Oil and drugs dominate in UK as third quarter results begin October 25, 2009 FOCUS will turn away from economic data and bank profits this week, with the spotlight now on oil titans, who will dominate the corporate reporting this week. FTSE 100 life assurance group Friends Provident kicks the week off today with a trading update, but industry giants BP, BG Group and Shell will be the big [...]
Condom maker SSL sees sales growth but news isn’t enough to lift its shares October 13, 2009 Condom maker SSL International is on course to hit its earnings targets after sales grew 20 per cent during the first half of the year, the company said yesterday. SSL, whose products include Durex condoms and Scholl footwear, said sales in the six months to 30 September were up 20 per cent to £387m, from [...]
THE LONDON REPORT September 1, 2009 THE FTSE 100 shed 1.8 per cent yesterday, dragged back by weakness in banks and commodity issues, fuelling doubts over the sustainability of this summer’s strong rally. At the close, the FTSE 100 was 89.20 points lower at 4,819.70 after ending 0.8 per cent higher on Friday, when it also touched a near 11-month high. [...]
RECKITT COULD FLEE UK August 12, 2009 RECKITT Benckiser, the company which makes Dettol, could flee the UK, its chief executive Bart Becht has said. The household goods giant, which is looking at relocating its tax headquarters overseas, would be the most high profile company to leave the UK for tax reasons. United Business Media and drugs firm Shire both decided to [...]
ARE YOU CHEERED BY UNILEVER’S RETURN TO GROWTH? August 6, 2009 GRAHAM JONES PANMURE GORDON“Unilever certainly deserves credit for restor-ing volume growth more strongly than we had expected, with two per cent growth in the second quarter after a fall. While we are trimming our sterling profit forecasts by four to five per cent to reflect recent sterling strength, we are raising our price target to [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS August 4, 2009 RECKITT BENCKISEREvolution Securities maintains its “Add” recommendation for household and health provider Reckitt Benckiser and raises its price target for the shares to 3,050p. Despite forecasted profit losses in the next year, the broker sees a strong new product pipeline and focus on volume growth as spelling encouraging progression. MARKS & SPENCERGoldman Sachs predicts significant [...]
Reckitt beats forecasts due to new lines July 29, 2009 CLEANING products group Reckitt Benckiser yesterday raised its full-year targets after beating forecasts with a 29 per cent jump in second-quarter profit but investors were focused on the loss of its US licence for Suboxone, a drug used to treat opiate addiction. Reckitt shares had dipped on investor concerns that the British company will lose [...]
FTSE 100 slips below 4,200 but defensives stay afloat July 6, 2009 THE FTSE 100 fell one per cent yesterday to close 41.37 points down at 4,194.91, on concerns about the global economic outlook, with heavyweight oils, miners and banks leading the market lower, after it gained 0.1 per cent on Friday. The index fell through the 4,200 level for the first time since late April. It [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS June 21, 2009 RECKITT BENCKISERMorgan Stanley analysts reiterated their “overweight” stance on Reckitt Benckiser, the UK consumer goods producer, stating fundamentals remain strong and the share price is attractive. They said Reckitt is now trading at the cheapest multiples – around 13.7x PE – seen since Reckitt & Coleman and Benckiser merged in December 1999. CARPHONE WAREHOUSERBS raised [...]
FTSE 100 remains steady despite the political rout and a bit of profit taking June 8, 2009 THE FTSE 100 shed 1 per cent, or 33.34 points, to close at 4,405.22 yesterday, weighed down by weak energy and mining stocks, while banks fell as recent bullish sentiment soured. “Caution is creeping back into financial markets after what was largely a positive week for equities,” said David Evans, market analyst at BetOnMarkets.com. “There [...]