Investors Chronicle articles from April 2006

Investors Chronicle archives from April 2006

The honesty black hole.
April 7, 2006... Can't they agree on anything? You'd think that when it came to something as important as the future of the UK savings regime they could present a united front, and demonstrate a shared will to face up to the issue. But that's just too much to...

Back to biotech.
April 7, 2006... The increasing recognition of bioscience was demonstrated last year when the industry experienced its most successful month to date in financial terms, completing deals with a headline value of more than GBP750m in December. These deals...

I love my Sipp.
April 7, 2006... As David Stevenson explained at length in the excellent Masterclass supplement with last week's investors chronicle, self-invested personal pensions (Sipps) offer many advantages. But, from where I sit, one is head and shoulders above all the...

Gilt-edged no-brainer.
April 7, 2006... It's always nice to imagine that there are no-brain ways to make money. And right now, the no-brain investment solution is surely to short-sell gilts - UK government bonds - on the expectation that their prices will fall. If - or hopefully when...

Keeping mum.
April 7, 2006... Tuesday 3 January - New Year, new chances First trading day of the New Year. January, they say, is the best month of the year in the stock market. Let's hope so. Since last Thursday, I've had a GBP3-per-point up-bet riding on the Nasdaq...

Home and dry.
April 7, 2006... A quick viewing of the UK housebuilders' sector leaves most investors admiring its resilient architecture. Twelve months ago, there were fears that an impending collapse in house prices would leave builders with a glut of empty houses and no...

NTL finds Virgin irresistable.
April 7, 2006... By adding Virgin Mobile to its business empire, NTL hopes to give consumers even greater choice. For example, if completed, the GBP962.4m takeover will allow NTL to offer its customers an unrivalled package of mobile and fixed-line phone...

Pressure on Freeport pays off.
April 7, 2006... Sean Collidge, the chairman and chief executive of Freeport, the property group under siege from activist investor Laxey Partners, has resigned. Mr Collidge's resignation follows shareholder rejection of Freeport's plans to move its...

Goldenport gets float away.
April 7, 2006... Following a ditched float attempt last December, Greek shipping company Goldenport joined the main market this week. The placing price of 235p gives the company a market capitalisation of GBP164.2m, with GBP60m of new cash being raised to...

London clubs' diplomatic farewell.
April 7, 2006... With its Les Ambassadeurs casino just sold, London Clubs International (LCI) now has a much smaller, but more predictable, business. The venue suffered last year following the London bombings and as a result of some punters winning big, while...

Easyjet nosedives on Icelandair sale.
April 7, 2006... Hopes of a bid approach for low-cost carrier easyJet were dashed this week when Icelandair owner FL Group sold its 16.9 per cent stake. FL Group said that, although it still thinks easyJet has a bright future, the company wants to pursue other...

Severn Trent set to split from Biffa.
April 7, 2006... Following a strategic review, Severn Trent has announced plans to demerge its Biffa waste-management business. The split, which is subject to shareholder approval, should complete by the year-end. Biffa will then join the FTSE 250 and the...

Profits continue to pour in at Pennon.
April 7, 2006... Water and waste-management group Pennon has confirmed that trading remains in line with expectations. The water business is on track to meet regulatory targets, while Viridor waste-management continues to grow operating profits and has won...

Patientline calls time on chairman.
April 7, 2006... Patientline, which provides bedside telephone, television and internet access to hospital patients, has ended its war with major shareholder Shore Capital by caving in to its demands. As a result, Derek Lewis has been removed as chairman with...

US slowdown dampens profit growth.
April 7, 2006... Economists fear US profit growth could slow down this year. However, analysts expect S&P 500 operating earnings per share to increase by 11.2 per cent this year, after rising 12.4 per cent in 2005. But Morgan Stanley's Richard Berner foresees...

