Churchill China plc (the "Company") announces that, as a result of the completion of the transfer of the business of the Corporate Advisory & Broking division of Brewin Dolphin Limited to Nplus1 Brewin LLP ("N+1 Brewin"), with effect from today, N+1 Brewin has been appointed as the Company's Nominated Adviser and Broker.
For further information, please contact:
Churchill China plc
Andrew Roper/ David Taylor
+44 1782 577 566
N+1 Brewin (NOMAD & Broker)
Robert Beenstock
Richard Lindley
+44 20 3201 3710
+44 113 241 0181
Buchanan
Tim Anderson/ Lisa Baderoon
+44 20 7466 5000
END
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The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
1. Identity of the issuer or the underlying issuer of existing shares to which voting rights are attached:ii
Churchill China plc
2 Reason for the notification (please tick the appropriate box or boxes):
An acquisition or disposal of voting rights
An acquisition or disposal of qualifying financial instruments which may result in the acquisition of shares already issued to which voting rights are attached
An acquisition or disposal of instruments with similar economic effect to qualifying financial instruments
An event changing the breakdown of voting rights
Other (please specify):
Transfer of shares between nominee holdings
x
3. Full name of person(s) subject to the notification obligation:iii
Michael John Roper and Gillian Roper
4. Full name of shareholder(s) (if different from 3.):iv
Michael John Roper and Gillian Roper
5. Date of the transaction and date on which the threshold is crossed or reached:v
13 December 2011
6. Date on which issuer notified:
19 December 2011
7. Threshold(s) that is/are crossed or reached: vi, vii
N/A
8. Notified details:
A: Voting rights attached to sharesviii, ix
Class/type of shares
if possible using the ISIN CODE
Situation previous to the triggering transaction
Resulting situation after the triggering transaction
Number of Shares
Number of Voting Rights
Number of shares
Number of voting rights
% of voting rights x
Direct
Direct xi
Indirect xii
Direct
Indirect
10p Ordinary GB0001961035
570,380
570,380
570,380
570,380
5.2%
B: Qualifying Financial Instruments
Resulting situation after the triggering transaction
Type of financial instrument
Expiration date xiii
Exercise/ Conversion Period xiv
Number of voting rights that may be acquired if the instrument is exercised/ converted.
% of voting rights
C: Financial Instruments with similar economic effect to Qualifying Financial Instruments xv, xvi
Resulting situation after the triggering transaction
Type of financial instrument
Exercise price
Expiration date xvii
Exercise/ Conversion period xviii
Number of voting rights instrument refers to
% of voting rights xix, xx
Nominal
Delta
Total (A+B+C)
Number of voting rights
Percentage of voting rights
570,380
5.2%
9. Chain of controlled undertakings through which the voting rights and/or the financial instruments are effectively held, if applicable: xxi
This notification follows the transfer of 516,250 10p Ordinary Shares between nominee accounts. There has been no overall change in the shareholdings of M J Roper and G Roper nor the beneficial ownership of those holdings.
Proxy Voting:
10. Name of the proxy holder:
11. Number of voting rights proxy holder will cease to hold:
12. Date on which proxy holder will cease to hold voting rights:
13. Additional information:
14. Contact name:
M J Roper
15. Contact telephone number:
01785 286772
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
Iain Hicks, Operations Director, is stepping down from the Board of Churchill China plc (Churchill) (Aim:CHH), the manufacturer and global distributor of ceramic tableware and household goods to hospitality and retail markets, from today to concentrate on the delivery of a number of major projects aimed at improving Churchill's sales and marketing processes and to widen the range of products available to our customer base. Iain will remain a Director of the Group's principal operating subsidiary.
At the same time, we are implementing a wider re-organisation of management responsibilities at operating board and senior management levels with the intention that this will further increase the focus of the Group's resources on our Hospitality division which provides the majority of our opportunities for future development.
The Board is pleased to confirm that current trading is in line with market expectations. Churchill China plc expects to announce its Preliminary Results for the year to 31 December 2011 on 28 March 2012.
For further information, please contact:
Churchill China plc
Andrew Roper/David Taylor
Tel No: 01782 577566
Buchanan
Tel No: 020 7466 5000
Tim Anderson/Lisa Baderoon
Brewin Dolphin Limited
Tel No: 0845 213 4729
Mark Brady
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
In conformity with the Disclosure and Transparency Rules we would like to notify the market of the following:
The Company's total issued share capital now stands at 10,957,976 ordinary shares with a nominal value of 10 pence each ("Ordinary Shares"). The Company holds 33,000 Ordinary Shares in Treasury.
Therefore, the total number of voting rights is 10,924,976.
The above figure of 10,924,976 may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the Company under the FSA's Disclosure and Transparency Rules.
Enquiries:
Churchill China plc
David Taylor, Finance Director
Tel: 01782 577 566
Brewin Dolphin - Nominated Adviser
Mark Brady
Tel: 0845 213 4729
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
Hospitality and retail crockery supplier Churchill China (CHH) is considering cutlery and glassware distribution after upping interim profits 10 per cent to £689,000 pre-tax. The Stoke on Trent-based company, which supplies branded products to pub chains, hotels, contract caterers, motorway service stations as well as the retail market, saw turnover slide 5 per cent to £19.2 million in the six months to June, reflecting moves out of low-margin retail business.
