FTSE 100 movers: Barclays rises despite falling profits

10th Feb 2012 13:32

Barclays was topping the risers despite reporting falling profits and revenues in 2011. Of note, the bonus pool at Barclays Capital, its underperforming investment banking arm, was cut by 32%. Critically, however, the lender raised its dividend. That may have raised confidence in the lender´s ability to eventually return to its 13% target for return on equity, although on the conference call chief executive officer Bob Diamond did indicate that, "because of some of the external headwinds, we can't be as convinced that 2013 will be the year." Prime Markets said that despite the fall in revenues and profits, Barclays still remains the "pick of the UK banking sector", noting that the company has improved its core tier-one ratio to 11% (well above the Basel III requirements) and diversified its operations to take up the slack from the BarCap operation. "As an investible entity, there is every sign that Barclays is undergoing a renaissance that will continue to provide a solid underlying momentum to it's continued recovery," according to head of dealing at Prime Markets, Richard Curr. Sweeteners manufacturer Tate & Lyle was on the rise, rebounding after yesterday's third quarter update disappointed investors. Panmure Gordon raised its target price for the stock yesterday from 645p to 690p, saying there is "better visibility now on fiscal 2013".Clothes retailer Next got a boost from an upgrade by Deutsche Bank which is now rating the stock at buy, instead of hold. Meanwhile, heading south was interdealer broker ICAP after the stock was downgraded by Goldman Sachs from buy to neutral. The US investment bank believes that within the diversified financials space, investors will be better off favouring asset managers over market structure companies. Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) took a hit on the news it plans to slash 300 hundred jobs after the part nationalised lender failed to secure a buyer for its capital markets and cash equities businesses. Miners were also dragging the blue chip index lower, with Kazakhmys, Anglo American, BHP Billiton, Eurasian Natural Resources and Vedanta Resources all heading lower. FTSE 100 - RisersBarclays (BARC) 238.25p +2.21%ITV (ITV) 79.60p +1.92%Tate & Lyle (TATE) 685.00p +1.86%ARM Holdings (ARM) 571.00p +1.69%Next (NXT) 2,760.00p +1.51%Shire Plc (SHP) 2,209.00p +1.33%Aggreko (AGK) 2,180.00p +1.16%Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,453.00p +0.95%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,426.00p +0.92%Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 3,543.00p +0.85%FTSE 100 - FallersMan Group (EMG) 129.50p -5.82%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,128.00p -4.16%Anglo American (AAL) 2,746.50p -3.97%ICAP (IAP) 367.30p -3.70%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 27.79p -3.54%BHP Billiton (BLT) 2,040.50p -3.52%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 686.00p -3.31%Evraz (EVR) 414.80p -3.26%Essar Energy (ESSR) 131.40p -2.88%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,254.00p -2.72%NR