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Technology Stocks : Newbridge Networks -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: nord who wrote (7673)	11/24/1998 2:41:00 PM
From: thebeach	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 18016

I think the CC will reveal a well oiled machine that is back in favour. Look for great things to happen from here on in. Upgrades will definitely occur.

To: nord who wrote (7673)	11/24/1998 2:50:00 PM
From: pat mudge	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 18016

National Grid, parent of Energis,"Moving Further Into Telecoms" : <<< November 24, 1998 By ANTHONY DOVKANTS Dow Jones Newswires LONDON -- National Grid PLC (U.NGR) Tuesday outlined plans to set up a telecoms joint venture abroad and sell its majority stake in telecom group Energis PLC (ENGSY). The strategy, outlined by Chief Executive David Jones in an interview with Dow Jones Newswires, came as the group reported a 1.9% drop in half-year pretax profit, which beat analyst forecasts. Jones said National Grid planned to press further into the telecoms arena by launching a new, separate telecoms company overseas under the National Grid banner. The move is part of a five-year stategy to boost earnings 20%, he said. The company is looking to repeat the success of Energis by teaming up with a partner in "other countries where there is a need for telecoms." He also said he expected Energis to form or join a global telecoms alliance as part of continuing consolidation within the industry. "Energis is doing extremely well and we expect to exit the business in three to five years at a premium," Jones said. "The most likely thing is that Energis will form part of some global alliance." Energis, which was set up four years ago when National Grid strung fiber-optic communication lines along its power network, was floated last December and has more than tripled in value since then. National Grid, which handles electricity transmission for England and Wales, holds a 74% stake in Energis. "We plan to hang onto it for now, it's still in an early stage of value creation, but we have taken a three to five-year view of exiting the business at a premium," Jones said. "There's more value to come." Pretax profit for the six months to Sept. 30 fell to GBP220.9 million against a previous GBP225.2 million. The dividend was raised to 5.25 pence from 4.83 pence. The results, which showed the impact of regulatory price controls, still beat analysts' expectations. Analysts had expected a profit figure of about GBP195 million, but cost savings at National Grid helped ease the fall in prices imposed by electricity watchdog Offer. At 1042GMT, shares were up 1.8% by 8.5 pence to 470 pence. Jones said the telecoms venture was part of a three-way strategy to lift group earnings. The chief executive reiterated the company's continuing interest to bid for National Air Traffic Services, the air traffic control arm of the U.K. Civil Aviation Authority. The U.K. government said in June that it planned to privatize 50% of the business. While it is understood among sources that the sale has been put on the back burner and may not go ahead until after the year 2000, Jones said the group was "not aware" of such developments and hadn't received such messages from the government. "We have expressed a strong interest in the business and we are making certain propositions to the government," Jones said. He added business support services company Serco Group PLC (U.SRP) was also keen on the state-owned business. Jones said, however, it could take up to 18 months before legislation was in place for such a sale to go ahead. National Grid also said it was still considering electricity transmission opportunities in Brazil and the U.S. "We are progressing on a number of fronts, we hope to get into a position to be able to announce a deal by March," Jones said. In July, the company signed an agreement with Brazil's national transmission group Electrobras to study privately-owned projects. "While there is no financial commitment at this stage, we expect these studies to lead to the development of proposals for investments in new transmission lines," Jones said. >>>>