Adds broker comment

VANE Minerals (LON:VML) has renegotiated the terms of two outstanding convertible loan notes to limit possible dilution to other shareholders.

VANE will now repay a £500,000 note held by City Natural Resources High Yield Trust this month rather than September, while repayment of a £1 million note held by Geiger Counter Ltd has been extended until 2017.

Both City Natural Resources and Geiger Counter are funds managed by New City Investment Managers.

Geiger Counter’s loan note will now be convertible into 80 million ordinary at 1.25p, a 34 per cent premium to yesterday’s close. Shareholders have to approve the new loan note, which will pay interest at 8 per cent.

David Newton, VANE’s chief executive, said he was delighted with the new agreement.

“The maximum dilution to existing shareholders would equate to only 15.3% of the enlarged share capital of the Company and the agreement allows the company to continue to devote its current cash resources to the development of its highly promising copper and uranium exploration assets."

VANE announced last year it had found a copper-molybdenum porphyry system on its acreage in New Mexico, an area that has produced huge amounts of the metals in the past. 

The company also has gold and silver mining operations in Mexico that are providing the cash to fund its copper exploration.

It had cash balances of £2.30 million at the end of December.

Broker Northland described the renegotiations of the convertible as impressive.

“The new loan note will enable the company to continue to utilise the revenue generated from its Mexican gold operations to explore its prospective copper porphyry and uranium projects in the US,” it said.

Shares rose 9 per cent to 1.02 pence.

VANE Minerals (LON:VML) has renegotiated the terms of two outstanding convertible loan notes to limit possible dilution to other shareholders.

VANE will now repay a £500,000 note held by City Natural Resources High Yield Trust this month rather than September, while repayment of a £1 million note held by Geiger Counter Ltd has been extended until 2017.

Both City Natural Resources and Geiger Counter are funds managed by New City Investment Managers.

Geiger Counter’s loan note will now be convertible into 80 million VANE ordinary at 1.25p, a 34 per cent premium to yesterday’s close. Shareholders have to approve the new loan note, which will pay interest at 8 per cent.

David Newton, VANE’s chief executive, said he was delighted with the new agreement.

“The maximum dilution to existing shareholders would equate to only 15.3% of the enlarged share capital of the Company and the agreement allows the company to continue to devote its current cash resources to the development of its highly promising copper and uranium exploration assets."

VANE announced last year it had found a copper-molybdenum porphyry system on its acreage in New Mexico, an area that has produced huge amounts of the metals in the past. 

The company also has gold and silver mining operations in Mexico that are providing the cash to fund its copper exploration.

VANE had cash balances of £2.30 million at the end of December.

The flight simulator and training company said it would slash its 8,000 workforce by four percent, which amounts to around 300 jobs. Those affected have already been notified.

"We are taking measures to refocus our resources and capabilities in response to this change in the defence market," the company said.

CAE also said it expects to book restructuring expenses of about $25 million in the first half of fiscal year 2013. Its pipeline of defence opportunities remains large, CAE added, as orders accelerate from high-growth regions like Asia and the Middle East.

The company noted, however, that it is seeing lower activity in Europe, where military budgets are being reduced.

Net earnings grew to $53.7 million, or 21 cents per share, on $506.7 million in revenue for the three months that ended March 31.

That compared with a profit of $46 million, or 18 cents per share, on sales of $465.6 million recorded in the same period of 2011.

"CAE achieved a solid performance in the fourth quarter laying the foundation for our future growth," chief executive Marc Parent said in a statement.

"Our strong cash flow, record order backlog, solid pipeline of opportunities, and recent acquisition of Oxford Aviation Academy give us confidence in CAE's continued success."

Last week, CAE said it was acquiring privately-held airline pilot training company the Oxford Aviation Academy in a deal pegged at $314 million.

The company’s civil segment – which offers flight simulators, training devices and visual systems for regional commercial airlines – contributed $215.4 million to revenue, up from the $197.2 million seen a year earlier.

The military segment, which also provides training equipment and services to governments around the world, posted sales of $267.1 million.

The combined military segment order backlog increased to $2.19 billion, including a record level of U.S. defence contracts.

CAE's relatively new mining and healthcare segments posted $24.2 million in revenue for the quarter, up from $11.1 million last year.

Overall gross margins rose to 33.5 percent from 33.2 percent in the same period of 2011.

In a separate news statement, the company also announced Wednesday that Gene Colabatistto will be the new group president of the military simulation products, training and services unit. He replaces Martin Gagne, who has decided to retire.

The company added that Gagne will stay on as a consultant to ensure a smooth transition and support a number of key strategic initiatives.

Shares of CAE fell 0.19 percent to $10.29 each on the Toronto Stock Exchange Wednesday morning.

