London afternoon: Footsie hovers around 6,000

10th Feb 2011 15:18

Footsie has slumped below 6,000 with insurers and miners featuring prominently among the laggards.Miner Rio Tinto is lower even though it had plenty to please shareholders, with record full-year profits, a $5bn share buyback and 20% increase in the dividend. The Anglo-Australian group made a net profit of US$14.3bn in 2010, up from $4.9bn the year before, as prices improved for almost all Rio's major commodities. Price hikes added $9.5bn to underlying earnings. Elsewhere in mining, profits soared at Aquarius Platinum in the six months to 31 December as prices for the precious metal used to make catalytic converters for cars soared in line with the global recovery. Aquarius, which operates in South Africa, saw pre-tax profits rise to $130m (£80.9m) from $21.3m over the same period the previous year on revenues that climbed to $336.2m from $206.1m.In the insurance sector Prudential, Standard Life and Aviva are friendless as global stock markets continue their dismal run this week.Mixed results have added to the unsettled mood. Drinks giant Diageo raised revenues in the six months to December, but weakness in Europe resulted in profits missing expectations. An unexpected dive into the red by Air France-KLM has unsettled shareholders in Anglo-Spanish rival International Consolidated Airlines. KLM posted a post-tax third quarter loss of €46m, confounding analysts who had expected a profit of around €60m.Autonomy, the developer of software that seeks to make sense of the jumble of information in a corporations data banks, is on the rise after UBS upgraded the stock to "buy" from "neutral".Strong sales of its hyperactivity treatment Vyvanse helped drug group Shire post revenues above $3bn (£1.87bn) for the first time last year.Paper and packaging firm Mondi said underlying operating profit for the year ended 31 December 2010 is expected to be considerably higher than the same time a year earlier. David Illingworth, chief executive of Smith & Nephew is to leave, sparking renewed speculation that some takeover activity is afoot. He'll be replaced by Olivier Bohuon, previously CEO of Pierre Fabre and executive vice-president at Abbott Laboratories. Engine maker Rolls-Royce made slightly more money than expected in 2010 and predicts good profit growth this year despite government spending squeezing customers in the defence business. The Qantas engine problems cost it £56m.Oil firm Tullow Oil has discovered oil and gas in its Teak-1 exploration well in the West Cape Three Points licence offshore Ghana. Wealth management and stockbroking firm Hargreaves Lansdown is going well after a record breaking second half to 2010. Profits fell sharply at Catlin in the year to December as natural disasters such as the earthquakes in Chile and New Zealand forced the property insurer to pay out for claims. Pre-tax profits fell to $406m (£252m) from $603m the previous year.Blacks Leisure chief executive Neil Gillis has announced his intention to leave the outdoor leisure products retailer in six months' time. This morning, FinnCap reduced its forecasts for the year to February 2012, changing to an increased forecast loss of £4.6m, up from £700,000 previously. Despite this, the shares steam ahead.