Broker Upgrades and Downgrades & Key UK Corporate Snapshots 24 August 2015

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Access Intelligence Plc (ACC.L) Announced, in its interim results for the six months ended 31 May 2015, that revenues rose to £3.3 million from £3.1 million recorded in the same period a year ago. Profit after tax stood at £0.4 million, compared to a loss of £0.06 million. Diluted earnings per share stood at 0.16p, compared to a loss of 0.03p.

Acencia Debt Strategies Limited (ACD.L) Announced, in its unaudited interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2015, that net gains on investments at fair value through profit or loss stood at $1.52 million, compared to $4.33 million in the same period last year. Operating profit stood at $1.74 million, compared to $7.48 million. Basic and diluted earnings per share stood at 3.07C, compared to 6.31c. The board has declared an interim dividend for 2015 covering the period of the half year ended 30 June 2015 of 3.03c per share. The dividend will be paid to shareholders on the register on the record date of 4 September 2015. The shares will have an ex-date of 3 September 2015 and the dividend will be paid on 14 October 2015.

Advanced Oncotherapy Plc (AVO.L) Announced that its two Coupled Cavity Linac (“CCL”) modules are ready for high-power testing at its facility in Geneva, for which Radio Frequency (“RF”) Power Units provided by ScandiNova and Toshiba will be used while it is the first time that two CCL modules will be tested together. The finished LIGHT system will incorporate ten CCL units (15 CCL modules) in total and combined in a series will accelerate protons to the high energies required to treat radiosensitive tumours in a clinical setting. To ensure that the CCL units to be ready for high-power testing was a key milestone for the company’s timetable provided to shareholders in November 2014, which marks as another successful stage in the process of delivering the first working LIGHT system.

Amlin Plc (AML.L) Announced, in its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2015, that total income declined to £1,137.7 million from £1,172.7 million recorded in the same period a year ago. Profit after tax narrowed to £132.8 million from £136.0 million. Diluted earnings per share stood at 26.1p, down from 26.8p.

Anglo American Plc (AAL.L) Announced that it has reached agreement for the sale of its interest in Anglo American Norte S.A. (“Norte”) to an investor consortium led by Audley Capital Advisors LLP, with Orion Mine Finance as the principal co-investor, for an up-front cash consideration of $300 million, with potential upside to up to $500 million. Norte consists of the Mantoverde and Mantos Blancos copper mines located in northern Chile. The total consideration payable to Anglo American consists of $300 million in cash payable at closing (subject to certain closing and post-closing adjustments) and a number of additional future payments totalling up to $200 million, contingent upon factors including the average LME (London Metals Exchange) copper price performance and any future decision to pursue the sulphide life extension of the Mantoverde mine.

AstraZeneca Plc (AZN.L) Announced that Sean Bohen has been appointed as the Executive Vice President of Global Medicines Development and Chief Medical Officer of the company. He will join the company on 15 September and will be responsible for driving the progress of its portfolio of small molecules and biologics investigational medicines through late-stage development to regulatory approval. As Chief Medical Officer, he will be responsible for patient safety across the entire company’s and Medimmune portfolio.

Avarae Global Coins Plc (AVR.L) Announced, in its final results for the year ended 31 March 2015, that revenues dropped to £0.6 million from £1.6 million recorded in the same period a year ago. Profit after tax widened to £0.4 million from £0.3 million. Basic and diluted earnings per share stood at 0.47p, up from 0.31p.

Blinkx Plc (BLNX.L) Announced, in its trading and business update for the half-year ending 30 September 2015, in advance of its annual general meeting, that as outlined during its FY2015 full-year results, H12016 has been a period of integration and investment for the company. In summary, the company began to rationalize its operations and product portfolio and accelerated investments in its (Core) strategic capabilities of Mobile, Video and Programmatic Trading. The company also began to refactor, divest and exit historical product lines that are considered (Non-Core) to future growth, including certain Desktop products, services and technologies, which continue to decline. Based on preliminary results, performance for the first Quarter of FY2016 was in line with expectations, led by strong growth in Core revenues. However, early second quarter trading has been below expectations to date and the company now expects an operating loss in H12016. Management has taken decisive steps to manage the group’s cost structure to reflect the changing revenue and profitability profile of its product mix, and expects a return to profitability, as its core products continue to ramp and offset declines in non-core products.