The move will bolster CAE’s training centre footprint and flight training network, the Montreal-based company said.

"We are very excited about this acquisition as it enables us to offer our customers more locations and additional training capacity as well as a new service for pilot and maintenance crew sourcing," CEO Marc Parent said in a release.

"With this acquisition, CAE responds to market demand with an increased footprint and a complete end-to-end solution for commercial aviation."

The deal adds seven new civil aviation training centres that will provide training for pilots, maintenance and cabin crew, the company said.

The CAE Oxford Aviation Academy will have the capacity to train over 600 cadets annually. This will boost the number of cadets being trained through all of CAE’s flight training schools to 1,500 a year.

The Parc Aviation banner will also broaden CAE’s pilot and maintenance crew sourcing portfolio to 50 airlines and leasing companies in 40 countries, mainly in Asia.

The Oxford Aviation Academy posted revenues of $280 million during CAE’s fiscal year 2012.

The purchase price reflects nine times Oxford’s Ebitda for the same period, CAE said.

The acquisition, which was financed with a new senior unsecured credit loan, is expected to to add to CAE’s earnings in fiscal year 2014.

The Montreal-based company provides both hardware and software solutions to the broadcast, cable, satellite and Internet protocol television industry.

Net earnings were $928,000, or four cents per share, on $42.4 million in revenue for the first three months of the year.

The latest results compare with a profit of $2.3 million, or 11 cents per share, on $39.7 million in revenue, a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, the company earned $3.2 million, or 15 cents per fully diluted share.

Analysts had expected per-share earnings of 19 cents, on $45.1 million in sales, according to analysts polled by Bloomberg.

"We are encouraged by the interest and demand for our traditional and new products and we believe that this will continue to have a positive impact on our business," chief executive Strath Goodship said Friday in a release.

In the U.S., sales rose 33 percent in first quarter. Revenue jumped 16 percent in the U.K., while Canada posted a five percent rise in quarterly sales.

Recently, the company announced a key sale to provide product solutions for NBC's Olympics production of the 2012 London Games.

Net finance cost jumped to $1.9 million from $46,000 in the prior quarter, due to an unfavourable currency fluctuations, and an increase in the reimbursement of liabilities related to cash-settled share-based payments to $1.5 million, from $572,000 last year.

The company’s strategic review initiatives and higher selling costs also upped Miranda’s selling, general and administrative costs to $16.5 million, up from $15.1 million a year earlier.

Miranda, which in March said it was in talks with potential strategic partners, said on Friday that no reportable event had yet occurred.

Gross margins rose slightly to 61 percent from 60 percent last year, due to pricing, product and customer mix, it said.

Looking ahead, Miranda sees continued long-term growth opportunities putting it in a "good position" to outperform market growth and drive "profitable results."

Miranda’s share price closed at $11.40 Thursday on the Toronto Stock Exchange, and were down 3.5 percent Friday morning, to $11.00.

Net income came in at $190 million, or 10 cents per share, for the first three months of the year. That is down from a year-earlier profit of $220 million, or 12 cents a share.

Revenue slumped to $3.5 billion from $4.7 billion a year earlier.

On average, analysts had expected per-share profits of 10 cents, on revenue of $4.52 billion, according to Thomson Reuters.

"As anticipated, we had lower revenues in the first quarter," chief executive Pierre Beaudoin said in a statement.
"At Aerospace, the entry into service of the Vision Flight Deck on the Global 5000 and Global 6000 aircraft and the resulting transition, as well as lower deliveries of commercial aircraft had an impact on our revenues."

"Nevertheless, we were able to contain costs and maintain our profitability. We had a solid level of new orders in business jets and we're starting to see momentum in commercial aircraft orders which led to an increased backlog of $23.3 billion."

The company’s aerospace unit saw revenue dip down to $1.5 billion from $2.2 billion, as Bombardier delivered less aircraft and had fewer orders.

In the latest quarter, the plane maker delivered 37 aircraft down from the 61 a year ago, and netted 68 orders compared to 86 in the first quarter of 2011.

Its backlog increased to $23.3 billion as at March 31, 2012, compared to $22 billion as at year-end 2011.

Earlier this month, Canadian airline WestJet (TSE:WJA) signed a letter of intent to purchase 20 Q400 NextGen turboprops, with the option to purchase a further 25, the company said.

Sales from the transportation division fell to $2 billion from $2.5 billion a year earlier. The unit reported new orders worth $1.2 billion for the first quarter, representing a book-to-bill ratio of 0.6, compared to $1.2 billion and a book-to-bill ratio of 0.5, for the corresponding period last fiscal year.

The order backlog stood at $31.9 billion as at quarter-end, flat compared to the end of 2011.

Gross margins widened to 17 percent from 15.7 percent in the first quarter a year ago.