This helped AIM-quoted Churchill enhance its profitability, despite economic pressures on consumer spending. Finance director David Turner says there has been some trading down, but, by contrast with the credit crunch of 2007-08, 'pubs are still ordering and people are still coming in.'
The hospitality side, which is two-thirds of the business, chalked up flat first half operating profits of £1.8 million on sales down 1 per cent to £12.9 million, as a 5 per cent increase in UK sales, where Churchill is 20 per cent market leader, was offset by a 12 per cent fall in exports. Taylor argues the company, which has matched customer trends with the launch of new product lines such as 'Asian' and a buffet range, can resist cheap foreign manufacturing competition because of the quality and durability needed in frequently-used hospitality china.
Churchill's re-positioning of its retail activities saw sales in this division fall 11 per cent to £6.3 million. The company says new product launches have been 'very well received', as it pushes into farm shops, garden centres and web-based retailers.
According to Taylor, Churchill, which exports a third of turnover, is faring well in Spain (where local makers are going bust), developing in Germany and is keen to expand into Russia. He says the company, which ended June with cash down by £1.7 million to £4 million, is now targeting niche sectors, including hotels and cutlery and glassware distribution.
The second half is much bigger than the first, especially in hospitality, and house broker Brewin Dolphin sees pre--tax profits rising by £200,000 to £2.5 million for the full year. with £2.8 million on the cards for 2012. Down from a 332.5p year's high to 270p, the shares value the company at £29.5 million and yield 5.2 per cent, attractive to a yield-conscious investor.
Tags: AIM market, China, Cutlery, David Turner, Glassware, Trading down
12:00 pm Fine China: Churchill China, maker of this willow design dining set, is one for the income hunters.
Churchill China
Price: 290p
Market cap £m: 31.7
Historical yield: 4.8 per cent
Prospective yield: 4.8 per cemt
Wills and Kate’s wedding could add the icing to what is shaping up to be a prosperous period for Stoke-based china plate maker Churchill China (LON:CHH).
Income-seekers also have good reason to toast the happy couple. Churchill recently maintained its total dividend at 14p a share for the third year running and there is no reason why this dividend can’t at least continue to be maintained.
The total cost of the dividend is £1.53 million. The dividend cover has edged up to just over 1.1 times earnings per share and it should rise again this year. That cover may look thin but the balance sheet is strong and the business is highly cash generative.
Net cash has fallen from £6.88 million to £4.44 million as stocks of tableware have been rebuilt. A good return on assets and the change from RPI to CPI in calculating index-linked payment increases has helped to reduce the pension deficit from £7.7 million to £4.7 million.
Revenues grew from £41.7 million to £43.7 million in 2010 with all the growth coming from the hospitality side of the business.
Export sales are growing and the improvement came after an estimated £500,000 hit in the UK hospitality business from the snow at the end of 2010.
The rise in pre-tax profit from £2.07 million to £2.31 million was due to a profit contribution from Churchill’s 34.4 per cent-owned associate Furlong Mills, a supplier of raw materials such as clay and feldspar to the ceramics sector, and a lower interest charge.
The hospitality division has proved resilient with revenues growing by 11 per cent to £27.4 million with a profit contribution rising from £3.3 million to £4.1 million. Churchill did not expect the positive sales trend to continue so it was slow in increasing capacity.
The UK is likely to be tough this year but increased sales and marketing investment should increase exports. The product range is being expanded into glassware.
Retail sales fell from £17.1 million to £16.3 million and its profit contribution more than halved to £700,000. Costs are being cut by around £800,000 so that they are in line with a reducing level of business. A further decline of £4m is expected in 2011. Supplying supermarkets is low margin and Churchill is phasing out its business with Asda.
Churchill is trying to move into the middle market on the retail side in order to improve margins. It is also looking at alternative sources of imported products as costs increase in the Far East. More of the retail products are likely to be sourced from eastern Europe.
For 2011, house broker Brewin Dolphin forecasts another small rise in profit to £2.5 million. The shares are trading on 18 times prospective 2011 earnings. April is an important month for the business and chief executive Andrew Roper says that he will be able to give a better indication of how trading will go this year at the AGM on 17 May.
Other dividend news
Online gaming firm GVC (LON:GVC) reported a decline in underlying profit from €15.6 million to €8.5 million mainly due to €4.8 million of additional marketing costs in Germany and start up costs in new territories. Earlier in the year GVC paid a €0.50 a share special dividend and a €0.10 a share interim. The final dividend is €0.10 a share. Excluding the special dividend, the total dividend has halved to €0.20 (16.76p) a share but this should be a repeatable dividend level. The yield is 12.4 per cent. GVC’s policy is to pay out at least 75 per cent of net cash generated. A renegotiation of the deferred consideration for South America-focused Betboo, which could be €6.17 million, means there is no longer a worry about the dividend having to be cut. At 109p a share, the yield is around 15 per cent although becaus
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