Europe Earnings: Daily Mail, Johnson Matthey, Mothercare, National Grid

Nigel Thomas
21 Nov, 2013
New York City

Daily Mail profit plunged 23% on revenue fall of 8%. Johnson Matthey climbed 21% after revenue surged 31%. Mothercare said net loss narrowed. National Grid profit soared 26% to

[R]3:10 PM Frankfurt – Daily Mail profit plunged 23% on revenue fall of 8%. Johnson Matthey climbed 21% after revenue surged 31%. Mothercare said net loss narrowed. National Grid profit soared 26% to £1.35 billion and revenue climbed 11%. SABMiller net jumped 9%.[/R]

In London trading, FTSE 100 index rose 0.05% or 3.65 to 6,685 and in Frankfurt the DAX index fell 0.2% or 14.55 to 9,188.

In Paris, CAC 40 index slipped 0.3% or 11.87 to 4,256.

Atos SE slumped 3.7% to €61.96 after the France-based information technology service provider PAI Partners SAS sold 8.9 million shares or its 9% stake at a price of €61.25 per share.

Daily Mail and General Trust Plc jumped 2.9% to 864.50 pence after the U.K.-based media company reported revenue in the year ending in September declined 8% to £1.80 billion from £1.96 billion a year ago.

Profit for the year plunged 23.1% to £212.6 million compared to £276.5 million and diluted earnings per share rose to 51.7 pence from 47.9 pence a year earlier.

The media company said profit-before-tax climbed 10% to £282 million and operating profit was flat at £300 million compared to a year ago.

The company estimated revenue for the year will be about £1.8 billion.

Johnson Matthey Plc jumped 2.8% to 3,181 pence after the U.K.-based specialty chemicals maker reported revenue in the first-half ending in September surged 31% to £6.41 billion from £4.89 billion a year ago period.

Net profit for the period climbed 21.1% to £173.6 million compared to £143.3 million and diluted earnings per share increased to 85.5 pence from 68.7 pence a year earlier.

The company added profit-before-tax in the period jumped 12% to £202.1 million and underlying profit-before-tax soared 13% to £212.9 million.

Mothercare Plc dropped 3% to 401.75 pence after the U.K.-based specialty retailer said revenue in the first-half ending on October 12 fell 3.1% to £376.3 million from £388.4 million a year ago. Comparable sales in the period climbed 4.8%.

Net loss in the period narrowed to £8.7 million compared to £24.9 million and diluted earnings per share dropped to 9.8 pence from 28.1 pence a year earlier.

Mothercare added international retail sales for the period jumped 13.3% to £395.5 million and profits soared 13.5% to £25.2 million. Worldwide network sales grew 4.4% to £637.7 million from £611.1 million.

National Grid Plc gained 1.2% to 776.50 pence after the U.K.-based electricity and gas company reported revenue in the first-half ending in September climbed 10.5% to £6.72 billion from £6.08 billion a year ago.

Profit for the year soared 26% to £1.35 billion compared to £980 million and diluted earnings per share jumped to 33.1 pence from 26.2 pence a year earlier.

The electricity and gas provider said profit-before-tax dropped 7% to £979 million.

SABMiller Plc rose 0.2% to 3,243.50 pence after the U.K.-based brewing and beverage maker said revenue in the first-half ending in September grew 0.5% to $17.56 billion from $17.48 billion a year ago.

Profit for the year jumped 9% to $1.71 billion compared to $1.58 billion and diluted earnings per share jumped to 77.7 pence from 74.2 pence a year earlier.