Europe Movers: Generali, Aggreko, Lufthansa, Ocado, Wm Morrison

Nigel Thomas
14 Mar, 2013
New York City

Generali said profit for the year plunged 68.2% to

[R]2:50 PM Frankfurt – Generali said profit for the year plunged 68.2% to €367 million. Aggreko wins contract worth $200 million. Lufthansa net swung to €990 million profit and agreed to buy aircraft worth $11.2 billion from Airbus SAS. Wm Morrison Supermarkets profit rose 3% to £637 million.[/R]

In London trading, FTSE 100 index rose 0.4% or 27.6 to 6,509 and in Frankfurt, the DAX index jumped 1% to 77.9 to 8,049. In Paris, CAC 40 index gained 0.8% or 28.9 to 3,865.

Assicurazioni Generali SpA jumped 7.8% to €13.14 after the Italy based insurance company reported total revenue for the year ending December soared 9.3% to €88.55 billion from a year ago. Profit for the year plunged 68.2% to €367 million compared to €1.53 billion of last year. Diluted earnings per share dropped to €0.06 from €0.56 a year ago earlier.

Aggreko plc soared 6.1% to 1,951 pence after the UK based power control solution provider won contracts in Mozambique and Namibia worth nearly $200 million.

Deutsche Lufthansa AG gained 3.3% to €16 after the German based aviation company said total revenue for the year ending December climbed 5% to €30.14 billion from a year ago. Net profit for the year swung to €990 million compared to loss of €13 million of last year. Diluted earnings per share swung to €0.08 from loss of €0.62 a year ago.

The aviation board today agreed to buy aircraft worth nearly $11.2 billion from Airbus SAS.

Lufthansa Group is the largest airline customer of Airbus with a total of 532 aircraft ordered.

Ocado Group plc surged 19.7% to 164.50 pence after the UK based online grocery retailer said it is in discussions with Wm. Morrison Supermarkets Plc to license intellectual property and operating knowledge for the purposes of Morrison commencing an online grocery business in the UK.

In separate press note, today online grocery retailer released its interim management statement for the 12 weeks period ended to February 24. Gross sales climbed 14.4% to £185.5 million and average number of orders per week jumped 12% to 131 and order size grew 2.2% to £118 compared to last year.

Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc climbed 2.3% to 277.70 pence after the UK based grocery retailer said revenue for the year ending on February 3 grew 2.6% to £18.12 billion from a year ago. Profit for the year rose 3% to £637 million compared to last year. Diluted earnings per share slipped to 26.57 pence from a year ago.

The retailer opened 17 new supermarkets and launched 5,000 store brand products successfully in the year.