Decision time for splits victims.
April 7, 2006... Investors who claimed compensation for losses on split-capital investment trusts (splits) to the Financial Services Authority's reparation fund have until 15 May to accept their offers. Eligible investors in certain zero-dividend shares have...

Momentum investors are on a roll.
April 7, 2006... Momentum investing is paying well. Had you bought the FTSE 350's 20 best-performing stocks in the final quarter of 2005 on 31 December, you'd have made 17.7 per cent in the first quarter - beating all but one actively managed all-company unit...

Smaller company brokers buoyed by raft of Aim floats.
April 7, 2006... Smaller-company brokers have been making hay while the sun shines, buoyed by the flood of company floats over the past year - but there are rumblings of discontent in the investment community. In the past week, both Daniel Stewart...

Aim cracks down on shells.
April 7, 2006... Aim's crackdown on smaller cash shells resulted in 38 companies being suspended on Monday morning. The companies now have a six-month stay of execution in which to conclude a deal before their listings will be cancelled. Of those...

32Red raises GBP5.3m.
April 7, 2006... 32Red has raised GBP5.3m (before costs) through a discounted placing to institutions at 140p a share. The money raised will be used to increase online and offline marketing. The company also plans to look for acquisitions, and wants to buy...

Ten Alps to buy McMillan-Scott.
April 7, 2006... Television producer Ten Alps is moving into the contract magazine publishing market. It has agreed to buy McMillan-Scott, a leader in publishing magazines for the public sector, for up to GBP12.25m. Chief executive Alex Connock sees the...

Ceramic Fuel Cells passes key milestone.
April 7, 2006... Ceramic Fuel Cells has passed a key milestone in the field trials of its fuel-cell-driven Combined Heat and Power (CHP) microgeneration units, designed to replace boilers in peoples' homes. Its units in Australia, Germany and New Zealand have...

Peter Hambro suffers from increased costs.
April 7, 2006... Shares in Peter Hambro suffered their biggest one-day drop since May 2004 after the company announced that increased cost pressures would adversely affect full-year results, due out later this month. Management said that fuel, energy and...

Bema wins Kupol approval.
April 7, 2006... Bema Gold is to start drawing down a $400m (GBP228m) project finance loan facility later this month, after Russian federal authorities gave the green light to the company's Kupol gold mine in Siberia. On completion, Kupol is expected to...

Plugging the gap.
April 7, 2006... One day, the men of Sherwood, the clothing manufacturer, thought it would be a good idea to distribute some spare cash among their merry band of shareholders. But that is about as far as they were allowed to go. Up popped the pensions regulator...

Week Ahead...
April 7, 2006... News MONDAY 10 APRIL Structural steelwork group Severfield-Rowen reports full-year results. The group's high-profile contract for steel at Heathrow Terminal 5 is now winding down, but the order book is still solid, with contracts...

Takeovers under threat from Euro rule changes.
April 7, 2006... New laws allowing employees' unions to defend takeover bids are about to be introduced in the UK, threatening the attractiveness of utilities, telecoms and engineering groups as bid targets. At the moment, the City is getting excited about...

Construction survey hits the roof.
April 7, 2006... Business confidence in the construction industry has hit an 18-month high, according to industry body the Construction Products Association (CPA). The CPA's quarterly Barometer Survey, which is a leading indicator of prospects for the...

Hot property for pensions.
April 7, 2006... In a dramatic U-turn, the chancellor has decided to allow direct residential property to be held inside self-invested personal pensions (Sipps) after all. Investors were disappointed last December when Gordon Brown dropped proposals to allow...

BHP reaps Chinese rewards.
April 7, 2006... The visit of Chinese prime minister Wen Jiabao to Australia has provided a boost for BHP Billiton. Mr Wen announced that his government will not interfere with negotiations for benchmark Chinese iron-ore import contracts, on which BHP and Rio...