Bunzl Plc (BNZL.L) Announced it has agreed to acquire a business in Austria and it also completed a further acquisition in the US and two more in Australia. The company has agreed to purchase Meier Verpackungen GmbH in Austria, whose business is mainly engaged in the distribution of customer specific packaging products to food processors throughout Austria. Subject to clearance of the transaction by the Austrian competition authority, completion of the acquisition is expected to take place in September. The company has also acquired Steiner Industries Inc which is principally engaged in the sale of safety gloves and workwear to distributors in the US who supply the welding and industrial sectors. In Australia, the company has purchased the business and assets of Cater Plus Pty Limited and of Delta Hospitality Pty Limited, as both the businesses are engaged in the supply of catering consumables and equipment to a variety of end user customers including restaurants, bars, contract caterers, hotels and hospitals.

bwin.party digital entertainment Plc (BPTY.L) Announced that the earlier announcement today made by GVC Holdings PLC (GVC) and confirms that the company is continuing to discuss with GVC and its advisers certain aspects of the GVC proposal. As previously announced, there can be no certainty that an offer will be made by GVC for the company and the company’s directors’ unanimous recommendation of 888 Holdings plc’s offer, that was announced on 17 July 2015, is unchanged by this announcement.

Connemara Mining Company Plc (CON.L) Announced, in its update on the gold exploration programme being undertaken in the Inishowen area of Donegal, that the second phase of exploration involved a soil sampling programme over 700 sq m of ground encompassing the area which contained most of the boulders containing high gold grades found in the earlier exploration programme. Soil samples were spaced 20 m apart in an attempt to identify a subsurface source of the gold bearing rocks. The results of the exploration are encouraging with grades up to 0.46 g/t and the identification of a defined area for trenching which will be the focus of the next programme.

Eden Research Plc (EDEN.L) Announced it has signed an exclusive licence agreement (“Agreement”) with TerpeneTech Limited (“TerpeneTech”) granting TerpeneTech the rights to use its technologies and intellectual property (“IP”) in the field of ‘over the counter’ head lice treatments. In consideration for this Agreement, TerpeneTech has paid an up-front fee of £0.6 million to the company for the licensed rights and will pay royalties on the sale of products. In addition to the Agreement, the company has taken a 29.9% stake in TerpeneTech for £0.92 million, through the issue of 4,615,385 million new Eden shares at 20.0p per share (“Investment”).

EKF Diagnostics Holdings Plc (EKF.L) Announced that it has now received a second non-binding preliminary proposal from an unrelated third party to offer $115-125 million in cash for its Point-of-Care business (which excludes the Clinical Chemistry and Molecular Diagnostics businesses).

Electric Word Plc (ELE.L) Announced its interim results for the six months ended 31 May 2015. Revenues from continuing operations were flat at £5.9 million (2014: £5.8 million). Adjusted EBITA was down to £14k (2014: £208k). Cash flow from operating activities was £685k for the period to 31 May 2015, compared to £411k in 2014 and is a result of continued focus on working capital management. Deferred revenue from continuing operations increased compared to 2014 as a result of growth in pre-billed subscriptions, conferences and events. Cash flows were positively impacted by a greater proportion of pre-billed revenues being received compared to the prior period. In addition, Group cash flow has also been impacted by the repayment of £158k of bank loans, reducing bank debt to £228k, and the payment of £185k dividends to the minority shareholder of iGaming Business Ltd. Initial proceeds from the sale of Radcliffe Publishing of £857k were received after period end in June 2015 and are therefore not reflected in the Condensed Consolidated Cash Flow Statement at 31 May 2015. The remaining £100k of proceeds are due to be paid in June 2016. Current trading is in line with the Board’s expectations. As we enter the fourth quarter, which is an important contributor to the Group’s overall performance, we are expecting continued strong performance from our Sport and iGaming businesses. In Education and Health, our confidence in the potential of our digital product offerings has encouraged us to continue the investment in product development. Advance bookings for fourth quarter education conferences have been ahead of 2014. Central costs in the second half of the year will be lower than the first due to the one-off costs of the office move in March 2015. Overall, the company expects 2015 will be a year of continued profitable growth in Sport & Gaming coupled with targeted investments to create new value in Education and Health.

