Investors Chronicle articles from November 2005

Investors Chronicle archives from November 2005

Compass needing direction.
November 4, 2005... How a company's boasts can come back to haunt it. Just 11 months ago, Mike Bailey, the chief executive of catering contractor Compass, was eulogising his group's wonderful relationship with the United Nations (UN), whose peace-keepers it keeps...

Weigh the meaning...
November 4, 2005... Metoposcopy, red ferment, exhalation of materia liquida (which is not yet propria materia), sublimation and fixation, setting of the oil of luna and the philosopher's vinegar in kemia, hanging in balneo vaporoso, and merger arbitrage. As a...

A rough ride ahead?
November 4, 2005... Where are we in the economic cycle? It is something that investors are always asking, when trying to decide which shares to buy and sell. And cyclical considerations do matter as certain industries do have a tendency to perform better -...

Xmas Cheer?
November 4, 2005... This year has been an annus horribilis for retailers. And although they're always quick to blame external factors, most retailers' excuses in 2005 have been justified. But poor trading makes Christmas more critical than ever. So, while I...

Pensions Week.
November 4, 2005... You might have thought this was Foreign Takeover Week. But you'd have been wrong. Takeovers are here today and gone tomorrow. No, this is Pensions Week. There's no gone tomorrow about pensions. In fact, this is Pensions Month, in the middle of...

Service not included.
November 4, 2005... It's been the British way of life for generations. Eat at home and then nip down to the local pub for a few social drinks. But the public is now turning this familiar ritual upside down. Today's consumers are increasingly choosing to drink at...

Strike it rich.
November 4, 2005... It has been a funny old year for the Alternative Investment Market's (Aim) oil companies. Earlier in the year, the market was rocked by Regal Petroleum's announcement that the Kalliraki oilfield off the coast of Greece was no longer viable,...

FDA delays approval for Bespak inhaler.
November 4, 2005... Bespak shares fell 1 per cent after US regulators extended the review period for Pfizer's inhaleable insulin product, Exubera, by three months. The US Food and Drug Administration says it needs more time to review technical chemical data. ...

Communisis bid approach.
November 4, 2005... Chequebook and leaflet printer Communisis is in takeover talks with a number of un-named suitors. The company, which is suffering from overcapacity in its market, has only won a couple of significant bank contracts in the past three years. ...

Trafficmaster navigates new deal.
November 4, 2005... Telematics company Trafficmaster has announced that its Smartnav satellite navigation unit is to be fitted as standard in the Peugeot 407 saloon and estate models. Analysts estimate that around 4,000 Peugeot 407s are sold each quarter. ...

JD Group nets Allsports.
November 4, 2005... JD Group, owner of aspirational sports retailer JD Sports, has bought most of Allsports' assets from the receivers for GBP18m in cash. The sports retailer expects the acquisition to be earnings-neutral this year, but boost earnings per share...

Amlin eyes Bermudan reinsurance operation.
November 4, 2005... Lloyd's insurer Amlin is to establish a Bermudan reinsurance operation. The group is keen to take advantage of the rating increases that are expected as a result of the windstorm losses in 2004 and 2005. Amlin will raise GBP215m, net of...

Kiln warms to rising premium rates.
November 4, 2005... Lloyd's insurer Kiln is to raise GBP72.8m, net of expenses, through a three-for-seven rights issue at 87p a share. The company wants the funds to take advantage of rising premium rates in its core specialist business lines. Specifically, Kiln...

888 shows strong hand.
November 4, 2005... Confirming the recent improving trend in the online gambling industry, 888 Holdings has reported strong growth in its recent net gaming revenues. The company, which offers casino games and poker over the internet, is also optimistic about the...

Spanish giant eyes O2.
November 4, 2005... Mobile phone operator O2 is set to fall to Spain's Telefonica after Germany's Deutsche Telekom refused to enter a bidding war. Telefonica made a recommended offer of 200p a share for O2 on Monday, and the shares rose to 209p as speculation...

Ark Therapeutics' brain cancer drug near to approval.
November 4, 2005... Ark Therapeutics' brain cancer drug, Cerepro, could become the world's first gene-therapy drug to gain approval. The product, which treats malignant glioma, a fatal form of brain cancer, is under review by the European regulators. The...

