Member Info for mulledwine

The question is will it hold at this level where it traded during Nov and Jan - if it does not hold then 270 is on the cards. I may buy some monday and save a little incase she drops --- oh the dilemmmas we face !

aertimus - from my last post the drop was due to revenue not being as high as market anticipated. I feel this was rather harsh considering other figure. The 'group' are very enthusiastic about future growth so personally I think this drop was over done...I may dip a toe here. Good luck

Despite pre-tax profits and Assets Under Managing (AUM) both rising, shares in Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) fell 20.25p to 298p after increased revenues for the year ended 31st December 2010 came-in below forecasts. For the 12-months, the group posted a pre-tax profit of 42.4 million pounds, up from 7.2 million pounds a year earlier, as revenue rose 27% to 230.5 million pounds. AUM climbed from 19.5 billion pounds to 24.1 billion pounds. Looking ahead, the group said it sees "considerable" opportunities for growth.

Berkeley Group (BKG) anticipates reporting earnings at the high end of its expectations for the year ended 30th April 2011, the housebuilder announced as winter sales reservations jumped and visitor numbers held steady. The company, which specialises in luxury flats, added that the investment in work in progress will enable a further growth in earnings in 2011/12 if overall market conditions permit. Shares in Berkeley gained 36p to 1,040p.

Singer Capital Markets moved its rating for ProStrakan (PSK), the pharmaceutical group, from "buy" to "fair value" with a reduced target price of 130p, down from 135p. Despite 2010 being a year in which the company suffered from supply issues, was forced to issue an effective profits warning, and implemented a change of senior management, the broker notes that it nevertheless managed to continue its track record of strong growth. That said, given that a 130p purchase price now looks likely to be made for the group, Singer believes the stock is currently trading at fair value. ProStrakan shares were flat at 131p.

It will be interesting to see how this develops

When you read the chairmans statement its no wonder our premiums keep heading North - I suppose the Insurance Companies always know they can recoup any previous years losses by hiking up what they demand from us and as we all need insurance we have to pay it. Chief Executive Officer's Review 2010 Results The Group is reporting a loss before tax for the year of US$42.9 million (2009: US$47.1 million profit). Clearly this is a disappointing result and one that must not be repeated. The performance was driven by the level of catastrophe and large single-risk loss events including the earthquakes in Chile and New Zealand, the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, Australian floods and Aban Pearl submersible amongst others. This was exacerbated by rating reductions putting pressure on margins in other lines of business as the market softens, reflected in the increase in attritional loss ratios and some strengthening of reserves at the half year. The post tax loss for the year was US$42.8 million (2009: US$43.6 million profit) and earnings per share was (17.6) US cents (2009: 18.6 US cents). Gross premiums written by the Group rose by 34.0% to US$356.1 million in 2010 (2009: US$265.8 million) reflecting our increased ownership of capacity on Syndicate 958, which has grown to 40.5% for the 2011 year of account (2010: 38.8% and 2009: 16.4%). Net earned premium grew by 26.5% to US$247.4 million (2009: US$195.5 million). While this step up has negatively affected the 2010 results due to the 2010 Year of Account losses to date, we still expect to see the benefit of the increase in future years. Our underwriting performance in the year has been dominated by multiple catastrophes including the Chile and New Zealand Earthquakes, Australian hailstorms and the flooding in Queensland in December. This was on top of several large single-loss events, including the Deepwater Horizon incident in April 2010 and the sinking of the Aban Pearl submersible in May 2010. Together, these losses have cost the Group US$65.0 million net of reinsurance and reinstatement premiums and including foregone managing agency profit commission. The loss ratio rose to 84.4% in 2010 (2009: 49.3%) with natural catastrophes and major losses accounting for 22.2 percentage points. The attritional loss ratio also rose by 12.9 percentage points in comparison with 2009 to 62.2% (2009: 49.3%) demonstrating the deterioration in current pricing due to excess capacity coupled with an elevated incidence of smaller attritional losses in the US. Strengthening of prior year reserves equates to 2.4 percentage points.