Empiric Student Property Plc (ESP.L) Announced that the group has exchanged contracts to acquire on practical completion the long leasehold (125 years) on a site to be developed into a high quality turnkey student accommodation scheme on James Street West, in Bath, for a price of £7.65 million (excluding acquisition costs). IESIS Group is delivering the building and practical completion is expected in September 2016, in time for the 2016/17 academic year.

Escher Group Holdings Plc (ESCH.L) Announced in conjunction with its partner An Post (the Irish Post Office), been awarded the contract to digitally deliver Ireland’s National License & Permits applications system for enterprises. Following a competitive tender run by the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) the company’s RiposteTrExT solution and An Post’s national reach and operational expertise were awarded the contact.

Headlam Group Plc (HEAD.L) Announced, in its interim financial results for the six months ended 30 June 2015, that revenues rose to £313.5 million from £301.6 million recorded in the same period a year ago. Profit after tax widened to £9.8 million from £8.4 million. Diluted earnings per share stood at 11.7p, up from 10.0p.

IBEX Global Solutions Plc (IBEX.L) Announced that its Board has authorized the extension of the period for making purchases of its own shares until such time as the Board shall choose to terminate the period. This extension is in accordance with the terms of the general authority to make market purchases of the Company’s own shares for a total up to $1 million granted to it by shareholders of the Company on 21 November 2014. The acquired shares will continue to be held in treasury. To date the Company has acquired for cash in the market 19,002 of its ordinary shares, all of which are held in treasury. The number of the Company’s ordinary shares in issue is 39,554,400; therefore the number of ordinary shares in issue less purchased shares held in treasury is 39,535,398, and the total number of voting rights in the Company is 39,535,398. The Company will be making additional purchases of its own shares in line with the above general authority where the Board considers that it is appropriate to do so.

Industrial Mlulti Propety Trust Plc (IMPT.L) Announced its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2015. The adjusted NAV per ordinary share at 30 June 2015 is 237.0p (31 December 2014: 219.9p). The results for the period show an adjusted EPS loss of 7.9p (30 June 2014 restated: loss of 7.7p). The continuing losses are due to the Group’s fixed high finance costs. As announced on 10 August 2015, the Board will target a refinancing of the portfolio in Q4 2016 and if a refinancing is not possible will continue to review alternative ways to improve shareholder value including a managed winding up of the Company. This will be done with the assistance of Westhouse Securities Limited who has been appointed as Financial Adviser and Broker to work alongside existing Investment Adviser and Manager, Alpha Real Capital LLP.

Interbulk Group Plc (INB.L) Announced, in its trading update for the year ending 30 September 2015, that in its half year revenues were 11% lower than in the same period of the previous financial year, but the profit before tax was £1.3 million more than that of prior year period. Market conditions were challenging but the group expects that it will deliver improvement in operating results in the second half of the year with the objective of meeting market expectations for the year to 30 September 2015. Since it announced its half yearly results, the pick-up in activity in Europe has not been as per its expectation which has affected both the its liquid and dry bulk businesses. However, it has seen an encouraging growth in its America and China businesses. The reduced activity levels and the pressure on pricing due to competitors’ better equipment utilisation has forced the board to reduce its operating profit for the year ending 30 September 2015. However, due to better interest savings, the board believes that the profit before tax (before intangible amortisation and exceptional items) for the year ending 30 September 2015 will be below market expectations but in line with that reported last year. Its costs in Europe has been under constant review and further savings are being identified to ensure that cost leadership can be achieved in this market.