Boots looking good and smelling sweet.
April 7, 2006... In a trading update, Boots revealed that underlying like-for-like sales at Boots The Chemist rose by 1.5 per cent in the fourth quarter, with sales in cosmetics and fragrance performing particularly strongly, rising by 10.4 per cent. This...

Kingston calls off takeover talks.
April 7, 2006... Hull-based telecoms group Kingston Communications has called off takeover talks after failing to agree a price with an unnamed suitor, widely rumoured to be private-equity outfit The Carlyle Group. The discussions, which started last November,...

ALPHA AIRPORTS GROUP (AAP).
April 7, 2006... After a disappointing first six months, Alpha pulled its socks up in the second half of last year. Thanks to cost-cutting, pre-tax profits before exceptional items rose from GBP17.4m to GBP18.5m. Start-up costs for a new contract with...

PHOQUS (PQS).
April 7, 2006... Phoqus floated on Aim last November at 140p a share, raising GBP10m to fund development and commercialisation of its drug-coating technology. The company has a portfolio of collaborations with leading drug companies, including four secured...

Hat Pin.
April 7, 2006... Aim. These results cover just one of three businesses that the group now owns. Market conditions are strong, and the company has enjoyed a good start to the new year.

Sales at Topps Tiles take a tumble.
April 7, 2006... Tiling specialist Topps Tiles announced that underlying sales for the six months to 1 April fell 4.2 per cent, although they rose 0.9 per cent in last five weeks of the period. The board expects to report first-half profits before tax of...

Hydrodec.
April 7, 2006... Aim. The company raised GBP3.5m in November to help fund a new transformer recycling plant and refurbishment of other facilities.

Irish Estates.
April 7, 2006... Aim. Acquisition opportunities are being pursued in the property and facility services areas.

Jarvis Securities.
April 7, 2006... Aim. Although sales rose, profits were hit by product development costs and by costs relating to a potential acquisition, which did not proceed.

Lewis Charles Sofia Prop. Fund.
April 7, 2006... Aim. The fund has now invested 36.8 per cent of the E52m it raised, and has exercised seven out of the initial 12 options it had in its property portfolio.

Interquest.
April 7, 2006... Aim. Following the Aim listing in May, sales and profits were up as the company won new clients and acquired two new businesses.

Lonrho Africa.
April 7, 2006... Aim. Under new management, Lonrho Africa has started to reinvest in Africa, rather than selling down its assets. Its first investment is in a uranium project, and there are more to come.

Metals Exploration.
April 7, 2006... Aim. Metals Exploration looks to have a good asset in the ground at Runruno in the Philippines, and recent drill results have been encouraging.

North Midland Construction.
April 7, 2006... Main market. The civil engineering business won some large contracts from the water industry, and the building business is increasing the number and scale of clients it serves.

Oilexco.
April 7, 2006... Aim. Oilexco was the most active operator of exploration and appraisal wells in the North Sea in 2005. Operating results benefited from a full year of production from a 2004 acquisition.

Parity.
April 7, 2006... Main market. After US business Spearhead failed to make an offer for the company, Parity is launching a discounted GBP14.7m rights issue to shore up its balance sheet and support a restructuring.

Pixology.
April 7, 2006... Aim. The shares jumped on these results because they were accompanied by news of a seven-figure contract with Tesco. Pixology announced in February that it is in bid talks.

Proximagen Neuroscience.
April 7, 2006... Aim. Proximagen signed six service contracts. The company is focusing principally on tackling Parkinson's, and diseases of cognitive decline. It has GBP13m in the bank.

RC.
April 7, 2006... See tips, p36

Ridge Mining.
April 7, 2006... Aim. Ridge continues to make progress with its two key projects. The Sheba's Ridge nickel project is at the pre-feasibility stage, and Ridge is arranging financing for its Blue Ridge platinum project.

GETMOBILE EUROPE (GETM).
April 7, 2006... Getmobile - which reversed into cash shell Fitzwilliam last August - sells mobile phone contracts over the internet and on television in Germany. But the company was forced to admit in October that it would not achieve the sort of sales...

