Europe Earnings: Alstom, BHP, GKN, Osram Licht, Weir

Nigel Thomas
01 Apr, 2014
New York City

Alstom sold its steam auxiliary unit to Triton for

[R]4:00 PM Frankfurt – Alstom sold its steam auxiliary unit to Triton for €730 million. BHP intends to spin off its non-core assets in a separate company worth $20 billion. GKN acquired Williams Hybrid Power for £8 million. Weir proposed a merger to Finland based Metso for £8.5 billion.[/R]

In London trading, FTSE 100 index gained 0.8% or 52.34 to 6,650.71 and in Frankfurt the DAX index increased 0.8% or 72.36 to 9,628.27.

In Paris, CAC 40 index jumped 1% or 46.27 to 4,437.77.

Alstom SA surged 9.5% to €21.69 after the France-based transport and energy infrastructure provider agreed to sell its steam auxiliary unit to investment firm Triton for €730 million or $1 billion. The cash will be used to trim company debt.

In November, Alstom said it planned to sell its non-core assets to raise as much as €2 billion to make acquisitions in rapidly-growing markets.

The sale is expected to complete before the end of the first-half of 2014.

BHP Billiton Plc climbed 2.6% to 1,892.50 pence after the mining giant issued a statement and said it intends to spin off its non-core assets including aluminum, nickel and bauxite assets in a separate company worth $20 billion to shareholders.

The company also stressed in the statement that it plans to focus on four segments including copper, coal, iron ore and petroleum resources to “improve productive performance of largest businesses.” The company is likely to increase its focus on potash assets as well.

GKN Plc gained 2.9% to 401.52 pence after the U.K.-based engineering company acquired Williams Hybrid Power from Williams Grand Prix Engineering for £8 million or $13.3 million.

ICAP Plc jumped 2.2% to 386 pence after the U.K.-based investment and brokerage services provider estimated profit in the year ending in March in the range of £266 million and £280 million.

ICAP added revenue from its global broking segment contracted 14% in February and March from a year ago period.

Osram Licht AG slid 0.9% to €46.62 after the Germany-based lighting systems maker plans to split its Lamps & Components business which represents about half of its sales. Traditional-lamp sales continued to drop in the first two months of the current quarter.

The Weir Group Plc fell 0.6% to 2,520 pence after the U.K.-based engineering company confirmed that it has made an indicative merger proposal to its Finnish Helsinki-listed rival Metso Oyj for £8.5 billion or $14.17 billion.

Shares of Metso Oyj surged 18.5% to €28.10.