UK Indexes Down; Retail Sales Soar

Arthi Gupta
07 Sep, 2010
New York City

The UK indexes slipped after banks and mining stocks fell. Retail sales were boosted by back to school shopping in August. HSBC Chairman agreed to step down to become UK Trade Minister. Sports Direct International plc soared 3.6% after quarterly sales increased 8.8%.

[R]3:30 PM London – The UK indexes slipped after banks and mining stocks fell. Retail sales were boosted by back to school shopping in August. HSBC Chairman agreed to step down to become UK Trade Minister. Sports Direct International plc soared 3.6% after quarterly sales increased 8.8%.[/R]

In London, FTSE 100 Index traded lower 32.94 or 0.59% to 5,406.08 and the pound edged lower to close at $1.5325.

HSBC Holdings plc agreed that Stephen Green would step down as Chairman of the company before the end of the year, in order to accept Prime Minister David Cameron''s invitation to become Minister of State for Trade and Investment in January 2011.

Back to school and autumn clothing gave UK retail sales a boost in August, according to a new British Retail Consortium survey.

Retail sales on a like-for-like basis increased 1% year-over-year in August compared to a 0.5% in July. On a total basis, sales rose 2.8% in August as against total sales increase of 2.6% in July.

The latest data showed a 1.1% monthly rise in retail sales volume for July, led by a strong performance in the non-food sector. On an annual basis, sales increased 1.3%.

Barclays plc, the financial services firm announced today the appointment of Robert Diamond Jr. as its Chief Executive Officer, succeeding John Varley, who would resign as CEO on March 31, 2011. Diamond, who is currently President and Head of its investment banking unit, would become Deputy Group Chief Executive from October this year.

Gainers & Losers

Ashtead Group plc rose 2.88% to 94.65 pence after the investment holding and management company said first quarter revenue increased 6.2% to £219.6 million, from £206.8 million in the same quarter last year. Net profit in the quarter surged 69% to £9.1 million or 1.8 pence per share, compared to net profit of £5.4 million or 1.1 pence per share a year ago.

Genus plc gained 1.55% to 722.00 pence after the company engaged in applying science to animal breeding reported revenues for the fiscal year 2010 rose 1.7% to £285.3 million from £280.4 million last year. Net profit for the year soared 54% to £27.5 million or 45.7 pence per share compared net profit of £17.9 million or 29.9 pence per share last year.

Griffin Mining Limited soared 4.17% to 42.71 pence after the company engaged in mining and exploration stated first-half revenue surged 1,040% to $27.01 million from $2.37 million in the comparable period. Pre-tax profit generated in the period was $8.66 million compared with a loss of $1.35 million a year ago.

Plethora Solutions Holdings plc dropped 0.91% to 10.90 pence after the pharmaceutical company reported first-half revenue slumped 93% to £1.06 million from £15.79 million a year earlier. Net income in the period plunged 100% to £49 thousand or 0.1 pence per share compared to net income of £10.92 million or 24.7 pence per share a year ago.

Punch Taverns plc fell 2.11% to 85.65 pence after the pub company confirmed that Ian Dyson was appointed chief executive of the company, effective September 6. In addition, the company confirmed that Giles Thorley resigned from the board with effect from September 6.

Sports Direct International plc soared 3.61% to 117.60 pence after the group total sales for the 13 weeks ending July 25 gained 8.8% to £408 million and gross profit increased 17.8% to £185 million. Retail sales increased 11.6% year-on-year to £365 million, and retail gross profit increased 20.1% to £167 million.

Whitbread plc fell 0.60% to 1,503.00 pence after the company engaged in the operation of hotels, restaurants and coffee shops in its trading performance for the 24 weeks to August 19 said its total sales were up by 14% and like-for-like sales increased by 7.9%. Premier Inn sales rose 14.5%, with like-for-like sales edged higher 10.7% and revenue per available room climbed 9.8%.