German Orders Up; Hermes, L'Oreal Fall

Mayank Mehta
06 Nov, 2009
New York City

European markets traded sideways after a string of weak results in Germany and France. German factory orders increased in September. Deutsche Boerse net declined and placed its final bid for the Warsaw Stock Exchange. Poland completes the largest European IPO in the year.

[R]7:00PM Frankfurt, Paris; 1:00 PM New York – European markets traded sideways after a string of weak results in Germany and France. German factory orders increased in September. Deutsche Boerse net declined and placed its final bid for the Warsaw Stock Exchange. Poland completes the largest European IPO in the year.[/R]

European stocks traded sideways after L’Oreal and Hermes reported weaker than expected results and Deutsche Boerse net declined. The international exchange also placed its final bid to acquire Warsaw Stock Exchange. Hannover Re lifted its annual earnings outlook.

German factory orders adjusted for seasonality and inflation increased 0.9% in September from the prior month. In August orders increase was revised to 2.1% increase. Orders in September were still 13.1% lower than a year ago.

In London FTSE 100 Index closed higher 6.91 or 0.13% to 5,132.55, in Paris CAC 40 Index decreased 7.49 or 0.20% to close at 3,701.24, in Frankfurt DAX index lower 0.96 or 0.02% to close at 5,479.96. In Zurich trading SMI increased 0.75 or 0.01% to close at 6,285.95.

Gainers & Losers

Assicurazioni Generali SpA added 0.5% to €17.51 after the insurer said third quarter net earned premiums rose 8.6% to €15.2 billion from €14 billion a year ago. Net profit in the quarter rose 85.5% to €390.2 million compared to net profit of €210.3 million a year ago.

Cap Gemini SA decreased 2.4% to €30.20 after the outsourcing, technology and local professional services provider said third quarter sales fell 7% to €1.95 billion from €2.10 billion a year ago and fell 9% on like-for-like basis.

CENTROTEC Sustainable AG advanced 3.3% to €8.68 an advanced energy-saving technology provider for construction industry said third quarter revenues fell 4.2% to €127.4 million from €133.1 million a year ago. Net profit in the quarter rose 9.5% to €9.2 million compared to net profit of €8.4 million a year ago.

Commerzbank AG climbed 1.8% to €6.99 and third quarter net interest income rose 46% to €1.77 billion from €1.21 billion a year ago. Net loss in the quarter was €1.06 billion compared to net loss of €285 million a year ago.

Criteria CaixaCorp, S.A an investment group said nine months net profit rose 17% to €1.14 billion compared to net profit of €972 million a year ago.

Deutsche Boerse AG fell 1.8% to €54.20 an international financial marketplace operator said third quarter revenues fell 18.7% to €500.9 million from €616.1 million a year ago. Net profit in the quarter fell 38.5% to €158.3 million or €0.85 per diluted share compared to net profit of €257.3 million or €1.35 per share a year ago.

The exchange is also bidding for a majority stake sale in Warsaw Stock Exchange. Poland is selling 74% stake in the exchange and the rest is kept for brokerage members.

Draegerwerk AG & Co. KGaA rose 0.07% to €29.92 after the maker of medical equipment said third quarter revenues rose 2.4% to €454.4 million from €443.9 million a year ago. Net profit in the quarter rose 105.6% to €3.7 million or €0.20 per diluted share compared to net profit of €1.8 million or €0.05 per share a year ago.

Electricite de Strasbourg SA fell 2.5% to €37.26 after the electricity distributor said third quarter revenue fell 7.6% to €294.8 million from €319 million a year ago.

Escada AG, the bankrupt fashion designer house surged 37% to 70 euro cents after Mittal family trust agreed to acquire core assets of the company.

Finmeccanica SpA increased 1.1% to €11.99 after the aerospace and defense contractor said third quarter revenues rose 27% to €4.15 billion from €3.26 billion a year ago. Net profit in the quarter rose 26% to €111 million or €0.192 per diluted share compared to net profit of €88 million or €0.197 per share a year ago.

Fuchs Petrolub AG added 2.1% to €54.14 after the producer and supplier of lubricants said nine months sales fell 19.4% to €873.2 million from €1.08 billion a year ago. Net profit in the nine months fell 13% to €81.4 million or €3.41 per diluted share compared to net profit of €93.5 million or €3.76 per share a year ago.