Its total backlog reached $55.2 billion at the end of its fiscal first-quarter, from $53.9 billion at the end of December.

Bombardier’s board declared a quarterly dividend of 2.5 Canadian cents per Class A share and 2.5 Canadian cents per Class B share. The payout will be given to shareholders on June 30.

The Montreal-based company’s share price closed at $3.69 on Wednesday.

"Travel demand across the majority of our markets remains healthy, and residual values of our vehicles in North America have proven to be significantly stronger than our original expectations. Our integration of Avis Europe is progressing as expected, and we remain confident in our ability to achieve $35 million in annual synergy benefits by the first anniversary of the acquisition."

Avis last week rolled out a far stronger-than-expected earnings forecast for the year ahead, saying it is seeing strong travel demand and a robust market for selling its used vehicles.

Revenue from the company's North American business was up 4 percent at $1.04 billion as increased volume and ancillary revenue helped offset weaker pricing.

The company's international operations, meanwhile, saw revenue more than triple to $510 million with a boost from Avis Europe. Excluding the acquisition, Avis said revenue rose 13 percent on a 6 percent increase in volume and a 5 percent increase in pricing due to foreign-currency movements.

Looking ahead, the company said it expects its full-year 2012 revenue to be approximately $7.3 billion to $7.6 billion and adjusted EBITDA to be approximately $825 million to $875 million, excluding certain items.

Avis Budget expects that its North America fleet costs will decrease 3 percent to 8 percent on a per-unit basis in 2012 compared to the prior year.

For the full year, the company forecast revenue growth of between 24 percent and 29 percent on improving travel demand and a strong used-vehicle market.

Shares soared over 20 percent on the back of the news, trading at $15.90 early Tuesday afternoon.

The car rental giant said it expects its revenues in the first quarter to be about $1.6 billion, an increase of 30 percent over the same quarter 2011.

Analysts were expecting revenue of $1.59 billion, according to Thomson Reuters.

Excluding certain items, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) is expected to increase more than 40 percent compared to first quarter 2011, to approximately $119 million.

The company expects to report net income of approximately $14 million, excluding certain items, and a net loss of approximately $23 million due to debt extinguishment costs and acquisition-related charges.

Avis Budget CEO Ronald L. Nelson said: "We are pleased with our preliminary first quarter results, with our vehicle rental operations performing modestly better than we had projected and adjusted EBITDA reaching record levels due to the residual values of our vehicles being significantly stronger than our original expectations.

"Travel demand across the majority of our markets remains healthy, and our integration of Avis Europe is progressing as expected."

Looking ahead, Avis said it expects full-year 2012 revenue to be $7.3 billion to $7.6 billion, a 24 to 29 percent increase compared to 2011. Analysts, on average, are expecting $7.42 billion.

The company also expects its 2012 adjusted EBITDA to be $825 million to $875 million, excluding certain items, an increase of 35 to 43 percent compared to 2011.

Avis said it estimates its 2012 diluted earnings per share, excluding certain items, to be approximately $2.35 to $2.65.

The company now expects its North American fleet costs to decrease three to eight percent on a per-unit basis in 2012, compared to the prior year.

Avis said it has prospectively revised the depreciation rates on many of the vehicles in its North American car rental fleet to reflect the significantly stronger residual values it currently foresees.

"When we put our 2012 business plan together, our assumption was that used car values would continue to moderate following the spike in residual values that we observed after the earthquake in Japan in 2011,” said Avis Group senior executive vice president and chief financial officer David B. Wyshner.

"That moderation has not occurred, as residual values have remained at historically high levels.

"Our recent experience in selling used vehicles in North America has been outstanding, and we have revised our outlook for fleet costs accordingly."

Avis said it plans to release its first quarter results on May 7, 2012.

WestJet, Canada's second-largest airline, said earnings rose to C$68.3 million, or 49 cents per share for the quarter that ended March 31, from C$48 million, or 34 cents, in the same period last year.

Analysts polled by Bloomberg had been expecting earnings of 38 cents a share.

Total revenues climbed 15 percent during the quarter to C$891 million, from C$772.4 million a year earlier.

Guest revenue hiked to C$88.6 million, from C$83.8 million in the first quarter of 2011.

The company said that growth was a result of ongoing improvements in its business offering, its airline partnerships, the strength of its vacation product, and increases in ancillary revenue.

WestJet’s unit revenue, measured by revenue per available seat mile (RASM), was up six percent on the back of a five percent increase in yields, which the company said was mostly due to better pricing.

"We are extremely pleased with the record first quarter results and our margin expansion as revenue growth outpaced elevated fuel costs," said president and CEO Gregg Saretsky.

"We achieved our highest first quarter load factor, improved the overall yield and made good progress towards our return on invested capital."

