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From UK-Analyst.com: Friday 23rd November 2012
Competition
The UK-Analyst Friday Competition is back! To celebrate its launch this week we are offering a free pair of tickets to Master Investor 2013, the UK's biggest investment conference, at the Business Design Centre, Islington, Saturday 27th April next year. To enter, send your funniest caption for the picture below to richard.gill@t1ps.com by 9am on Monday morning. 
The Markets After much anticipation the UK government has produced details of its Energy bill with a focus on cutting emissions. The government has given the go-ahead for energy companies to charge households an extra 7.6 billion pounds to move towards low-carbon electricity infrastructure by 2020, while a decision over setting specific emission targets for 2030 has been delayed until 2016. This was branded a "humiliating failure" by the Labour Party who want gas completely banished from the electricity system. In Europe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she doubts an agreement can be reached on the European Union's next budget during the current round of meetings in Brussels. The Chancellor said "I think we're advancing a bit, but I doubt that we will reach a deal". Most EU members support an increase in the budget but several countries, including the UK, say this is unacceptable at a time of austerity. Staying in Europe, Germany, the continent's largest economy, has exhibited another quarter of growth as the Federal Statistics Office reported an increase in gross domestic product of 0.2% for the three months ended 30th September. This growth, which was actually down from 0.1% in the previous quarter, was boosted by a 1.4% increase in exports. At the London close the Dow Jones was up by 118.96 points at 12,955.85 and the Nasdaq gained 32.15 points to 2,632.63. . In London the FTSE 100 increased by 28.04 points to 5,819.07; the FTSE 250 finished 22.03 points up at 11,883.77; the FTSE All-Share gained 13.50 points to 3038.77; and the FTSE AIM Index crept up by 2.44 points to 693.84.  Broker Notes Panmure Gordon reiterated its "sell" stance on Thomas Cook (TCG) with an unchanged target price of 7p. The broker believes that market expectations for the 2013 financial year are too high in the context of rising fuel costs and a turbulent economic backdrop. The broker specifically forecasts no growth in EBIT for the package holiday company in the 2013 financial year, leading to a 12 million profit before tax figure, well below consensus expectations of 56 million pounds. The shares rose by 1p to 24p. N+1 Singer maintained its "buy" stance on marketing services business M&C Saatchi (SAA) with a target price of 190p. The broker notes that the company's US expansion is on track and believes that its wise investment strategy of focusing on having an internationally credible network has been a key reason why it continues to win international mandates. The equity research body went on to say that the firm is very well suited to current economic conditions and this is why it is has an "unreserved bull" attitude towards the shares, which crept up by 0.5p to 174p. Shore Capital reiterated its "buy" recommendation on outsourcing company Serco (SRP) highlighting valuation and organic growth prospects. The broker is impressed with the way Serco has outperformed the FTSE All Share Index over the past year despite a significant headwind. The quarter three trading statement convinced the broker that the recent restructuring of its cost base is complete and that benefits have started to flow as a result. The broker predicts that organic growth will return, accelerating back to historic levels in the 5%-7% range. The shares slipped by 0.5p to 555.5p. 
Blue-Chips Mining giant Xstrata (XTA) has announced that its industrial partner, Xstrata Nickel, has completed the first production line of smelter at the Koniambo Nickel Project in the South Pacific. The project, which is expected to produce at a rate of 60,000 tonnes of nickel per year when fully operational, is now going through pre-operational testing and commissioning and the first molten metal is expected before the end of the year. The shares climbed by 6p to 1,020p. Credit rating agency Experian (EXPN) has completed the acquisition of a further 29.6% interest in Brazilian credit bureau Serasa for 1.5 billion dollars (940 million pounds). This purchase now takes Experian's holdings in Seresa to 99.6% and is part of the company's strategy to enhance earnings. In Experian's financial statements for the year ended 31st March 2012 Seresa generated revenues of 870 million dollars (546.07 million pounds) and an EBIT figure of 312 million dollars (196 million pounds). The shares grew by 4p to 1,027p. 
Mid Caps Hochschild Mining (HOC) has put back the date of work on mills in Peru. The company said that work would not now start on its mills in Inmaculada and Crespo until the second half of 2013, putting it back from the fourth quarter of 2012. This is a delay to an important potential revenue stream for the company, which also raised its cost estimates for the project from 315 million dollars (197.5 million pounds) to 370 million dollars (232 million pounds). Cailey Barker, director of equity mining research at Numis Securities, described the news as "disappointing" and said there would be "no growth in the company now for another few years". The shares tumbled slipped downwards by 11.8p to 475.5p. 
Small Caps & AIM Payments service provider Earthport (EPO) announced a 21% increase in revenues to 3.02 million pounds for the year ended 30th June. Growth was driven by a 53% year-on-year increase in transactions, which accelerated as the year went on, along with an expansion into a total of 54 countries. Profit before tax also shot up, by 22% to 2.35 million pounds, as the company secured lucrative agreements with Fiserv in North America and NEC Decillion in Singapore. The shares decreased by 0.25p to 15.25p. Sweett Group (CSG), the property and infrastructure services company, posted a 4.4% increase in revenues and a 150% increase in profit before tax to 2.5 million pounds for the 6 months ended 30th September. These figures were boosted by the firm's disposal of investments in the Plymouth LIFT and Inverclyde Schools PFI projects which generated 1.2 million of the profit reported. Significantly, its Middle East business has returned to profitability after it was "refocused" while a slowdown in the Chinese and Australian economy was blamed for a poorer operational performance in Asia. The shares were up by 0.5p to 16.5p. Max Property Group (MAX) announced a 0.6% increase in net assets to 287.6 million pounds for the six months to September 30th. The company has endeavoured to have a portfolio split between central London real estate and high yielding industrial property in an attempt to build a platform for capital growth. The firm's vacancy rate, an important metric within the industry, fell to 12.7% from 13.3% at 31st March. The news prompted broker Oriel Securities to adopt an "add" recommendation on the shares, which gained 5.75p to 111p. 
@UK* (ATUK), the e-commerce marketplace, announced that is has had a successful three week sales visit following the launch of @Australia, which encompassed meetings with Australian regional governments. According to the company, there was a "real appetite" for the company's products in the country. Following the trip @UK stated its intention to establish a small team in Australia during 2013 as the board believes revenues from the country have the potential to be greater than UK revenues. The shares increased by 1p to 12.5p. Diagnostic product provider Sphere Medical Holdings (SPHR) revealed that its Pelorus 1500 product, the world's first in-vitro diagnostic medical device for the rapid measurement of intravenous anaesthetic propofol, demonstrated performance to a gold standard method of analysis. The company intend to drive this product to market both in the UK and Japan. Dr Alan Vuylsteke, Investigator for the study said that the product "opens many clinical possibilities, including tailoring the infusion to the patient's specific and complex needs" The Shares remained flat at 71p. New Europe Property Investments (NEPI) reported that its 100% owned subsidiary, NEPI Nine Investment Development SRL, has acquired 12.7 hectares of land in Galati, Romania from "the Galati transaction" for an undisclosed amount. Galati is Romania's seventh largest city and largest Romanian port town on the Danube River. The subsidiary company plans to develop a retail centre anchored by a hypermarket and several international value brands as there are no major retail centres in the area, the nearest one being 25km away. Shares in the company were unchanged at €4.50. | 
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