Broker Upgrades and Downgrades & Key UK Corporate Snapshots 02 November 2015

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British Land Co Plc (BLND.L) Announced that it has leased the first floor of its Marble Arch House, W1, to Cirrus Logic. The company entered into an agreement with The Portman Estate to purchase and redevelop Marble Arch House in 2011.

DCC Plc (DCC.L) Announced that DCC Energy, its largest division, has completed the acquisition of Butagaz S.A.S. The acquisition became unconditional in all respects on 01 September 2015 following the receipt of competition clearance and has been consolidated in the results of the Group from that date.

Epwin Group Plc (EPWN.L) Announced the acquisition of Vannplastic Limited, (trading as “Ecodek”), for £5.2 million of initial consideration. Additionally, the Board announced that despite challenging market conditions, the company’s profits for the year ended 31 December 2015 are anticipated to be in line with market expectations.

First Derivatives Plc (FDP.L) Announced that it has secured a contract from the National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE) for a range of next generation trading services, based on its kdb+ software platform. After a successful user testing, the system currently has gone live and as hence NSE will be able to provide its clients with the capability to test their algorithms before they are made live.

Fulham Shore Plc (FUL.L) Announced that the company has entered into a franchise agreement with Bukowski Limited, the owner of Bukowski Grill restaurants. Under the Franchise Agreement, the company intends to open a new Bukowski restaurant on D’Arblay Street in Soho, London. The company already holds a 15 year lease on the site through its wholly owned subsidiary, 10 DAS Limited. Fit-out of the site is expected to commence shortly, with the Franchise Restaurant expected to open in early 2016. Total fit out costs are expected to be in the region of £500,000. Under the franchise agreement, the company will pay to Bukowski Ltd an upfront franchise fee of £8,500 and an ongoing franchise royalty calculated at the rate of 5% of the Franchise Restaurant’s revenue. The franchise agreement is for an initial period of three years, at the expiry of which the company will be free to renew or cancel the franchise agreement at no additional cost. Under the terms of the franchise agreement, the company will source and purchase relevant ingredients and prepared products for the Franchise Restaurant at an agreed price from the Bukowski Ltd’s central kitchen. In addition, through the company’s existing supply arrangements with an independent third party, Bukowski Ltd’s central kitchen will now prepare and supply certain ingredients to the company’s Franco Manca restaurants at an agreed price through the independent third party. The board of the company anticipates that the value of these ingredients will initially be circa £200,000 per annum.

Go-Ahead Group Plc (GOG.L) Announced the appointment of Patrick Butcher as the company’s Chief Financial Officer.

Haydale Graphene Industries Plc (HAYD.L) Announced, in its preliminary results for the year ended 30 June 2015, that its reported revenue stood at £0.64 million, compared to £0.02 million in the preceding year. Loss net of tax was £2.89 million compared to £2.15 million. The company’s diluted loss per share was 0.25p, compared to 0.28p. Moreover, the company announced its intention to raise approximately £5.6 million through the issue of 3,510,625 New Shares at an issue price of 160 pence per New Share.

Henderson Group Plc (HGG.L) Announced that it has now completed the acquisition of Perennial Fixed Interest Partners Pty Ltd (“PFI”) and Perennial Growth Management Pty Ltd (“PGM”) from IOOF Holdings Ltd (“IOOF”) and the employee-shareholders of each company. The two companies have combined Assets Under Management of £5.0 billion / A$10.8 billion (30 September 2015).

Hikma Pharmaceuticals Plc (HIK.L) Announced, in its trading statement, that it is performing well across most of its businesses in the year to date, particularly in our Injectables business and in our MENA markets. Trading in its Generics business is currently below our expectations due to slower than expected growth in colchicine sales. Its Injectables business is continuing to perform very well. In the US, we are benefiting from our strong portfolio mix. The transfer of the Bedford products to our global manufacturing facilities is proceeding ahead of plan – it launched thiotepa in September and, more recently, received approval for phentolamine, which will launch in early November. Its Branded business is performing well across most markets. In constant currency, growth in the year to date continues to be driven by a recovery in Algeria, good demand in Saudi Arabia and the other GCC markets, and strong growth in Egypt. The company continues to see good demand for the legacy products in our Generics business, whilst the contribution of certain market opportunities has continued to decline, as anticipated, due to greater competition in the market.

HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA.L) Announced, in its results for the quarter ended 30 September 2015, that total operating income stood at $16,361 million, compared to $19,038 million in the same period last year. Operating profit stood at $5,408 million, compared to $3,924 million. Profit after tax was $5,463 million, compared to $3,622 million. Diluted earnings per share stood at $0.25, compared to $0.17. Dividend per ordinary share (in respect of the period) stood at $0.10, compared to $0.10. Additionally, the company announced that there will be an audio webcast presentation and conference call today for investors and analysts. The speakers will be: Douglas Flint, Group Chairman; Stuart Gulliver, Group Chief Executive; and Iain Mackay, Group Finance Director.

hVIVO Plc (HVO.L) Announced, in its trading update, that it has commenced the Phase IIa work in September 2015 and added that the programme would be significantly progressed by the 2015 year end. The Phase IIa clinical programme of work for PrEP is forecasted to complete during 2016 and revenue of £10.0 million recognised in full by the 2016 year end. Gross profit margin is expected to be at least 29.5%. The Company’s cash balance is forecasted to be more than £27.0 million as at 31 December 2015. Separately, the company announced that its investment in PrEP Biopharm Limited (“PrEP”) would continue the development of the prophylactic compound PrEP-001 (previously JNJ-43260295). Under the terms of the transaction, hVIVO is acquiring equity in PrEP for £14.0 million cash consideration and PrEP is contracting with hVIVO Services Limited to conduct a £10.0 million Phase IIa clinical programme of work in 2015 and 2016.

Interbulk Group Plc (INB.L) Announced, in its trading update for the year ended 30 September 2015, that it expects to report results for the year ended 30 September 2015 in line with the announcement issued on 24 August 2015, which stated that the profit before tax (before intangible amortisation and exceptional items) for the year ending 30 September 2015 would be in line with that reported last year. This was driven by the combination of lower operating profit due to reduced activity levels primarily in Europe, continuing weakness of the Euro, and price pressure from competitors, offset by interest savings achieved from reduced debt. The Group has achieved some encouraging growth in the Americas and Asia during the year, but has not seen any significant pick-up in activity in Europe in the second half of the year which has affected both the Group’s liquid and dry bulk activity levels. Also, the Group has invested in its Asian network, enlarging its direct representation in key countries, which further strengthens its ability to participate in the expected chemical logistics growth. Meanwhile, the Group’s net debt at 30 September 2015 is expected to show a reduction for the sixth consecutive year.

IP Group Plc (IPO.L) Announced that its portfolio company, Ultrahaptics Limited (“Ultrahaptics” or “the Company”), has completed a fundraising of £10.1 million. Following completion of the financing round, IP Group’s undiluted beneficial stake of 30.1% in Ultrahaptics is valued at £7.1 million and IP Venture Fund II’s 11.1% stake is valued at £2.6 million. As a result of the Group’s 33% limited partnership interest in IP Venture Fund II, its effective beneficial interest in Ultrahaptics is approximately 33.8%. The fundraising has resulted in an unrealised fair value gain to IP Group of £4.6 million and a fair value gain of £1.6m to IP Venture Fund II. IP Group and IP Venture Fund II committed £1.7 million and £0.8 million respectively to the fundraising.

London Stock Exchange Group Plc (LSE.L) Announced that it has completed the sale of Proquote, a market data vendor and retail trading provider in the United Kingdom, to IRESS, as announced on 15 September 2015. The terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.

LPA Group Plc (LPA.L) Announced, in its trading update for year ended 30 September 2015, that the factory load improved significantly following a challenging first half, particularly in the LED-based lighting activity, while it delivered a better performance in the second half. It has overcame majority of its previously reported problems of the integration of the fabrication capability into the electro-mechanical facility. Hence, the board expects that results for the year would be ahead of market expectations. Order entry was stronger throughout the year amounting to £26.8 million while the order book at the end of the year totalled more than £18.0 million.

Noida Toll Bridge Company Limited (NTBC.L) Announced, in its interim results for the period ended 30 September 2015, that revenues rose to $10.3 million from $10.1 million recorded in the same period a year ago. Profit after tax narrowed to $4.6 million from $5.9 million.

NWF Group Plc (NWH.L) Announced that it has acquired Staffordshire Fuels Limited, a 32 million litres per year fuel distribution business based in Staffordshire and the West Midlands. It will help driving the company’s annual volume by 8% while the earnings will also enhanced for the full year. The acquisition was funded from the group’s existing bank facilities.

