Archive for the ‘FTSE 250’ Category
Evening London Market News
Market Movers
techMARK 1,649.32 +1.10%
FTSE 100 5,617.84 +0.56%
FTSE 250 10,392.96 +0.91%
Pay TV and Internet service provider British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) was a top performer. Not only did it see subscriber numbers improve by a better than expected 62,000 in the first three months of 2010, with average revenue per user up 11%. The company has also reached a temporary agreement with the broadcasting regulator Ofcom in their dispute over whether rival broadcasters should have to buy Sky sports content at regulated prices.
Under the agreement, BT Vision, Virgin Media and Top Up TV will pay the price Sky wishes to charge them for content, but the difference between that price and the regulated price Ofcom proposed by Ofcom will be paid into an escrow account until a long-term agreement is reached.
Insurer Standard Life was wanted after saying has made a strong start to the year with strong growth in net flows and assets in the first quarter. Net inflows across the group more than tripled to £2.1bn in the first quarter of 2010 from £0.6bn a year earlier after taking into account the discontinued banking operations.
Investors stocked up on Unilever. Volume growth at the Anglo-Dutch household products giant came in ahead of market expectations in the first quarter of 2010, with the company boasting of strong momentum across all geographic regions. Underlying volumes growth was 7.6%, versus market expectations of 5.4%.
Oil group BG Group rose after it reported first quarter figures that beat market expectations. The oil titan benefitted from a rise in production and stronger oil and gas prices. Revenue and other operating income increased 4% to $4,647m, reflecting a 6% increase in E&P production volumes and higher oil and liquids prices.
BP fell after chief operating officer Doug Suttles has admitted that the amount of oil leaking from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico may be more than 5,000 barrels a day rather than the 1,000 barrels a day initially estimated.
AstraZeneca has upped its profit target for the full year after strong growth from key drugs and emerging markets helped the drug giant post a sharp rise in earnings in the first quarter.
Elsewhere in the pharmaceuticals sector Shire said first quarter products sales were down 5% from a year earlier at $718m but the performance of core products was better, with sales advancing 36% to $626m.
Copper miner Kazakhmys achieved output of 78.4kt copper cathode equivalent in the first three months of 2010, an increase on the previous quarter, and is on track to hit its annual target.
Property group Hammerson was wanted after it saw an increase in demand for office space in the first quarter but occupancy rates at its retail assets in the UK and France were marginally lower.
A fourth quarter pick-up in trading enabled underlying profits at hotel to coffee shop group Whitbread to come in near the top of market forecasts. Underlying profits before tax increased by 6.6% to £239.1m in the year to February, from £224m. The shares are slightly weaker though.
In the FTSE 250, music retailer HMV has fallen back after it reported a sharp decline in fourth quarter like for like sales but said it was on track to meet full year forecasts. HMV UK & Ireland total sales fell 8.2% in the 16 weeks ended 24 April 2010, with like for like sales down 13.2%. Fellow computer game retailer Game declines in sympathy.
BBA Aviation was also on the descent after the aviation services provider said group revenue was flat, thought it did issue an upbeat assessment for the rest of the year.
Taylor Wimpey, which has lifted selling prices of homes in the UK by 9% since January as the housing market continues to recover, climbed. The housebuilder adds that UK market conditions remain “encouraging, with continued gradual improvements in mortgage availability and buyer confidence”.
Personal care products group McBride announced that overall trading for the four months to 28 April has been in line with expectations. Group revenues in the four month period rose by 2% from the same time a year before on a reported and constant currency basis.
Bookmaker William Hill reports a decent start to the year with progress at its online operation offsetting a tougher time for its betting shops. Net revenue for the 13 weeks to March increased by 1% with pre-exceptional operating profit up by 3% reflecting the strong online performance.
Bus and train firm Go-Ahead said overall trading in the third quarter was in line with company expectations while its full year outlook remains unchanged.
Joinery company Galiform said it has performed well after a slow start to the year due to the prolonged cold weather.
