FTSE 100 movers: Experian boosts its own credit-worthiness

20th May 2009 11:44

Credit checking group Experian has pushed on after brokers' warmed to its latest trading update, saying that its own credit-worthiness is looking better than expected on the the amount of cash it generated in the second half of last year.Broker Charles Stanley said the pre-tax profits of $843m were ahead of market consensus of $805m, but 'the big beat is in cash flow with net debt falling by $0.6bn to $2.1bn. The strong cash generation in the second half of the year is what we want to see from Experian.' "Overall, we were impressed with the strong cash generation and this opens up the possibility of higher dividends or a share buyback in 2010," the broker said. Lloyds Banking is lower after the deadline passed for participation in the placing to buy back some of the government's £4bn preference shares. The shares are now trading ex-entitlement, but fell on suggestions that either the terms of its participation in the government's asset protection scheme may be altered or it may have to sell off bits to raise more cash."Discussions and negotiations with HM Treasury to finalise the terms of the group's proposed participation are continuing and, although this is not currently expected by the board, may result in changes to the terms announced on 7 March," Lloyds said.FTSE 100 - RisersLonmin (LMI) 1,249.00p +6.57%Petrofac Ltd (PFC) 648.00p +3.76%Randgold Resources (RRS) 4,185.00p +3.33%Fresnillo (FRES) 629.50p +2.36%Experian Group (EXPN) 497.25p +2.31%International Power (IPR) 280.25p +2.28%British Airways (BAY) 169.20p +2.11%Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 1,668.00p +1.89%FTSE 100 - FallersHome Retail Group (HOME) 239.25p -4.97%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 73.00p -4.73%Prudential (PRU) 453.25p -4.58%ICAP (IAP) 404.75p -4.09%Aviva (AV.) 335.50p -4.07%Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 332.00p -4.05%Legal & General Group (LGEN) 62.70p -3.54%Barclays (BARC) 285.00p -3.31%