WestJet reported that its load factor, which represents the proportion of airline output that is actually consumed, rose one point to 83 percent, from 82 percent in the same quarter of 2011.

The company also posted its highest ancillary revenue per guest of $8.39 in the latest period, which increased net earnings per guest to roughly $16, WestJet said.

The airline said it expects RASM growth to continue into the second quarter, but at a slightly moderated pace than in the first quarter of 2012.

Looking ahead, WestJet said it now projects its 2012 full-year cost per available seat mile (CASM), excluding fuel and employee profit share, to be up 1.5 to 2.5 per cent.

The company said this is mainly due to higher revenue-related expenditures resulting from an improved revenue outlook, and increased airport operation costs resulting from an increase in operations at higher cost airports such as New York City, Chicago and Toronto.

For the second quarter of 2012, the airline projects its fuel costs will range between 95 and 97 cents per litre.

In other news, WestJet also reported Tuesday it decided to use a fleet of Bombardier’s Q400 turboprop for its new regional carrier, which it hopes to have off the ground in the second half of 2013.

In January, the company announced its plans to launch a domestic, short-haul airline in 2013, putting it in direct competition against Air Canada (TSE:AC.B), the country's largest carrier, which uses regional airline Chorus Aviation to fly to smaller domestic markets.

"This aircraft selection marks another significant milestone for WestJet as we enter into what we know will be a successful, long-lasting relationship with Bombardier, another great Canadian company," said Saretsky.

WestJet's board of directors declared a cash dividend of six cents per common voting share and variable voting share for the second quarter of 2012, to be paid on June 29, to shareholders of record on June 13.

Lockheed also reaffirmed its full-year earnings guidance, while Raytheon boosted its forecast.
Separately, Lockheed announced the retirement of Bob Stevens as its CEO by the end of this year, but said he will remain as chairman through January 2014.

For the first quarter, Lockheed Martin said its profit increased as sales benefited from its aeronautics and electronic systems segments.

In the first quarter, the company's net earnings increased to $668 million or $2.03 per share from $530 million or $1.50 per share, in the year-ago quarter.

On average, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $1.70 per share for the quarter.

Net sales for the quarter grew to $11.29 billion from $10.63 billion and also exceeded analysts' consensus estimate of $10.56 billion.

The company said aeronautics net sales increased 18 percent to $3.71 billion.

Electronic systems net sales were $3.61 billion, up four percent from the preceding year period.

Looking ahead, for the full-year 2012, Lockheed Martin said it expects earnings from continuing operations to be in the range of $7.70 to $7.90 per share on net sales of $45 to $46 billion.

Meanwhile, Raytheon announced first quarter net income of $448 million or $1.32 per share, higher than the $384 million or $1.06 per shar, last year.

Adjusted earnings were $1.46 per share, up from $1.37 per share a year ago.

Analysts were expecting just $1.16 per share.

The company said net sales declined to $5.94 billion from $6.05 billion a year earlier, but that still beat analysts' estimate of $5.77 billion.

Raytheon also boosted its 2012 adjusted earnings per share guidance to a new range of $5.55 to $5.70, up from the $5.45 to $5.60 range provided earlier.

Boeing, which makes commercial jets and military aircraft, said net income reached $923 million, or $1.22 per share. This compared to $586 million, or 78 cents per share, last year.

Revenue also spiked to $19.3 billion from $14.9 billion.

The latest financial results topped analyst calls for 95 cents per share, on $18.5 billion in revenue, according to Bloomberg.

In pre-market trade, the Chicago-based company’s share price lifted by 2.49 percent reaching $75.03 each.

The Commercial Airplanes segment posted revenues grew by 54 percent to $10.9 billion, because of higher delivery volume and mix. Operating margin was 9.9 percent, reflecting higher deliveries amid lower R&D costs.

Revenue from its Defense, Space & Security division increased to $8.2 billion up from $7.6 billion. Its operating margin was nine percent versus 8.8 percent, a year-ago.

Total operating margin rose to 8.1 percent from 6.7 percent.

At the end of its first quarter, total backlog was $379.8 billion compared with a year ago figure of $355 billion.

The company revised its 2012 per share earnings forecast to a range of $4.15 and $4.35 to reflect a reduction in a litigation-related reserve. In January, Boeing had expected $4.05 to $4.25.

Analysts expect to see profits of $4.56 per share.

Boeing also re-affirmed its 2012 revenue guidance. It still expects to see sales of between $78 and $80 billion.

In the period that ended March 31, the maker of elevators and air conditioners reported earnings of $1.26 billion, or $1.31 per share, when factoring out three units it put up for sale.

This compares to $1.05 billion, or $1.06 per share, a year earlier, beating the $1.20 per share analysts had expected, according to Thomson Reuters.

