LONDON (ShareCast) - Last week, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) talked tough in relation to BP’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Any final settlement now looks further away. In a statement during the civil case in a Louisiana court, the DoJ accused BP of gross negligence or wilful misconduct. Credit Suisse has calculated that gross negligence could lead to a maximum fine of 21bn dollar (13.2bn pounds) under the Clean Water Act, compared with BP’s provisions of 3.5bn dollars. This came at a time when Hurricane Isaac uncovered more spilled oil in the Gulf. The sale of BP’s 50 per cent stake in its Russian joint venture TNK-BP is also hitting snags. Coupled with BP’s dire second-quarter results, this means there is a substantial cloud overhanging the company’s prospects. It is undoubtedly undervalued, on a 2012 earnings multiple of 7.5, but these issues mean the rating remains a hold, says the Sunday Telegraph´s Questor team.

Equipment rental specialist Vp is forging ahead despite unsettled economic conditions. The company’s record is impressive, the management team is ambitious and the shares should rise. The firm is also taking City analysts to see some of its operations this Wednesday and a series of meetings with brokers has been arranged over the next few weeks, which should give the stock a further boost. Vp, originally known as Vibroplant, used to be a standard plant hire business renting out diggers, dumpers, rollers and similar equipment to the construction sector. However, since 1997 its Managing Director, Neil Stothard, and the grandson of the company´s founder, Jeremy Pilkington, have re-shaped the business entirely, changing the name and moving the company out of standard rental and into six specialist areas. In every case the group offers top quality products, buying the best machines it can and selling them once they are past their best. The company has also invested heavily in their development and aims to build long-term relationships with customers, offering advice and guidance, rather than simply renting out equipment in bulk. Analysts expect £17.1m in profits for the current year, rising to nearly £18m next year. The company pays a reasonable dividend too, maintaining payments at 10.8p from 2009 to 2011 and increasing the payout to 11.35p for the most recent financial year. Dividends are expected to continue rising over the next couple of years. Thus, for the Financial Mail on Sunday´s Midas column: “Vp shares are 304p and most brokers believe they are worth considerably more. The group is conservatively run and well funded, and the large family shareholding provides reassurance that investors will be well looked after whenever possible. Buy.”

With great risk comes great reward. Few companies embody that sentiment like Tullow Oil. The company turned itself from an Irish tiddler into a £13bn oil giant by going where others didn’t and striking it rich. Like in Uganda. The discovery of the Albert Basin was a company maker. Yet bringing the enormous field into production is proving painful. Last week the government went back on an earlier agreement under which Tullow agreed to build a small $1.5bn (£937m) refinery but ship the lion’s share of the crude abroad. Now the government wants a refinery nine times as big. The dispute could delay the development — and Tullow’s returns — by years, writes The Sunday Times´ Danny Fortson.


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