| The Markets There were further woes in the Eurozone, as Eurostat reported jobless numbers rose by 88,000 to 18 million in July, an unemployment rate of 11.3%. The largest increases were in Greece and Spain, which now have unemployment levels of 23.1% and 25.1% respectively, while a number of Eastern European countries, such as Estonia and Latvia saw rates fall significantly. Meanwhile, the European commission announced plans to create a new mechanism that would give the European Central Bank sweeping powers over all banks within the common currency market. The proposed scheme would replace the current system where banks are regulated by national bodies. Over in the US, the head of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, announced that the central bank is prepared to pump more money into the economy through quantitative easing in an attempt to drive growth. At the London close the Dow Jones was up by 129.63 points at 13,130.34 and the Nasdaq was down by 23.61 points at 2,777.35. In London the FTSE 100 fell by 11.38 points to 5,708.07; the FTSE 250 finished 92.59 points ahead at 11,418.50; the FTSE All-Share lost 1.93 points to 2,971.18; and the FTSE AIM Index climbed by 8.13 points to 680.85. 
Broker Notes Panmure Gordon reiterated its "buy" rating for Dixons Retail (DXNS) with a 28p target price. The group expects the high street electronics retailer's fourth quarter momentum to have continued into the new financial year and forecasts first quarter like-for-like sales growth of 4% in its first quarter. Panmure believes strong growth in Northern Europe should compensate for declining demand in Southern European countries such as Spain and Italy, as well as the group's struggling PIXmania business. On the broker's forecasts, the shares trade on a prospective earnings multiple of 12.5 times for 2013, falling to 7 times in 2014. The shares inched up by 0.16p to 17.56p.  Singer Capital initiated coverage of Genus (GNS) with a "buy" recommendation and 1,678p target price. The broker sees considerable growth potential for the animal genetics company in developed markets, as well as emerging markets such as South America, Russia and China. Singer added that the Indian market is a key medium-term opportunity for the group's dairy division, as it is the world's largest milk consumer. The broker noted that the firm is continuing to reduce debt and expects it to have a net cash position by 2019. The shares advanced by 37p to 1,371p. WH Ireland retained its "buy" stance on Bunzl (BNZL), impressed by the haulage company's growth in the US, Brazil and Australia. The broker said that the group has an unbroken record of free cash flow generation, with growth assisted by strategic bolt-on acquisitions. WH Ireland noted that the firm has completed six acquisitions during the first half of its financial year ending 31st December, including in the US, Israel and Switzerland, and expects more to follow before year end. Bunzl shares crept up by 8p to 1,124p. Blue-Chips In order to expand its UK corporate travel business, Capita (CPI) announced that it has bought hotel and conference booking agent Expotel for 16 million pounds. The outsourcing company noted that the target has a number of major clients, such as Virgin Media, National Grid (NG.) and BP (BP.). For its financial year ended 31st October 2011, Exportel reported an operating profit of 3.2 million pounds, on revenues of 16.3 million pounds. Capita shares inched up by 0.5p to 722p. 
Mid-Caps Shares in Heritage Oil (HOIL) gained 1.5p to 194p after it received overwhelming support from shareholders - 99.92% - to acquire a 45% interest in the OML 30 block in Nigeria. The deal will be part funded by cash raised through the disposal of a 26% stake in the Kurdistan based Miran gas field for 156 million dollars (98.8 million pounds). The purchase will cost 850 million dollars (538.6 million pounds) and is expected to increase the firm's production rate from 605 barrels of oil per day to 11,350 bopd. 
Online gambling company Bwin.party Digital Entertainment's (BPTY) poker business continues to struggle, with pro forma revenues falling by 8.1% to 96.4 million euros (76.6 million pounds for the six months ended 30th June. The firm added that net gaming revenue in July and August had fallen by 8% compared to the second quarter, due to a delayed start to the German Bundesliga, because of the Olympic games, as well as a strong comparable that included contributions from the Euro 2012 Championships. The shares tumbled by 4.9p to 94.1p. Computacenter (CCC) reported revenue growth of 4.2% to 1.42 billion pounds for the six months ended 30th June, boosted by acquisitions, but pre-tax profits fell 20.6% to 20.8 million pounds. The IT services provider spent 7 million pounds in order to hire additional staff in order to support growth, particularly in Germany and France. The firm noted a good performance from its UK division, with adjusted operating profits rising 5.2% to 17.6 million pounds. Computacenter shares rose by 12.3p to 382.2p. Small Caps, AIM and PLUS It has all gone south for All Points North (APNO), the shares being suspended from trading on 16th March 2012, as the property developer announced that the banks have withdrawn their support. The group had been struggling to repay its debts, having previously extended its banking facilities to 30th September as it looked to generate cash through disposals. The company has now appointed administrators and will cease to be quoted from 17th September 2012. Densitron Technologies (DSN) reported a 6.5% fall in first half revenues to 10.55 million pounds, with pre-tax profits crumbling to 40,000 pounds, from 500,000 pounds in 2011's comparable period. The LCD display manufacturer was primarily affected by weak trading in Europe, while its US and Asian operations were broadly flat. The group also noted that it was continuing to fight against claims that it has not paid its rent. The shares crashed by 0.625p to 9p. Heathcare support software developer EMIS Group (EMIS) achieved pre-tax profits of 12.1 million pounds for the half year ended 30th June, up 17.9% year-on-year. The group noted that during the period it was awarded one of only two GP framework agreements in Wales and accelerated its EMIS Web GP roll-out programme, with 962 live practices as at 30th August. In light of the strong performance the group raised its interim dividend by 15% to 7.1p. The shares leapt by 35p to 715p. 
Angel Mining* (ANGM) said that it sold 7,569 ounces of gold as at 31st July 2012, since it began production in August 2011, at an average selling price of 1,668 dollars (1,054 pounds) per ounce. The group reduced losses to 5.5 million dollars (3.5 million pounds) for the year ended 29th February 2012, from 7.8 million dollars (4.9 million pounds) in the prior year and will now use its assets at the Nalunaq mine to develop its Black Angel mine. The shares climbed by 0.075p to 1.125p. PLUS-quoted tantalum concentrate supplier Noventa (NV.P) has successfully extended its debt facility with Richmond Partners Master to "the earlier of 30 September 2012 and the completion of the secured loan". The 16 million dollar (10.1 million pounds) facility was first established on 11th May 2012, is unsecured and charges interest of 25% per year. Noventa shares soared by 0.35p to 3.45p. In order to develop its Wi-Fi data clearing business, Billing Services Group (BILL) has agreed to buy Connection Services Holdings for an initial cash consideration of 1.4 million pounds and a further payment of up to 4.6 million pounds based on the achievement of certain conditions. The maximum consideration would require the target to achieve revenues of 5.3 million pounds for the year ended ending 31st March 2013. The purchase will be financed using a new short-term loan, maturing in the first quarter of 2013. The shares were unchanged at 2.75p. * Angel Mining is a corporate client of Rivington Street Holdings, the ultimate owner of UK-Analyst. | 
No comments:
Post a Comment