Broker Upgrades and Downgrades & Key UK Corporate Snapshots 3 August 2015

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Adgorithms Limited (ADGO.L) Announced, in its unaudited interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2015, that its reported revenue stood at $12.3 million, compared to $6.8 million in the preceding period. Loss net of tax was $5.2 million compared to profit after tax of $45,000. The company’s diluted loss per share was 0.16c, compared to earnings per share of 0.0016c.

Bailey (C.H.) Plc (BLEY.L) Announced, in its preliminary results for the year ended 31 March 2015, that revenues rose to £4.93 million from £4.38 recorded in the same period a year ago. Profit after tax stood at £5.84 million, compared to a loss of £1.4 million.

BG Group Plc (BG..L) Announced first oil from the Cidade de Itaguaí floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, the sixth unit to start production across the Group’s significant discoveries in the Santos Basin, offshore Brazil. The FPSO will produce from the Iracema North area of the Lula field in the Petrobras-operated BM-S-11 block. BG Group has a 25% interest in Block BM-S-11 (Petróleo Brasileiro S.A., operator, 65% and Petrogal Brasil S.A., 10%). BG Group also has a 30% interest in Block BM-S-9 (Petróleo Brasileiro S.A., operator, 45% and Repsol Sinopec Brasil 25%).

Circle Oil Plc (COP.L) Announced information on the progress of the NFA-1 exploration well on the Lalla Mimouna permit, onshore Morocco. NFA-1 was the third well drilled by Circle Oil on the Lalla Mimouna permit and targeted the Miocene sands. TD of the well, at 1,077 metres MD, was reached on 26 July 2015. The well encountered gas shows whilst drilling at the targeted depth but the reservoir quality encountered in the well has not met the Company’s pre-drill estimates. Therefore the well will be plugged and abandoned. The rig will now be mobilised to drill the Ksiri South (KSS-A) exploration well in the Sebou permit in the Rharb Basin. This well is targeting two objectives in the Miocene Gaddari sands. One of the key objectives of this well is to prove up the potential of targets with a significant stratigraphic trapping component. If successful, this will open a new play type for the Sebou permit with several analogue targets. The selected location lies approximately 2 km from the existing Circle Oil owned 8″ gas production pipeline to Kenitra and is ideally positioned for potential production tieback. Depending on drilling progress rates, initial results of the well could be available in approximately 30-40 days.

CRH Plc (CRH.L) Announced that it had reached agreement to acquire certain assets from Lafarge S.A. and Holcim Limited for a total Enterprise Value of €6.5 billion. The transaction is now complete, with the exception of the Philippines which is expected to close in Q3 2015.

Dechra Pharmaceuticals Plc (DPH.L) Announced the signing of a conditional share purchase agreement (“SPA”) with Mr. Marijan Hanžeković to acquire his 63.3% holding (equivalent to 69% voting rights) in Genera d.d. (“Genera”), a Croatian listed pharmaceutical business. Dechra is offering €23.66 (HRK179.60) per share, which is equivalent to €51.4 million for the entire share capital on a cash free debt free basis. The €23.66 per share is a 42.5% premium to the closing price (HRK126.00) on Friday 31 July 2015 and a 81.6% premium based on the average price for the last three months. This will be wholly payable in cash and is to be funded from Dechra’s existing debt facilities. Under the Croatian Takeover Rules, the conditional offer to acquire Mr. Hanžeković’s shares requires Dechra to make a mandatory offer for the remaining issued share capital of Genera. The SPA is conditional on total aggregate shareholder acceptances reaching 75% of the voting share capital.

Fairpoint Group Plc (FRP.L) Announced, in its trading statement, that overall group trading for the first half of 2015 has been materially ahead of the same period last year and is in line with the Board’s expectations. Group net debt as at 30 June 2015 was £5.2 million (31 December 2014: £7.6 million), reflecting strong cash generation from operating activities. The Group would release its half year results for the six months ended 30 June 2015 on 3 September 2015. Separately, the company announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire the trade and assets of Colemans-CTTS LLP, CT Support Services Limited and the entire ordinary share capital of Holiday TravelWatch Limited (together referred to as “Colemans”), a consumer legal services business for an initial consideration of £9.0 million payable in cash and shares.

Fidessa Group Plc (FDSA.L) Announced, in its interim results for the period ended 30th June 2015, that revenue stood at £145.86 million, compared to £137.12 million in the same period last year. Operating profit stood at £19.23 million, compared to £19.54 million. Profit after tax was £14.44 million, compared to £14.58 million. Diluted earnings per share stood at 37.5p, compared to 38.0p.

