UK Retail Sales Decline, Home Prices Flat; Antofagasta Net Soars

Arthi Gupta
08 Mar, 2011
New York City

The UK indexes fell after retail sales declined and home prices eased in February. The BCC lowered growth outlook for the UK. Xstrata got approval for $4.2 billion southern Peru Las Bambas copper project. Old Mutual fiscal year 2010 sales grew.

[R]3:00 PM London – The UK indexes fell after retail sales declined and home prices eased in February. The BCC lowered growth outlook for the UK. Xstrata got approval for $4.2 billion southern Peru Las Bambas copper project. Old Mutual fiscal year 2010 sales grew.[/R]

UK stocks turned lower in the late afternoon after oil prices receded and European markets edged lower. U.S. indexes also declined after first thirty minutes of trading.

In London, FTSE 100 Index declined 22.12 or 0.37% to 5,951.78 and the pound edged lower to close at $1.6151.

UK Retail Sales Decline

Retail sales in the UK fell at their fastest annual pace in 10 months in February, according to the latest data from the British Retail Consortium.

Retail sales value declined 0.4% on a like-for-like basis in February from the previous year, reversing the 2.3% rise in January. On a total basis, sales were 1.1% higher in February compared with a 4.5% increase in February 2010.

Food sales picked up after a weaker January but non-food sales slowed sharply, the report showed.

UK Home Prices Flat

The decline in British home prices continued in February, but the pace of decrease slowed amid rising demand, according to the results of a survey carried out by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

RICS’ seasonally adjusted house price balance improved to -26 from -31, but surveyors reported wide regional differences.

While London prices picked up and Wales experienced widespread price falls.

BCC Lowers UK Growth Outlook

The British Chambers of Commerce cut its estimate for British growth this year, following the unexpected fall in output in the last quarter of 2010.

It now sees the economy growing 1.4% this year, down from a December forecast of 1.9%.

Xstrata Gets Peru MEM''s ESIA Approval

Xstrata Plc said the Peru''s Ministry of Energy and Mines approved the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment for the $4.2 billion Las Bambas copper project in southern Peru''s Apurimac Region leading to complete the final permitting for construction to commence as scheduled in the third quarter of 2011.

Gainers & Losers

Antofagasta plc fell 2.46% to 1,385.00 pence after the copper mining company reported fiscal year 2010 group revenue soared 54.5% to $4.58 billion from $2.96 billion in 2009. Profit in the period increased 57.5% to $1.05 billion compared with $667.7 million last year, driven by higher copper production and improved commodity prices.

Full-year basic earnings per share were up at 106.7 cents compared with 67.7 cents a year ago.

The group proposed a 100 U.S. cents special dividend.

Betfair Group Plc surged 7.27% to 952.00 pence after the online betting and gaming operator said that its overall core Betfair revenue for the third quarter rose 6.2% to £77 million from £72.6 million in the previous year.

Cobham PLC dipped 0.04% to 229.60 pence after the defense firm said that it received a five-year, $45 million long-term agreement from Pratt & Whitney, a United Technologies Corp. company, to manufacture advanced composite products for multiple military aircraft engine applications.

Man Group plc rose 0.64% to 282.30 pence after the hedge fund manager said that it has been awarded a managed account mandate for initially €1.2 billion by Bayerische Versorgungskammer, Germany''s public pension fund with more than €50 billion in assets.

Old Mutual Plc soared 3.53% to 138.00 pence after the Anglo-South African insurer stated fiscal year 2010 revenues grew 4.5% to £21.57 billion from £20.64 billion in the prior year. For the full year, the company''s profit before tax surged 226% to £1.15 billion from £353 million in the previous year.

Pace Plc plummeted 17.64% to 181.60 pence after the company which develops products for subscription TV services, said fiscal year 2010 revenues gained 17.4% to £1.33 billion from £1.13 billion a year earlier. For the year, profit shrank 3% to £49.9 million or 16.1 pence per share from £51.4 million or 17.02 pence per share a year earlier.

Tullett Prebon Plc plunged 5.89% to 400.90 pence after the inter-dealer broker stated full-year 2010 decreased 4% to £908.5 million from £947.7 million in the previous year, mainly due to net effect of broker defections in North America following a raid by BGC in the second half of 2009.

Profit for the full year decreased 2.1% to £108.5 million or 50.3 pence per share from £110.8 million or 51.2 pencer per share a year earlier.