John Laing Infrastructure Fund Limited (JLIF.L) Announced that it has entered into a five year £180 million Revolving Credit Facility with Royal Bank of Scotland plc (“RBS”), HSBC Bank plc (“HSBC”), ING Bank NV (“ING”) and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (“CBA”). This facility replaces the existing £150 million facility with RBS, Lloyds TSB Bank plc and ING, with no cancellation fees payable. The margin on the new facility is 1.75% over LIBOR making both the margin and associated commitment fees significantly lower than on the previous facility (previous margin of 2.30-2.75%, depending on the LTV ratio). The new facility includes an additional £100 million accordion capability, on which no fees are payable until utilised, providing JLIF the flexibility to target larger transactions should they become available. In keeping with JLIF’s stated strategy, the facility is intended to be used primarily to fund acquisitions and would be repaid through equity issuance. Under its investment policy, JLIF has the ability to raise debt of up to 25% of its total assets, though it should be noted that this debt facility is intended to be additional resource and not structural financing.

MediaZest Plc (MDZ.L) Announced, in its final results for the year ended 31 March 2015, that revenue stood at £2.48 million, compared to £2.94 million in the same period last year. Operating loss stood at £0.69 million, compared to a loss of £0.55 million. Loss after tax was £0.66 million, compared to a loss of £0.65 million. Diluted loss per share stood at 0.06p, compared to a loss of 0.09p.

Meggitt Plc (MGGT.L) Announced that it has been awarded a $25 million contract from Public Works Government Services Canada on behalf of the Department of National Defence, to provide in-service support to the Canadian Armed Forces for Meggitt’s Small Arms Trainer (SAT) and Indirect Fire Trainer (IFT).

Minera IRL Limited (MIRL.L) Announced that the board has unanimously voted to remove Diego Benavides from the position of Interim CEO the company. The company is also investigating allegations of impropriety received through its recently implemented and independently managed Whistleblower hotline. The investigation will be overseen by the company’s independent members of the board, Doug Jones and Robin Fryer.

NewRiver Retail Limited (NRR.L) Announced that it has exchanged contracts to acquire a portfolio of 158 pubs across England and Wales (the “Portfolio”) from Punch Taverns for a total consideration of £53.5 million which equates to a net initial yield of 13.61%. The projected annual profit before tax of the portfolio is circa £6 million, which will generate a cash on cash equity return in excess of 20%. The acquisition of the portfolio includes circa £0.5m of fixtures, equipment and other assets and will be funded through existing financial resources, with a new debt facility available in due course. The Portfolio comprises 158 pubs across the UK, predominantly located throughout England, with 34% of sites in the South East and South West. The Portfolio comprises 339,866 sq. ft. of total internal gross area, 1,844,766 sq. ft. of total site area and 1,730 car parking spaces and has an estimated reinstatement value of £146 million.

ProPhotonix Limited (PPIX.L) Announced the award of a three year supply agreement, for custom LED illumination devices and diode laser modules, from a leading global manufacturer of optical imaging and sensing equipment. After the initial three year term, the supply agreement will renew biennially unless otherwise terminated.

Range Resources Ltd (RRL.L) Announced that it has finalised the drilling schedule with LandOcean for the next 22 development and exploration wells. It is expected that the proposed 22 wells will be drilled by the end of Q1 2016, however certain drilling logistics are beyond the Company’s control and, therefore, the drilling schedule remains subject to a number of variables, including availability of suitable rigs, arrival and commissioning of new rigs into RRDSL’s rig fleet, various regulatory approvals, and the construction of drilling pads. RRDSL will also be required to recruit additional drilling staff to operate the new rigs. The Company has been granted permission to construct 15 drilling pads. Construction of the drilling pads for the wells GY 161S, MD 42N, Canari North, GY 180SE and QUN 158 redrill has been completed. Contracts for land work and construction of the remaining 7 locations are currently being negotiated. The GY 161S well is expected to spud once the rental rig has been contracted, and the MD 42N well will spud once rig 2 inspections are completed. The Company also continues to prepare for spudding of its first exploration well, Canari North, located on the Guayaguayare Block. The well is expected to spud once rig 8 repairs are completed. The required pre-spud meeting and inspections will be held once the rig is ready to drill. The drilling the well on paper (DWOP) meeting was successfully held on 16 July 2015. The Canari North well approval is currently valid until 7 September 2015, which was extended from 7 June 2015, and Range plans to seek an extension to that date should rig 8 not be operational by that time. The management believes that the 22 well programme presents an ambitious target, given a number of challenges that need to be overcome. However, the management will spare no effort to achieve and deliver on its targets, in order to grow production and turn the Company around. Range is committed to provide all the required assistance to RRDSL to complete the proposed work programme. The Company will continue to provide regular updates to the market on the progress of its operations.

