STOCKS NEWS EUROPE-UK small caps gain 0.7 pct by midday
STOCKS NEWS Reuters Results diary
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11:06GMT 31March2009-UK small caps gain 0.7 percent by midday
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The FTSE Small Cap index .FTSC gains 0.7 percent in midday deals, faring worse than both the blue chips .FTSE and the midcaps .FTMC, which add 3 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively.
St Ives (SIV.L) falls 6 percent after the printer reports a 50 percent drop in half-yearly pretax profit, hit by volatile demand and pricing pressure, and slashes its dividend by 65 percent, prompting RBS to cut its forecasts.
Semiconductor designer Cyan (CYAN.L) rockets nearly 105 percent higher as investors cheer news of contract wins in China and Europe for the supply of microcontrollers and software to run automated metering.
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11:03GMT 31March2009-Homeserve up; sees FY profit at top end
------------------------------------------------------------ Shares in Homeserve (HSV.L) jump 7.8 percent after the British home insurance group delivers a record performance for the year to end-March, saying its profit would come in at the top end of market forecasts and it expects similar for next year.
"The shares are currently trading on a full year 2010 price earnings of 9.8 times, extremely low in the context of Homeserve's historical valuation range, and we expect the statement to be received well," RBS says in a note.
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11:03GMT 31March2009-St Ives falls after results
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Shares in St Ives (SIV.L) slide over 9 percent after the printer reports a 50 percent drop in half-yearly pretax profit, hit by volatile demand and pricing pressure, and slashes its dividend by 65 percent, prompting RBS to cut its forecasts.
RBS points out in a note that pretax profit at 6.2 million pounds came in below its forecast of 7.2 million pounds, while it had assumed a 50 percent cut in the dividend (though without any guidance from management).
The broker reduces its earnings per share forecast for full-year 2009 to 9.6 pence from 10.5 pence -- with a full-year dividend of 5.25 pence -- and for full-year 2010, to 10 pence from 10.8 pence.
RBS points out the shares offer a 5.2 times price to earnings ratio and a 10.6 percent yield, which it says looks cheap, and sticks with its "add" recommendation, but says "we believe that there needs to be some recovery in the market backdrop, or significant industry capacity cuts, before we see a material rerating". For more double click on [ID:nBNG403813]
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11:00GMT 31March2009-Cineworld up; UK admissions up 11.9 pct
------------------------------------------------------------ Shares in Cineworld (CINE.L) tick 1.2 percent higher, as UK cineplexes continue to see the benefits of recession after data released by the Film Distributors Association (FDA) shows run rate of admissions for the 2 months ended February 2009 to the UK Box Office now 11.9 percent ahead of last year.
"In times of pressure on consumer spending, Cineworld is well placed, the shares are not expensive and have a significant (and, we believe, secure) yield," Altium Securities, which rates the company as a "buy", says in a note.
FDA figures show underlying strength of admissions in the UK box office has strengthened from the 6.6 percent growth in fourth quarter 2008, to +7.7 percent in January 2009 to +16.4 percent in February.
"What is even more encouraging is that this performance has been achieved with no major Hollywood blockbuster yet released," the broker says.
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10:03GMT 31March2009-Cyan rockets on contract wins
-------------------------------------------------- Shares in semiconductor designer Cyan (CYAN.L) rocket nearly 105 percent higher as investors cheer news of contract wins in China and Europe for the supply of microcontrollers and software to run automated metering.
"There are a number of further exciting opportunities, particularly in the field of RF (radio frequency) enabled microcontrollers, where we are working closely with Micrel (MCRL.O) amongst others, and in the field of demand control products for regions with insufficient electricity generation capacity," says chief executive Kenn Lamb.
Edison Investment says in a note: "These orders, across a range of sectors, provide evidence of the successful technology positioning of Cyan's microcontrollers and initial volumes in markets that have substantial potential."
Traders point out that investors have been eagerly waiting for the announcement of the contracts, and highlight that the market is encouraged by the news of the further opportunities, currently at an early stage of development.
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09:39GMT 31Mar2009-Shire up on deal with GSK to promote Vyvanse
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Shares in Shire (SHP.L) gain 7.7 percent after the blue chip pharmaceutical company strikes a deal with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L), the world's second largest drugs group, to co-promote its hyperactivity medicine Vyvanse in the United States.
Charles Stanley says, in its view, Shire's price rise reflects not simply the first collaborative agreement between the firm and a pharma sector major, but also "the possibility that this move could prove to be the precursor to a full bid for the company in due course."
The broker says "it is wary of over-committing to the increased chance of full take-out at this stage, however, the move should, in our view, go some way towards reminding investors to look through near-term EPS weakness towards Shire's attraction...relative to other, larger, pharma sector majors."
Charles Stanley repeats its "accumulate" rating on Shire.
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09:26GMT 31March2009-Mouchel dips on restructuring costs
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Shares in Mouchel Group (MCHL.L) dip 2.2 percent as reorganisational costs and slowing growth overshadow what analysts say are fairly robust first-half results.
Numis downgrades the stock to "reduce" from "add" reflecting the cost of the shake-up, while Brewin Dolphin says Mouchel will need a good second-half to meet full-year expectations.
"Rail's performance appears poor, the slowdown overseas (largely Middle East) has impacted profitability and working capital, the contract win rate is noted as being below its target range, and restructuring costs will be taken to further reduce the cost base," Brewin Dolphin analyst Mark Fleetwood says.
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09:08GMT 31March2009-Bloomsbury falls; cautious outlook weighs
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Shares in Bloomsbury Publishing (BLPU.L), the publisher of JK Rowling's Harry Potter series, fall 9.8 percent knocked by cautious outlook comments in the company's full-year results statement.
While Numis Securities points out that the results were good -- with pretax profit of 11.6 million pounds ahead of the broker's 10.5 million pound estimate -- it highlights that visibility has decreased, with the company saying unit sales "might be lower in the later part of 2009 than in 2008".
"We remain cautious on UK consumer-facing media and our 'hold' recommendation balances this with the group's strong balance sheet," says Numis in a note.
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