Net income, which includes write-offs related to those businesses and other one-time items, fell 67.4 percent to $330 million from $1.01 billion in the year ago period.

The parent company of jet engine maker Pratt & Whitney, Otis, Carrier heating and cooling said revenue was $12.42 billion, down two percent from the same period last year.

The decline reflects net divestitures of two points and adverse foreign currency translation of one point, the company said. Organic sales increased one percent over the year ago quarter.

"Earnings per share exceeded the expectations reviewed with investors at our March 15 meeting on stronger momentum in our U.S. residential HVAC business at the end of the quarter," said chairman and CEO, Louis Chenevert.

"We continue to deliver earnings growth even as we make transformational changes to our portfolio and invest in game changing technologies."

Research and development costs increased year-over-year by $77 million to $547 million.

The company said new equipment orders at Otis were down nine percent over the year ago first quarter, driven by the expected slow start to the year in China.

North American residential HVAC new equipment orders at UTC climate, controls & security grew 10 percent. Commercial spares orders were up one percent at Hamilton Sundstrand and down three percent at Pratt & Whitney's large engine business, after growing 23 percent and 33 percent, respectively, in the year ago first quarter.

"Continued focus on cost reduction and strong execution will allow us to deliver earnings per share in 2012 of $5.30 to $5.50, up 0 to 4 percent, on sales of $61 to $62 billion, including Goodrich," Chenevert added.

"Given the uneven economic environment, we will invest $450 million in restructuring this year and expect net one-time gains of $600 million. This is compared with previous expectations of $350 million and $500 million, respectively."

UTC said it does not anticipate share buybacks in 2012 and has a placeholder of $500 million for acquisitions, excluding the proposed Goodrich and International Aero Engines transactions, both of which are expected to close mid-year.

United Technologies Corp., based in Hartford, Connecticut, is a diversified company providing high technology products and services to the building and aerospace industries.

The Wellington, Florida-based company makes everything from aircraft cabin interiors to footrests and reading lights, water boilers and aircraft coffee and beverage makers.

Net earnings climbed to $68.8 million, or 67 cents per share, compared to $50.3 million, or 49 cents per share, recorded in the same period last year.

Excluding costs tied to a recent acquisition and other items, the company reported an adjusted profit of 70 cents a share.

Sales were up 24.5 percent to $747.3 million from $600.2 million a year earlier.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were projecting earnings of 62 cents a share, on $702.1 million in sales.

The commercial aircraft segment, which offers seat frames and delivery systems for commercial and business jets, reported sales of $374.7 million, up from $310.3 million a year earlier. Operating profit in the unit rose to $65.5 million from $49.3 million.

Revenue from its consumables management division, which provides inventory management, electronic data interchange and bar-coding, grew by 24.3 percent to $286.8 million.

Its business jet unit saw sales rise 45.2 percent to $85.8 million from $59.1 million a year earlier. Operating profit in the segment more than doubled to $12.5 million.

Total operating margins were up by 70 basis points to 17.4 percent from 16.7 percent in the year-ago period. The increase was led by the commercial and business jet units, which more than offset a margin drag from acquisitions, the company said.

For the first quarter, the company saw record bookings of $850 million. Its backlog was $3.7 billion, up 16 percent from last year.

Total backlog, both booked and awarded but unbooked, stood at a record $8.1 billion, representing growth of 35 percent.

Based on the results, the company expects to see continued strong orders in 2012 driven by “robust” wide-body aircraft delivery, and solid aftermarket demand.

For 2012, the manufacturer of cabin interior products for commercial aircraft and business jets projected profit growth of 23 percent to $2.75 a share, on sales of $2.95 billion.

On average, analysts are expecting earnings of about $2.79 per share, on $2.98 billion in sales.

Shares of the company went up 2.55 percent to $45.94 each in trade on the Nasdaq Monday.

Noricum has also added another 33 licences at Schonberg, which about 100km due east of the Noricum’s flagship Rotgülden gold project, following a programme of mapping, sampling and petrology.

The results showed previous copper mining in the historically active mining region was hampered by water ingress and that the copper ore body, although slightly unpredictable in grade, “was highly continuous and had valuable gold and silver credits”. 

Grades of less that 4% copper were previously considered uneconomic and not mined and the volume of this material is likely to be significant commencing from surface.

Noricum said it found up to eight ore veins, 3km of strike, 1m wide and at a depth more than 350m.

Historical data suggests these ore veins could contain grades of up to circa 3.1% Cu, 37.5g/t silver and 3.5g/t gold, the company said, while considerable resources remain and the gold anomalism increases to the east towards Tremmelberg.

Recent sampling by Noricum returned grades up to 30.69g/t gold while historical metallurgical analysis indicates that 91% of the gold is free milling.