I took cold feet with this when it was in the 70's - that was a wrong move! So if there is more than one interested party then the situation may hot up here - however losses this year are obviously on the cards too - if they are too great then takeover interest may dwindle.

For those interested this was the original news re take over interest. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 10 January 2011 Not for release, publication or distribution in whole or in part in, into or from any jurisdiction where to do so would constitute a violation of the relevant laws or regulations of such jurisdiction. Omega Insurance Holdings Limited ("Omega" or the "Company") Statement Re Press Comment The Directors of Omega have noted the recent press comment in relation to a possible offer for the Company from Canopius Group Limited ("Canopius"). The Company confirms that it has received an unsolicited approach from Canopius proposing an offer comprising a mixture of cash and unquoted share consideration. There is no certainty that an offer will be forthcoming, nor as to the terms of any such offer. Whilst any approach which may be in shareholders' interests will be duly considered, the Board continues to build the business. The Board has consulted with Invesco Perpetual, the Company's largest shareholder, who is supportive of that position.

More bidders for Omega Date: Friday 18 Mar 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - Shares in Omega Insurance Holdings were pushed higher by news that there are more potential bidders for insurer and reinsurer. In January, Omega said that rival Canopius Group is proposing a cash plus shares offer for the company, which moved into loss in 2010. The Japanese earthquake and other recent disasters will make 2011 tough. There was no final dividend for 2010 which meant that the total dividend fell from 12.5 cents a share to 6 cents a share. Discussions with the other potential bidders are still at an early stage.

SPL to make money quicker than expected By Benjamin Chiou Date: Friday 18 Mar 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - Port owner and operator SKIL Ports & Logistics (SPL), which joined AIM in October, is anticipating making its first revenues during the current financial year, 12 months earlier than predicted. The group expects to generate revenues of £1.5m during 2011, after it signed two contracts to provide third party logistics services. “This means that revenue generation in SPL will start approximately one year ahead of schedule,” the group says. SPL’s maiden project of developing a port and logistics facility at Karanja Creek in Maharashtra, India, is said to be progressing well and in line with management expectations.

Northgate continues recovery Date: Friday 18 Mar 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - Light commercial vehicle hirer Northgate says that it is trading slightly ahead of its plans. The trading statement covers the period from 1 November 2010 to 18 March 2011. Net debt is continuing to fall and the company is reviewing its financing facilities, which last until September 2012. In the UK, hire revenue per vehicle has continued to improve with an increase of around 3% since April last year. Utilisation rates have been maintained at 91% even though the size of the fleet has increased by 1,000 to 61,700 vehicles. Residual values are holding up and the restructuring of the business is progressing. The new IT system roll-out should be completed in May. In Spain, a reduction in the size of the fleet has helped utilisation levels to rise from 86% last year to 91%. Hire revenue per vehicle is unchanged. The bad debt charge of €3.3m for the 10 months to February 2011 was much less than the €8.6m in the same period last year. The Spanish business now trades under the Northgate brand.

Unilever acquisition worries OFT By Benjamin Chiou Date: Friday 18 Mar 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has raised concerns relating to Unilever’s acquisition of TRESemmé owner Alberto Culver, as it could cause competition problems in the bar soaps markets. The regulator said that the acquisition would result in a “loss of strong competitive constraint” on the Unilever’s Dove brand in the soap industry. Unilever, the household goods company, announced the £2.3bn purchase in September, adding several other brands to its portfolio including Nexxus, VO5 and Simple. “A number of third parties contacted by the OFT during its investigation commented on the closeness of competition between Unilever's Dove brand and Alberto Culver's Simple brand and this was confirmed by the OFT's investigation,” the statement said. “After a thorough investigation, we concluded that it did raise competition concerns in this market and we are now considering remedies offered by the parties to resolve these,” said Ali Nikpay, the OFT senior director and decision maker in this case. Unilever has offered to divest the bar soaps business of Alberto Culver, which includes the Cidal, Wright’s and Simple ranges.

