Equities have started the day on good form following Friday’s pick up after the sell off earlier last week. The Trader Dominic Picarda is still cautious on whether the correction is done with, although he remains confident there are new highs to be set soon.
IC TIP UPDATES:
Online betting exchange Betfair (BET) has rejected an initial 880p a share offer from a consortium of CVC Capital Partners and Richard Koch and Anthony Ball, saying it undervalues the company and its growth prospects. We maintain our buy rating on Betfair.
Kurdish oil explorer Genel (GENL) has issued a trading update for the period from 1 January to date, repeating its forecast for full year production of 45,000-55,000 barrels of oil per day which will give revenues in the range of $300m-$400m. The company has started exporting oil to Turkey by road but the construction of a pipeline which will allow more volume to be exported is on track. Buy.
Restore (RST) has acquired record management business Atix for £932,000, funded from internal cash resources. We keep our buy rating.
Arian Silver (AGQ) has acknowledged the recent fall in its share price and says there is no known reason for it apart from the recent weakness in the silver price.
KEY STORIES:
Miner Bumi (BUMI) has requested suspension of its shares after admitting that it will not be able to publish its results before the end of April due to ongoing work to confirm a number of items on the balance sheet of its PT Berau Coal Energy subsidiary.
Reckitt Benckiser (RB.) has announced a 7 per cent rise in like for like net revenue in the opening quarter of the year, boosted by continued strong growth in emerging markets.
Warnings from Spirent Communications (SPT) of a slowdown in its end markets materialised in the opening quarter of the year, with management admitting that the slowdown was actually ‘more pronounced’ than anticipated. Revenues fell by $20.6m to $96.8m and operating profits are expected to fall too.
International Personal Finance (IPF) has announced that strong demand for its retail bond issue means it will close at 10.30am this morning.
OTHER COMPANY NEWS:
Sareum Holdings (SAR) has signed a co-development agreement with non-profit organisation SRI International to advance Sareum’s Tyrosine Kinase 2 programme.
Sound Oil (SOU) announces a successful commissioning inspection of the Rapagnano gas field which means production will commence there before the end of this month.
GW Pharmaceuticals (GWP) has received patent clearance for its spray device for its Sativex product.
Recently listed graphene producer Graphene Nanochem (GRPH) has extended its agreement with a tier one oil and gas producer for the sale of its PlatClear second generation biofuel which will see volumes double in 2014.