Noricum added that it now intends to fast track exploration on Schonberg.  “Dump and outcrop sampling, as well as some preliminary geophysics are currently underway, with the results expected over the coming weeks,” it said. With the additional licences, Noricum has increased the project area at Shconberg to 37 sq km.

Greg Kuenzel, Noricum’s managing director, said: "Initial exploration and analysis at Schonberg has been very positive, not only highlighting the prospectivity of the project for high grade copper, which was previously mined from the site, but also for gold and silver.  

Having already delineated an attractive target worthy of future work we look forward to receiving the results from on-going work over the coming weeks." 

- adds broker comment

VANE Minerals’ (LON:VML) revenues rose sharply in 2011 as the performance of its Mexican gold and silver operations improved “significantly”.

Turnover increased by 44 per cent to £3.68 million (£2.56 million), with net losses for the year reducing to £1.6 million from £2.37 million.

In Mexico, lower than expected production from the Diablito mine was offset by higher than expected grades and recovery rates from its Ruiz joint venture. The Diablito mine is to be closed this year.

Total production in Mexico was 2,706oz of gold and 73,384oz silver at a at a direct production cost of $743.45 per equivalent oz gold or $16.23 per equivalent oz of silver.

VANE added that in the fourth quarter, Mexico’s contribution covered the entire costs of the company. 

The company plans to use cash generated in Mexico to fund a potentially company-changing drilling programme on its copper assets in New Mexico and Arizona.

The group discovered what it says is a clearly identified copper-molybdenum porphyry system ay McGhee Peak at the end of 2011 and will test that and other potential targets further in the current year.

VANE is also exploring for uranium in the US, where it is focused on state-owned not Federal land.

It said today pre-feasibility work continues at the Wate uranium project, while other lead projects going into 2012 include the Rose pipe where work will focus on establishing a NI 43-101 resource.

David Newton, chief executive, said: “The first drilling results from McGhee Peak were encouraging, whilst the qualities of our Mexican assets can now be demonstrated over a meaningful period. 

VANE is in a robust position both operationally and financially, with the downside risk mitigated by the cash flow generated in Mexico and the profile of our exploration assets strengthened."

VANE ended the year with a cash balance of £2.3 million.

The porphyry mineralisation discovery at McGhee Peak capped a good year for the company according to the broker Northland.

The positive results from the third of twenty four defined targets was an important step that highlights VANE's success with the exploration database that contains over 100 years of exploration data. 

VANE is now drilling at its fourth US copper target, Peg Leg.

Shares rose 2 per cent today to 1.02 pence.

Vane Minerals’ (LON:VML) revenues rose sharply in 2011 as the performance of its Mexican gold and silver operations improved “significantly”.

Turnover increased by 44 per cent to £3.68 million (£2.56 million), with net losses for the year reducing to £1.6 million from £2.37 million.

In Mexico, lower than expected production from the Diablito mine was offset by higher than expected grades and recovery rates from its Ruiz joint venture. The Diablito mine is to be closed this year.

Total production in Mexico was 2,706oz of gold and 73,384oz silver at a at a direct production cost of $743.45 per equivalent oz gold or $16.23 per equivalent oz of silver.

Vane added that in the fourth quarter, Mexico’s contribution covered the entire costs of the company. 

The company plans to use cash generated in Mexico to fund a potentially company-changing drilling programme on its copper assets in New Mexico and Arizona.

The group discovered what it says is a clearly identified copper-molybdenum porphyry system ay McGhee Peak at the end of 2011 and will test that and other potential targets further in the current year.

VANE is also exploring for uranium in the US, where it is focused on state-owned not Federal land.

It said today pre-feasibility work continues at the Wate uranium project, while other lead projects going into 2012 include the Rose pipe where work will focus on establishing a NI 43-101 resource.

David Newton, chief executive, said: “The first drilling results from McGhee Peak were encouraging, whilst the qualities of our Mexican assets can now be demonstrated over a meaningful period. 

VANE is in a robust position both operationally and financially, with the downside risk mitigated by the cash flow generated in Mexico and the profile of our exploration assets strengthened."

VANE ended the year with a cash balance of £2.3 million.

The company’s shares were up two percent Monday morning, at $10.22.

Under the terms of the agreement, the joint venture will be owned 60 percent by CAE and 40 percent by the Brunei Ministry of Finance. The training centre will be located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia.

The two parties also announced it has signed long-term training services contracts valued at approximately C$170 million for CAE, to provide training for the Sikorsky S-70i Black Hawk helicopter, the Pilatus PC-7 and the Sikorsky S-92 helicopter.

"The CAE Brunei Multi-Purpose Training Centre will undoubtedly become a training centre of excellence for the entire Southeast Asia region," said CAE’s group president of military products, training and services Martin Gagné.