Bench still in fashion, says HgCapital By Rory Gallivan Date: Friday 18 Mar 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - Americana, the Mancunian clothing group behind the Bench fashion label, continued to grow sales and earnings in the six months to 31 December, according to its private equity backer. Germany in particular was a good market for Americana, said HgCapital Trust, which owns 45% of the business. HgCapital also reported an improvement in the overall private equity market. It said activity returned to pre-economic crisis levels last year as it posted a 22.8% return on investments, beating the FTSE All-Share Index by 8.3%. “2010 was an active year for HgCapital Trust and one in which we made strong progress towards our strategic goals,” it said “Following a quiet year for realisations in 2009, the total value of realisations to the Trust was over £82m, marking a return to the levels achieved on average over the period 2006-8.” Prospects look favourable for the coming year, he said. HgCapital’s other investments include the Cornish pasty retailer Cornish Bakehouse and the German toy manufacturer Schleich.

Emis to take Canadian hit Date: Friday 18 Mar 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - GP software specialist Emis lifted full year 2010 profits by 11% to £16.1m on revenues of £62.4m, up from £57.7m. Strong revenue visibility, subject to the anticipated extension of the GPSoC agreement, continues into 2011 with recurring revenues expected to rise. At Emis Inc, a managed exit is now underway. "We expect that the 2011 Canadian loss, including the costs of the managed exit, will amount to £1.1m, of which £0.9m will be a cash cost. There will also be an impairment charge of £1.4m," the firm said. Elsewhere, the controlled roll-out of EMIS Web is progressing as planned and the additional resources are being put in place in anticipation of a managed acceleration in the roll-out rate in the second half of the year, it added. The dividend for the year is 11.2p.

Chaucer sees £19m hit from New Zealand quake Date: Friday 18 Mar 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - Speciality insurance group Chaucer's initial estimate is that last month’s earthquake in New Zealand cost it £19m. The company also said today that has reduced its estimate for losses from the earthquake in New Zealand and the flood in Australia last year to £17m from £24m. Chaucer added that it is assessing its exposure to the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan. “However, it is currently too early to provide a loss estimate and the company will provide a further update in due course," it said

Western & Oriental to end journey on AIM Date: Friday 18 Mar 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - Shares in Western & Oriental have slumped on plans to sell part of the business and then cancel its AIM quotation. Western & Oriental is selling its travel business in order to concentrate on its events division. Discussions for the sale of the travel business continue with Furze International, a company connected to recently appointed Western & Oriental director Raj Kumar. Furze will pay the equivalent of £1.5m, which will be in the form of a deemed repayment of a £800,000 loan by Kumar and the assumption of £700,000 of trade liabilities relating to the business. The purchase will be of the brands and the forward order book with net customer money of £4.6m. The buyer will also take over the leases of properties and rent space in the Western & Oriental head office in Victoria. That should save Western & Oriental £200,000 in annual lease obligations. The travel business lost £6.1m on revenues of £32.9m in the year to September 2010, although it was profitable in the previous year. The deal needs shareholder approval. The loan to Kumar will have to be repaid if the disposal does not happen. Western & Oriental believes that it can return to profitability once the travel division is sold. The events division is profitable but there are group overheads it needs to cover. Western & Oriental says that leaving AIM will save it more than £200,000 a year. Management believes that there is little tangible benefit from being quoted. The strategy of the company will be to grow organically rather than by acquisition. The disposal requires more than 50% of the votes to be in its favour while the AIM cancellation requires at least 75% support.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201103180700101809D

DTZ 'cautious' in uncertain environment By Benjamin Chiou Date: Friday 18 Mar 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - Global real estate firm DTZ Holdings continues to perform "broadly in line" with expectations despite a number of regions feeling the pinch of government measures, as previously announced in its half year results. In the Asia Pacific region, revenues have slowed as a result of actions by Chinese and Singaporean authorities to cool inflation. Meanwhile its development consulting business in the UK is being restructured as it continues to be affected by government spending cuts, due to its large exposure to the public sector. The Americas division continues to trade "in line", but the Continental Europe, Middle East and Africa business is still experiencing lower levels of activity than last year. "The Board remains mindful that we are currently experiencing exceptional political, economic and environmental events around the world, the economic and financial impacts of which are as yet unknown - and in light of this we remain cautious," the statement said.

Sorry wrong board