St Ives advances on digital strategy

St Ives , which prints 160m books a year, advanced 9.8 per cent to 75¾p after annual results impressed. Analysts said management had made good progress in shifting the company towards high-margin marketing services, such as data management and market research.

“While traditional print businesses have structural headwinds the current management team has set upon a strategy of building a different business model for St Ives. It is focusing on providing a complementary range of digital and marketing services with print a part of the offering,” said Numis Securities. “The investment in the growth areas should bear fruit in 2012-13 leaving the shares seriously undervalued on 4 times 2012 earnings,” it added.

Earthport added 6.2 per cent to 17p after the payments group said it was processing transactions for Western Union’s “direct to bank” service, while ITM Power moved up 9 per cent to 36p following positive results from a nine-month trial of its hydrocarbon membrane material. ITM also said it would be seeking licensing partners, something analysts believe has so far held the group back.

Sportingbet dipped 6.7 per cent to 41¾p ahead of annual results. Traders were not expecting nasty surprises in the numbers though they noted growing uncertainty about the online bookmaker’s talks to be bought by Ladbrokes , off 5.2 per cent to 114p.

The Takeover Panel has set a bidding deadline of October 17, but, unless the two sides can come to an agreement over an earn-out deal for the Turkish business Sportingbet is selling, discussions could be terminated, traders said.

“We note that Gaming VC has expressed an interest in buying the [Turkish] business,” Investec Securities wrote in a recent report. “We are concerned that this will need to involve some sort of earn-out (Gaming VC has only €3.8m net cash) and management contract. This would lead to a financial and operational ‘flow-back’ to Sportingbet, and therefore Sportingbet’s acquirer, in our view. We struggle to see how Ladbrokes’s board/lawyers could get comfortable with this.” Online gambling is illegal in Turkey.

Norseman Gold was marked 14.2 per cent lower at 8.79p as investors poured over its annual report and accounts. They were particularly alarmed by this statement on funding: “As a result of this lower run-rate production year-to-date, the group has drawn down all of the funds available under the Red Kite facility. At the date of this report, the group is continuing to review its financing options and has issued a mandate to an Australian-based financial adviser to assess these.”

UK Coal rose 8.3 per cent to 32¾p after chairman Jonson Cox declared the purchase of almost 47,000 shares at 31.95p each.

Arena Leisure dipped 6.6 per cent to 35½p in spite of rumours that the racecourse owner had attracted further takeover interest.