UK Stocks Gain; Punch Tavern, Regus Surge

Mayank Mehta
25 Aug, 2009
New York City

UK stocks advanced for the sixth day in a row to a new high for the year. Mortgage approvals surged to a high since February 2008. Punch Tavern soared 22% after it reiterated earnings outlook for the year. Admiral Group first-half net dropped 5%. Persimmon net drops 63%. Regus surges 14%.

[R]6:00PM London, 1:00 PM New York – UK stocks advanced for the sixth day in a row to a new high for the year. Mortgage approvals surged to a high since February 2008. Punch Tavern soared 22% after it reiterated earnings outlook for the year. Admiral Group first-half net dropped 5%. Persimmon net drops 63%. Regus surges 14%.[/R]

UK stocks edged higher with the benchmark index gaining for the sixth day in a row to a new high for the year and in the last ten months.

In London FTSE 100 Index closed higher 4.28 or 0.09% to 4,900.51 and the pound closed at $1.64 and 1.14 euros.

Miners dropped after rising for five days in a row and Vodafone increased 2.4% to 134.15 pence.

British Bankers’ Association said mortgage approval increased in July after dropping to the lowest in February 2008.

Gainers & Losers

Admiral Group plc decreased 2.0% to 1,050.00 pence after the car insurer said first-half revenues rose 19% to £243.1 million from £204.0 million a year ago. Net profit for the first-half rose 5% to £75.4 million or 28.4 pence per diluted share compared to net profit of £71.9 million or 27.3 pence per share a year ago.

Aggreko PLC increased 2.6% to 630.00 pence after the provider of mobile generators said first-half revenues rose 23% to £499.8 million from £407.7 million a year ago. Net profit for the first-half rose 58% to £71.9 million compared to net profit of £45.5 million a year ago.

Cairn Energy PLC fell 1.3% to 2,589.00 pence after the oil and gas group said the Rajasthan project continues to provide opportunities for substantial growth. Once the pipeline infrastructure is in place there will be significant future potential for further production optimization.

Production is due to start shortly from Mangala with initial volumes transported by trucks.

CRH Plc climbed 2.2% to 18.97 pence after the cement and building materials maker said first-half revenues fell 14.4% to €8.3 billion from €9.7 billion a year ago. Net profit for the first-half fell 83% to €79 million or 12.2 cents per diluted share compared to net profit of €461 million or 76.6 pence per share a year ago.

Derwent London Plc declined 3.8% to 1,212.00 pence after the real estate investment trust said first-half total income rose 9.6% to £63.7 million from £57.5 million a year ago. Net loss for the first-half was £207.8 million or 206.13 pence per diluted share compared to net loss of £139.4 million or 138.42 pence per share a year ago.

Hiscox Ltd rose 2.3% to 332.90 pence after the specialty insurer said first-half gross premiums written rose 41.7% to £906.0 million from £639.4 million a year ago. Pre-tax profit for the first-half rose 29.5% to £141.4 million or 33.2 pence per diluted share compared to net profit of £109.2 million or 21.7 pence per share a year ago.

James Fisher and Sons Plc tumbled 5.1% to 484.00 pence after the marine service provider said first-half revenues rose 14% to £130.0 million from £114.1 million a year ago. Net profit for the first-half rose 12.6% to £9.97 million or 20.04 pence per diluted share compared to net profit of £8.86 million or 17.58 pence per share a year ago.

Kerry Group PLC, the Ireland’s food company reported first half sales revenue of €2.26 billion.

Lloyds Banking Group plc fell 1.0% to 106.88 pence after the mortgage lender eliminate 200 jobs in UK insurance units.

Monitise plc plunged 2.8% to 15.78 pence after the global mobile money specialists said that it has taken full ownership of Monilink Ltd, the UK''s mobile banking and payments network.

PartyGaming plc edged lower to 269.50 pence after the online gaming and gambling group has agreed to acquire the business and substantially all of the assets of WPT Enterprises Inc. for a cash consideration of $12.3 million and an ongoing revenue share with the minimum payment of $3 million over the next three years.

Persimmon PLC gained 0.5% to 521.50 pence after the homebuilder said first-half revenues fell 38.7% to £611.8 million from £998.4 million a year ago. Net profit for the first-half fell 63% to £9.8 million or 3.3 pence per diluted share compared to net profit of £26.4 million or 8.8 pence per share a year ago.

Pinewood Shepperton plc added 150.00 pence after the TV and film studio group said lower film revenues compared to a year ago reflect the impact of the Screen Actors Guild dispute.

Punch Taverns plc surged 22% to 130.90 pence after the pub operator reiterated outlook for the full year but cited near term challenges.

Regus plc S.A surged 14% to 96.00 pence after the workspace solutions provider said first-half revenues rose 9.8% to £557.4 million from £507.5 million a year ago. Net profit for the first-half rose 0.7% to £54.4 million or 5.7 pence per diluted share compared to net profit of £54.0 million or 5.6 pence per share a year ago.

The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc rose 3.3% to 53.50 pence.

Severfield–Rowen Plc fell 1.5% to 195.00 pence after the structural steel supplier reported first half results. The company cited lower UK demand and prices for 2010.

Spectris plc rose 7.2% to 655.50 pence after the precision instrument and controls maker said first-half sales rose 4% to £371.5 million from £358.5 million a year ago. Net profit for the first-half fell 72.4% to £7.5 million or 6.5 pence per diluted share compared to net profit of £27.2 million or 23.5 pence per share a year ago.

UNITE Group plc surged 6.0% to 210.00 pence.

FTSE 100 Index Movers

Of the stocks in the FTSE 100 index, 67 increased, 35 declined and none were unchanged.

Kazakhmys Plc decliners in the FTSE 100 index with a loss of 3.57% followed by losses in Antofagasta Plc of 3.01%, in Admiral Group Plc of 2.61%, in Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation Plc of 2.51%, in Standard Chartered Plc of 2.24%.

MAN Group Plc led gainers in the FTSE 100 index with a rise of 4.83% followed by increase in The Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc of 3.86%, in British Airways Plc of 3.53%, in Cable & Wireless Plc of 2.85%, in G4S Plc of 2.78%.