Investors Chronicle - magazine and web content back issues from September 2007:
Binary bets.
Sep 03, 2007 ... Simon Thompson voices concerns over low trading volumes and potential for further fall-out from the credit markets Simon Thompson On the face of it, the corrective equity market rally last week was impressive. From its low points on Wednesday 29 August, the FTSE 100 managed to ...
WSP building higher.
Sep 03, 2007 ... WSP has reported a solid performance with revenue growth ahead of target outlined Nathalie Olof-Ors Civil engineer WSP's half-year figures beat analysts' expectations and, crucially, revenue growth was ahead of the 15 per cent annual target outlined in its five-year strategic ...
Brammer bounds ahead.
Sep 03, 2007 ... The engineering components group is growing strongly, both organically and through acquisitions. Anthony Lugg Brammer continues to widen its European footprint through small "bolt-on" acquisitions. Four deals were concluded in the first half, most notably Fin in Poland. And, ...
Goals scores again.
Sep 03, 2007 ... Goals Soccer Centres has played another blinder but carries a price tag that might scare off Roman Abramovich Oliver Ralph The English national football team might be struggling, but there's no let up in enthusiasm for playing the game. First half like-for-like sales at Goals' ...
Victoria splutters on.
Sep 03, 2007 ... More uncertainty at West Medvezhye has unsettled the shares Alastair Ford Shares in Victoria Oil & Gas were marked down 2p to 30.5p today after the company announced that ongoing tests on the first drill hole at the company's West Medvezhye project indicate that high pressure ...
Wellstream grows order pipeline.
Sep 03, 2007 ... Prospects for the oil and gas services group have continued to improve since its IPO in April as it has landed more lucrative contracts. Stephen Gunnion These are the first results since Wellstream was listed on the London Stock Exchange back in April. And the group - which ...
GE snaps up Sondex.
Sep 03, 2007 ... Auction process suggests bid is unlikely to be topped Jonathan Eley Sondex, the oil services group, has agreed what looks like a knock-out bid from a subsidiary of General Electric. Shareholders will get 460p a share in cash, a 35 per cent premium to the price before ...
Vitec zooms in on digital market.
Sep 03, 2007 ... The rush from analogue to digital is benefiting the photographic equipment supplier Stephen Gunnion Bands are hitting the road as sales of CDs flag - which is good news for photographic and broadcast equipment group Vitec. It's benefiting from a rush to upgrade to high-tech ...
Lavendon rises to new heights.
Sep 03, 2007 ... The shares have nearly doubled in six months as demand for powered access equipment grows Jonas Crosland Lavendon's transformation from a loss-making enterprise just three years ago continues to gather pace, with organic growth and acquisitions lifting first-half performance ....
Delphi failure hasn't derailed Catalytic Solutions.
Sep 03, 2007 ... Catalyst specialist Catalytic Solutions may have missed out on a headline grabbing acquisition, but its underlying business is doing nicely. Graeme Davies Catalytic Solutions' solid set of first-half figures was overshadowed a little by its recent failure to win the auction for ...
The lazy Sipp for income seekers.
Sep 03, 2007 ... Okay, so you've retired, you have a Sipp and you've decided to move to either income drawdown or an alternatively secured pension - so, what do you do next? David Stevenson You'll obviously be trying to generate some income to match the relatively decent rates on offer from ...
Clipper's wings clipped.
Sep 03, 2007 ... Problems with component quality will cost it dear Graeme Davies Shares in wind turbine manufacturer Clipper Windpower have fallen another 8 per cent after the company admitted problems with components it buys in to build its turbine drive trains are worse than first feared. ...
Filtrona's glowing tip.
Sep 03, 2007 ... A Filtrona revival could be in store, says top CFD broker Darren Sinden Filtrona is approaching resistance between 240p and 243p, says Darren Sinden at LITE Trading. If it can break above here, moves to 255p and 260p could follow, taking out the down trend-line ...
