Europe Earnings: Admiral, BT Group, BG Group, Lonmin, Novartis, Shire

Nigel Thomas
11 Nov, 2013
New York City

Admiral said revenue dropped 7%. BT Group secured telecast rights in

[R]4:25 PM Frankfurt – Admiral said revenue dropped 7%. BT Group secured telecast rights in €1.08 billion. BG Group sold stake in Queensland for $1.93 billion. Deutsche Telekom agreed to acquire GTS Central Europe for €546 million. Lonmin swung to a profit. Novartis sold blood transfusion unit in $1.68 billion.[/R]

In London trading, FTSE 100 index rose 0.3% or 19.58 to 6,728 and in Frankfurt the DAX index gained 0.3% or 24.24 to 9,103.

In Paris, CAC 40 index gained 0.5% or 22.29 to 4,283.

Admiral Group Plc fell 0.4% to 1,272.50 pence after the U.K-based motor insurance provider said group revenue in the third-quarter dropped 7% to £528 million as premiums fell.

BT Group Plc rose 0.5% to 374 pence after the U.K-based television services provider secured rights to telecast all 350 matches of UEFA Champions League and Europa League soccer matches for three years from 2015/16 and agreed to pay around £299 million a season.

The total consideration amount is €1.08 billion for the rights over three seasons.

Share of British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc in London plunged 9.5% to 841.74 pence after the news. BSkyB currently holds game broadcasting rights.

BG Group Plc gained 1% to 1,280 pence after the U.K-based natural gas explorer said it has sold its stake in the Queensland Curtis LNG project in Australia for $1.93 billion to China''s Cnooc.

Deutsche Telekom AG declined 1.2% to €11.20 and Germany-based telecom services provider agreed to acquire GTS Central Europe for €546 million from a consortium of international private equity firms, including Columbia Capital, HarbourVest Partners, Innova Capital and M/C Partners.

Lonmin Plc climbed 5.7% to 346.70 pence after the U.K-based platinum producer said revenues in the year ending in September dropped 5.6% to $1.52 billion from $1.61 billion a year ago.

Net in the year swung to a profit $198 million compared to a loss of $550 million and diluted earnings per share swung to a 31.1 cents from loss of 107.7 cents a year earlier.

Novartis AG gained 1.2% to 71.80 Switzerland-based healthcare products maker agreed to sell its blood transfusion diagnostics unit to Grifols business for $1.68 billion. The transaction is expected to be completed in the first half of 2014.

Separately, Novartis today signed license agreement with U.S.-based ImmunoGen, Inc. antibody-based medicines maker to develop cancer therapies. Novartis agree to pay upfront fee up to $200 million for each permit including the royalties on sales.

RSA Insurance Group Plc plummeted 9% to 109.88 pence after the U.K-based non-life insurer reported profit warning to nearly £70 million for the year and suspended its chief executive and chief financial officer of Irish division.

Shire Plc climbed 3.6% to 2,895.29 pence after the U.K-based biopharmaceutical company agreed to buy U.S.-based rare-diseases firm ViroPharma Inc. for about $4.2 billion to expand its portfolio to include attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

The purchase price of $50 a share is a 27% premium to ViroPharma''s closing share price on Friday.

Serco Group Plc declined 5.9% to 506 pence after the U.K-based outsource services provider lowered profit outlook for the year to £314 million from £325 million a year earlier.