Fox Marble Holdings Plc (FOX.L) Announced an operational update. The order book is currently at €2.8 million, of which €1.4 million is now expected to be realised within 2015. Revenues for the half year are lower than expected at €110k. CEO Chris Gilbert said, “Whilst the first half has been disappointing in terms of sales and we have had some unforeseen operational frustrations, we remain confident in our objective of being a major international supplier of high quality marble. In order to underpin the development of our sales channels we have appointed three additional experienced marble sales staff over the last few months, and we expect that this will also bear fruit as we bring on the production of Illyric White marble from Malesheva 2 and larger volumes from the Sivec quarries in Macedonia.”

Galliford Try Plc (GFRD.L) Announced that its Morrison Construction business has achieved North Scotland contract for the Shetland Islands Council to build the new Anderson High School for £55.7 million. It will carry out the construction of the new four-storey high school for up to 1,180 pupils and the three-storey 100-bed residential block and associated infrastructure works, providing a replacement for the existing high school on the Clickimin site in Lerwick, Shetland. Also, the company will invest £1.7 million in the funding for the project.

Helios Underwriting Plc (HUW.L) Announced that it has agreed to acquire Nameco (No 76) Limited and Kempton Underwriting Limited, limited liability members of Lloyd’s (“LLV”s), for a total consideration of 1,454,536 new ordinary shares in the company. The agreed aggregate price of the LLVs acquisition is £2.4 million and this is based on their estimated combined net asset value (the number of shares to be issued is based on the 162.5p share price prevailing at the time the terms were agreed). The combined 2015 underwriting capacity of the LLVs is £2.0 million. The company’s directors consider the terms of the transaction to be fair and reasonable so far as its shareholders are concerned.

Herencia Resources Plc (HER.L) Announced that through its 100% owned Herencia Resources (Chile) SA, it has entered into a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Errazuriz Group of Chile to evaluate the opportunity to merge Herencia’s copper assets with Errazuriz’s nearby operating Tambillos copper mine, to create a leading Chilean mid-tier copper-silver-gold production joint venture company. The proposed Tambillos-Herencia Joint Venture (THJV) will look to combine the current Tambillos mining operations with Herencia’s proposed open pit Picachos Project. The THJV will consist of Tambillos’ two underground mines and their nominal 1Mtpa Tambillos treatment plant and Herencia’s proposed Picachos open pit operations. Ore from both projects will be fed to the centralised processing hub at Tambillos to achieve a multi-mine copper-silver-gold operation. Both groups are undertaking their own due diligence and it is anticipated that if any agreement is to be executed, it would be finalised by December 2015. Additionally, the company also announced that as announced on 7 August 2013, a group of private equity investors provided funding of $0.67million to make the initial Picachos option payment and complete the first stage of the work program in exchange for the right to subscribe for equity in the subsidiary company that owns the Picachos Project. To provide the company full ownership to the Picachos project, an agreement with four of the five private equity shareholders has been reached to convert their right to equity in the subsidiary company that owns the Picachos Project for shares in the company. Accordingly, a total of 119,627,624 ordinary shares of 0.1p each at an effective price of 0.25p per share will be issued. In respect of the remaining minority investor, it has been agreed that the company will acquire their interest in the subsidiary company that owns the Picachos Project in the next 12 months for total consideration of $300,000.

HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA.L) Announced, in its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2015, that net interest income dropped to $16,444 million from $17,405 million recorded in the same period a year ago. Profit after tax widened to $10,721 million from $10,318 million. Diluted earnings per share stood at $0.48, down from $0.50. The Directors declared a second interim dividend in respect of the financial year ending 31 December 2015 of $0.10 per ordinary share. Separately, the company announced that it has entered into an agreement to sell its entire business in Brazil, comprising HSBC Bank Brasil S.A – Banco Multiplo and HSBC Servicos e Participacoes Ltda (collectively ‘HSBC Brazil’), to Banco Bradesco S.A (‘Bradesco’) for an all cash consideration of $5.2 billion (‘the Transaction’).

Impact Holdings (UK) Plc (IHUK.L) Announced, in its preliminary results for the year ended 31st March 2015, that revenue stood at £1.99 million, compared to £1.74 million in the same period last year. Operating profit stood at £0.25 million, compared to a loss of £2.98 million. Profit after tax was £0.26 million, compared to £0.97 million. Diluted earnings per share stood at 8.3p, compared to 3.2p.