AMEC pushes higher.
Sep 03, 2007 ... A decent little rally, but more is needed to avoid a topping pattern Dominic Picarda Amec looks game for another attempt to break above resistance at 670p. If it cracks this level, the next objective is to overcome the year-old rising trend-line. Momentum has ...
Walters shrugs off turmoil.
Sep 03, 2007 ... Recruitment specialist Robert Walters is in rude health despite recent market turmoil. Algy Hall Recruitment group Robert Walters is cutting an unflappable stance in the face of recent market turmoil. Indeed, the company, which has its roots in UK finance and accountancy ...
Diageo serves up premier performance.
Sep 03, 2007 ... Diageo's focus on premium brands is delivering decent growth in most of its core markets Nathalie Olof-Ors Don't worry about Diageo's fall in profits - that just reflects 2006's disposal gains. Despite a GBP91m exchange rate-related hit, operating profit rose 6 per cent to ...
Microsoft deal boosts SDL.
Sep 03, 2007 ... A large translation services contract with software giant Microsoft drove first-half outperformance Tim Bradshaw While the likes of Computacenter (see tip update here) may suffer from the delays and slow uptake of Windows Vista, SDL had a particularly strong first half, thanks ...
Lookers wins in new cars.
Sep 03, 2007 ... Once again, car dealer Lookers appears to be benefiting from its franchise dealership model Shunil Roy-Chaudhuri Lookers has once again outperformed the wider motor industry. Like-for-like new car sales at the group were up 6 per cent in the period, driven by a good performance ...
IMI engineers strong first half.
Sep 03, 2007 ... Underlying profit growth is strong helped by cost reductions and growth in emerging markets Stephen Gunnion Half way through a three-year restructuring programme, engineering group IMI is starting to see the benefits, with profit margins improving as it shifts production to ...
Hargreaves Lansdown's impressive debut.
Sep 03, 2007 ... Strong inflows from private savers boost income Jonas Crosland This was an impressive set of maiden results for financial services group Hargreaves Lansdown, which floated in May this year. In the year to June, it enjoyed an 86 per cent increase in assets under management to ...
Staffline beats forecasts.
Sep 03, 2007 ... But the company's references to margin pressure are an ominous sign for the second half Oliver Ralph Staffline's first-half results came in 10 per cent ahead of analysts' expectations. Its OnSite business, which places its employees into clients' premises from where they can ...
Kingspan boosts profits.(Financial report)
Sep 03, 2007 ... Demand for better insulation has never been stronger. Jonas Crosland Kingspan hasn't even started to see the full benefits of a drive to reduce energy use, according to chief executive Gene Murtagh, which makes record sales and profits achieved in the first half all the more ...
Hunting takes a dollar hit.
Sep 03, 2007 ... Hunting's figures were hit hard by dollar weakness and weaker North American trading, prompting a slide in the share price. Anthony Lugg Hunting's profits have doubled in each of the past two years, so these figures didn't go down too well - the shares fell about 50p on the ...
Henry Boot marches on.
Sep 03, 2007 ... Strong demand for land with planning consent boosts profits at the construction and property group Jonas Crosland Henry Boot can thank another strong performance from its Hallam land-management business for a solid rise in pre-tax profits. Hallam takes land through the planning ...
Plasmon cuts costs as sales weaken.
Sep 03, 2007 ... Plasmon warns of softening US demand as it outlines its long-term cost saving programme Tim Bradshaw Plasmon has outlined plans to cut costs by 20 per cent and improve margins by 15 percentage points by 2010, at the same time as revealing "soft" demand for its optical storage ...
HL profits soar.
Sep 03, 2007 ... Retail broker sees profits surge at maiden full-year results, but adds that there is no knowing when the current market volatility will subside. Plus the rest of today's news and results Jonathan Eley Hargreaves Lansdown, the retail stockbroker and adviser that listed earlier ...
FTSE extends earlier gain.
