You are currently browsing the Online Stockmarket Trading Update blog archives for January, 2010.
The US markets closed lower again falling as much as 2%. The Dow closed down 213 points or 2.0% at 10,389, the S&P500 was down 21 points or 1.9% at 1116 and the Nasdaq was down 25 points or 1.1% at 2265.
Further to the Company’s announcement on 16 September 2009 concerning its strategic co-operation with Fujian Materials (Group) Co., Ltd, a Fujian state-owned enterprise, the Company is pleased to announce that, through its wholly-owned subsidiary ASF Energy Pty Limited, it has entered into a Coal Sales Agreement with FMGC for the immediate sale and export of coal to China. FMGC intends to import 2 million tonnes of coal annually from Australia, steadily increasing this to 10 million tonnes per annum and has agreed to purchase coal exclusively from ASF Group sourced from the Australian energy and resources sectors. Under the Coal Sales Agreement, ASF Energy will supply coal product to FMGC procured under a supply agreement of product initially sourced from coal fines deposits at coalfields on the south coast of New South Wales. ASF Energy is also seeking other supply sources of Australian east coast coal which could either be contracted for supply or acquired to assist ASF to expand its coal supply and export business.
FMGC has already raised a Letter of Credit in ASF Energy’s favour in respect of the first shipment, comprising approximately 45,000 tonnes of coal which is expected to depart Port Kembla by February, 2010. Subject to the successful completion and delivery of this shipment, ASF Energy intends to make regular monthly 45,000-tonne coal export shipments to FMGC, thereby creating a significant source of recurring cash flow for ASF.
Chairman of ASF Group, Ms Min Yang, said “the Company is encouraged by the exclusive working relationship with Fujian Materials that this sale transaction represents and looks forward to developing a profitable business in the export of coal from Australia to China.”
Holista CollTech Limited (HCT) is pleased to announce that it has been granted its patent in Taiwan, a market which has shown significant interest in ovine collagen. The Taiwanese Patent describes and protects the core method underlying the production of Holista CollTech’s ovine collagen until 20 May 2023. The granting of the Taiwanese Patent for ovine collagen production confirms its uniqueness and secures Holista CollTech’s position in the Taiwanese market as the only supplier of ovine collagen. The combination of granted patents in multiple jurisdictions and being first to market with an ovine collagen, strengthens Holista CollTech’s position as the only commercial supplier of ovine collagen. Holista CollTech Limited is also prosecuting patents in other jurisdictions such as the US and Japan which present significant market opportunities for the company. Patents have already been granted in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, China and Europe.
Holista CollTech Ltd (HCT) is a merger of Holista Biotech Sdn Bhd and CollTech Australia Ltd focusing on natural ingredients for health supplements and lifestyle products. The company is the only producer of sheep (ovine) collagen using its patented extraction methods and is on track to develop a nano encapsulated ovine collagen. It leads in research on herbs and food ingredients from Malaysia’s rainforest – the oldest in the world. The company’s mission is to build a world class company, focus on providing consumers with scientifically enhanced, engineered and tested natural health supplements and consumer products.
Allied Brands (ABQ) wishes to advise that through it’s Retail Management Division it has successfully executed a purchase and sale agreement with Bennett Investments Pty Ltd (formerly trading as “Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf” retail stores). These 4 new stores will form part of the Franchise Services division and are to be re-branded as Villa & Hut stores and franchised over a 6 month period. Allied Brands will pay $150,000 in total for the four stores, which are all located in Victoria. Villa & Hut has a strong brand presence in Victoria with already 20 outlets as well as the company headquarters. The funding for the acquisition will be through existing internal cash resources. This acquisition, in addition to the Freedom/BaySwiss (Steinhoff Pty Ltd) stores acquired by the Franchise services division, totals another 18 stores for the Villa & Hut group. When completed this will take the number of Villa & Hut stores nationally to 50 and add further coffee production through the Allied centralised manufacturing facility.
CEO of Allied Brands Shane Radbone said, ”this is a perfect addition to the Villa & Hut growth plans and fits ideally with our Retail Management Division. It will add four further stores for sale by the division, plus incremental coffee production and royalty income. Adding stores through our Retail Management and Franchise Services divisions is very cost effective growth for our group”. Radbone said the intention is to re-badge and franchise the stores to individual franchisees and sell as Villa & Hut franchised stores. The sale price for the stores is expected to be at least $200,000 each and provide annual royalty and product supply income to the business. CEO Villa & Hut, Franz Madlener said, ”when Villa & Hut was acquired in June 2009, we managed to sell 80% of the stores to franchisees inside 4 months. Selling franchises and providing franchise services is what we are good at”. There is already one of the new stores under a Heads of Agreement for sale and the company is hopeful of selling the remaining 3 stores over the next 6 months.
Allied Brands (ABQ) is a company specialising in the franchising sector based in Australia. Allied has three divisions to its business model. The first division is the Retail Management division, which includes the following brands : Baskin Robbins, Cookie Man, Villa and Hut and Kenny’s Cardiology. This division also has a focus on vertical integration with its own manufacturing facility in Sydney providing a range of products to the franchised stores, including coffee and cookie dough. It makes it’s money through a percentage of sales royalty income stream and margin from the manufacturing facility. The bulk of the Retail Franchised businesses are based in Australia, however, the Cookie Man brand has stores in India, China, Greece and Singapore. The second division is the Direct to the Home division, which includes the following brands : Awesome Water and Awesome Entertainment. This is a direct to the home model providing water cooler and LCD plasma screens to the home. The third division is the newly launched Franchised services division. This is a service division to the franchising sector providing services to assist franchise companies and/or those wanting to franchise.