Management values Peacock at GBP404m.
November 4, 2005... The long-awaited management bid for high-street value retailer Peacock's was unveiled this week. The 340.5p-a-share cash offer, representing a 29 per cent premium to the company's share price prior to the bid approach in August, values Peacock...

Kazakh gold to float.
November 4, 2005... KazakhGold is to float in London at the end of the month, following the successful debut of copper miner Kazakhmys. The group, chaired by former Highlands Gold chairman Peter Daresbury, aims to raise GBP100m via a listing on the official list,...

Hurricane estimates spiral at Hiscox.
November 4, 2005... Lloyd's insurer Hiscox estimates that Hurricane Wilma-related losses will reach $45m (GBP25.5m). It has also revised its loss estimate for Hurricane Katrina - it now expects losses of $125m (up by $15m) - although the loss estimate for...

Barrick deal may hurt small gold miners.
November 4, 2005... Barrick's bid to become the world's largest gold miner by acquiring Placer could have a knock-on affect for the UK's smaller gold companies. John Meyer, analyst at Numis Securities, believes that Barrick may now reassess its holdings in...

Hikma debut a first for Jordan.
November 4, 2005... Hikma Pharmaceuticals became the first Jordanian company to list fully on the London Stock Exchange on Tuesday. The multinational company makes and sells branded and generic drugs, and has operations in the US, Middle East, Europe and North...

Mercator finds Gold in St Barbara mines.
November 4, 2005... Mercator Gold is acquiring the entire exploration and mining assets of St Barbara Mines for GBP7.6m in cash and shares. The deal brings together under one operator a total of 2.3m ounces of gold at various stages of development. Infrastructure,...

Genus doesn't shrimp on Sygen acquisition.
November 4, 2005... Genus, the supplier of bull semen, is broadening its business base through the GBP187m acquisition of pig and shrimp breeder Sygen International. The recommended cash offer of 63.2p a share looks attractive and means that the enlarged...

SRT looks to take on telecom big boys.
November 4, 2005... Aim newcomer Software Radio Technology (SRT) is hoping to ruffle a few feathers by taking on some of the telecoms giants. Having raised GBP4m via a placing at 35p a share, which values the company at GBP24m. SRT, which provides digital wireless...

Redbus recommends Telecity bid.
November 4, 2005... Redbus Interhouse, which provides data centres for the safe storage of information, announced on Wednesday that it has received a 23p-a-share cash offer from privately held competitor Telecity, valuing the company at GBP58.9m. Redbus is...

Yoomedia signs Gemstar deal.
November 4, 2005... Shares in Yoomedia ticked up over 10 per cent as the company signed a multi-year deal with Gemstar-TV Guide International. Yoomedia will now deliver Gemstar's Guide Plus+ electronic program guide to Freeview digital set-top boxes, digital...

Week Ahead.
November 4, 2005... News Monday 7 November Ryanair, which announces interim results on Monday, recently boasted that it carried more passengers than British Airways (BA) in August. Although this was mainly down to the Gate Gourmet strike fiasco, which...

Greek Shipper Goldenport to float.
November 4, 2005... Shipping company Goldenport has announced its intention to list on the main market by the year-end. The Greece-based company, which reported revenues of $63.3m (GBP35.9m) last year, owns nine dry-bulk carriers and eight container ships. ...

P&O sails into talks.
November 4, 2005... Joining the groWing list of bid targets, P&O this week announced that it had received "a very preliminary contact from a third party". That interested party is widely believed to be Dubai Ports World (DPW), which is rumoured to have offered...

Political pressure may delay GlaxoSmithKline's "wonder vaccines".
November 4, 2005... The prospects for GlaxoSmithKline's and Merck's cervical cancer vaccines have been called into question this week. Hailed by the media as "wonder vaccines," they protect patients against two strains of the human papilloma virus (HPV), which...

Regulator clears Stock Exchange bids.
November 4, 2005... The Competition Commission will allow either Euronext or Deutsche Borse to bid for the London Stock Exchange (LSE), provided they reduce their control over clearing services. Euronext must cut its 41.5 per cent LCH stake to 14.9 per cent and...

