Database

Consultant White Young Green has made the unusal move of announcing it is not in takeover talks, as its share price soars thanks to rampant maket speculation.

Yesterday White Young Green’s share price more than doubled, and the rise has continued today.

Over the past three months, the company’s share price has fallen from a high of 59.75 on January 22 to a low of 6.5p on 17 March.

The company’s share price has since been static at around 7.5-8p for the past month, until yesterday when the price jumped to 17.5p, and today the rise has continued and currently trades at 25p, a level not seen since 26 February.

The sudden movement of the share price has fuelled takeover speculation – Grontmij is one firm that has previously been linked to the consultant.

In a market statement, the company said: “The Board of White Young Green notes the recent movement in the Company’s share price and confirms that it is not in discussions with any party regarding a potential offer for the entire issued share capital of the Company.

“The Board remains focused on reaching a successful conclusion to negotiations with White YoungGreen’s lenders and delivering its new strategy as set out in the Company’s interim results. In this regard, the Board has made good progress in achieving substantial cost and headcount reductions, as well as improved cash management,” it read.

NCE

Aracruz Celulose and its joint venture partner Stora Enso announced today March 18 the decision to postpone expansion plans for Veracel, in Bahia, for at least one year. Capital expenditures scheduled for 2009 will be canceled, including the purchase of land, the formation of forests and a feasibility study.

According to the company statement, the partners believe that this is a prudent action in light of the current and short term market outlook. The Veracel II project would involve construction of a second pulp production line with capacity for about 1.4 million tons per year.

A joint venture of Aracruz 50% and Swedish-Finnish Stora Enso 50%, Veracel is located in the municipality of Eunápolis, in the south of Bahia, with annual production capacity of 1 million tons of bleached eucalyptus pulp.

The company owns 211,000 hectares of land, of which 90,000 hectares consist of plantations and about 104,000 hectares are native forest reserves, including the Veracel Station and Permanent Preservation and Legal Reserves.

Veracel came on stream in May 2005 and is world renowned for its operational excellence, making it the company with the lowest production costs in the global pulp industry. The company’s activity is an incentive for the social and economic growth of the local community, through projects and assistance programs to help satisfy income creation, health and educational demands, as well as tax revenues and jobs. The company is responsible for the generation of 4,022 direct jobs in the region, both own employees and permanent outsourced workers.

via Aracruz Celulose – Aracruz and Stora Enso postpone Veracel expansion project.

Almost 5,000 platform wells and subsea wells in the North Sea will have to be decommissioned, most of them over the next 15 years, UK Oil & Gas said.

A report commissioned by the industry body estimated there would be a £15bn market for the services needed to “abandon” 3,725 platform wells and 910 subsea wells.

Paul Dymond, Oil & Gas UK’s operations director, said that in spite of improved oil and gas recovery techniques delaying decommissioning in many cases, some abandonment projects were already going ahead on the Miller, Brent and Indefatigable fields.

Jules Schoenmakers of Shell said: “Operators are looking for breakthrough technologies and new approaches in this emerging business. The size of the market appears large enough to support many businesses and teams of specialised well abandonment professionals for several decades.”

FT.com

Pöyry will publish FY08 report on Wednesday, February 4th at 8:30am.  Our EBIT expectation for Q4’08 is EUR 24.1m, which is somewhat above consensus. Pöyry will arrange a conference for press and analysts at Hotel Restaurant Savoy, Eteläesplanadi 14 at noon.

Pöyry guides for FY08 that consolidated net sales will increase in 2008 and profit before taxes will improve clearly in 2008. On January 13th Pöyry announced preliminary guidance for FY09. The company sees PTP to be significantly weaker year-on-year in 2009 due to weak prospects in Forest industry and Construction Services business groups.  After the publication of the preliminary guidance, which would have been one of the key worries in the report, we see more room for a positive share price reaction tomorrow.

The key issues in the report will be: 1) Further details of FY09 guidance (on a business division level), 2) Order intake – especially in Forest Industry, and 3) estimated savings from adaptation measures.

In Q4’08, our Forest Industry’s order intake estimate is EUR 42.1m (40% down YoY) and thus Forest Industry’s order book should be roughly EUR 80m at the end of FY08. For the whole group, order book estimate is EUR 570m (down 4% QoQ from EUR 594m). In addition, we are quite positive on Pöyry’s Energy and Infrastructure businesses, even though we see that bigger projects are likely to suffer from financing difficulties. However, a rising interest on energy self-sufficiency (i.e. Russia/Ukraine gas dispute) and governments’ stimulus packages should provide positive momentum also in FY09.

Growth pattern sustained once again. Voith prepares itself for harder times ahead.

Heidenheim/Stuttgart. In fiscal 2007/2008 (the year to September 30, 2008), Voith once again successfully maintained the pattern of growth witnessed in the preceding years. The Group’s order intake rose 18.7% to €6.1 billion (previous year: €5.1 billion). Sales were up 17.8% to €4.9 billion (previous year: €4.2 billion) – the highest level in the history of the company.

Double-digit sales growth at all four Group Divisions contributed to robust business performance in fiscal 2007/2008. At the same time, Voith further expanded its strong position in the world’s key growth regions. Today, the Group generates around 30% of its product and system sales in the forward-looking markets of Asia. In the years ahead, we aim to become even more strongly established in China and India.

Some of the profits realized on ordinary business in fiscal 2007/2008 were invested to tap new lines of business in the transportation sector (locomotives and turbochargers) and in environmental technology (anaerobic reactors and ocean energy), for instance. The Group spent a total of around €400 million on investments and acquisitions in the period under review, while a further €250 million was channeled into research and development. Voith has thus laid a firm foundation for the future. The result was net income of €144 million in fiscal 2007/2008. In the previous year, net income (including a one-time item in the amount of €26 million) totaled €179 million.

Hubert Lienhard, Voith’s President and Chief Executive Officer, is upbeat about the fiscal year just ended: “2007/2008 was a good year for Voith. We have a footprint in all significant markets and business regions throughout the world. Our products provide answers to the pivotal questions of the 21st century, addressing issues such as the efficient use of energy and resources and the need for clean, renewable sources of energy. Our balance sheet is healthy and adequate capital resources are in place. All of which gives us room to maneuver in the difficult times that lie ahead.”

Lienhard expects business to flatten noticeably in the coming months. “A recession of this magnitude is naturally also going to affect Voith,” the Voith boss says. “In the business lines that are affected, we are therefore responding swiftly and resolutely to market requirements, adjusting our processes and capacity as and when necessary. We are already taking action that will leave us stable and healthy when the next growth phase begins.”
In the first three months of fiscal 2008/2009, the impact of the economic crisis varied throughout the Group. Both new orders and sales remained stable at Voith Siemens Hydro, Voith Turbo and Voith Industrial Services – the Group Divisions that service the markets for oil, gas, energy and public transport. Voith is nevertheless confident that the future holds strong business potential in these markets. The impact of the dramatic slump in the truck and automotive market on Voith Turbo and Voith Industrial Services is foreseeable and, indeed, already tangible.

Voith Paper has been hardest hit, however. Around the globe, business in the paper industry is slack. New plant business in particular has collapsed. Thanks to the Group’s singularly broad portfolio, it was nevertheless possible to cushion the impact of the economic crisis on the Group as a whole in the first quarter of fiscal 2008/2009.

Voith sets new standards in the paper, energy, mobility and service markets. Founded in 1867, it has grown to become one of the largest family-owned corporate groups in Europe, employing 43,000 people, posting annual sales of €4.9 billion and operating more than 270 facilities around the globe.