London afternoon: Compass leads London north

25th Nov 2009 14:01

A marginal improvement to the third quarter gross domestic product figures has lifted spirits in London, overshadowing some mixed corporate updates. The Office of National Statistics (ONS) said the UK economy shrank less than previously estimated in the third quarter, contracting by 0.3% between July and September versus an earlier read of 0.4%.Investors are tucking into the shares of contract caterer Compass Group. The company saw little sales growth when it declared full year results this morning, but pre-tax profit still showed a healthy rise on the back of a strong improvement in margins and currency gains.Weak car production and lower metals prices earlier this year took their toll on platinum refiner Johnson Matthey's first half, though it expects an improvement over the rest of the year.The London Stock Exchange's first half pre-tax profit was hit by increased competition, fewer floats and weaker equity trading. Profit before tax fell to £79.4m in the six month ended 30 September compared with £127m in the previous year.Miners are providing the horsepower for much of Footsie's advance. Randgold Resources is benefitting from an eighth consecutive gain for gold as the dollar's brief rally came to an end. The yellow metal hit another record high at $1,180 an ounce.Lonmin, BHP Billiton and Anglo American are also marching north.Results from water company United Utilities were every bit as staid as the market expected. The firm said profit before tax including exceptional items tumbled to £206.1m from £305.8m, while underlying profit before tax rose to £268.2m from £252.6m a year earlier.International Power is doing its best to make the utilities sector look sexy, however, with the share price heating up on speculation that French utility GDF Suez will bid £6bn, or 400p-a-share, for the electricity generator.Defence technology group QinetiQ posted a slight fall in profits in the six months to September 30 and said some orders were being delayed in the UK and US amid uncertainty over government spending. Pre-tax profits fell to £45.1m from £45.9m over the same period the previous year as revenues climbed to £806.3m from £727.4m. While the market is unimpressed with Qinetiq's results, it has warmly welcomed the update from design and engineering consultancy group WS Atkins. The company reported a 13% drop in first half profit, but said it is well placed to make good progress in the second half of the year. Pre-tax profit fell to £43.5m in the six months ended 30 September compared with £50m last time. Investors have piled in.Plant hire firm Speedy Hire swung to a half year loss and said it expects to broadly break-even at an adjusted profit before tax level for the second half. Losses before taxation, amortisation and exceptional items came to £4.8m in the six month ended 30 September compared with a profit of £23.8m last time. Revenue of £184.8m was down 27.9%.Soft drinks group Britvic said it was winning market share in all key categories as it posted a rise in revenues and profits. The firm, which sells Robinsons fruit juice and has the license for Pepsi in the UK said pre-tax profits in the year to September 27 climbed to £86.5m from £70.1m the previous year on revenues that rose to £978.8m from £926.5m. Recruiter Harvey Nash warned over results for the full year as demand for permanent staff has not picked up as hoped. In the third quarter, Nash saw a 23% decrease in revenues and a 72% decrease in adjusted profit before taxation.Infinis Energy has been obliged to increase its offer terms for Novera to 75p a share after it bought 5.6m shares in the renewable energy firm at that price. GB Group is at its lowest in over seven months after the identity management specialist warned that full year earnings were forecast to be below expectations. It's been a bad day for bread and cake maker Finsbury Food, with a large slice taken out of the share price after it said revenue for the first 17 weeks of the financial year to 30 June 2010 was down 2% on a year ago.