Grainger trust eyeing Parkdean Holidays.
November 4, 2005... Bricks-and-mortar landlord Grainger Trust could soon add caravan sites to its empire. The residential specialist is sniffing around Parkdean Holidays, which has suffered from erratic booking patterns in recent months. Parkdean's rich fixed...

Mowlem shares surge on bid approach.
November 4, 2005... Following a series of profit warnings and contract write-downs, construction group Mowlem had some exciting news to report: management revealed that it had received a preliminary bid approach. This sent the shares up 14 per cent to 197p. ...

Davenham float to bolster Aim.
November 4, 2005... With the raft of Aim floats continuing to steam ahead, Davenham Group looks set to make a big splash on the junior market. Set to be valued at around GBP90m when it joins the market at the end of the month, the independent asset-based lender...

Nippon set to bid for Pilkington.
November 4, 2005... Pilkington this week confirmed that Japanese glassmaker Nippon Sheet Glass (NSG) had made a preliminary bid approach. NSG already owns 20 per cent of Pilkington, and there has long been speculation of a full bid. Pilkington has not disclosed...

Eurocrats limit investor choice.
November 4, 2005... New European Union (EU) rules designed to protect private investors could have the opposite effect, by either limiting investment opportunities or leaving investors open to conmen. The EU Prospective Directive came into effect in July, and...

The ultimate pension pot.
November 4, 2005... The government's pension simplification rules comes into force on 6 April 2006, known as A-Day. From then on, many investors will benefit from increased investment flexibility - but some will need to act now, before the new limits affect their...

CLINTON CARDS (CC.).
November 4, 2005... Clinton Cards has seen first-half underlying sales fall 1.3 per cent at its Clinton stores, and 1.5 per cent at Birthdays. Finance director Barry Hartog, attributes this performance to the drop in the number of consumers visiting the high...

EUROPEAN MOTOR (EMH).
November 4, 2005... While volume car dealers are facing a drop in new car sales, premium car dealer European Motor Holdings (EMH) is still cruising ahead. In fact, chief executive Richard Palmer says: "September was by far our best month ever." Furthermore,...

OCEANS WILSONS (OCN).
November 4, 2005... Uncertainty over the future of Ocean Wilsons' Brazilian assets has finally been cleared up: the group intends to maintain its focus on its existing operations. This appears to have been the right choice, too, as nearly all of these operations...

BRAEMAR SEASCAPE (BMS).
November 4, 2005... The shipping market is notoriously cyclical. Consequently, following a period of exceptional strength, attention is now turning to when the downturn might come. But while Braemar Seascape's chief executive, Alan Marsh, admits he doesn't expect...

IMPERIAL TOBACCO GROUP (IMT).
November 4, 2005... Like a king-sized cigarette, the tobacco sector has continued glowing for a very long time. Despite all the threats to consumption of its products - including public smoking bans and higher taxes - shares in the likes of Imperial just keep...

UMECO (UMC).
November 4, 2005... "We've had a bit of a miserable time," admits Umeco's chief executive Clive Snowdon as he reflects on the difficult years following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks in New York. But that's hopefully all in the past as, with 2005's...

TTP COMMUNICATIONS (TTC).
November 4, 2005... TTP Communications, whose wireless software powers Blackberry devices and mobile phones, has blamed its whopping first-half loss on the fact that its Asian customers, who sell mainly into the Chinese market, are under pressure from global...

LOK 'N STORE (LOK).
November 4, 2005... Self-storage group Lok 'n Store is a heavily asset-backed business that is soon to share a GBP10m windfall with investors. It has gained residential planning permission (RPP) on land it owns in Kingston. And chairman Andrew Jacobs has...

NEWCASTLE UNITED (NCU).
November 4, 2005... Despite splashing out on new players, including GBP16m on Michael Owen, the club is still stuck half-way down the Premier League table. But the football club's lacklustre on-pitch performance is still better than its fortunes off the pitch....

JUBILEE PLATINUM (JLP).
November 4, 2005... It has been a good year for Jubilee as chief executive Colin Bird's long experience in the platinum industry has begun to yield results. Jubilee's South African ground on the famously platinum-rich Bushveld has delivered an attributable reserve...

