London open: Footsie flat after jitttery start

17th Nov 2010 09:44

Shares are flat now following a jittery start that has seen worries over Ireland take centre stage again.Over here, utility group Centrica said it had a strong third quarter, with operating profit forecasts for 2010 "slightly" ahead of current market expectations, though earnings per share will likely match estimates. British Gas, which last week announced a 7% hike in bills for both electricity and gas, is still doing well. The number of residential energy accounts on supply is up 270,000 since the start of the year, while services accounts have jumped 181,000. The government's scrappage scheme was good for the boiler installation business. It put in 29% more of them in the first ten months of 2010.Credit checking firm Experian saw improving trends across all regions in the first half of its financial year. Revenue from continuing activities in the six months to 30 September was up 8% at constant exchange rates, while organic revenue growth was 7%. Total group revenue improved to $2bn from $1.9bn the year before. Profit before tax fell to $283m from $316m. "For the year as a whole, we expect to deliver similar rates of organic revenue growth to the first half, and we are targeting modest improvement in our EBIT margin," said boss Don Robert.Recent chaos in the European sovereign debt and currency markets came too late for derivatives broker ICAP's first half with underlying revenue rising just 2%. Total turnover in the half year to September rose by 9% to £867m, but profits tumbled from £150m to £116m after one-off charges. Underlying profits rose by 2% to £183m with operating profits up 9% at £197m. "Our markets have continued to be active since the end of September. The Federal Reserve's plans to inject $600bn into US markets in a fresh round of quantitative easing as well as economic stimulus action by other national governments will add support to trading activities," chief executive Michael Spencer said.BHP Billiton is to increase its spending on its iron ore mine operation at Pilbara, Western Australia by $635m. The investment comes a month after BHP and Rio Tinto abandoned plans to merge their Pilbara operations in the face of regulatory, customer and shareholder objections.Business publisher Informa saw continuing growth and recovery in its three main divisions in the first 10 months of 2010. The company said it is trading in line with management expectations and is seeing encouraging renewals and forward bookings for next year.