"We are pleased and honoured the Government of Brunei has placed their trust and confidence in CAE to deliver a world-class training facility that will ultimately enhance safety, security, efficiency and productivity for the Nation of Brunei."

The maker of modeling, simulation, and training for civil and defense aviations said that the CAE Brunei MPTC will be located in Rimba near the Brunei International Airport. The facility is expected to be completed by spring 2014, when S-92 and PC-7 training is scheduled to begin.

CAE also announced Monday that for the year that ended March 31, 2012, it finished with more than C$950 million of military orders, including a record order intake coming from the United States.

The company noted the total included more than C$400 million of orders won in its recent fourth quarter. CAE said it was awarded military contracts from more than 15 countries during the year.

"We are pleased to have completed the year with a strong order intake, which demonstrates the uniqueness of CAE's defence business and solid pipeline of opportunities in both established and emerging markets," said Gagne.

"We remain encouraged by the continued investment in simulation-based training by our defence customers as they seek ways to maintain readiness at a lower cost."

CAE employs more than 7,500 people at more than 100 sites and training locations in over 25 countries. The company offers civil aviation, military and helicopter training services in 40 locations worldwide and trains more than 80,000 crew members yearly.

The company said it is now leveraging its simulation capabilities in new markets such as healthcare and mining.

Boeing has not beat out Airbus in annual deliveries since 2002.

Boeing also said Friday that its 787 Dreamliner landed for the first time in Turkey, making Istanbul the latest destination on its global Dream Tour.

Made from composite materials, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner is the first mid-size airplane capable of flying long-range routes and will allow airlines to open new, non-stop routes.

Today, Boeing and Russia's Transaero Airlines finalized the order for four 787-8 Dreamliners, valued at $744 million at list prices.

"Our history with Boeing goes back to 1993 when Transaero became the first airline in Russia to fly with Boeing aircraft," said Transaero Airlines chairman Alexander Pleshakov.

"Following our innovative approach and our continuous efforts to enhance our product quality, we have chosen the state-of-the-art, highly-efficient Boeing 787 Dreamliner...Boeing 787s will perform flights on both Transaero's domestic and international routes."

More than 850 787s are on order by 59 customers, Boeing said.

Transaero was the first private airline in Russia established in 1991, and is now the second largest airline in Russia operating the 737, 747, 767 and 777 Boeing airplanes.

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Noricum Gold (LON:NMG) is to undertake an extensive aerial geophysical programme of its licence area at Rotgülden, Austria to accelerate a major drilling programme planned for this year.

Noricum believes this will not only identify additional areas of mineralisation, but also assist in optimising the drill programme planned for the Altenberg extension later this year.

Greg Kuenzel, Noricum’s managing director, said: "The company is very excited about the prospectivity of an 8km mineralised strike running through the Rotgülden licence. 

"Having proven the effectiveness of using EM to highlight the massive sulphide gold mineralisation present at the previously producing mine target, we look forward to commencing this wider aerial geophysical campaign next month.

"We are confident that this will pinpoint targets for our maiden drilling campaign at Altenberg located on the southern extension, where bonanza gold and silver results were received from work last year. We also hope to highlight new mineralised areas."

Rotgülden is a 51 square-kilometre project in south-west Austria. In all there are 15 former underground mines that produced gold, silver and copper. Drilling by previous explorers revealed gold grades of between 5 and 44 grams per tonne.

Geotech will perform a helicopter-borne geophysical survey over approximately 599 line-kilometres of VTEM (Versatile Time-Domain Electromagnetic) and magnetics over the Rotgülden tenure. 

The survey area is 9km by 3km and is likely to be able to see to a depth of more than 200 metres.

In a note, house broker Fairfax said: "We expect the high grade nature of the gold veins in the Rotgulden area to show distinct potential for mining and for eventual mine development.  

"Much work needs to be done to reopen this former mining district but there is good potential within these licenses and the EM and later drilling work should start to reveal value within these prospects relatively quickly."  

As at 2.50pm, Noricum shares were unchanged at 2.25 pence.

Noricum believes this will not only identify additional areas of mineralisation, but also assist in optimising the drill programme planned for the Altenberg extension later this year.

Greg Kuenzel, Noricum’s managing director, said: "The company is very excited about the prospectivity of an 8km mineralised strike running through the Rotgülden licence. 

"Having proven the effectiveness of using EM to highlight the massive sulphide gold mineralisation present at the previously producing mine target, we look forward to commencing this wider aerial geophysical campaign next month.

"We are confident that this will pinpoint targets for our maiden drilling campaign at Altenberg located on the southern extension, where bonanza gold and silver results were received from work last year. We also hope to highlight new mineralised areas."

Rotgülden is a 51 square-kilometre project in south-west Austria. In all there are 15 former underground mines that produced gold, silver and copper. Drilling by previous explorers revealed gold grades of between 5 and 44 grams per tonne.

