London open: Banks lead decline

18th Mar 2010 08:26

London's top stocks have slipped back in early dealings on Thursday, with banks leading the index lower.Lloyds Banking, Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland are the three worst performers on the Footsie, closely followed by HSBC.Bakery and sandwich chain Greggs saw full-year profits come in slightly better than expected and said it is well placed to achieve a year of further progress in 2010. Pre-tax profit came to £48.8m the 53 weeks ended 2 January 2010, from £49.47m the year before. The market consensus for pre-tax profit was £46.43m.Things started looking up for estate agent Savills in the second half of 2009, particularly in the Asia Pacific region and in the UK residential market. The company's revenue eased to £560.7m in 2009 from £568.5m in 2008, with all business activities showing a decline except for Property Management, where fees earned rose 12.4% to £215.2m from £191.4m the year before.SIG, which supplies insulation, roofing and specialist construction products, sustained a sharp fall in profits in 2009 amid a severe downturn in the construction sector. Underlying pre-tax profits fell to £60.6m from £137.3m the previous year as sales dropped to £2.74bn from £3.05bn.Electronic components distributor Premier Farnell reported full year sales and underlying profits for fiscal 2009 that were slightly ahead of expectations after a return to year on year growth in the fourth quarter. Revenue for the year to end-January fell 10% to £795.3m from £804.4m in 2008 but was ahead of market consensus of £784.6m.Power systems developer Rolls-Royce has won its second contract in two years from the Gas Authority India Limited (GAIL). The UK company has won a $90m contract to supply four RB211 packages to be used on the 500 kilometre Vijaipur-Dadri Bawana pipeline running from Vijaipur to Dadri. The award of the contract follows on from a $130m contract from GAIL in 2008 for six RB211 packages.Aviva said it has entered into the Indonesian insurance market through a joint venture agreement with PT Asuransi Wahana Tata. Advertising firm Aegis said full year operating profit came in line with company forecasts and is in a good position to face the challenges of 2010. Operating profit fell to £170.3m in 2009 from £177.0m in 2008. Pre-tax profit during the period fell to 149.3 from 166.8 before while revenue dropped 8.7% to £1.346bn in constant currency terms. London and south-east focused housebuilder Berkeley said it has now secured the sales required to meet the board's expectations for its full year results for the year ending 30 April, which are at the higher end of analysts' expectations. Healthcare outsourcing firm Synergy Health said the group has continued to trade in line with the trends seen in the third quarter of its financial year. The company has brought forward its pre-close trading update which was originally scheduled for 14 April because the board has decided to recommend the payment of a second interim dividend to enable high earners to beat the imminent change in the tax rate.Asia-focused oil and gas group Salamander moved close to profit in 2009 as it ramped up production. The company, which operates in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, posted a pre-tax loss of $3m, compared with a loss of $75.4m the previous year, as revenues jumped to $157.1m from $100.6m.Low interest rates hit investment income at lighting supplier FW Thorpe leading to a decline in pre-tax profits at the interim stage. While operating profit in the six months to 31 December 2009 rose to £4.56m from £4.16m in the second half of 2008, pre-tax profit eased to £4.68m from £4.75m. That was because finance income tumbled to £0.11m from £0.59m the year before.Manchester based drug discovery firm Cyprotex said it has rejected an unsolicited approach regarding a potential offer and is no longer in talks with the unnamed suitor.Elsewhere, Nissan announced that it will build its Leaf electric car in Sunderland, giving a huge boost to the industry and the north-east. The Japanese carmaker plans to build 50,000 of the zero-emission vehicles per year initially, starting in early 2013.FTSE 100 - RisersGlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,259.00p +2.82%British Airways (BAY) 243.30p +1.04%Anglo American (AAL) 2,754.00p +0.97%Shire Plc (SHP) 1,454.00p +0.97%G4S (GFS) 258.20p +0.90%Severn Trent (SVT) 1,217.00p +0.66%AstraZeneca (AZN) 2,913.50p +0.62%FTSE 100 - FallersLloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 56.60p -1.34%Barclays (BARC) 354.95p -1.24%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 43.05p -1.15%Eurasian Natural Resources (ENRC) 1,164.00p -1.10%Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,268.00p -1.01%Vodafone Group (VOD) 146.65p -0.91%HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 686.70p -0.88%