Old Mutual Plc (OML.L) Announced that Nedbank Group Limited, the majority-owned South African banking subsidiary of the company, released its third quarter trading update today, 2 November 2015. Net interest income for the nine months ended 30 September 2015 increased 3,7% to R17 681 million (Q3 2014: R17 043 million), supported by annualised growth in average interest-earning banking assets of 10,4% (Q3 2014: 9,9%), including an increased proportion of high quality liquid assets held for Basel III liquidity coverage ratio requirements. The net interest margin narrowed to 3,32% (Q3 2014: 3,53% and June 2015: 3,36%) as the benefits of endowment income and improved pricing in certain advances categories were offset by asset mix changes, increased levels of high-quality liquid assets and a higher cost of funding, inclusive of the funding cost of its investment in ETI. The credit loss ratio (CLR) remained below its through-the-cycle target range at 0,76% (Q3 2014: 0,77%). During the period the boards of Nedbank Group and Nedbank Limited announced the following the appointment of Stanley Subramoney as an independent non-executive director of Nedbank Group and Nedbank with effect from 23 September 2015 and the retirement of Julian Roberts as a non-executive director on 31 October 2015 following his retirement from the company. Additionally, the company also announced that in line with its previous announcement dated 15 April 2015, the company confirmed the appointment of Bruce Hemphill, Group Chief Executive, as an executive director of the company has taken effect from 1 November 2015.

Ophir Energy Plc (OPHR.L) Announced that it has completed operations on the G4/50-10 exploration well that was testing the Soy Siam prospect. The well reached a total depth of 1,627 metres (True Vertical Depth Sub-Sea) and encountered the primary Miocene reservoir targets on prognosis in terms of both reservoir quality and depth. However, all reservoirs were dry and no hydrocarbon shows were encountered. The well has therefore been plugged and abandoned as a dry hole. Preliminary well failure analysis suggests that the structure had no access to charge, which was identified pre-drill as one of the key risks. The rig will now move to drill the Parichat South West prospect. This well is independent of Soy Siam as it is testing a different petroleum system. The South West fault block is the initial target with a mean prospective resource of 25 MMbo and a 32% chance of success. If successful, the Parichat South East fault block would form an immediate follow on location.

Petra Diamonds Limited (PDL.L) Announced that its sustainability report for the financial year ended 30 June 2015 has been published and is available to view on the company’s website: www.petradiamonds.com/investors/results-reports/.

Real Estate Investors Plc (RLE.L) Announced that it has acquired 3 investment properties for an aggregate cash consideration of £22.23 million. The acquisitions provide a net initial yield of 8.22% with a weighted average unexpired lease term (‘WAULT’) of 8.49 years, in line with the Group’s investment strategy to acquire properties which can deliver both attractive yields and capital growth. The properties produce a total annual rental income of £1,932,995 and provide a number of asset management opportunities including rent reviews, lease renewals and planning consent.

RWS Holdings Plc (RWS.L) Announced the acquisition of the entire issued share capital of Corporate Translations Inc for a cash consideration of $70.0 million. The acquisition will be funded by $25.0 million from internal cash resources and $45.0 million through a five year loan provided by Barclays. Mary and Ted Gawlicki, co-founders of CTi, will retain their current positions for up to a year, to allow us to benefit from their significant knowledge and experience as we integrate the business into the enlarged Group.

Share Plc (SHRE.L) Announced that the company‘s market share of peer group revenues for the third quarter increased to a record high of 8.41%, up from 8.16% in Q2 and significantly higher than the 7.62% achieved for Q3 last year. However, reflecting stock market volatility and subdued investor activity, revenues in the third quarter showed a 1% decrease year-on-year. This represented a stronger performance than its peer group, whose collective revenues decreased by 11% in Q3. Assets held on behalf of customers decreased by 5% quarter on quarter to £2.7 billion. This compared to a reduction of nearly 7% in the FTSE All Share Index over the third quarter, demonstrating the continued relative strength of customer interaction. The company also stated that the dealing activity in October has continued to be weak, undermined by concerns over China and global growth, and uncertainty as to when the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates, and the Group has yet to see the usual seasonal pick up in dealing volumes up after the quieter summer months. The Share directors therefore expect that a continuation of current subdued dealing levels for the rest of the year is likely to mean that results for 2015 would be below current market expectations.

Trading Emissions Plc (TRE.L) Announced, in its final results for the financial year ended 30 June 2015 that operating loss declined to £11.30 million from £29.29 million recorded in the previous year. Loss after tax narrowed to £11.28 million from £29.24 million.