UK Indexes Rise; Portmeirion Plummets

Arthi Gupta
09 Aug, 2010
New York City

The UK indexes climb after resource stocks lead gainers. Six UK banks form a taskforce to facilitate business credit lending. AstraZeneca agrees for $198 million settlement in Seroquel product liability litigation. Costain Group wins

[R]4:30 PM London – The UK indexes climb after resource stocks lead gainers. Six UK banks form a taskforce to facilitate business credit lending. AstraZeneca agrees for $198 million settlement in Seroquel product liability litigation. Costain Group wins £130 million Bond Street tube station expansion contract.[/R]

BP today provided an update on developments in the response to the MC252 oil well incident in the Gulf of Mexico. Irish consumer confidence indicator declines in July.

In London, FTSE 100 Index traded higher 69.50 or 1.30% to 5,401.89 and the pound edged higher to close at $1.5949.

The British Bankers Association said today that chief executives of six large UK banks decided to form a taskforce to ensure that businesses get credit smoothly. In a letter to Chancellor George Osborne, BBA Chairman Stephen Green said banks recognize their collective role and understand that there is a real need to make sure that viable businesses are able to obtain the finance they need to support the British economic recovery.

Green said this work will be undertaken through a series of clearly defined work streams to identify, analyze, review and recommend actions to help ensure that viable UK businesses have access to appropriate finance and other support during the recovery and beyond.

The Irish consumer confidence indicator fell in July from the previous month, according to a latest report from the KBC Bank Ireland and the Economic and Social Research Institute released today.

The ESRI/KBC consumer sentiment index declined to 66.2 in July compared to 67.9 in June. Among the two sub indices of consumer sentiment, consumer expectations decreased to 53.1 in July from 54.1 in June.

AstraZeneca plc announced agreements with a number of claimants in the suit over its antipsychotic medication Seroquel. The product liability lawsuits allege that AstraZeneca failed to warn about the increased risk of diabetes, weight gain or death associated with the use of Seroquel.

The company stated about 17,500 Seroquel product liability suits in the United States have been settled for approximately $198 million.

Costain Group Plc said it has been awarded, in joint venture with Laing O''Rourke, a £130 million construction contract to redevelop the London Underground''s Bond Street tube station in central London. The total cost of redeveloping Bond Street tube station is in the region of £300 million.

The work would focus on the north side of London''s retail hub Oxford Street to boost capacity and create step free access to the station. Work is due to begin in the autumn.

BP Plc reported there is currently no oil flowing into the Gulf of Mexico. Furthermore, the company noted that following the completion of cementing operations on the MC252 well on August 5, pressure testing was performed which indicated an effective cement plug in the casing.

Depending upon weather conditions, August 15th is the current estimate of the most likely date by which the first relief well will intercept the MC252 well annulus. Operations on the second relief well, which started May 16, have been suspended at a measured depth of 15,874 feet, so as not to interfere with the completion of the first relief well.

BP said it would continue to make claim payments to individuals and businesses impacted by the oil spill until the process is taken over by the Gulf Coast Claims Facility under the leadership of Ken Feinberg later in August.

Gainers & Losers

Dragon Oil plc rose 0.50% to 450.00 pence after the oil and gas explorer said first half revenue rose 4.9% to $276.33 million from $263.48 million a year ago. Net profit for the first half surged 31% to $137.57 million or 26.62 cents per diluted share compared to net profit of $104.98 million or 20.36 cents per share a year ago.

Hill & Smith Holdings PLC slumped 4.76% to 280.00 pence after the manufacturer and supplier of infrastructure products stated first half revenue decreased 1.5% to £193.5 million from £196.8 million in the comparable period. The company said half-year pre-tax profit remained flat at £20.2 million compared with the prior year. Earnings per share for the period slipped to 17.9 pence from 18.0 pence a year earlier.

Morgan Sindall plc gained 2.42% to 572.50 pence after the construction and regeneration firm reported first half revenue dipped 14% to £0.98 billion from £1.14 billion in the same period of last year. Net profit for the first half declined 10.3% to £13.1 million or 30.6 pence per diluted share compared to £14.6 million or 34.2 pence per share in the year-ago period. Profit before tax dropped 10.2% to £18.4 million from £20.5 million in the year-ago period.

Portmeirion Group PLC plummeted 6.02% to 390.00 pence after the ceramic tableware, cookware and glassware marketer reported first half revenue edged higher 24.3% to £21.13 million from £17 million in the same period last year. Net profit surged 85.9% to £645,000 or 6.41 pence per diluted share from £347,000 or 3.50 pence per share a year ago.

United Carpets Group plc declined 3.41% to 9.06 pence after the carpet and flooring retailer reported annual revenue for fiscal 2010 rose 2.5% to £27.47 million from £26.79 million reported in the last year. Net profit in fiscal 2010 surged 110.8% to £683 million or 0.84 pence per share, compared to £324 million or 0.40 pence per share in 2009. Profit before tax soared 83.2% to £1.09 billion from £0.595 million in the previous year.