Sep 03, 2007 ... Bank stocks add support but most investors stick to the sidelines Jonas Crosland Leading shares in London have built on modest opening gains but trading volume is desperately low at just GBP511m, less than half the average volume seen by lunchtime. The FTSE100 index is up 25.3 ...
Plump for Portman PIBs.
Sep 03, 2007 ... BOND OF THE WEEK: The Dorset building society's interest-bearing shares look temptingly cheap Mark Glowery In our Bond of the week of the 6 June, we featured the Portman 6.25% PIBS (Permanent Interest Bearing Securities), these being the subordinated obligations of the ...
Windows delays hit Computacenter.
Sep 03, 2007 ... Microsoft's delay of key product updates until next year prompts downgrades for Computacenter Tim Bradshaw Delays to crucial updates of Microsoft Windows products has led to forecast downgrades for Computacenter. Analysts at Panmure Gordon lowered their 2007 earnings estimates ...
Morse misses forecasts.
Sep 04, 2007 ... Morse says it's now a pure IT professional services firm, but the strains of transition are apparent Tim Bradshaw Morse's new chief executive, Kevin Alcock, rose through the ranks from the group's management consulting division. So it was perhaps to be expected that this was the ...
Brit Insurance warns of tough times.
Sep 04, 2007 ... Tough trading conditions and the approaching US storm season will hit second-half profits. Jonas Crosland First-half results were overshadowed by a warning from the Lloyd's insurer that profits in the second half are likely to be lower, with the company blaming a much more ...
Aviation takes off at John Menzies.
Sep 04, 2007 ... Although John Menzies is turning its distribution business around, aviation services is becoming an increasingly important contributor to group revenue and profits. Stephen Gunnion Admittedly, a 13 per cent slide in Menzies' distribution unit's underlying operating profit, to ...
Hargreaves buys its way to growth.
Sep 04, 2007 ... Hargreaves' acquisition spree is delivering growth, as well as attractive synergy benefits Shunil Roy-Chaudhuri Hargreaves Services' organic and acquisition-led growth continues apace. In particular, growth was boosted by the purchases of the Maltby Colliery (one of the UK's ...
Economics week ahead.
Sep 04, 2007 ... The slump in the US housing market is (so far) having remarkably little impact on economic activity Chris Dillow The slump in the US housing market is (so far) having remarkably little impact on economic activity, next week's figures are expected to show. This should ...
Copperbelt coup hits CAMEC.
Sep 04, 2007 ... Whoever wins the battle for Katanga will be the real power on the Congolese copperbelt Alastair Ford Although these results were decent enough - CAMEC turned in a maiden profit on cobalt production in the Democratic Republic of Congo - the relevance of the numbers has been ...
Belief and disbelief.
Sep 04, 2007 ... Take away belief and you are left with problems, says Mr Bearbull Mr Bearbull "Whether we have a crisis or not depends on who wins the race between belief and disbelief." These are not my words but those of 'Adam Smith', and - I hasten to add - not the sage of Glasgow, who gave ...
SCI Entertainment in play.
Sep 04, 2007 ... Games developer SCI admits bid approaches Tim Bradshaw SCI Entertainment has confirmed speculation in this morning's Daily Mail that the video games developer is in preliminary bid talks. Although SCI declined to name the bidder, and added the customary disclaimer ...
FTSE100 not out of the woods.
Sep 04, 2007 ... The blue-chip index bounces, but more downside could be in store Dominic Picarda The FTSE's rally has taken it up through its 21-day moving average, pulling back at the 55-day average on Monday 3 September. So far, the pattern is consistent with the corrective, ...
Sweet profits.
Sep 04, 2007 ... While prices of other soft commodities have been surging, sugar has been in the doldrums. But Associated British Foods could still benefit from its exposure Nathalie Olof-Ors When Associated British Foods (ABF) updates the market on second-half trading this Monday it will be ...
Retailers challenge Hammerson.
