London midday: Footsie dips ahead of Budget

24th Mar 2010 11:49

Footsie has turned down ahead of the Budget as investors wait to see what new initiatives, if anything, chancellor Alistair Darling has to offer.While investors wait, there are plenty of company announcements to digest. Travel companies are doing well. TUI Travel noted a 'significant recovery in consumer demand' for leisure holidays and is well positioned to meet company expectations for the year ending 30 September 2010. The pronouncement seems to have done more for its rival, Thomas Cook , which sits atop the Footsie leaderboard.Not far behind is technology firm Smiths Group, which posted a rise in pre-tax profits in the six months to January 30 despite flat sales as it benefited from actions taken to increase efficiency, including laying off staff.Growth in sales of non-food items such as clothes and household items helped supermarket operator J Sainsbury post a healthy rise in like-for-like sales in the 11 weeks to March 20. Like-for-like sales - a measure that excludes the impact of new openings - rose by 4.8% compared with the same period a year ago, or by 1.7% excluding fuel.BG Group has confirmed a $40bn long-term deal to supply China with liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its coal seam deposits in Australia. The contract with the China National Offshore Oil Corporation, (CNOOC) involves the shipment of 3.6m tonnes per annum of LNG over a 20-year period.Weak demand and lower prices hammered profits at Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC) last year, but the Kazakhstan-based miner said things improved in the second half and it remains upbeat about 2010. Profit before tax tumbled 62% to $1.44bn.Things didn't improve for hedge fund manager Man Group during the second half, leaving it facing a 57% slump in full year profit before one-off items. Profit before tax and $20m of exceptional costs for the year to 31 March is expected to be $530m following a second half profit of $238m, down from $292m in the first six months. Elsewhere in the financial sector inter-dealer broker ICAP expects profit margins to have been maintained or slightly improved in the second half, while revenue in the last six months of the financial year is likely to be the same as in the first.Mitchells and Butlers is to focus on food and cull some of its best known drinks chains including All Bar One and O'Neill's after a strategic review of where the business is heading. Chairman John Lovering, who took over after a boardroom coup in January, says the new focus is to "rapidly reshape Mitchells & Butlers into a food-led business centred around core concepts which have significant growth potential". No-frills airline easyJet has confirmed Carolyn McCall will join the board as its new chief executive. McCall has been at Guardian Media Group since 2006, where she has carried out a number of roles including most recently as group chief executive. There are changes at the top too, at Latin America-focused miner Hochschild Mining, which reported record full year production and a move into profit this morning. CEO Miguel Aramburú has announced his resignation for personal reasons while CFO Ignacio Rosado is also leaving to "further develop his career by pursuing a CEO role.".Another possible bidder has emerged for metals group Delta to rival the existing bid from US firm Valmont. The group said it is engaged in discussions with a third party interested in launching a rival bid to the offer from Valmont.Oil and gas company Soco has produced a decent set of full year numbers roughly in line with expectations thanks to producing assets in South East Asia. Profit before tax for 2009 jumped to $93.49m from $37.39m a year earlier and to $51.1m after tax as revenue soared to $131.01m from $55.34m previously.Oil and gas explorer Melrose Resources reported a 78% decline in annual pre-tax profit, hurt by a drop in commodity prices , but believes 2010 will be a year of significant growth.Housebuilder Bellway upped its dividend by 10% after moving back into profit in the half year to January 31. Pre-tax profits during the six month period totalled £19m, up from a loss of £48.6m. Turnover climbed to £360.8m from £320.2m, as falling house prices attracted new buyers and prices stabilising.