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London mid-morning: Footsie moves into blue
Wed, 08 Feb, 2012
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London mid-morning: Footsie moves into blue
Thu, 2 Sep 2010, 10:01:00
Blue chips have moved back into the blue, but there is little conviction yet behind the rally. <b>Scottish and Southern Electric</b> is holding up despite being named in a mis-selling probe by regulator Ofgem. Three other big electricity suppliers are also under investigation - EDF, Scottish Power and nPower. The two other major suppliers British Gas, owned by <b>Centrica</b>, and E.ON are not involved. In company news,<b> AstraZeneca</b> has received approval from the European Commission (EC) for its schizophrenia and bipolar drug Seroquel XR as an add-on treatment for major depressive episodes where antidepressants haven't worked. <b>Tullow Oil</b> is to buy a half-share in five licences in the East African rift basins of Kenya and Ethiopia. Africa Oil Corp has sold Tullow 50% stakes in blocks 10BB, 10A, 12A and 13T in Kenya and the South Omo block in Ethiopia, an area covering 97,000 square kilometres. <b>Xstrata</b> Zinc's proposed acquisition of Toronto-listed Noranda Income Fund has fallen through after the pair were unable to agree a price. Madrid-based Xstrata Zinc had increased its offer for the fund to C$3.90 for every priority unit, worth $146.3m (£90.2m), up from an initial offer of $3.40, or $127.5m. In the FTSE 250, <b>McBride</b>, which supplies household products for supermarkets to sell under their own names, is going well after it shrugged off the challenge from promotions of branded products to post a sharp rise in profits in the year to June 30 as shoppers continued seeking the cheapest items. The maker of washing-up liquid, shaving foam and many other products saw pre-tax profits before exceptional items rise to £42.4m from £29.6m on revenues that rose to £812.2m from £792.4m. Investors also have an appetite for <b>Restaurant Group</b>. The company, which operates the Chiquito and Frankie and Benny's chains mostly seen in out of town shopping centres and cinemas, posted a rise in profits and revenues in the 27 weeks to 4 July despite tough economic conditions. It saw adjusted pre-tax profits rise to £24.6m from £21.7m over a comparable period the previous year as revenues rose to £229m from £210m. Global recruitment firm <b>Hays</b> is another strong performer. It saw a return to growth in the second half of its financial year, which softened the blow of a 53% slide in pre-tax profits. Profit before tax and exceptional items in the year to 30 June tumbled to £71.1m from £151m the year before, beating market expectations. Broker Charles Stanley's above consensus forecast had been for a figure of £70m. Rail and bus company <b>Go-Ahead</b> is cautious on the economic outlook and the prospect of government spending cuts after reporting a fall in profits in the year to July 3 amid tough conditions. The operator of the Southern, Southeastern and Gatwick Express rail franchises and bus operations in cities such as Plymouth and Oxford, saw revenues edge up to £2.20bn from £2.19bn the previous year, but pre-tax profits were down to £88.7m from £117.3m. <b>DSG International</b>, soon to become Dixons Retail, bumped up both total group revenue and like for like sales by 3% in the first quarter as shoppers responded well to Apple's iPad and the electrical retailer's World Cup promotion. The Currys and PC World owner grew like for like sales by 6% in the UK & Ireland during the 12 weeks ended 24 July. Televisions were in demand in the run up to July's premier football tournament.
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