Marks & Spencer Surges; Mothercare Upbeat

Mayank Mehta
18 Nov, 2009
New York City

Land Securities Group first-half net profit

[R]4:00 PM London, 11:00 AM New York – Land Securities Group first-half net profit £11.9 million. Mothercare first-half sales rise 8%. Marks & Spencer named a new chief executive. UTV Media sees profit in line with forecasts.[/R]

Mark & Spencer soared 5.9% to 390 pence after it appointed Marc Bolland as its chief executive officer, currently with William Morrison Supermarkets plc.

In London FTSE 100 Index closed higher 1.30 or 0.02% to 5,347.23 and the pound edged lower to close at $1.677 and edged lower to close at €1.122.

Gainers & Losers

Asterand Plc fell 7.5% to 18.94 pence after the human tissue sample supplier said first nine month revenues increased £9.1 million from £8.0 million a year ago.

Capita Group Plc fell 4.4% to 726.00 pence after the outsourcing specialist.

The Capital Pub Company PLC the operator of public houses rose 4.7% to 72.28 pence.

Close Brothers Group plc increased 2.7% to 731.00 pence after the financial services reiterated its annual outlook.

Development Securities PLC added 0.5% to 307.00 pence after the property investor and developer indicated that the company is looking for an acquisition opportunities.

Dimension Data Holdings plc rose 5.8% to 79.15 pence after the computer services group reiterated business conditions outlook.

Experian PLC added 1.6% to 598.50 pence after an information services company said first-half revenues fell 7.4% to $1.87 billion from $2.02 billion a year ago. Net profit for the first-half fell 3.5% to $249 million or 24.1 cents per diluted share compared to net profit of $258 million or 25.2 cents per share a year ago.

Hasgrove plc the marketing firm plunged 13.9% to 50.80 pence.

ITV plc increased 5.6% to 54.90 pence after the troubled broadcaster said the appointment of Archie Norman as Non Executive Chairman.

Land Securities Group plc decreased 0.1% to 713.50 pence after the real estate investment trust said first-half revenues rose 3.3% to £418.7 million from £405.4 million a year ago. Net profit for the first-half was £11.9 million or 1.58 pence per diluted share compared to net loss of £1.73 billion or 335.16 pence per share a year ago.

Ladbrokes plc rose 4.0% to 132.20 pence after the betting and gaming company today announced the appointment of two non-executive directors to the company’s board.

Mothercare PLC climbed 0.8% to 631.50 pence after the mother and baby products retailer said first-half revenues rose 8% to £387.3 million from £359 million a year ago. Net loss for the first-half was £4.9 million or 5.9 pence per diluted share compared to net profit of £9.3 million or 35.0 pence per share a year ago.

Melrose Resources plc added 2.9% to 350.00 pence after the oil and gas firm revsedits production forecast to 38.5 mboepd from 37.5 mboepd.

The Restaurant Group plc the operator of restaurants and pub restaurants dropped 2.2% to 191.60 pence.

Rensburg Sheppards plc closed unchanged at 645.00 pence after the wealth management group said first-half revenues fell 10.3% to £51.62 million from £57.54 million a year ago. Net profit for the first-half fell 21.9% to £8.9 million or 20.2 pence per diluted share compared to net profit of £11.4 million or 26.1 pence per share a year ago.

Trafficmaster plc plunged 9.5% to 28.50 pence which provide intelligent vehicle services said after tracking consistent falls in congestion throughout 2009 as recorded in their recent Commuting Congestion Report, company has now recorded an 11% increase in congestion levels since the end of September, compared to the same period in 2008, but it has been very uneven across the country.

UK Mail Group Plc closed unchanged at 323.00 pence after the bulk and parcel delivery company said first-half revenues fell 3.2% to £188.2 million from £194.5 million a year ago. Net profit for the first-half rose 163% to £5.0 million or 9.0 pence per diluted share compared to net profit of £1.9 million or 3.4 pence per share a year ago.

UTV Media plc rose 2.6% to 115.00 pence after the Irish TV and radio broadcaster reiterated its annual earnings outlook.

Wolseley plc fell 4.0% to 1,318.00 pence.

FTSE 100 Index Movers

Of the stocks in the FTSE 100 index, 51 increased, 48 declined and 3 were unchanged.

Capita Group Plc decliners in the FTSE 100 index with a loss of 5.19% followed by losses in Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc of 4.94%, in Wolseley Plc of 3.64%, in The Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc of 3.49%, in Cable & Wireless Plc of 3.41%.

Marks and Spencer Group Plc led gainers in the FTSE 100 index with a rise of 5.89% followed by increase in Fresnillo Plc of 4.90%, in Xstrata Plc of 4.84%, in Lonmin Plc of 3.62%, in Cobham Plc of 2.70%.