London afternoon: Blue chips post big gains

7th Sep 2009 13:58

London's blue chips continue to rise as talk of a new bidder for Cadbury keeps its shares bubbling following a rejection of a £10.2bn offer from Kraft.Kraft, whose brands include Dairylea cheese and Toblerone chocolates, said its proposed offer of 300p a share and 0.2589 Kraft shares for every Cadbury share values each share in the Dairy Milk firm at 745p and £10.2bn in total. Names bieng mentioned as possible rival bidders include Nestle and Hersey, with a possible carve-up of Cadbury between the two also being mooted. Elsewhere in the world of sweet foods, sugar producer and clothes retailer Associated British Foods is also going well said it expects some improvement in adjusted earnings over the full year despite a much higher interest charge. Trading in the second half of the year has been strong. Sales and profit at Primark will again top the preceding year's figures. Like-for-like sales growth of 7% is expected for the full year driven by a very strong performance in the UK.Bid talk is keeping Lonmin with Xstrata's name again being mentioned as a likely predator. Leisure group Whitbread is powering forward after it forecast profits this year will be at the higher end of forecasts. The rate of sales decline at hotel chain Premier Inns steadied in the three months to 13 August, while coffee chain Costa continued to push ahead.Balfour Beatty, the engineering, construction and services group, is to be involved in six construction frameworks in Devon. Its contracting subsidiary, Mansell, is one of 11 contractors to be appointed by Devon County Council on the Construction Framework South West.Industrial conveyor belt maker Fenner expects to meet profit forecasts this year after trading picked up in the last two months.Industrial unrest continues to hamper production at Aquarius Platinum's Kroondal and Marikana operations in South Africa with the replacement of sacked workers likely to take longer than expected.Fast growing NHS staff supplier Healthcare Locums doubled its interim dividend as profits jumped by nearly two-thirds and margins climbed sharply. The supplier of temp-contract doctors, social workers, nurses and other health ancillary staff, saw revenue overall rose by 8.5% to £86.5m in the half year to June. Profit before tax rose 64% to £9.5m (2008: £5.8m). Craneware is another healthcare specialist doing well. The hospital management software supplier posted a 40% hike in full year pre-tax profit as it increased new product lines.Five-a-side football centre operator Goals Soccer posted a rise in profits in the six months to June 30 after lifting like-for-like sales in spite of tough economic conditions. Pre-tax profits for the period totalled £3.9m, compared with £3.7m for the same period of 2008. Sales climbed to £12.85m from £11.45m.Patent and trademark legal group Murgitroyd posted higher full-year turnover and profits and said it remains confident of its ability to generate continued long-term growth. Turnover increased by 12.5% to £28.9m in the year ended 31 May, as the group continued to see organic sales growth and new contract wins.