Hays said current trading is still in line with the comments made when it last updated the market in early April.The recruiter said at the time that is has continued to see progress in most of its markets, although the dynamics vary by region.
Home Services USA, the US subsidiary of Homeserve, the home maintenance firm, has signed a five year contract with the Southern California Gas firm to jointly market the company’s home emergency services.
Trading systems developer Fidessa Group has continued to make progress in 2010 against a background of improving financial markets. Nevertheless the company reiterated its previous observation that consolidation and restructuring within Fidessa’s customer base will temper growth rates this year.
Raymarine said it remains in advanced discussions with a third party regarding a sale of the business, a day after Garmin launched a 15p a share bid for the marine electronics firm.
London Market News
Market Movers
FTSE 100 5,586.61 -0.30%
FTSE 250 10,299.04 -1.63%
Standard & Poor’s (S&P) cut its long-term sovereign credit rating on Spain, saying the country is likely to see an extended period of subdued economic growth. The credit ratings agency lowered its stance by one notch to AA from AA-plus and said its outlook is negative.
The announcement put paid to a rally by London’s blue chips that was inspired by well received results from Shell and Glaxo.
Higher oil prices helped Royal Dutch Shell post a sharp rise in earnings in the first quarter of 2010. Profit jumped to $4.9bn on a current cost of supplies (CCS) basis from $3.3bn last year. There was a strong improvement in upstream profit to $4.4bn, although downstream earnings fell to $743m from $1bn. BG Group, BP and Tullowwere also higher, the first mentioned ahead of figures tomorrow.
Pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline’s first quarter results revealed turnover that was higher than expected at £7,357m, versus expectations of £7,117m. Earnings per share, excluding restructuring costs, were 30.7p versus Citigroup’s forecast of 29.1p. With restructuring costs factored in earnings per share were 30.7p. The dividend has been increased to 15p.
Gold miner Randgold Resources was wanted on expectations that investors will turn to precious metals as havens during an expected period of economic turmoil.
Nick Poyntz-Wright is stepping down as boss of Old Mutual’s UK wealth management business to be replaced by chief development officer Peter Mann.
British American Tobacco did well in the first quarter despite weaker volumes, helped by last year’s acquisition of Indonesia’s Bentoel and currency moves. The world’s second largest tobacco company said revenue for the three months grew in constant currency terms across all regions, but volumes dropped to 168bn from 170bn in 2009.
Sales rose but underlying profits fell last year at Home Retail as weak consumer spending and higher product costs put pressure on margins at Argos, though Homebase staged a recovery. Sales rose 2% to £6.02bn in the year to February, but discounts and promotions took their toll on underlying profits, down to £293m from £328m.
Elsewhere in retail floor coverings chain Carpetright warned that UK conditions have continued to be difficult with sales falling slightly below company expectations.
Rolls-Royce remains on track for the full-year after trading in line with expectations since the start of 2010, although business is still challenging and the volcanic eruptions in Iceland haven’t helped. Chief executive John Rose still thinks the aircraft engine maker can double revenue over the next decade.
Speciality chemicals supplier Croda reported better than expected first quarter results as robust trading continued and is confident of significant progress for the remainder of the year. Pre-tax profit from continuing operations almost doubled to £42.4m from £21.7m in 2009.
A strong performance from its rail arm has prompted Stagecoach to upgrade its forecasts for the year, with earnings per share now expected to come in at 17.5p at least. The shares trade higher, in contrast to sector peer National Express which has reportedly had to delay a €300m euro-denominated bond issue as a result of the turmoil in credit markets following the ratings downgrades yesterday for Greek and Portuguese sovereign debt.
London Market News
FTSE heading lower
Market Movers
FTSE 100 5,593.11 -0.19%
techMARK 1,637.90 -0.68%
FTSE 250 10,397.93 -0.69%
Footsie has opened lower though losses so far are not anywhere near the scale seen on Wall Street and Asia overnight.
Concern over the state of the eurozone economy may mean more weakness later but for now investors seem happy to wade through an avalanche of results and trading updates.