ANGLO ASIAN MINING (AAZ).
November 4, 2005... Opinion is divided on Anglo Asian. Some analysts worry that the growing acceptance of Russian resource data is dangerous in a market that doesn't always fully appreciate the lack of economic parameters in the Russian estimates. Others...

VICTORIA OIL & GAS (VOG).
November 4, 2005... Victoria Oil & Gas has made significant progress since it was spun out of gold miner Celtic Resources last year to explore for and develop oil and gas assets in the former Soviet Union. Following the acquisition of a 74.8 per cent interest...

BAA (BAA).
November 4, 2005... Growth in the number of passengers passing through BAA's airports slowed in the first half to 2.5 per cent, down from the 6 per cent increase in the year to March. Passenger growth was flat at Heathrow due to the Gate Gourmet strike and the...

1ST DENTAL LABS. (FDT).
November 4, 2005... Ist Dental Laboratories says it has reached critical mass following last November's purchase of rival Benchmark for GBP4.9m, financed by a placing at 30p. The deal took its number of branches from five to 15, and there are plans to expand to 17...

AQUILO (AQL).
November 4, 2005... Aquilo moved from Ofex to aim via a placing and offer for subscription in May 2004. Then the business was changed radically by the "transforming acquisition" in January this year of ABS Bodyshop Services for around GBP1.7m. ABS's 40 engineers...

EPIC RECONSTRUCTION (ERN).
November 4, 2005... EPIC Reconstruction provides asset-backed finance for distressed and previously insolvent companies. And the group's current projection is for an 8 per cent return, split between investment return and asset realisations. The latter...

NORTHERN PETROLEUM (NOP).
November 4, 2005... Drilling oil and gas wells is an unpredictable business. Northern Petroleum had high hopes for both its Sandhills-2 well and the deeper Bouldner wells on the Isle of Wight, but recent drilling has proved that both sites are uneconomic. That...

ASITE (ASE).
November 4, 2005... A write-off of goodwill accounted for GBP2.26m of last year's loss. Another major problem in the second half was "memory leaks" on Asite's flagship project software - log-offs were not recognised, so systems jammed up. As a result, the company...

CBG (CB.).
November 4, 2005... Manchester-based CBG has grown by acquisition since it joined Aim in November 2003 and has cut costs by decanting new general insurance arrivals into its Eccles HQ. Last year, it broadened its base by acquiring an independent financial adviser...

BAKERY SERVICES (BKE).
November 4, 2005... Bakery Services is "chugging along". Turnover is declining gently, which makes the company an interesting target for a cash-shell-hunter - particularly as it settled a five-year legal dispute last year and won GBP400,000, including costs. The...

PHSC (PHSC).
November 4, 2005... PHSC moved up from Ofex to Aim this July, but its shares have since been on a downtrend. That's surprising, because advising blue-chip companies on health and safety and providing local authorities with environmental health officers is a...

CONDER ENV. (CDE).
November 4, 2005... Conder Environmental's glamourous business - Vikoma oil-spill-control equipment - is now a mature market, partly because most oil tankers now have double-skin hulls. But the business still managed an operating profit of GBP169,000 last year, in...

MATALAN (MTN).
November 4, 2005... Matalan saw underlying sales fall by 6.3 per cent over the period. And trading in the nine weeks to 29 October was even tougher - like-for-like revenue dropped a savage 10.6 per cent, due largely to warm weather hitting clothing sales, which...

THEMUTUAL.NET (TMN).
November 4, 2005... "Watch this space" is the advice from TheMutual.Net's chief executive and former marketing guru, Mark Smith. He says e-commerce "consolidation is around the corner if not tomorrow" and the company may not restrict itself to online shopping....

INT. BRAND LICENSING (IBL).
November 4, 2005... International Brand Licensing (IBL) owns the Admiral brand and signed up Asda as its new UK licensee in October 2003, followed by the launch of branded clothing and footwear in May 2004. But it was sponsorship of the Ashes-winning English...