Intertek Group Plc (ITRK.L) Announced, in its unaudited interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2015, that its reported revenue stood at £1060.2 million, compared to £1024.3 million in the preceding period. Profit after tax was £104.8 million compared to £90.3 million. The company’s diluted earnings per share was 60.3p, compared to 51.3p.

Ironveld Plc (IRON.L) Announced, in its operational update, that offtake discussions are ongoing with draft term sheets being discussed and interest levels remain high. The HPI price remains high and is resilient to the cyclicality of the market. Due diligence is proceeding steadily with both the debt funders who could provide a significant portion of the project’s funding and potential Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (“BBBEE”) partner funders who have indicated that they may provide funding to the project in addition to the BBBEE funding. On the ground, significant progress is being made with draft construction contracts for the smelter being circulated. Requests for quotes for mining operations will be issued before month end. Additionally, the company was informed by Sylvania Platinum that the Section 11 applications to transfer the Iron mining rights from HACRA and Pan Palladium to Ironveld’s HW Iron and Lapon subsidiaries have been submitted to the Department of Mineral Resources (“DMR”).

Keller Group Plc (KLR.L) Announced interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2015. Group revenue was down 4% at £755.8 million (2014: £788.2 million), reflecting a lower contribution from major projects in the first half of 2015. Despite this, Group operating profit increased to £37.7 million (2014: £35.5 million) and the Group operating margin was 5.0%, up on 4.5% at the end of the first half of 2014. On a constant currency basis, revenue was down 5% and the operating profit was up 4%. The Board has decided to increase the interim dividend by 5% to 8.8p per share (2014: 8.4p). The dividend will be paid on 4 September 2015 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 14 August 2015.Profit before tax was £34.6 million (2014: £32.5 million) and earnings per share were 31.1p (2014: 29.5p). Chief Executive Alain Michaelis said “While conditions remain challenging in many of the markets in which we operate, the recovery in US construction, the Group’s largest market, remains robust and broad-based. This, together with the benefits from improvements that the Group has implemented, means that the Board remains confident that the Group’s results for the year will be in line with current market expectations.”

Kennedy Ventures Plc (KENV.L) Announced, in its operational update, that the re-commissioning of the power supply and front end of the mine, is scheduled for Q3 2015, along with the modification and re-commissioning of the gravity separation plant. The resumption of mining activities scheduled for Q3 2015, while the first delivery of production to the offtake partner scheduled for the beginning of Q4 2015. The re-commissioning of the power supply and front end of the mine has commenced. The company is making good progress and is expected to complete mid Q3 2015. The company anticipates that the first phase of production, commencing in Q3 2015, will see a build-up of throughput at the course recovery plant to treat up to 10,500 tonnes per month; estimated to produce around 5,000lbs Ta205 per month. The Directors expect that the costs of production will be amongst the lowest in the industry. An independent study has confirmed the estimated resource of 843,000t grading 490ppm Ta2O5.

Mosman Oil and Gas Limited (MSMN.L) Announced in relevance to its prior announcement that it has been designated preferred bidder status and granted a period of exclusivity on a potential acquisition with a total purchase consideration of approximately £4.2 million for 100% of the acquisition. The company’s current intention is to acquire 40% of the potential acquisition and it is working to progress agreements with now selected non-related joint venture partners. Its intended 40% interest will require it to pay approximately £1.7 million of the total purchase consideration.

Netcall Plc (NET.L) Announced a trading update for the year ended 30 June 2015. The Board anticipates a satisfactory outcome for the year and expects to report record turnover and adjusted EBITDA. It is also pleasing to report a rise in order inflow during the second half of the year which augurs well for the future.

Northgate Plc (NTG.L) Announced a refinancing of the company’s debt facilities. The Company has issued a €100 million, 2.38% seven year debt private placement to an institutional investor. The Group’s principal bank facility has accordingly been reduced from £499 million to £424 million. In addition, the principal bank facility has been renegotiated at a lower margin and the maturity has been extended by a further two years to June 2020.

Oakley Capital Investments Limited (OCL.L) Announced that with access to the investment strategy being pursued by Oakley Capital Private Equity L.P. (Fund I) and its successor fund, Oakley Capital Private Equity II (Fund II), announces that Fund II has acquired a minority stake in Daisy Group Holdings Limited (Daisy) from existing shareholders Matthew Riley and Toscafund Limited for a consideration of approximately £39 million. The investment has been undertaken by Fund II following Daisy’s recent acquisition of listed UK IT services company, Phoenix IT Group Plc for approximately £135 million, a transaction which created the first truly converged IT and unified communications company in the UK SMB and mid-market.