Strategic Minerals Plc (SML.L) Announced it has entered into contracts to produce a bulk sample from the Tatu Coal Project (“Tatu”) on the North Island of New Zealand via its 51% owned subsidiary King Country Mining Limited. The production of the bulk sample involves not only the extraction of the coal but also the establishment of some of the safety requirements associated with Tatu being an operating mine, and which will form part of the requirements for the future operation of the Tatu mine. A number of contractors are involved with the delivery of the bulk sample and work safety documentation and procedures, which is expected to cost approximately NZD $280,000 in total to produce. Once the bulk sample has been delivered, it will be tested by the company’s consultants and by potential clients to ensure its suitability for their processes. The company is targeting completion of the bulk sample work and feasibility studies in sufficient time that construction of the mine can commence in Q1 2016, subject to positive market feedback and funding being secured. The board is seeking to secure the funding for construction of the mine through its industry contacts and consultants, which may include joint ventures or debt and has now signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding with China Coal Technology Engineering Group (CCTEG) to provide pricing and funding options associated with both the mine equipment and operations.

Sylvania Platinum Limited (SLP.L) Announced, in its results for financial year ended 30 June 2015, that revenue stood at $47.79 million, compared to $47.22 million in the same period last year. Operating profit stood at $3.50 million, compared to a loss of $3.00 million. Profit after tax was $1.70 million, compared to a loss if $5.11 million. Diluted earnings per share stood at 0.55c, compared to a loss of 1.70c. Additionally, the company also announced that an updated corporate presentation is now available for download from the company’s website, www.sylvaniaplatinum.com.

Trinity Exploration & Production (TRIN.L) Announced that it has agreed to a further extension to the moratorium on principal repayments, relating to its outstanding debt balance of $13.0 million with its lender, until the 11th of September 2015. The extension of its credit facilities by its senior lender represents their continued support of the company and the Formal Sales Process (“FSP”).

Turbo Power Systems Inc (TPS.L) Announced it has changed its ultimate parent company. Previously the company’s ultimate parent company was Vale Soluções em Energia S.A. (“VSE”), the Brazilian energy solutions company, which through Tao Sustainable Power Solutions (UK) Ltd (“TAO”) owns 89.4% of the current issued share capital of the company. VSE has informed the company that Vale had purchased BNDES’ shareholding interest in VSE, which received final antitrust approval on 18 August 2015. Additionally, Vale purchased the minority interest that Sygma Group S.A. (“Sygma”) had in VSE. Both share transfers are scheduled to complete during the week commencing 24 August 2015. Once completed Vale will own 100% of the issued share capital of VSE. Accordingly, Vale will be its ultimate parent company. On 20 February 2015 shareholders were informed that the board was conducting a Strategic Review of the company’s business and as part of this review is looking at a potential sale of the company. Lincoln International LLP is assisting the board in this process. This change in the ownership of VSE is not part of the board’s Strategic Review.

Ultra Electronics Holdings Plc (ULE.L) Announced the acquisition of the Electronic Products Division (EPD) of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. for a cash consideration of up to $265 million, has now received US regulatory approval and the transaction has been completed. EPD will be renamed Ultra Electronics Herley and operate within the Communications & Security division.

Xcite Energy Limited (XEL.L) Announced, in its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2015, that net loss stood at $0.83 million, compared to a profit of $0.81 million. Cash balance stood at $34.4 million as at 30 June 2015. Diluted loss per share stood at 0.3 cents, compared to a profit of 0.2 cents.