Geotech will perform a helicopter-borne geophysical survey over approximately 599 line-kilometres of VTEM (Versatile Time-Domain Electromagnetic) and magnetics over the Rotgülden tenure. 

The survey area is 9km by 3km and is likely to be able to see to a depth of more than 200 metres.

Shares of the company moved up 14 cents, or 1.05 percent, climbing to $13.49 each in trade in Toronto Wednesday afternoon.

The airline said it flew nearly 104,000 more passengers in March compared with the same month one year-ago.

It increased its load factor, which measures how much of its capacity is used, to 86.2 percent up from 84.8 percent.

Revenue passenger miles, also known as RPM, increased nine percent year-over-year to 1.69 billion from 1.55 billion.

Capacity as measured in available seat miles, or ASM, climbed seven percent.

"We are very pleased with the market strength we've seen in March and system-wide demand remains healthy," chief executive Gregg Saretsky said in a statement.

"The market has absorbed our growth and increased fare levels have helped offset higher fuel costs."

WestJet provides services throughout its 76-city North American and Caribbean network. The airline says it offers increased legroom and leather seats on its fleet of 98 Boeing 737 aircraft.

Noricum Gold’s (LON:NMG) focus in 2012 will be to prove up the bonanza grades recently revealed at its Rotgulden prospect in Austria, its boss said today.

The most recent drilling results from the prospect showed one hole of 3.1m at 11.69g/t gold and 44.2g/t silver.

Chairman Marcus Edward-Jones said the aim is to move Rotgülden forward towards a maiden resource and also to drill the "impressive" gold, silver and multi-element grades derived from sampling at the southern extension of the 8km strike.

Noricum also returned some impressive results from its preliminary sample work at its Altenberg target, 2.7km to the west of Rotgulden.

This has also been prioritised for follow up work in 2012 to firstly identify drill targets through aerial electromagnetic  work, to be followed by a 3,000 metre drill programme.

Electromagnetic work is also scheduled for the Schurfspitze target, which is 4.5km to the south-west.

Edwards-Jones added; “The fantastic bonanza grades received from initial drilling and reconnaissance work at Rotgülden is highly exciting, particularly in light of the solid regional infrastructure and stable political environment Austria offers.

"Having laid solid foundations during the period, this year will focus towards resource delineation at the previously producing mine target [Rotgulden], which, it is anticipated, will provide plenty of news-flow over the coming months."

Results for 2011 showed a loss of £597,000 against £1.89 million, while the group finished the year with cash of £810,000.

The manufacturer of flight gears and transmissions is in the midst of reviewing recorded asset values and liabilities with its advisors related to the completion of its 2011 year-end statements, and said that the review could result in "material" charges.

Northstar said it is uncertain as to when it will be able to finalize its financial statements and related disclosures, and continues its process of exploring strategic alternatives.

The company also said that the forebearance agreement it has with a syndicate of lenders for its existing credit facility has been extended. Under the agreement, the lenders have said they will forbear from exercising their rights under the credit facility through April 6, 2012.

As previously disclosed in company's interim financial statements as of September 30, "significant doubt remains regarding the corporation's ability to continue as a going concern", it said.

Chicago-based Northstar Aerospace has operating subsidiaries in the United States and Canada. Its main products include helicopter gears and transmissions, accessory gearbox assemblies, rotorcraft drive systems and other machined and fabricated parts.

The company also provides maintenance, repair and overhaul of components and transmissions. Its plants are located in Chicago, Illinois, Phoenix, Arizona, Milton and Windsor, Ontario, Canada.

Its shares have sunk more than 80 percent in the last year.

VANE Minerals (LON: VML) said a diamond drill rig will be used to follow up on the company’s initial drill programme at McGee Peak in New Mexico.

The company has completed two rotary holes and partially drilled a third, which uncovered a copper-molybdenum porphyry system.

An attempt was made to re-drill the third hole, which was unsuccessful due to the poor ground conditions. 

A diamond drill rig, which is more suitable for the conditions, will be used for the follow-up drilling programme, during which this third hole will also be completed.  

Each hole will take three to four weeks to drill once the permits have been obtained. In the meantime, the rotary rig has been moved to VANE’s next target, Peg Leg, in Southern Arizona.

Chief executive David Newton said: "Although it is frustrating not to have completed the third hole at McGhee Peak to target depth, our analysis of the drilling to date has given us sufficient confidence to commit to diamond drilling there. 

“The rotary drilling has already discovered two mineralised targets within a clearly identified porphyry system relatively inexpensively.   

“This is a promising development for VANE and we will continue our exploration there. 

“There are a number of copper exploration targets within our license areas and we intend to remain active in attempting to identify further porphyry systems."