Sep 04, 2007 ... Hammerson faces tougher conditions after a strong first-half Algy Hall Despite the dour sentiment towards UK commercial property since the start of the year, Hammerson was able to achieve impressive growth during the first half of 2007. But trading is set to get tougher as 2007 ...
Admiral revs up the motor rates.
Sep 04, 2007 ... Motor insurance conditions remain challenging, although the group is managing to push through modest premium rate increases Anthony Lugg Motor insurance conditions remained challenging for Admiral and its combined ratio (of claims to premiums) deteriorated by nearly three ...
office2office loses MoD contract.
Sep 04, 2007 ... While losing a big contract with the MoD must be bad news, there could be some upside. Anthony Lugg On the face of it, losing one's largest customer - responsible for around 14 per cent of group turnover - can hardly be regarded as a positive development. However, the ...
Vidi, vici, Vindon.
Sep 04, 2007 ... Drug storage specialist Vindon has unveiled a record set of results for the half-year and its future looks bright. Piper Terrett "We're bang on forecasts," gushes chairman Liam Ferguson. In fact, these were a record set of half-year results for the company that provides drug ...
Styles & Wood turns on the style.
Sep 04, 2007 ... There's good news in store for the retail fit-out specialist Styles & Wood Shunil Roy-Chaudhuri Styles & Wood (S&W) has turned on the style in these results, with stunning growth in both turnover and profitability. The group provides a wide range of services to blue-chip ...
Playtech places chips on Europe, Asia.
Sep 04, 2007 ... The gaming software supplier is growing licensees in Europe and Asia following a crackdown on internet gambling in the US last year Stephen Gunnion Gaming software company Playtech has bounced back quickly from the abrupt exit of its licensees from the US last year - when new ...
Nasdaq's date with destiny.
Sep 04, 2007 ... It's make-or-break time for the US technology index Dominic Picarda With the Nasdaq 100 potentially having traced out a reverse head-and-shoulders pattern, the moment of truth is at hand. A break above the purple neckline could lead to a gain of at least 189 points ....
Pension changes lift Mattioli Woods.
Sep 04, 2007 ... The pensions adviser is benefiting from the growing emphasis on personal responsibility Oliver Ralph These results beat analysts' forecasts, as Mattioli Woods enjoyed a 20 per cent jump in both fees and funds under trusteeship. Executive chairman Bob Woods expects that trend to ...
Hydro doing swimmingly.
Sep 04, 2007 ... Recent flooding in the UK has helped increase demand for water remediation and treatment products Graeme Davies Hydro International met profit expectations in a rather quiet first half, and the indications are that, with UK water companies ramping up their spending, its ...
Offshore finds lift Tullow.
Sep 04, 2007 ... Interim results saw more detail on potentially jumbo Ghanaian play Daniel O'Sullivan The collapse in UK gas prices shredded North Sea profits during the past six months at Tullow, but the company's shares still rose by 5 per cent on these results. The upbeat reaction was because ...
Standard Life on target.
Sep 04, 2007 ... Stronger than forecast sales leaves the life insurer on track to meet full-year growth targets Jonas Crosland Standard Life celebrated its maiden set of interim results with a 71 per cent jump in operating profits to GBP353m on a European embedded value basis (EEV), thanks to a ...
More upgrades for Axon.
Sep 04, 2007 ... Axon beats forecasts again as it looks to further international expansion Tim Bradshaw Axon continues to profit handsomely from its strategy of buying specialist IT consultancies in the US, and using its scale to win much larger deals. But the opportunities for further US ...
Life tasting better at Sainsbury.
Sep 04, 2007 ... The uptrend is still intact, says technical analysis guru Tarquin Coe Tarquin Coe The uptrend that started in late 2005 remains intact for Sainsbury, says Tarquin Coe at Investors Intelligence. Bullish volume characteristics suggest the recent trading range is more ...
Canada canes Molins.
