London close: Flat finish ahead of Royal Wedding

28th Apr 2011 16:46

Stocks finished flat heading into the long weekend, though there was no shortage of company updates for investors to digest.Costa Coffee and Premier Inn owner Whitbread shrugged off the economic difficulties said to be plaguing Britain as it upped its dividend by 17% and announced plans to step up expansion plans. Revenues in the year to 3 March were up by 11.5% from the previous year to £1.56bn, with underlying pre-tax profits jumping by 20.1% to £287.1m. The final dividend rises by 4.9p to 33.25p, making for a full-year dividend up 6.5p at 44.5p.But Whitbread said that like-for-like sales growth has been slower so far in the new financial year and the shares fell.Unilever was another under pressure in spite of reporting higher sales. Food and household goods giant Unilever reported continued growth in the first quarter of 2011, though developed markets are "sluggish." The company, whose brands include Dove soap and Magnum ice creams, said turnover rose by 7% to €10.9bn (£9.7bn). AstraZeneca was under the weather. US healthcare reform measures and competition resulting from the expiry of exclusive rights over its drugs hurt revenues at the drug giant in the first quarter. Pre-tax profits fell to $3.565bn from $3.857bn in the first quarter of 2010, on revenues that were down to $8.292bn from $8.576bn.Its smaller rival Shire also fell, even though first quarter sales were up by nearly a quarter, with hyperactivity treatments driving growth.WPP was in demand. Despite tougher comparatives in the second half, the advertising giant has upped its guidance for the full year after a strong first quarter which saw revenues rise by 7%. Group revenue jumped to £2.22bn in the first three months of the 2011, with North America, its largest market, growing by 7.1%. Meanwhile, profits and operating margins were said to be ahead of budget and well ahead of 2010.Life assurance group Standard Life was another strong performer after it saw strong sales across its long-terms savings business in the first quarter of 2011, while assets under administration (AUA) edged higher on the back of a net inflow of funds. "Demand for our market-leading products and services continues to be good and has led to encouraging growth in customers, sales and assets across the group. Total long-term savings new business sales increased by 25% to £5.8bn (2010: £4.6bn)," the company said.Underlying earnings from Anglo-Dutch oil giant Royal Dutch Shell topped market expectations in the first quarter of 2011. First quarter 2011 earnings excluding certain items and on a current cost of supplies basis were $6.3bn, compared with $4.8bn in the first quarter of 2010. Broker Charles Stanley had forecast adjusted earnings of $5.8bn.Financial Times publisher and education group Pearson said first quarter revenue increased 9%, boosted by its education and publishing division, and still expects margin and earnings growth in 2011. The group, which has recently acquired a string of acquisitions including US software firm Schoolnet, said revenue at constant currencies rose 10% to £1.03bn.Pay TV and internet service provider British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) is still adding new customers, despite the squeeze on consumers' disposable income. The company, which is the subject of a controversial takeover bid from its largest shareholder, News Corporation, saw a net increase of 51,000 customers in the first quarter of 2011. The company saw 543,000 net additions in home communications in the quarter and said 3.2m households now take its broadband internet package. Real estate titan Hammerson saw its occupancy rate slip just below its target of 97% in the first quarter but remains confident in the growth potential in retail, making £308m of acquisitions in 2011 so far. Occupancy fell from 97.3% to 96.7% during the three months ended 31 March, with UK Retail and France Retail showing a 0.5 percentage point and 0.8 percentage point decline, respectively.While volumes at British American Tobacco (BATS) declined in the first quarter, the cigarette maker assured investors that it was able to grow market share across all its regions. Group volumes fell 2.4% in the three months ended 31 March, from 168bn to 164bn, while organic volumes showed a 1.8% decline, due to decreases in its Asia-Pacific and Americas markets. Speciality chemicals group Croda's solid trading update sparked a positive reaction. The company achieved record sales and profits and saw a continuation of robust demand across all major geographies.Bus group Stagecoach was in the fast lane after it said overall trading remains good and is confident about its trading prospects. Like for like revenue at the group's UK Bus division in the forty-eight weeks ended 3 April 2011 increased 2.2%. Sales at its UK Rail unit, which includes the South West Trains London commuter franchise, rose 6%.Berendsen, the workwear group formerly known as Davis Service Group, scrubbed up well after it said the group's operating margin has shown an encouraging improvement in 2011. Revenue in the first quarter of 2011 was 2% ahead of the corresponding period of last year, in line with management expectations. Absenteeism and stoppages imposed due to safety regulations held back production at Aquarius Platinum in the first quarter of 2011, but output was still higher than the same period last year. The company, which mines for the precious metal in South Africa, said production of platinum group metals (PMGs) was up by 18% at 122,213 ounces. Average prices for the PMGS - platinum, palladium and rhodium - have all been rising. Kitchen supplier Howden Joinery offered an encouraging snapshot of the residential building market after it revealed a 7.8% increase in revenue at its UK depots. Howden, which supplies kitchen units to over 200,000 small builders, said revenue at depots open more than a year rose 5.2%. The business overall had 'performed satisfactorily so far this year' and it is confident of making progress this year despite ongoing tough market conditions. FTSE 100 - RisersITV (ITV) 76.05p +4.54%International Power (IPR) 330.60p +3.28%Standard Life (SL.) 226.10p +3.19%WPP (WPP) 781.50p +2.90%Legal & General Group (LGEN) 122.80p +2.85%Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,007.00p +2.34%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,641.00p +2.18%3i Group (III) 280.10p +1.93%IMI (IMI) 1,092.00p +1.77%Old Mutual (OML) 139.00p +1.76%FTSE 100 - FallersAstraZeneca (AZN) 2,990.00p -3.47%Whitbread (WTB) 1,680.00p -3.28%Shire Plc (SHP) 1,850.00p -2.68%Unilever (ULVR) 1,942.00p -2.41%Barclays (BARC) 282.30p -1.81%Autonomy Corporation (AU.) 1,610.00p -1.53%Sage Group (SGE) 285.00p -1.28%Vodafone Group (VOD) 171.60p -1.15%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 59.25p -0.90%G4S (GFS) 276.20p -0.90%FTSE 250 - RisersSpirent Communications (SPT) 146.00p +8.39%Croda International (CRDA) 1,881.00p +6.09%Laird (LRD) 140.60p +5.71%Fenner (FENR) 387.80p +5.47%F&C Asset Management (FCAM) 79.55p +5.36%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 499.00p +5.27%Grainger (GRI) 115.00p +5.02%Victrex (VCT) 1,473.00p +4.91%Berendsen (BRSN) 519.50p +4.80%Premier Foods (PFD) 32.17p +4.65%FTSE 250 - FallersKofax (KFX) 471.60p -5.11%Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 110.60p -3.57%Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 152.50p -2.87%Michael Page International (MPI) 552.00p -2.65%Devro (DVO) 286.20p -2.59%TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 138.80p -2.46%JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 895.50p -2.29%Elementis (ELM) 166.00p -2.24%Carpetright (CPR) 693.50p -1.77%Logica (LOG) 134.80p -1.25%