian (ALN) shares dropped 35.75p to 154p after the marketing and customer engagement technology supplier issued a profit warning and announced the departure of its chief executive David Eldridge. The group said full-year profits will be materially impacted as a result of the deferral of a licensing contract renewal and extension with a major partner. Revenue for the year ended 31st March 2011 is now expected to be approximately 10% below market expectations.

Charts are interesting - consistently rises 10% and falls before another 10% ish - sure that cam be anticpated given SP history. Will give it a go when funds permit.

Matthew Riley, Chief Executive Officer of Daisy Group plc, said: "This deal will further strengthen Daisy's position as a leading provider of unified communications to the mid-market. The acquired businesses are well-established and recognised as key competitors in the data solutions and managed services market. "The acquisition further bolsters Daisy's group-wide capabilities, strengthening our sales team and engineering force, while significantly enhancing both our data and managed services portfolio and customer base. Furthermore, we also see a great opportunity to cross sell Daisy Group's mobile product set into this new base and provide these customers with a full, unified communications offering. In turn customers benefit hugely from being able to reduce their supply chains. "This is further evidence of Daisy Group's ambition to consolidate the fragmented reseller market and I believe we now have a very strong presence in the corporate mid-market space."

Daisy Group plc Acquisition of leading data solutions and managed services businesses § Substantial revenues in data solutions § Strengthens Daisy's presence within the corporate mid-market § Enhances Group data and engineering capabilities § Expected to be earnings enhancing for the financial year ending March 2012 Daisy Group plc (AIM: DAY), a leading provider of unified business communications services, announces its wholly owned subsidiary, Daisy Communications Limited, has entered into a conditional agreement to acquire the trading assets of Telinet Ltd ("the Telinet assets") and certain trading assets of Ipitomi Ltd ("the Ipitomi assets") for a cash consideration of up to £15.4m. Telinet Ltd and Ipitomi Ltd are both wholly owned subsidiaries of Niu Solutions Holding Ltd ('Niu'). Leading data and managed service providers, Telinet Ltd and Ipotimi Ltd supply data solutions, telephone systems, unified communications, connectivity, Microsoft presence and collaboration solutions to mid-market customers. The acquisition further bolsters Daisy's existing presence in the mid-market space and enhances its data and engineering capabilities, with Avaya and Mitel trained engineers joining the Group's UK wide engineering team. In the eight month period ending 31 August 2010, the unaudited management accounts of Niu Solutions Holdings Ltd included revenues and gross profits of £15.8m and £4.6m in relation to the Telinet and Ipitomi assets being acquired. The consideration will be satisfied by the payment of £12.4m cash at completion with £3m deferred for up to two years. The transaction is expected to be earnings enhancing for the financial year ending March 2012.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201104040700121968E

In an attempt to strengthen its position as a provider of unified communications, Daisy Communications, a subsidiary of Daisy Group (DAY), has entered into a conditional agreement to acquire the trading assets of Telinet and certain trading assets of Ipitomi for up to 15.4 million pounds. "The acquisition further bolsters Daisy's group-wide capabilities, strengthening our sales team and engineering force, while significantly enhancing both our data and managed services portfolio and customer base," commented Matthew Riley, chief executive of Daisy Group. The shares rose 0.25p to 94.375p.

Commenting, Ken Smith, Clarity's CEO, said: "Despite enhancements to our operational capability and a growing pipeline, the poor market conditions and lengthening sales cycles have led to us falling short of our revenue target for the year to 31 March 2011. The Board does not expect any change in market conditions in the short term, but given the quality of the sales pipeline and the opportunities for cost reduction, the Directors remain optimistic about prospects for the new financial year. It is important to recognise that none of our key contract opportunities has been lost, rather decisions have been deferred into the next financial year."

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201104040700121956E

The challenging market conditions and the associated lengthening of sales order cycles seen in the first half of the financial year have continued to impact Clarity Commerce Solutions (CCS) in the second half of the year, the supplier of software solutions for the hospitality, retail, leisure and entertainment sectors announced. In light of this, the group said revenue for the full-year will be "significantly below market forecasts" which, it added, will have an "impact on the group's profit or loss position". Clarity shares fell 4.5p to 22p.

i-Design Group (IDG) has enjoyed a strong first half, the ATM advertising group announced in a trading update, and views second half prospects very positively. The company, whose banking customers include Nationwide and HSBC, said media revenues are expected to show a marked increase on both the comparable period last year and on the second half of the last financial year. It added that discussions with potential new banking customers remained "very encouraging". Shares in i-Design advanced 5.5p to 24.5p

In a move to to boost its business in the US corporate research market, online market research agency YouGov (YOU) has agreed to acquire Definitive Insights, a strategic market research consultancy based in Portland, Oregon, for a total expected amount of around 3 million pounds. Separately, the group announced a 64% jump in pre-tax profit for the half-year ended 31st January 2011 to 2.3 million pounds on revenue 26.8% greater at 27 million pounds. YouGov shares gained 0.5p to 51.25p.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201104040700121972E

Commenting on the Offer, Preben Prebensen, Chief Executive of Close Brothers, said: "This acquisition represents a further step in the execution of our strategy to build a high quality private client offering and to become a leader in UK wealth and asset management. It will significantly extend our asset base and client reach and our capabilities in servicing advice-seeking clients. We look forward to welcoming the Cavanagh team into the group." Commenting on the Offer, Paul Sinnett, Chairman of Cavanagh said: "The price offered by Close reflects the value created over the past 15 years through the dedication of the staff and management team. The acquisition of Cavanagh by Close represents the logical next step in the continued development of the Cavanagh business and will benefit both our clients and employees. The management team look forward to working with their Close Asset Management colleagues in continuing to grow the business in the future."