Oil groups are among the best performers led by Royal Dutch Shell. Higher oil prices helped the company post a sharp rise in earnings in the first quarter of 2010. Profit jumped to $4.9bn on a current cost of supplies (CCS) basis from $3.3bn last year. There was a strong improvement in upstream profit to $4.4bn, although downstream earnings fell to $743m from $1bn. BP and Tullow are also higher.
British American Tobacco did well in the first quarter despite weaker volumes, helped by last year’s acquisition of Indonesia’s Bentoel and currency moves. The world’s second largest tobacco company said revenue for the three months grew in constant currency terms across all regions, but volumes dropped to 168bn from 170bn in 2009.
Sales rose but underlying profits fell last year at Home Retail as weak consumer spending and higher product costs put pressure on margins at Argos, though Homebase staged a recovery. Sales rose 2% to £6.02bn in the year to February, but discounts and promotions took their toll on underlying profits, down to £293m from £328m.
Rolls-Royce remains on track for the full-year after trading in line with expectations since the start of 2010, although business is still challenging and the volcanic eruptions in Iceland haven’t helped. Chief executive John Rose still thinks the aircraft engine maker can double revenue over the next decade.
Speciality chemicals supplier Croda reported better than expected first quarter results as robust trading continued and is confident of significant progress for the remainder of the year. Pre-tax profit from continuing operations almost doubled to £42.4m from £21.7m in 2009.
A strong performance from its rail arm has prompted Stagecoach to upgrade its forecasts for the year, with earnings per share now expected to come in at 17.5p at least.
Brewer and pub operator Greene King reported strong trading for the 49 weeks to April 11, with higher sales from its more food-orientated managed operations helping to offset weakness at leased pubs.
Satnav systems supplier Trafficmaster is in discussion over a possible bid, it said today.
London Market News
FTSE slumps on eventful day
Market Movers
techMARK 1,649.14 -2.22%
FTSE 100 5,603.52 -2.61%
FTSE 250 10,470.05 -2.06%
FTSE was deep in the red at trading’s close after credit rating downgrades for Greece and Portugal added to already substantial losses, with miners among the stocks posting heavy falls.
With oil and metals prices in retreat as fears grow about potential delays in financial aid reaching Greece resource stocks are out of favour. Rio Tinto and Kazakhmys are the worst affected in the mining sector while Tullow Oil and Petrofac are the weakest among oil related heavyweights. Petrofac said this morning it has acquired CO2DeepStore, a UK-based CO2 storage company.
In company updates, Reckitt fell despite the French’s mustard maker posting a rise in earnings and sales for the first quarter. The firm said operating profits rose by 14% to £461m. Revenues were up 5% to £2bn.
BP, a modest faller, more than doubled profits during the first quarter following stronger than expected results from both the upstream and downstream businesses. Replacement cost profit for the first three months of the year leapt to $5.60bn from $2.39bn a year earlier and up from $3.45bn in the fourth quarter of 2009.
Royal Dutch Shell provided some cheer to the oil sector, however, after JPMorgan upgraded the stock to ‘neutral’ from ‘underweight’.
Lloyds Banking turned south after initially opening firmer on news that it returned to profitability in the first quarter. The part-nationalised lender expects this momentum to be sustained throughout the rest of the year. The lender did not provide a profit figure in today’s statement, but said it made a profit on a combined businesses basis due mainly to a significant downward trend in impairments.
Elsewhere in the financial sector Prudential was a strong performer on a report in the Times that its biggest shareholder has been moving behind the scenes to orchestrate a potential break-up of the insurer.
Standard Life announced that Jackie Hunt has been appointed chief financial officer of the life insurer with effect from 14 May. Hunt joined Standard Life in January 2009 as deputy finance director.
Imperial Tobacco bucked the downward trend. Customers smoking roll-ups rather than branded cigarettes kept earnings momentum strong in the first half, despite the impact of recession in many of its main European markets. Revenue in the six months to March jumped by 8% to £13.4bn, from £12.4bn, with profits coming in at £974m versus a loss of £184m last time.
