London: BP, British Air, Debenhams, Hiscox

123jump.com Staff
16 Mar, 2010
New York City

UK stocks edged higher after commodities rebounded. British Airways reach a settlement with the union on pension contribution commitment to finalize the purchase of Spain based Iberia. BP Plc takes a majority stake in the oilsands venture in Canada.

[R]4:00 PM London, 11:00 AM New York – UK stocks edged higher after commodities rebounded. British Airways reach a settlement with the union on pension contribution commitment to finalize the purchase of Spain based Iberia. BP Plc takes a majority stake in the oilsands venture in Canada.[/R]

UK markets edged higher after a slight rebound in commodities prices and the EU leaders workout a framework to extend direct lending support to Greece.

In London FTSE 100 Index closed higher 28.96 or 0.52% to 5,622.81 and the pound edged higher to close at $1.509 and edged higher to close at €1.102.

BP Plc took a stake in the oilsands block in Canada held by Value Creations Inc after India based Reliance refused to increase its bid of $2 billion. BP will control a majority stake in the venture.

The Terre de Grace oilsands field is located about 300 miles north of Calgary and is spread over 185,000 acre of land and could produce as much as 300,000 barrel of equivalent oil a day.

Gainers & Losers

Air Partner plc plunged 10.2% to 350.00 pence an aviation company said first half revenues fell 7% to £95.0 million from £101.8 million a year ago. Net loss for the first half was £1.2 million or 11.6 pence per diluted share compared to net profit of £2.5 million or 24.5 pence per share a year ago.

British Airways increased 4.5% to 246 pence after the company reached a settlement with its three unions GMB, BALPA and Unite to continue annual contribution of £330 million to its pension plan. The plan has a deficit of £3.7 billion and the deal paves the way for the airline to conclude its merger with Spain based Iberian Lineas Aereas de Espana SA.

Cello Group plc rose 1.8% to 28.00 pence after the marketing advisory company said 2009 revenues fell 8% to £126.7 million from £136.7 million a year ago. Net loss for the year was £6.36 million or 11.73 pence per diluted share compared to net profit of £2.76 million or 4.87 pence per share a year ago.

Close Brothers Group plc gained 4.2% to 745.00 pence an investment bank said first half revenues rose 5.7% to £96.1 million from £90.9 million a year ago. Net profit for the first half rose 86.6% to £46.1 million or 31.7 pence per diluted share compared to net profit of £24.7 million or 17.2 pence per share a year ago.

Debenhams plc fell 1.1% to 70.20 pence after the department store today releases a trading update for the first half gross transaction value (excluding Magasin du Nord) for the 26 weeks was 1.7% higher than the same period last year. Like-for-like sales increased by 0.3% over last year in the first half.

The company said pre-tax profit increased and is in-line with market expectations between £114 million and £115 million.

Gem Diamonds Limited dropped 0.4% to 243.90 pence after the diamond miner with operations in Africa, Australia and Indonesia said 2009 revenues fell 18% to $244.4 million from $296.9 million a year ago. Net profit for the year was $15.5 million or 13 cents per diluted share compared to net loss of $552.8 million or 884 cents per share a year ago.

Hiscox Ltd fell 1.7% to 345.60 pence after the insurer estimated losses from Chilean earthquake and windstorm Xynthia in Europe to total £100 million.

Intermediate Capital Group PLC rose 2.5% to 270.50 pence after the mezzanine finance specialist today announces its strategy to grow its fund management business and changes to the Board to support this growth.

James Fisher and Sons PLC slipped 4.2% to 402.00 pence after the marine services provider said 2009 revenues rose 7% to £249.6 million from £233.6 million a year ago. Net profit for the year rose 0.5% to £18.4 million or 37.00 pence per diluted share compared to net profit of £18.3 million or 36.73 pence per share a year ago.

Serco Group plc rose 0.6% to 590.00 pence after the company announced the appointment of Alastair Lyons CBE as non-executive Chairman.

Sports Direct International plc rose 1.8% to 109.00 pence after the Competition Commission formally cleared company’s controversial purchase of 31 stores from rival JJB Sports plc.

Wellstream Holdings PLC decreased 0.7% to 531.00 pence after the manufacturer of bespoke flexible pipeline products, systems and solutions said 2009 revenues rose 8.3% to £400.7 million from £369.9 million a year ago. Net profit for the year fell 34.5% to £34.5 million or 34.2 pence per diluted share compared to net profit of £52.7 million or 52.3 pence per share a year ago.

FTSE 100 Index Movers

Of the stocks in the FTSE 100 index, 80 increased, 14 declined and 4 were unchanged.

G4S Plc decliners in the FTSE 100 index with a loss of 3.16% followed by losses in Prudential Plc of 1.58%, in Petrofac Limited of 0.99%, in Compass Group Plc of 0.86%, and in Vodafone Group Plc of 0.80%.

British Airways Plc led gainers in the FTSE 100 index with a rise of 3.91% followed by increase in Legal & General Group Plc of 3.07%, in Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation Plc of 2.91%, in Randgold Resources Ltd. of 2.60%, and in Barclays Plc of 2.47%.