AFRICAN PLATINUM (APP).
November 4, 2005... African Platinum (Afplats) may still be a year away from starting work on its Leeuwkop platinum metals mine on the western limb of the Bushveld complex. A pre-feasibility study was completed in June 2005, based on production of over 300,000 oz...

DATUM INTERNATIONAL.
November 4, 2005... Datum International joined Ofex this July and raised over GBP700,000 via a placing at 28p a share. The company produces document- and records-management software called KnowledgeWorker for medium-sized businesses. Earlier this year, it set up...

ENHANCE TECHNOLOGY.
November 4, 2005... Bureaucrats aren't just a problem for ADL (see this page). New regulations from the Healthcare Commission require beauty salons that offer laser hair-removal to be licensed - at a significant annual cost. The same regulations are also being...

ANALYST INV. MGMT.
November 4, 2005... Analyst investment Management does not levy an annual management charge, but takes most of its remuneration in the form of a performance fee. Unfortunately, performance based on value investing has not been good lately and funds under...

PROJECTS DISTRIBUTION.
November 4, 2005... Projects Distribution (PD) reveals, perhaps not unexpectedly, that the vast bulk of sportswear is bought by the unfit. It sells 90 per cent of its products through magazine adverts - 60 per cent of which are sports shoes, and 30 per cent...

ADL (AD.).
November 4, 2005... Recent news from ADL (which stands for 'activities of daily living', a measurement of frailty) indicates how difficult it can be to run a care home. Apart from red tape - which has recently eased - the minimum wage and the problem of staff...

BRITANNIA FINANCE.
November 4, 2005... After four years of impressive profits growth, Britannia's 2004-05 results were a shocker and the share price has fallen sharply as a result. This is partly due to disappointing levels of business introduced by brokers. So Britannia, which...

MEDIWATCH (MDW).
November 4, 2005... Twelve months ago, Mediwatch's shares were down in the dumps because "tortuous legal issues" had held back sales. That followed approval from the Food and Drug Administration for the company's portable bladder scanner in January 2004. Now, the...

RANGERS FOOTBALL CLUB.
November 4, 2005... With two overhead kicks, Rangers has radically improved the appearance of its balance sheet. Late in 2004, the club raised over GBP51m via a rights issue at 100p. Then, this June, it bought back GBP15m of preference shares issued at the height...

SERVICED OFFICE (SVO).
November 4, 2005... Serviced Office Group (SOG) is the new name and new look for tech investor tecc-IS. In January 2005, new management reversed in four freehold business centres and, this September, acquired three leasehold centres covering over 19,000 sq ft. The...

London & Boston Investment.
November 4, 2005... Aim. This is the first six-month period of trading for all the subsidiaries that London & Boston acquired in the previous financial year. It is now seeking admission to Aim for its PSG subsidiary.

Basepoint.
November 4, 2005... Aim. ACG Rented Properties has made a 187.5p cash-per-share bid for Basepoint, valuing the company at GBP21m. The offer has 59 per cent acceptances.

Serabi Mining.
November 4, 2005... Aim. Serabi is looking to increase the resource base at its Palito gold mine in Brazil, and an update is due at the year-end. There's 100,000 hectares of pure exploration ground under license.

Formation Group.
November 4, 2005... Aim. All four divisions are now profitable. The best performance came from the athlete- representation division. Operating profits there rose 44 per cent to GBP1.3m.

Interregnum.
November 4, 2005... Aim. Interregnum made eight new investments during the period, and the plan now is to add value by disposing of one or more of its assets.

Tristel.
November 4, 2005... Aim. Amended price information for the table that appeared in the 21 October issue (page 54). Tristel has expanded its product range and has a good cash base for growth.

MAIDEN (MDN).
November 4, 2005... The tough advertising market has taken its toll on Maiden, with a slump in spending in the second quarter. The company, which generates most of its sales in the billboard sector, was also hit by the cost of bedding-down new contracts and delays...

Azman.
November 4, 2005... Aim. Investment & finance company

Creon Corp.
November 4, 2005... Aim. Property financing

LHP Investments.
November 4, 2005... Aim. Investment company

Libra Retail.
November 4, 2005... Aim. Investment company

Maelor.
November 4, 2005... Aim. Healthcare