Drugs giant AstraZeneca has received more good news on its cholesterol-lowering drug Crestor after the European Union cleared its use in nineteen European countries for patients at risk of a first heart attack.
A big rebound by its automotive division helped engineer GKN swing back strongly into profit in the first three months of 2010. “Market conditions in the first quarter of 2010 have been encouraging and all its major businesses have continued to make good progress,” it said.
Premier Foods, the company behind Hovis bread, Branston pickle and Sharwood’s sauces, reported a 5.1% drop in first quarter sales and said it remains cautious about the consumer and trading environment for 2010.
Electrical component maker Laird said interim pre-tax profit was ahead of the same time last year as its markets continue to emerge from the depressed conditions of 2009.
Internet and catalogue home shopping company N Brown reported a 12.6% rise in annual pre-tax profit and issued a confident outlook for 2010. Adjusted pre-tax profit rose to £93.1m for the 52 weeks to 27 February 2010. Total group revenue rose 4.2% for the full year to £690.0m.
Elsewhere in the retail sector homewares retailer Dunelm is looking fragile after it saw a sharp slowdown in sales growth over the past four months and cautioned it faces tough comparisons over the rest of the year. Meat focussed retailer Crawshaw is on the upswing, however, having returned to profit for the year as exceptional items were not as large as last year.
Connaught, the support services group, perks up after interim results that showed revenue up 17% and adjusted profit before tax up 20%.
Polo Resources and Caledon Resources have reached an agreement in principle to a merger to be effected by an all-share offer by Polo for Caledon. The implied offer price for each Caledon share would be 61.56p, which represents a premium of 14.53%.
Offshoring specialist Xchanging expects to meet full-year forecasts and said sales momentum since the start of the year has been encouraging.
Flat speaker maker NXT sees its share price fade after it said revenue for the January-April period has been below management expectations due to the delay of new products.
London Market News
Miners pull Footsie down
Market Movers
FTSE 100 5,726.93 -0.47%
techMARK 1,677.57 -0.54%
FTSE 250 10,610.90 -0.74%
London’s top stocks have opened lower on a weak start for the mining sector and despite some encouraging numbers from three index heavyweights.
Miners are the problem, with falls across the sector led by Rio Tinto, Kazakhmys and Xstrata. Prudential is a strong performer on a report in the Times that its biggest shareholder has been moving behind the scenes to orchestrate a potential break-up of the insurer.
Lloyds Banking returned to profitability in the first quarter and expects this momentum to be sustained throughout the rest of the year. The lender, 41% owned by the taxpayer, did not provide a profit figure in today’s statement, but said it made a profit on a combined businesses basis due mainly to a significant downward trend in impairments.
BP more than doubled profits during the first quarter following stronger than expected results from both the upstream and downstream businesses. Replacement cost profit for the first three months of the year leapt to $5.60bn from $2.39bn a year earlier and up from $3.45bn in the fourth quarter of 2009.
Customers smoking roll-ups rather than branded cigarettes keep earnings momentum strong at Imperial Tobacco in the first half, despite the impact of recession in many of its main European markets. Revenue in the six months to March jumped by 8% to £13.4bn, from £12.4bn, with profits coming in at £974m versus a loss of £184m last time.
Drugs giant AstraZeneca has received more good news on its cholesterol-lowering drug Crestor after the European Union cleared its use in nineteen European countries for patients at risk of a first heart attack.
A big rebound by its automotive division helped engineer GKN swing back strongly into profit in the first three months of 2010. “Market conditions in the first quarter of 2010 have been encouraging and all its major businesses have continued to make good progress,” it said.
Premier Foods, the company behind Hovis bread, Branston pickle and Sharwood’s sauces, reported a 5.1% drop in first quarter sales and said it remains cautious about the consumer and trading environment for 2010.
Electrical component maker Laird said interim pre-tax profit was ahead of the same time last year as its markets continue to emerge from the depressed conditions of 2009.
