Market Report: Bluetooth leader CSR rides wave of optimism
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Your support makes all the difference.UBS pointed out that CSR is a leading seller of Bluetooth microchips and that it ranked number one in every market segment within which it operates. Given this industry is in its infancy, the group has a great opportunity to become a dominant player, according to the broker.
Although UBS expects the group to face some competition in the coming years, it still forecasts CSR to enjoy a market share of more than 50 per cent in 2007.
The growth in demand for Bluetooth technology is driven by an increasing trend towards mobility in all areas of computing and consumer electronics. Shipments of the technology are expected to grow by 90 per cent this year and a further 62 per cent in 2006. UBS is convinced that CSR will be a major beneficiary from this explosive growth. It forecasts earnings before interest and tax at the company to rise from $59m last year to $109m by the end of this year and to $140m in 2006.
Meanwhile, the FTSE 100 soared 103 points to 5,317, registering its biggest one-day gain for two and a half years, as takeover fever gripped the City. News of takeover bids for O2, up 41.5p to 205.75p, Pilkington, 26.5p higher to 153.25p, P&O, 93.75p stronger to 404p, and Mowlem, 25p better to 198, sent punters scouring the market for the next deal.
Amvescap, up 19.25p to 355.5p, was a favourite as rumours of a move on the fund management group from US rival Janus Capital got investors excited. According to yesterday's market gossip, Janus itself is about to receive an approach and is looking to table a bid for Amvescap as a way of defending itself. Dealers pointed out that the two companies know each other well - Janus's former chief financial offier, Loren Starr, was appointed to the same post at Amvescap earlier this month.
Again on the takeover tack, rumours of a move on Kingfisher from Home Depot pushed shares in the DIY retailer 10.5p higher to 212p. BOC rose 39p to 1,113p as talk of a bid for the industrial gasses group from Germany's BASF returned. Also boosting BOC was news of better-than-expected third quarter results from European rival Linde.
EasyJet gained 10.2p to 297.75p after ABN Amro argued that FL Group's recent hoarding of EasyJet stock is more than simply a case of the Icelandic investment group "taking advantage of a depressed share price". The Dutch broker pointed out that since June, FL Group has raised its stake in the budget airline from 10 per cent to 16 per cent. During this period, the owner of Icelandair has also raised $700m of fresh capital and bought the Danish low-cost carrier Sterling Airways.
ABN believes FL has several options open to it with regard to EasyJet. These include it making an offer for the whole company, taking the airline private jointly with the majority shareholder, Stelios Haji-Ioannou, or merging Sterling Airways with EasyJet in return for a large stake in the combined company. Whatever FL's endgame, ABN said it is difficult to envisage its influence on EasyJet's share price dissipating in the near future.
Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein tipped the telecom sector to be a strong performer between now and the new year. The broker pointed out that the sector has outperformed the wider market significantly for every year since 2001 between 1 September and 31 December. Such words helped Vodafone to rise 4.75p to 148.25p, Virgin Mobile put on 11p to 300p, Cable & Wireless 4.75p better to 115.5p and BT Group up 6.25p to 213p.
Among smaller companies, Sanctuary dropped 0.41p to 4.34p as investors reacted to Friday's late-breaking news that the company now has negative net assets. The music group is struggling under a £120m debt pile and analysts fear it is bleeding cash. Bridgewell Securities described the latest setback at the company as "largely technical in nature" but suggested that it will do little to steady investor nerves.
Finally, Wogen, a London-based international trader in speciality metals and minerals, had its first day of dealings on AIM. Existing shareholders at the group used the float as an opportunity to cash in some of their chips. Colin Williams, Wogen's deputy chairman, netted £11m. In total, £20m was raised at 122p and the stock closed at 134.5p.
Among institutional investors buying into Wogen were JP Morgan Asset Management and New Star Asset Management.
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