Europe Earnings: BSkyB, BG Group, Deutsche Boerse, LVMH, Pearson, Vivendi

Nigel Thomas
26 Jul, 2013
New York City

Aon net slid 2%. BSkyB profit for the year climbed. BG Group net surged but Belgacom net slipped. Deutsche Boerse profit declined and LVMH net dropped. Pearson net swung to loss. Vivendi to divest its stake in Activision for

[R]3:20 PM Frankfurt – Aon net slid 2%. BSkyB profit for the year climbed. BG Group net surged but Belgacom net slipped. Deutsche Boerse profit declined and LVMH net dropped. Pearson net swung to loss. Vivendi to divest its stake in Activision for €6.2 billion.[/R]

In London trading, FTSE 100 index fell 0.4% or 24.33 to 6,564 and in Frankfurt the DAX index slipped 0.7% or 53.76 to 8,245.

In Paris, CAC 40 index gained 0.4% or 14.99 to 3,971.

Aon Plc, the UK based insurance company said total revenue in the second quarter grew 3% to $2.9 billion. Net income slid 2% to $241 million compared to $246 million and diluted earnings per share jumped 4% to 76 cents from 73 cents a year earlier.

Revenue from the risk management segment rose 2% to $1.9 billion and human resources segment increased 3% to $956 million.

British Sky Broadcasting Group plc declined 3.8% to 817.50 pence after the UK based pay television service provider reported revenue in the year ending in June jumped 7% to £7.24 billion from £6.79 billion a year earlier. Profit for the year climbed 13.4% to £979 million compared to £906 million and diluted earnings per share 59.7 pence from 52.2 pence a year ago.

The media company said operating profit for the year advanced 9% to £1.33 billion and EBITDA increased 8% to £1.69 billion.

Paid subscribers jumped 3.3 million to 31.6 million.

BG Group Plc rose 0.4% to 1,190 pence after the UK based natural gas producer said revenue in the second quarter dropped 3% to $4.41 billion from $4.64 billion. Net income for the quarter surged five-fold to $1.1 billion compared to $294 million and diluted earnings per share jumped 4% to 24.4 cents from 8.8 cents a year earlier.

The company said profit in the second quarter slid 3% on the fall in production in Kazakhstan and Egypt.

Belgacom SA soared 8% to €18.15 after the Belgium based mobile company said revenue in the second quarter dropped 1.7% to €1.58 billion from €1.61 billion. Net income slipped 3% to €161 million compared to €166 million Diluted earnings per share fell €1.02 from €1.13 a year ago.

The company said EBITDA slumped 1.9% to €430 million

Deutsche Boerse AG slumped 3.8% to €52.39 after the German stock exchange operator reported net revenue in the second quarter slid €497.1 million from €506.7 million a year ago. Profit for the quarter declined 8.2% to €171 million from €186.2 million a year earlier.

Deutsche Boerse expects revenue for the year between €1.8 billion and above €2 billion.

LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA climbed 4.8% to €136.55 after the France based luxury goods maker reported revenue in the first-half increased 6% to €13.69 billion from €12.97 billion a year ago. Net profit for the period declined 6% to €1.58 billion compared to €1.68 billion. Diluted earnings per share dropped to 3.13 cents from 3.35 cents a year earlier.

The company added profit from recurring operations for the first half rose 2% to €2 712 million and operating margin soared 20%.

Pearson Plc soared 8.4% to 1,357 pence after the UK based media and education service provider said sales in the first-half ending in June jumped 5% to £2.24 billion from £2.14 billion a year earlier. Net for the period swung to a Loss £9 million compared to profit of £35 million and diluted loss per share 1.0 pence from earnings of 4.5 pence a year ago.

FT Group content and subscription revenue growth were offset by weak advertising. The company completed merger of Penguin Random House on July 1 and reported growth of 14% in the first half of this year.

Vivendi SA gained 2.5% to €16.36 after the France based media and entertainment said it will divest most of 85% of its interest in U.S. based video-game publisher Activision Blizzard Inc. for nearly €6.2 billion or $8.2 billion or $13.60 per share.

Vivendi currently owns 61.1% or 684 million Activision Blizzard common shares but after the transaction the company retains 83 million shares or 12% of Activision Blizzard.