Sep 04, 2007 ... Molins remains a recovery story, but it's two steps forward and one back Nigel Bolitho Molins is split into three divisions. It makes big systems packaging machinery, tobacco machinery and spares, and analytical smoke-capture equipment. Only one of them is performing, but asset ...
SovGEM shows how to invest in China.
Sep 04, 2007 ... SovGEM has a strict and, so far, successful way to invest in China Nigel Bolitho SovGEM stands for Sovereign Global Emerging Markets, and the company joined Aim in November 2004. It owns small stakes (never more than 5 per cent) in a number of Chinese companies, and it's very ...
Genetix ups its spending.
Sep 04, 2007 ... Genetix is moving forward after last year's acquisition. Nigel Bolitho Genetix's acquisition of California-based Applied Imaging (AI), didn't come cheap. Genetix's initial bid of US$18.3m was upped to US$25.8m following a bid battle. AI did, however, contribute GBP4.3m to ...
Quarto has fire power.
Sep 04, 2007 ... Quarto has just announced a major acquisition and has debt facilities for more. Nigel Bolitho Even in a full year Quarto only earns a fairly modest return on sales - GBP4.64m pre-tax profit on sales of GBP93.61m in 2006. So why were a syndicate of banks eager to sign off a ...
Solid progress at Dechra.
Sep 04, 2007 ... Profits are up at the veterinary health specialist and its product pipeline is making headway Piper Terrett "It's been a pretty good year," asserts chief executive Ian Page. Certainly, Dechra has made solid progress in boosting profits and taking its product pipeline forward in ...
Interest in banks' chart.
Sep 04, 2007 ... Charting firm boss looks into banks' prospects David Linton Banks beat the UK market for years, says David Linton at Updata. More recently, however, they have seriously underperformed the market. Here we see a normalised relative strength chart, which shows that, ...
Hays on the up.
Sep 04, 2007 ... Boosted by a robust international performance, the recruitment consultancy reported strong growth Shunil Roy-Chaudhuri Hays, the global recruitment business, continues its impressive growth story, with net fee income up by 17 per cent on a like-for-like basis over the past year ....
Barclays could break the bank.
Sep 04, 2007 ... Bank could be ripe for shorting Dominic Picarda Barclays is close to a major support level at 582p. Were the shares to drop through here, they risk a fall towards 514p. The lowest weekly relative strength index reading since 2002 creates some hope of a ...
Carpetright sees sales uplift.
Sep 04, 2007 ... But the group's share price has more to do with Lord Harris's proposed takeover Shunil Roy-Chaudhuri In a first-quarter trading update for the 13 weeks to end-July, carpet and floorcoverings retailer Carpetright said that like-for-like sales rose by 2.4 per cent. This follows on ...
WEEK AHEAD.
Sep 04, 2007 ... A preview of announcements from Evolution Group, Ennstone and Cattles, plus all the main results for the week commencing Monday 10 September Jonas Crosland TUESDAY 11 SEPTEMBER First-half figures from investment bank Evolution should show how well the group has ...
Roc rocks on.
Sep 04, 2007 ... Roc Oil is in growth mode, and looks well positioned for the future Alastair Ford Roc's production jumped substantially during the same period last year as the company's Cliff Head oil field in Australia and its new Chinese assets both delivered a significant impact. Slightly ...
Cyprotex set for recovery.
Sep 04, 2007 ... Two factors have knocked Cyprotex back in the first half of 2007. Nigel Bolitho Cyprotex broke even in the final quarter of 2006 and was confident that this progress would continue into 2007. But after what chief executive Robert Atwater describes as a 'killer first quarter', ...
No disasters for Hill & Smith.
Sep 04, 2007 ... Growing spending on flood prevention and safety barriers are just part of the growth story Stephen Gunnion Rising terrorism alerts are providing a growing source of business for Hill & Smith, maker of road safety barriers and digital road signs. And demand for flood defences has ...