Hannover Rueckversicherung AG advanced 3.8% to €32.50 after the global reinsurance company said third quarter revenues rose 52.7% to €2.55 billion from €1.67 billion a year ago. Net profit in the quarter was €159.4 million or €1.32 per diluted share compared to net loss of €395 million or €3.27 per share a year ago.

The company guided higher profit for the year.

Hermes International SCA rose 2.7% to €99.50 after the luxury goods maker said revenues in the quarter ending in September increased 10% to €452.1 million and expects full year operating earnings to be 5% lower than a year ago.

Leather hand bag sales increased 25% and apparel sales gained 5.6% in the quarter but sales of silk ties and scarves were nearly unchanged.

Kuka AG rose 5.2% to €10.80 after the robot maker was upgraded to “buy” from “sell” at UBS AG.

Lagardere SCA fell 2.2% to €30.25 after the media company said nine months revenues fell 3.7% to €5.82 billion from €6.04 billion a year ago. Publishing revenues rose 8.3% to €1.69 billion from €1.56 billion a year ago and rose 8.8% on a like-for-like basis.

Latecoere SA the supplier of aerospace components slipped 1.6% to €6.74.

L'Oreal SA rose 2.4% to €21.26 after the cosmetics maker was downgraded to “hold” from “buy” at Societe Generale SA. The cosmetic maker third quarter sales declined 0.7% to 4.23 billion and indicated higher sales in the current quarter.

Metropole Television SA rose 6.1% to €18.44 an audiovisual company said third quarter revenues rose 9.2% to €296 million from €271.1 million a year ago. Multimedia advertising revenue rose 2.1% to €136.2 million from €133.5 million a year ago. M6 channel’s advertising revenue fell 2.7% to €111.5 million from €114.6 million a year ago. Digital channels and other advertising revenue rose 31.2% to €24.7 million from €18.9 million a year ago.

Nemetschek AG rose 2.0% to €15.30 after the provider of software solutions said third quarter revenues fell 11% to €96.9 million from €109.0 million a year ago. Net profit in the quarter fell 29% to €6.3 million or €0.65 per diluted share compared to net profit of €8.9 million or €0.93 per share a year ago.

The Polish electric utility PGE SA on its first day of trading increased 13% to close at 25.99 zloty after it raised 5.97 billion zloty or $2.1 billion. Poland sold 15% stake in the offering at 23 zloty a share. The PGE offering is the largest IPO in the year so far in Europe.

ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG climbed 7.1% to €7.67 after the broadcasting company said third quarter revenues fell 13.5% to €559.4 million from €646.5 million a year ago. Net loss in the quarter was €12.7 million or €0.07 per diluted share compared to net loss of €10.7 million or €0.06 per share a year ago.

Prysmian SpA rose 3.1% to €12.53 after the cables maker said third quarter sales fell 28% to €929 million from €1.3 billion a year ago. Net profit in the quarter rose 32.6% to €57 million compared to net profit of €43 million a year ago.

SGL Carbon SE dropped 0.4% to €23.59 after the producer of carbon and graphite products said nine months sales fell 21.6% to €892.4 million from €1.14 billion a year ago. Net profit in the nine months fell 79.3% to €31.2 million compared to net profit of €150.5 million a year ago.

Software AG increased 3.1% to €69.09 after the software maker was upgraded to “buy” from “hold” at UniCredit Markets & Investment Banking.

Technotrans AG the provider of solutions for offset printing technology added 3.0% to €5.05.

ThyssenKrupp AG the steelmaker rose 0.6% to €22.77.

DAX Index Movers

Muenchener Rue AG led the decliners in the DAX index of 1.76%, followed by losses in Salzgitter AG of 1.51%, in Infineon Technologies AG of 1.39%, in BASF SE of 1.22%, Beiersdorf AG of 1.10%.

Deutsche Lufthansa AG led gainers in the DAX index with a rise of 2.18% followed by increase in Diamler AG of 0.96%, in Deutsche Post AG of 0.80%, in Bayer SE of 0.79%, Fresenius SE of 0.28%.

CAC-40 Index Movers

Lafarge led the decliners in the CAC-40 index of 4.33%, followed by losses in Electricite de Strasbourg SA of 2.94% in Cap Gemini SA of 2.39%, in Lagardere SCA of 2.05%, L'Oreal SA of 1.78%.

Credit Agricole SA gainers in the CAC-40 index with a rise of 3.68% followed by gainers in LVMH of 2.45%, Vinci SA of 1.79%, in Societe Generale SA of 1.73%, in BNP Paribas SA of 1.69%.