Premier Technical Services Grp Plc (PTSG.L) Announced, in its trading update for the six months ended 30 June 2015, that the group performed better in the period as it delivered strong growth and will continue to trade in line with market expectations for the full year ending 31 December 2015. The combination of the ‘Pendrich’ acquisitions, completed in June 2015, into PTSG Electrical Services has been progressing reasonably. The company has secured a number of significant new contract in the period and the board believes that it will impact positively on the group’s results in 2016 and further.

Scotgold Resources Limited (SGZ.L) Announced, in its quarterly cash flow report for the quarter ended 30 June 2015, that cash at end of quarter was A$802,649. Additionally the company also announced, in its June 2015 quarterly activities report, that a thorough review of the 2013 Cononish Development plan was completed in order to identify opportunities to not only improve on the plan but to also improve the confidence in the plan. As a result of this review, further work was undertaken on the mining methodology, access design, geotechnical evaluation and overall mine design. The company holds five option agreements with the Crown over the highly prospective Dalradian sequence in the south western Grampian Highlands of Scotland. The Crown has informed the company, subject to the conclusion of the appropriate legal agreements, that is has re-granted all the company’s existing option areas for a further 3 years, subject to a reduction in area in the Inverliever option area. The company are currently finalising these agreements with the Crown and expects them to be concluded shortly. Further to Vicarage Capital Limited ‘s appointment, the company announced that Vicarage had placed 90,000,000 new ordinary the company shares at an issue price of £0.005p each with new shareholders to raise £450,000 (before brokerage fees of 6%) for the company.

Smith (DS) Plc (SMDS.L) Announced the completion of the acquisition of the corrugated activities of Grupo Lantero on Friday 31 July, for approximately €190 million (c.£135 million), following receipt of competition authority clearance.

Telit Communications Plc (TCM.L) Announced, in its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2015, that revenue surged to $156.3 million from $138.2 million posted in the same period preceding year. The company’s profit before tax stood at $8.7 million, compared to a profit of $7.3 million reported in the previous year. The basic earnings per share stood at 6.4c compared to earnings of 5.7c reported in the previous year. The company further stated no interim dividend is declared for the period. The company’s cash and cash equivalents stood at $36.6 million (2014: $21.3 million).

Toumaz Limited (TMZ.L) Announced, in its trading update for the six months ended 30 June 2015, that revenues climbed 30% to to £14.0 million from £10.8 million posted in the same period preceding year. The company’s EBIDTA loss stood at £5.5 million, compared to a loss of £4.5 million reported in the previous year. The company’s cash and cash equivalents stood at £5.5 million (As on 31 December 2014: £12.5 million). The Digital Audio division revenues grew 34% to £13.8 million (H1 2014: £10.3 million). The growth was driven by the international expansion of digital radio and the fast emergence of the connected audio market. In Healthcare division, the commercial delivery of SensiumVitals® remains slow as the revenues stood at £0.2 million (H1 2014: £0.5 million). The board is confident that the fundamental economic and clinical value of the system will be better based on the recent trials.

Turbo Power Systems Inc. (TPS.L) Announced results for the quarter ended 30 June 2015. Revenue in the quarter ended 30 June 2015 was down 2% at £4.08 million (Q2 2014: £4.16 million). The Company recorded a net profit of £0.08 million (Q2 2014: loss £0.90 million). CEO Carlos Neves said “The strategy, current results and the short term opportunities re-affirm the Board’s measured confidence in our performance for the rest of the financial year.”

Ultra Electronics Holdings Plc (ULE.L) Announced, in its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2015, that that revenue slid to £331.7 million from £341.0 million posted in the same period last year. The company’s underlying profit before tax stood at £47.4 million, compared to a profit of £50.5 million reported in the previous year. The underlying earnings per share stood at 52.2p compared to earnings of 55.4p reported in the previous year. The company further stated the board approved an interim dividend of 13.89p per share will be paid on 25 September 2015 to shareholders on the register at 28 August 2015 and has not been included as a liability at 30 June 2015.

Vmoto Limited (VMT.L) Announced, in its update on its activities for the quarter ended 30 June 2015, that trading has been in line with management expectations. Over 22,000 units were sold for 2Q15, up 13% from 1Q15, with the mix of sales evolving given the growing number of higher margin sales into international markets. Further, it successfully raised $8.9 million through an oversubscribed placement to existing and new institutional and sophisticated investors to fund growth initiatives. The June 2015 quarter was again another productive quarter for Vmoto as unit sales across the various domestic and international sales channel increased in line with management expectations. The Company expects to see an increase in in production and sales over the coming months in line with expectations previously provided to the market.