Digital Barriers’ directors keep their promise

The latest purchase by Digital Barriers is Visimetrics, a Prestwick-based specialist in high-performance digital video recording, storage and management for surveillance systems. Digital will pay £3.3m upfront and a deferred consideration of up to £4.7m, most of which will be paid in shares. Recent acquisitions have eaten through most of the group's £25m cash pile, and in December it announced a proposed share placing to raise £10m. At that time, six of the directors entered into an irrevocable undertaking to buy 234,479 of the 7.17m shares placed. Subsequently, purchases were made at 145p by managing director Colin Evans (68,965 shares), non-executive director Paul Taylor (34,482 shares), finance director Nik Holgate (6,896 shares) and group development director Zak Doffman (20,689 shares). Additionally, executive chairman Tom Black purchased 68,965 shares through his self-invested pension plan (Sipp), and senior independent director Bernie Waldron bought 34,482 shares through his Sipp.

Jonas Crosland

Looking good for Liddell as permits secured

Roger Liddell, a non-executive director of African Minerals (AMI), more than doubled his existing holding in the Aim-traded miner, by forking out £168,793 for an additional 50,160 shares at 336.5p apiece. The purchase was made ahead of news that AMI had secured two gold exploration permits covering 400 square kilometres within the promising Dapaong exploration area in Togo, West Africa. The permits will enhance AMI's existing African portfolio and are valid for an initial period of three years. The share price of AMI has reflected a period of mixed fortunes over the past year, although the valuation has risen by a third over the past month, due in part to news that the group would save around $1bn (£618m) after it cancelled plans to build a new port for its Tonkolili mine. Instead of a new port at Tagrin Point, AMI now intends to expand the existing rail and port infrastructure at Pepel.

Mark Robinson

Marsh sells for a good reason

Usually when senior management offload a major chunk of shares it is a cause for concern, but Ronald Marsh, chief executive of packaging group RPC, has good reason.

He announced his plans to retire from the group after 21 years of service last October. Together with his wife they disposed of 1m shares, or 41 per cent of their combined holding, at 410p a share.

Mr Marsh has been chief executive since the group's flotation in 1993, during which time the share price has more than tripled and over the last five years the dividend has more than doubled. Pim Vervaat, who joined as finance director in 2007, will take over the role of chief executive in October this year; Mr Vervaat worked closely with Mr Marsh on the Superfos acquisition. Trading on 11 times forecast earnings, RPC's shares remain a buy because, despite tough trading in Europe and falling revenue, profit margins are improving.

Office2office profit warning puts dividend on the block

A profit warning and cash flowing out of the door means we have concerns for any investors hoping the dividend will be held at office supplier Office2office

Investors should be wary about following directors actions by buying in

Office2office (OFF) as the cash position is in a parlous state putting the dividend under threat and the purchases are far from compelling. Shares in Office2office slumped by 20 per cent to lows last seen over three years ago, as it issued another profit warning on falling revenue in its largest business unit Managed Procurement, responsible for 68 per cent of sales and 62 per cent of cash profits.

This prompted chief executive Simon Moate to buy 10,000 shares at 100p, and chief operating officer Steve McKeever to buy 5,364 purchase at 101.8p. But putting this in perspective it only represents 4.1 per cent of the 370,909 in share awards to the pair last year, and represents only 3.2 per cent of Mr Moate’s 2011 total remuneration and 2.3 per cent of Mr McKeever’s.

Office2office’s dividend also looks destined for the chopping block. Management now expects underlying pre-tax profits around £6.5m, down 23 per cent from last year’s £8.4m. The bigger problem is the whooshing sound of cash flowing out of the door. At the half year results net cash generated from operations had collapsed from £5.7m, to £1.1m. Office2office said in the trading update borrowings will be up on last year.

Office2office has some painful demands on its cash as well. It has to make £2.5m annual loan repayments and interest costs had almost doubled at the half year stage. This leaves the £2.8m dividend payments looking exposed.

IC VIEW

Broker Panmure Gordon has slashed EPS forecasts by 20 per cent to 13.3p leaving the shares, now at 100p, trading on a PE ratio of 7.5 times. If the dividend is held the shares now yield 11.4 per cent but income seekers should beware catching this falling knife.

 John Ficenec

Buys

Sells

Table compiled by Robert Ansted

Key to abbreviations: ch = chairman; ce = chief executive; cfo = chief financial officer; fd = finance director; coo = chief operating officer; cs =company secretary; md = managing director