James Gerrish
Click here to watch the presentation.
or
Click here to download the mp3 audio recording (721Kb).
General Advice Only
*******************************************
In this morning s wrap
SP500: Down 1.06%
Results underwhelming
FTSE: Down 1.67%
Commodities weigh
CHINA: down 2.93%
Oil: Down 1.77% to $77.15
Chinese plan to curb lending
Gold: down at $1112.80
USD rise
USD: Higher on risk aversion
SPI: Critical Level(s): 4850 to 5050
Pullback today
ASX News
AMP preparing defense
OZL strong production beats expectations
QAN to swoop if JAL gives up routes
Lower open expect
Index options expiry
The US markets closed lower after drops in commodities and strength in the US dollar. The Dow closed down 122 points or 1.1% at 10,603, the S&P500 was down 12 points or 1.0% at 1138 and the Nasdaq was down 29 points or 1.3% at 2291.
The Directors of Every Day Mine Services Limited (EDS) are pleased to advise that G.O.S. Drilling Pty Ltd has today executed a drilling contract with a Vale controlled joint venture, Integra Coal Operations Pty Ltd near Singleton, NSW for a number of deep core holes. This is the first stage of an extensive program planned at the Integra underground mine for a UDR 1000 rig which will run for up to 6 months.
The signing of the contract is the first with Vale and will further enhance its operational presence in the Hunter Valley coal fields. It is also expected that an additional rig may be mobilized during the term of the contract on it becoming available. EDMS and GOS Drilling look forward to working closely with Vale and Xstrata on these projects and other growth opportunities that exist in the near term.
EDMS is a diversified mining service and drilling contractor headquartered in Rutherford, NSW. The group comprises four subsidiaries who service the metalliferous and energy sectors primarily in NSW and Queensland. EDMS operates depots in Rutherford, Cobar, Gunnedah, Mackay and Mt Isa to service its expanding client base that includes China Shenhua, Peabody, Xstrata, Glencore and CBH Resources.
www.everydaymineservices.com.au
Techniche Limited (TCN) advises that it has signed a Heads of Agreement to acquire all the issued share capital in Urgent Technology Limited (UK). The assets of Urgent Technology which are being acquired include its business, intellectual property and net tangible assets.
It is expected that settlement of the sale agreement will be completed around 31 March 2010. The purchase price is GBP 3.0 million plus Net Tangible Assets at settlement. The vendors will also be entitled to additional payments should the business exceed agreed profit targets.
Urgent was established and developed by its principal, Malcolm Railson, commencing in 1997 and has established offices in the UK as well as India and the United States. Its leading asset is the eMaintenance software, an asset management system which is currently used globally. Prologic Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Techniche Limited, already owns the Australian and New Zealand distribution rights for the Urgent products having signed up in October 2009.
Living Cell Technologies Limited (LCT) today announced that it has been granted a European patent for the use of its product NTCELL in the treatment of degenerative neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Huntington’s disease and Stroke.
LCT’s European patent is based on the technology of preparing NTCELL, which are encapsulated porcine cells of the choroid plexus of the brain. The cells release growth factors and neurotrophins, which are a range of agents that protect and maintain the health of brain cells. NTCELL was designed to protect brain cells from disease and injury and to enhance the natural repair mechanisms in the brain. NTCELL has the potential to restore neural cells and tissue. The porcine choroid plexus cells are encapsulated in a seaweed-derived gel. The encapsulation protects the cells from rejection by the immune system allowing implantation without the need for toxic anti-rejection drugs.
Dr Paul Tan, Chief Executive Officer LCT said: “At a time when we are seeing regulatory approvals in Europe and the US for clinical trials with cell-based therapeutics in neurologic disorders, we can expect NTCELL to add significant value to LCT.” Living Cell Technologies (LCT) is developing cell-based products to treat life threatening human diseases. The Company owns a biocertified pig herd that it uses as a source of cells for treating diabetes and neurological disorders. For patients with Type 1 diabetes, the Company transplants microencapsulated islet cells so that near-normal blood glucose levels may be achieved without the need for administration of insulin or at significantly reduced levels. LCT also offers medical-grade porcine-derived products for the repair and replacement of damaged tissues, as well as for research and other purposes.
Happy new year and welcome to the January edition of Reflections, the monthly newsletter from MDS Financial!
In this issue:
…and plenty more!
Joke of the month:
———————————————————————————————–
“I’m not saying that the customer service in my bank is bad, but when I went in the other day and asked the clerk to check my balance … she leaned over and pushed me.”
Congratulations to Jennifer Halliday, this month’s winner of the Research Survey Joke Competition.
Jennifer has the choice of a six-month subscription to either the Research report or the Market Analyser – Bronze edition.
If you would like a chance to win, simply sign up for a free trial of MDS Financial Research, complete our feedback survey and tell us your favourite finance-related joke!
If you haven’t tried the Research report yet, click here to get your free 7 day trial.
