Oulook Lifts British Air; Rentokil Drops 6%

Mayank Mehta
06 Nov, 2009
New York City

The producer prices index increase in October. British Airways surged 6% after it said traffic decline has stabilized and ticket prices are likely to increase. Rentokil, the largest pest control company decreased more than 6%, third quarter profit increased. The pound edged lower.

[R]4:00PM London, 11:00 AM New York – The producer prices index increase in October. British Airways surged 6% after it said traffic decline has stabilized and ticket prices are likely to increase. Rentokil, the largest pest control company decreased more than 6%, third quarter profit increased. The pound edged lower.[/R]

Producer prices index increased 0.2% in October from a month ago when it increased 0.5% according to the Office for National Statistics. From a year ago month the index increased 1.7% after rising at 0.4% in September.

In London FTSE 100 Index closed higher 3.65 or 0.07% to 5,122.66 and the pound edged lower at $1.657 and edged lower to close at €1.113.

Gainers & Losers

British Airways Plc rose 6.0% to 197.60 pence after first-half revenues fell 13.7% to £4.1 billion from £4.75 billion a year ago. Net loss for the first-half was £208 million or 18.8 pence per diluted share compared to net loss of £42 million or 4.3 pence per share a year ago.

The airline offered a positive outlook and said passenger volume and ticket prices have stabilized and premium traffic fell 1.4% in October after dropping 7.9% in September.

Collins Stewart plc climbed 2.0% to 74.00 pence after the stockbroker said total revenues in four months to October rose 4% to £57 million.

Dechra Pharmaceuticals plc fell 1.0% to 453.30 pence.

Melrose Resources plc advanced 2.3% to 342.00 pence after the oil and gas explorer received an approval for commercial field certification at one of its fields in Bulgaria.

The approval allows the development of the Kavarna field, which contains estimated reserves of 24 bcf and is located 8 km east of Melrose''s Galata field platform.

Rentokil Initial plc fell 6.8% to 104.20 pence after the pest controller said third quarter revenues rose 3.6% to £622.6 million from £600.8 million a year ago. Pre-tax profit for the quarter rose 178% to £30.0 million compared to pre-tax profit of £10.8 million a year ago.

Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc increased 6.5% to 37.50 pence said third quarter total income fell 17.4% to £7.1 billion from £8.6 billion a year ago. Net loss for the quarter was £1.8 billion compared to net profit of £871 million a year ago.

Segro plc added 3.3% to 350.00 pence after it sold Great Western Industrial Park in Southall, West London to Universities Superannuation Scheme Ltd for a total consideration of £110.4 million, representing a net initial yield of 6.9%.

Smith & Nephew plc fell 0.1% to 539.00 pence after the medical device maker said third quarter revenues fell 1.6% to $915 million from $930 million a year ago. Net profit for the quarter rose 73% to $128 million or 14.4 cents per diluted share compared to net profit of $74 million or 8.3 cents per share a year ago.

Tate & Lyle plc rose 2.8% to 470.00 pence after the sugar refiner and sweetener group said first-half revenues rose 7% to £1.82 billion from £1.70 billion a year ago. Net profit for the first-half fell 31% to £44 million or 9.5 pence per diluted share compared to net profit of £64 million or 14 pence per share a year ago.

United Business Media Limited rose 0.8% to 479.90 pence after the business media company reiterated annual earnings outlook.

WH Ireland Group plc the stockbroker rose 0.8% to 60.00 pence.

FTSE 100 Index Movers

Of the stocks in the FTSE 100 index, 58 increased, 43 declined and 1 were unchanged.

Rentokil Initial Plc decliners in the FTSE 100 index with a loss of 6.43% followed by losses in Old Mutual Plc of 2.94%, in Admiral Group Plc of 2.46%, in Centrica Plc of 2.08%, in Wolseley Plc of 1.81%.

British Airways Plc led gainers in the FTSE 100 index with a rise of 6.33% followed by increase in Shire Plc of 2.42%, in Standard Chartered Plc of 2.36%, in Burberry Group Plc of 2.20%, in Invensys Plc of 2.07%.