London open: BT in focus

14th May 2009 08:19

London's blue chips have opened lower with telecoms giant BT among the main fallers early on.BT suffered a 40% slump in pre-tax profit during the four quarter, forcing the firm to slash its dividend and announce plans to axe another 15,000 jobs. Fourth quarter pre-tax profit plunged to £429m from £714m a year ago and by 21% for the full year to £2.08bn. Insurer Prudential called a 5% drop in insurance sales during the first quarter to £697m a "resilient" performance and boasted asset management net inflows of £2.7bn. Sales in Asia fell 11% versus the same time last year, but were roughly in line with the fourth quarter of 2008 at £333m. Brewing giant SABMiller posted a fall in pre-tax profits in the year to March 31 as beer drinkers began to feel the effects of the global financial crisis towards the end of the period. Pre-tax profit slipped to $2.96bn from $3.26bn even as higher pricing in some markets helped lift revenue to $25.3m from $23.8m. Engineering and construction group Balfour Beatty expects to make progress in 2009 after seeing strong trading in its divisions, helped by its exposure to public sector projects.Consumer electricals retailer Kesa said it will cut jobs and close some of its stores in Spain as it announced a 7.5% drop in total like-for-like sales. However, overall the company traded in line with its markets. Power provider National Grid reported a 3% drop in full-year pre-tax profit but said it has made a good start to the new year.A strong performance from its rail division helped engineer Invensys lift revenues and maintain profitability in the year to March 31. Profit before tax fell to £165m from £199m the previous year, even as revenue climbed to £2.28bn from £2.10bn. Travel firm Thomas Cook said it is on track to meet full year exceptions despite reporting a wider pre-tax loss in the six month ended March.Car rental company Avis said overall volumes were broadly in line with expectations, below the year before period, as poor demand continues, particularly in Spain. Broadcaster ITV said today it expects net television advertising revenue to fall 16% this month and 18% in June, worse than the 15% reported for the first quarter.Car dealer Inchcape said first quarter trading was ahead of expectations, helped by strong performances from the UK and Singapore.Meatpacker Hilton Food said trading for the 16 weeks ended April 19 has been in line with management expectations.FTSE 100 - RisersInvensys (ISYS) 210.00p +6.17%Amec (AMEC) 655.00p +4.80%Balfour Beatty (BBY) 349.75p +3.86%Randgold Resources (RRS) 3,978.00p +3.62%SABMiller (SAB) 1,241.00p +1.72%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,123.00p +1.45%National Grid (NG.) 590.50p +1.29%FTSE 100 - FallersInmarsat (ISAT) 491.25p -8.18%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 36.10p -5.00%Land Securities Group (LAND) 446.00p -4.70%Hammerson (HMSO) 274.50p -3.77%Petrofac Ltd (PFC) 605.00p -3.74%BT Group (BT.A) 91.00p -3.60%Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,420.00p -3.32%FTSE 250 - RisersTaylor Wimpey (TW.) 34.75p +8.59%Chaucer Holdings (CHU) 44.50p +7.88%Kesa Electricals (KESA) 114.00p +6.05%Inchcape (INCH) 17.25p +4.55%PayPoint (PAY) 474.25p +4.23%SThree (STHR) 229.00p +4.09%Carphone Warehouse Group (CPW) 157.50p +3.79%FTSE 250 - FallersCookson Group (CKSN) 19.75p -9.20%Tullett Prebon (TLPR) 292.00p -7.89%Tate & Lyle (TATE) 262.00p -7.17%Meggitt (MGGT) 152.25p -6.60%Aquarius Platinum Ltd. (AQP) 249.50p -5.94%ITV (ITV) 30.75p -5.38%Hays (HAS) 81.50p -5.23%