UK Home Prices, Home Loans Rise; Xchanging, United Business Media Plunge

Arthi Gupta
01 Mar, 2011
New York City

The UK indexes traded sideways after home prices and mortgage approvals rose and Irish manufacturing activity improved in February. Barclays agreed to acquire Egg

[R]3:00 PM London – The UK indexes traded sideways after home prices and mortgage approvals rose and Irish manufacturing activity improved in February. Barclays agreed to acquire Egg’s UK credit card assets. Xchanging swings to loss.[/R]

In London, FTSE 100 Index declined 2.91 or 0.05% to 5,991.10 and the pound edged higher to close at $1.6273.

UK Home Prices Rise, Manufacturing Sector Dips

UK home prices rose 0.3% on a monthly basis in February after falling 0.1% in January, the Nationwide Building Society said today.

However, home prices fell 0.1% on an annual basis in February as against January''s 1.4% decline.

The seasonally adjusted Markit/Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply Purchasing Managers'' Index for the manufacturing sector in the UK slipped slightly to 61.5 in February from 62 in January.

Production rose at a record pace in February, underpinned by a substantial increase of incoming new orders.

UK M4 Money Supply Growth Slackens

The UK''s M4 measure of money supply grew 2.1% from a year earlier in January, slowing from a 2.3% increase in December, the Bank of England said on Tuesday.

On a monthly basis, M4 money supply rose a seasonally adjusted 0.7% in January compared to a 0.3% increase in December.

UK Mortgage Approvals Up

The number of mortgage approvals for home purchase rose to 45,723 in January from 42,719 in December, the Bank of England said.

In terms of value, home purchase mortgages were worth £6.2 billion, an increase from £5.9 billion in December.

Consumer credit showed a net repayment of £0.3 billion in January, as consumers continue to pay off their debt on loans and advances.

Irish Manufacturing Activity Improves

Ireland''s NCB Purchasing Managers'' Index for manufacturing rose to 56.7 in February from 55.8 in the previous month, Markit Economics said.

Barclays Acquires Egg Credit Card Assets

Barclays Plc agreed to acquire UK credit card assets of Egg Banking Plc, the online bank owned by Citigroup. The company did not disclose any financial terms of the deal.

Under the terms of the transaction, Barclays will purchase Egg’s UK credit card accounts, consisting of approximately 1.15 million credit card accounts with approximately £2.3 billion of gross receivables.

Gainers & Losers

Cobham plc dropped 1.82% to 221.40 pence after the manufacturing company said it has been granted a $4.7 million delivery order for the initial design and development of a mobile Infrared/Ultraviolet threat simulator for the U.S. Army.

Cookson Group Plc surged 6.19% to 694.50 pence after the materials technology company reported fiscal year 2010 pre-tax profit of £189.4 million compared to a pre-tax loss of £20.9 million a year ago.

Profit for the year was £145.3 million or 52.2 pence per share versus a loss of £48.5 million or 17.8 pence per share in the previous year.

CRH Plc rose 1.36% to $23.07 after the building materials supplier said full-year 2010 sales revenue fell 1% to €17.17 billion from €17.37 billion in the previous year. For fiscal year 2010, profit declined 27% to €432 million or 61.2 euro cents per share compared with €592 million or 87.9 euro cents per share a year ago.

GKN Plc slumped 3.62% to 202.30 pence after the automotive and aerospace parts maker reported fiscal year 2010 sales grew 20.4% to £5.08 billion from £4.22 billion in the previous year. Profit for the year was £305 million or 19.6 pence per share compared to a loss of £36 million or 3.2 pence per share a year ago.

Meggitt Plc gained 3.96% to 351.60 pence after the engineering business specializing in aerospace equipment said fiscal year 2010 revenue climbed 0.9% to £1.16 billion from £1.15 billion in the prior year. Pre-tax profit for the year declined 4.6% to £172.5 million from £180.8 million in the previous year.

Ricardo plc dipped 0.54% to 365.00 pence after the provider of technology, product innovation and strategic consulting stated first-half revenue rose 11.4% to £90.2 million from £81.0 million in the same period last year. Profit for the period increased 50% to £4.8 million or 9.3 pence per share as against £3.2 million or 6.2 pence per share in the prior-year period.

United Business Media Plc plummeted 9.75% to 643.00 pence after the owner of the PR Newswire group reported fiscal year 2010 revenue increased nearly 5% to £889.2 million from £847.6 million in the prior year. Profit for the year grew 21% to £90.8 million or 36.7 pence per share from £75.2 million or 30.5 pence per share last year.

Xchanging plc slumped 5.80% to 52.75 pence after the business processing company stated fiscal year 2010 revenue increased 4.0% to £780.6 million from restated £750.4 million in the comparable period. Loss for the year was £73.30 million or 32.98 pence per share versus a profit of £11.92 million or 2.67 pence per share, as restated, a year ago.