Wednesday May 7, 11:05 AM
London mid-morning: Footsie firmer
LONDON (ShareCast) - The Footsie remains in positive territory, overcoming the burden of a weak mining sector and a handful of stocks going ex-dividend. British American Tobacco (LSE: BATS.L
- news) lifted first quarter profit by 18% to £807m on revenues up 14% to £2.54bn, boosted by the weak pound and good trading generally. Group volumes from subsidiaries were 158bn, an increase of 1%, mainly as a result of the good performances by the four Global Drive Brands. "The year has clearly got off to a great start", chairman Jan Du Plessis added. BATS' shares move higher after the results and drag Imperial Tobacco (LSE: IMT.L - news) up with them. Hotel giant InterContinental Hotels Group (Virt-X: IHG2.VX - news) posted a decline in first quarter pre-tax profit but says it is well positioned for continued growth. Directories publisher Yell Group (LSE: YELL.L - news) is in demand after Idearc (NYSE: IAR - news) , the US publisher of Yellow Pages phone directories, announced better than expected results yesterday. Defence firm BAE Systems (LSE: AP16.L - news) said trading between January and May 2008 has been consistant with management expectations. It said for the whole group, a further year of good growth is anticipated for 2008. On the downside, insurer Old Mutual (LSE: OML.L - news) , packaging company Rexam (LSE: REX.L - news) and REIT Liberty International all trade lower in ex-dividend form. Also trading ex-dividend is Antofagasta (LSE: ANTO.L - news) in a weak mining sector that also sees Xtrata, ENRC and Vedanta in retreat. International Power (IPWG.PK - news) is also lower after announcing plans to raise €500-€600m from a convertible bond issue to fund the acquisition of an additional 40% shareholding in Turbogas, the Maestrale wind portfolio, the Elecgas investment in Portugal. IP added its outlook is unchanged and 2008 will be another year of growth. No-frills airline Easyjet (LSE: EZJ.L - news) posted higher first half losses of £48.4m (£41.4m) on revenues up 24% to £892.2m. Fuel costs rose by 24%. "Our load factors remain robust and our forward bookings are slightly ahead of this time last year", chief executive Andy Harrison said, adding "Oil remains the biggest challenge and uncertainty". Packaging firm Mondi (LSE: MNDI.L - news) said underlying profit since the year-end is ahead of the comparable period last year but added there is uncertainty over pricing and demand developments. From the end of December 2007 to the end of April 2008, the group said underlying operating profit has been ahead of prior year, helped by a strong performance from the Europe & International Division and the Bags & Specialties business unit. The year has started well for online gaming group 888, with net gaming revenue (NGR) up 38% and further growth at the beginning of the second quarter, driven mainly by casino and bingo. Net gaming revenue leapt to $64m in the first quarter from $47m a year ago, which is 3% better than the previous three month period. Total operating income rose 41% to $66m. Bingo club operator Rank fell back as a combination of tax changes and the impact of the smoking ban knocked revenue by 8% in the first four months of 2008. Property web site operator Rightmove (LSE: GB00B0MFTM73.L - news) is hit by a downgrade from Cazenove, which now expects the stock to perform "in line" having previously suggested it would outperform. Estate agent Savills (LSE: SVS.L - news) fares better, however, despite reporting that trading remains tough for its UK and US commercial, residential and mortgage broking businesses, with volumes down on the comparable period in 2007. Stockbroker and investment bank Numis saw half-year profits slip due to difficult market conditions and deterioration in the capital markets. Accounting and tax advisory group Vantis (LSE: VTS.L - news) tumbles as the company confirmed it is no longer in bid talks, having received an unsolicited all-share bid approach.
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