Serabi Mining.
April 7, 2006... Aim. Serabi provides only a partial segmental analysis of production and revenues. Some 12 per cent of sales are derived from copper, but it does not say how much gold was produced.

Sound Oil.
April 7, 2006... Aim. The company evaluated several offshore propositions in Africa, but was unable to do a deal. Sound is now looking at assets in Asia, and recently agreed an acquisition in principle.

Southernera Diamonds.
April 7, 2006... Aim. SouthernEra certainly has extensive landholdings but, having split from its platinum arm, it continues to struggle to arouse interest in the market.

Qualceram Shires.
April 7, 2006... Main market. Qualceram was hit by a combination of tough market conditions and rising energy costs. In response, management has cut costs and says that trading is better than last year.

Sportswinbet.
April 7, 2006... Aim. Sportswinbet has been granted an e-gaming licence by the Alderney Gambling Control Commission, but the licence is not yet operational. The board is looking for other investments.

Tepnel Life Sciences.
April 7, 2006... Aim. The business has been focused into two divisions: Molecular Diagnostics and Research Products and Services. And the Diaclone arm won a significant contract with Germany's Boehringer.

Plectrum Petroleum.
April 7, 2006... Aim. Plectrum came to Aim via a reverse takeover of Table Mountain Minerals last September. It wants to be an offshore exploration firm, but has only got as far as making applications for acreage.

VISLINK (VLK).
April 7, 2006... Vislink's technology can be used in a variety of applications, from monitoring oil leaks in the dark to broadcasting from battlefields. And business has boomed lately, leading to a surge in adjusted profits last year from GBP2.55m to GBP8.35m....

Universe.
April 7, 2006... Aim. The foreign exchange business has been rationalised, and the money transfer business has been sold, but the retail loyalty card and payments business is performing well.

All IPO.
April 7, 2006... Aim. Online initial public offering services

Ardent.
April 7, 2006... Aim. Investment company

Tescom Software Sys. Testing.
April 7, 2006... Aim. Tescom had a difficult year. The completion of major contracts left the company overstaffed, and costs rose because of a goodwill write-off and the admission to Aim.

Coe.
April 7, 2006... Aim. Video solutions

WORLD GAMING (WGP).
April 7, 2006... The acquisition of Sportsbetting.com in October promises to transform software and services provider World Gaming into a fully fledged online gambling operator. The company paid $81.8m (GBP47m) for Sportsbetting, but the deal had an...

Conival.
April 7, 2006... Aim. Branded food products

CoOlabi.
April 7, 2006... Aim. Investing in intellectual property

Black Rock Oil & Gas.
April 7, 2006... Aim. Oil & gas

Croma.
April 7, 2006... Aim. Security and surveillance equipment

Diablo.
April 7, 2006... Aim. Music publisher *Nine months

Digital Cybermasters.
April 7, 2006... Ofex. Digital CCTV automation

EiRx Thereapeutics.
April 7, 2006... Aim. Drug discovery

CamAxys Group.
April 7, 2006... Aim. Management information systems

OEM.
April 7, 2006... Main market. Investment company

Elite Strategies.
April 7, 2006... Holding company

Israeli Acquisitor 1.
April 7, 2006... Ofex. Investment in Israeli technology companies

Clyde Marine.
April 7, 2006... Ofex. Marine products

Eicom.
April 7, 2006... Aim. Television broadcast and content ownership

JAB.
April 7, 2006... Aim. Classic automotive sales and auctions

Knowledge Tech. SOLUTIONs.
April 7, 2006... Aim. Financial information services

Narborough Plantations.
April 7, 2006... Main market. Oil palm cultivation

Niche Group.
April 7, 2006... Aim. Investment company

On-Line.
April 7, 2006... Aim. Internet company

Palandri.
April 7, 2006... Aim. Australian wine company