London Market News
FTSE keeps lead
Market Movers
techMARK 1,686.60 +0.60%
FTSE 100 5,753.85 +0.53%
FTSE 250 10,690.08 +0.84%
Stocks built on Friday’s gains as investors piled into miners and high street banks, although the leading index finished toward the bottom of the session’s range.
An increase in metal prices proved attractive, with Chile-focused copper giant Antofagasta the pick of the bunch.
Kazakhmys was also wanted after it sold a 49% stake in its copper project Aktogay to Chinese company Jinchuan Group for $120m. Kazakhmys said the estimated development cost of Aktogay is in the range of $1.5bn to $2bn.
A move by Kazakh peer ENRC towards diversifying its portfolio away from base metals produced in Kazakhstan was also welcomed. It is buying a 12.2% interest in South African platinum producer Northam Platinum for ZAR2.2bn ($296m).
Royal Bank of Scotland was the stand-out stock in a buoyant banking sector despite BNP Paribas suggesting that shareholders, including the UK government, should sell the shares at this price.
Buyers emerged when the part-nationalised lender confirmed it will impose stricter criteria on its long-term executive bonus scheme. The target that triggers payments will rise from 50p if passed at Wednesday’s annual meeting.
Lloyds Banking joined the advance ahead of its first quarter trading update tomorrow.
Pay TV and Internet service provider British Sky Broadcasting proved the main party-pooper after Jefferies International predicted the satellite broadcaster’s quarterly figures due out this week will lack lustre.
Intertek is another weak feature after plans for the transfer of the bulk of Norwegian company Det Norske Veritas’s Business Assurance division to the testing and inspection firm have been abandoned.
BP also encountered selling. The oil giant is preparing to use one third of the world’s dispersant supplies to deal with the oil spill from its Mississippi Canyon Block 252 (MC252), off the coast of New Orleans. The company, which is also assisting the owner of the rig that sank last week with recovery operations, is attempting to secure more supplies of dispersant.
Among the mid-caps, engineer Weir Group is on the rise after saying it expects profits for the first half to be ahead of expectations after a strong first quarter. First half profits should be about £30m ahead of previous forecasts.
Weir is not the only company to upgrade profits guidance today. Carphone Warehouse has upgraded its earnings expectations for the third time this year after a good performance in the US from joint venture Best Buy Mobile US. “Best Buy Mobile US is out-performing even our expectations,” chief executive Charles Dunstone said.
Housebuilder Redrow was another with good news for shareholders. The company expects to return to profitability in the second half after being ‘encouraged’ by sales activity since the start of the year.
The firm said that house prices have remained stable since the start of the year, but that a planned change in Redrow’s mix has resulted in higher average prices.
Power peripherals supplier Chloride has soared ahead after it received an indicative cash bid approach from US rival Emerson worth 275p per share and £723m in total.
Bid fever is also sending IT services group Morse Group higher. The group, which flagged the bid approach on Friday, has accepted a 51p a share offer from 2e2. In other bid news Hugh Osmond’s Horizon acquisition vehicle confirmed that it is in preliminary talks with several different companies, including housebuilder Crest Nicholson.
Infrastructure contractor Balfour Beatty has sold off stakes in two of its public/private partnership concessions for £24.1m.
British coal miner UK Coal said pre-tax annual losses widened as Hargreaves Services confirmed it was still committed to merger plans.
A decline in fourth quarter production and a subdued market price for coal hit full year results, UK Coal explained.
The disruption caused by the closure of airspace due to the volcanic could that enveloped Europe cost John Menzies about £2.5m, the aviation and newspaper distribution group estimates.
Petrel Resources rocketed higher after announcing work is to restart in Iraq after settling all outstanding issues on the Subba and Luhais oilfield development in the south of the country.
There’s also good news for Titanium Resources after it reached a final settlement with all remaining insurers in its subsidiary Sierra Rutile Limited’s legal action relating to the capsize of Dredge D2 in July 2008.
FX Sunrise 