FTSE 100 movers: Coca-Cola and TUI lifted by results, G4S dented by downgrades

13th Aug 2015 14:03

(ShareCast News) - London's top flight index was up 0.3% at 6,593 at 1415 BST, recovering from two consecutive days of losses as worries about a slowdown in China abated.Coca-Cola HBC was the standout gainer after the bottling firm posted a 31.7% rise in first-half net profits to €125.2m, even as sales fell 1% to €3.15bn due to adverse currency moves. The company said comparable earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) were €219.0m - up 31.2%, leading to a 170 basis point improvement in EBIT margin as favourable input costs, increased volume, benefits from revenue growth management initiatives and cost efficiencies were partly offset by "significant" adverse movements in currencies.TUI was also on the front foot after the Anglo-German travel giant reported an increase in third-quarter revenues and underlying operating profits, as it tightened its full-year operating growth guidance to 12.5%-15%. Underlying group earnings before interest, tax and amortisation (EBITA) expanded 18.6% to €194.2m in the quarter, despite €10m of repatriation and cancellation costs from the terrorist attack on tourists in Tunisia in June.On the downside, outsourcer G4S took a hit from two ratings downgrades. Goldman Sachs cut the stock to 'sell' while Exane BNP downgraded it to 'neutral'. Jefferies cut its forecasts on the company but maintained its 'hold' stance, while JPMorgan went the other way, reiterating its 'overweight' rating.Goldman's main negative is that now G4S seemed unlikely to expand margins, even with its growing share of tech solutions, as the sector is "intensely competitive" due to low barriers to entry and new rivals arriving thanks to software-enabled solutions, while clients face limited costs to prevent them switching to another provider.Exane also zeroed in on the deteriorating EM backdrop, which led it to reappraise G4S's outer-year earnings potential.Shares in equipment rental firm Ashtead were under pressure after Bank of America Merrill Lynch slashed its price target on the stock to 820p from 1,000p. The bank noted that in recent weeks, results and comments from a number of US peers have pointed to weakening trends and lower full-year guidance."In particular, United Rentals spoke at a conference on Tuesday and spent most of the meeting discussing weaker market trends and what action it might take to offset headwinds if pressure, particularly from weak oil and gas markets, continued," said ML.The following stocks all went ex-dividend: Ashtead, AstraZeneca, Berkeley Group, Diageo, Direct Line, Fresnillo, GKN, GlaxoSmithKline, Greene King, HSBC, Legal & General, Lloyds Banking Group, Man Group, Merlin Entertainments, Millennium & Copthorne, Pearson, Pets at Home, Royal Dutch Shell, Schroders, Standard Chartered.RisersCoca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,431.00p +8.16%TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 1,117.00p +6.89%London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 2,600.00p +3.05%Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,348.00p +2.67%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 539.50p +2.66%CRH (CRH) 1,946.00p +2.48%3i Group (III) 529.50p +2.32%easyJet (EZJ) 1,698.00p +2.23%Mondi (MNDI) 1,569.00p +2.21%Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,200.00p +1.95%FallersG4S (GFS) 257.00p -4.78%Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,489.00p -2.56%Ashtead Group (AHT) 955.50p -2.30%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,070.00p -2.30%Royal Mail (RMG) 481.60p -2.01%Pearson (PSON) 1,149.00p -1.46%Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 1,851.50p -1.38%BT Group (BT.A) 455.50p -1.28%Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 1,867.50p -1.22%Diageo (DGE) 1,761.50p -0.76%