UK Home Loans Rise; Cadbury, BG Group Earnings

Mayank Mehta
29 Jul, 2009
New York City

UK stocks edged higher as mortgage lending in June increased. BG Group earnings fell 31% on lower energy prices. Cadbury first half profit surged 177%. The auto dealer Inchcape surged after it reported better than expected earnings.

[R]5:00 PM London, 12:00 PM New York – UK stocks edged higher as mortgage lending in June increased. BG Group earnings fell 31% on lower energy prices. Cadbury first half profit surged 177%. The auto dealer Inchcape surged after it reported better than expected earnings.[/R]

UK mortgage approvals in June increased to 47,584 from 44,169 in May according to the latest release from the Bank of England. The monthly approvals are the highest in 14 months.

Separately, gross mortgage lending in June was nearly £2 billion, 30% higher than in May but still 40% lower than a year ago according to the Building Societies Association.

In London FTSE 100 Index closed higher 15.38 or 0.35% to 4,361.84 and the pound closed at $1.64 and 1.16 euros.

Gainers & Losers

Arc International soared 27% to 15 pence after the chipmaker confirmed that the company is in negotiations with a bidder.

BG Group plc decreased 2.7% after the oil and gas explorer said second quarter revenues fell 28% to £2.3 billion from £3.2 billion a year ago. Net profit for the quarter fell 31.3% to £513 million or 15.1 pence per diluted share compared net profit of £747 million or 22.1 pence per share a year ago.

Bodycote plc rose 4.0% an engineering firm said first-half revenues fell 19.4% to £227.9 million from £282.2 million a year ago. Net loss for the first-half was £44.5 million or 23.9 pence per diluted share compared net profit of £32.9 million or 10.3 pence per share a year ago.

Brewin Dolphin increased 3.5% to 133.50 pence after it estimated third quarter earnings were unchanged from a year ago. Assets under management declined 5.9% to £17.6 billion.

Cadbury plc rose 1.9% to 575 pence after the chocolate and gum maker said first-half revenues rose 13% to £2.8 billion from £2.4 billion a year ago. Net profit for the first-half rose 177% to £313 million or 23.1 pence per diluted share compared net profit of £113 million or 6.0 pence per share a year ago.

Dignity plc lost 4.4% to 617 pence after the funeral services provider reported a 7.6% rise in first-half profit and offered positive outlook for the full year results.

easyJet plc added 3.7% to 288 pence after the low-cost airline service said third quarter revenues rose 12% to £721 million from £641 million a year ago. The firm said “for the year to 30 September 2009 easyJet will deliver underlying pre-tax profit in the range of £25 million to £50 million.”

Halfords Group increased 2% to 348 pence after the retailer of bicycles and auto parts quarterly sales ending in June increased 3.1% from a year ago.

Hogg Robinson Group plc jumped 3.1% after the corporate travel firm said that “since our last update at the end of May, market conditions have remained challenging. First quarter client revenue was about 7% below our expectations. The group will deliver a full-year performance in line with expectations.”

Inchcape plc gained 17.1% to 26.50 pence after the car dealer said first-half revenues fell 22.9% to £2.8 billion from £3.3 billion a year ago. Net profit for the first-half fell 73.6% to £25.1 million or 0.7 pence per diluted share compared net profit of £94.9 million or 3.5 pence per share a year ago.

International Greetings plc soared 28.0% after the greetings card group said full-year revenues rose 13% to £216.9 million from £191.7 million a year ago. Net loss from continuing operations for the year was £0.3 million per diluted share compared net loss of £8.1 million a year ago.

James Halstead plc rose 2.9% after the commercial flooring group said it is ‘fully confident’ of meeting market expectations for the full year despite challenging market conditions.

The Morgan Crucible Company plc surged 9.2% to 119 pence after the industrial materials firm said first-half revenues rose 22.6% from a year ago to £492 million. Net profit for the first-half fell 69% to £9.0 million or 3.2 pence per diluted share compared net profit of £28.8 million or 10.5 pence per share a year ago.

Rathbone Brothers plc fell 5.6% to 741 pence after the provider of investment and wealth management services said first-half net interest income fell 8% to £12.8 million from £13.9 million a year ago. Net profit for the first-half fell 27.7% to £9.9 million or 22.85 pence per diluted share compared net profit of £13.7 million or 31.92 pence per share a year ago.

Renishaw plc dropped 4.5% to 380 pence after the engineering company full-year profits plunge 89% on weak second half earnings.

St James’s Place decreased 4% to 180 pence despite the asset under management increased by 7.6% at the end of the June from a year ago.

Tarsus Group plc increased 1.7% after the exhibitions and conferences reported first half revenue increase of 36% to £19.7 million but the underlying organic growth of only 5%.