London midday: Profit takers move in

2nd Jun 2009 11:55

Profit taking was the theme of the morning as investors reduced equity exposure after yesterday's sharp rise while Barclays tumbled on the revelation that Abu Dhabi's International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) is to bank profits on its Barclays stake.Barclays is nursing a double-digit percentage decline after news of the impending sale by IPIC broke overnight. Khadem Al Qubaisi, managing director of IPIC, said that the sale did not represent a lack of faith in Barclays, its management or current strategy. Elsewhere in the banking sector Lloyds falls back ahead of the closing of its open offer period at noon on Friday.Property shares are also off the boil, with Land Securities, British Land and Hammerson the worst performers. The sector trend has dragged down AIM-listed First Property, despite a robust set of full-year results from the central and eastern European property fund. Assets under management increased to £310m at the end of March 2009 from £290m a year earlier. Retailers are a bright spot. Doubled profits at B&Q helped Kingfisher's first quarter profit jump by 40%. The retailer is also hopeful on prospects for the rest of the year. Total sales in the three months to end April rose by 9.6% to £2.64bn with like-for-like sales down by 1.7%. Fellow DIY retailer Home Retail rises in sympathy.Furniture and clothing retailer Laura Ashley glides higher after some optimistic noises from the board. Like-for-like sales improved by 6.9% in the 17 weeks to the end of May compared to the same period last year despite the economic uncertainty impacting consumer confidence and spending patterns.Water company Pennon posted a 7% rise in underlying operating profit to £259.0m. Its final dividend has been boosted by 5.1% to 14.25p, giving a full-year dividend of 21p, up 6% on the preceding year.Gas supplier Centrica took another step in its plan to reduce its dependence on the wholesale markets by agreeing to buy a stake in a gas development block in Trinidad.Talvivaara Mining said it will place up to 22.2m shares to raise funds to expand and increase the capacity of its metals processing facility. The placing represents 10% of the existing share capital. The price of the shares will be agreed at the close of the book-building process.Mezzanine finance specialist Intermediate Capital is "disappointed" to post a loss for the year as net provisions surged. Pre-tax losses came in at £67m against £229.5m profit last year due to net provisions of £273m.Heavy write-downs on its stake in rival Aer Lingus sent Ryanair deep into the red last year, with underlying profits also sharply lower. The Irish no-frills carrier posted a loss of €180m after taking a €222m hit of its stake in Aer Lingus.Aerospace components and fitting out group Umeco revealed a 32% rise in pre-tax profit for the year but are planning for a year of more modest revenue growth. The group, whose customers include Boeing, Airbus and BAE Systems, said adjusted pre-tax profit rose to £29m in the year to 31 March 2009 from £21.9m while revenue from continuing operations rose to £415.3m from £335.2m.Hamworthy, manufacturer of marine and offshore fluid handling systems, posted a rise in full year profits as it rebuffed the effects of the economic downturn and said it is confident of meeting expectations for the year. Pre-tax profit rose to £22.3m from £17m before on revenue that increased by 9.1% to £252.8m, or a decrease of 1.5% on a constant currency basis.FTSE 100 - RisersKingfisher (KGF) 194.10p +5.60%Home Retail Group (HOME) 250.25p +3.41%Man Group (EMG) 263.50p +3.13%Petrofac Ltd (PFC) 692.00p +2.29%FTSE 100 - FallersBarclays (BARC) 273.25p -13.60%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 69.80p -3.72%Anglo American (AAL) 1,843.00p -3.51%Autonomy Corporation (AU.) 1,490.00p -2.42%