London open: Retailers shine in dull market

24th Mar 2011 08:12

Retailers are in focus in London, providing some badly needed interest in a market that has been sleep-walking since the Chancellor of the Exchequer stood up to give his speech yesterday.Next paraded a 9% rise in full-year profit to a new record, exactly what the City was expecting following guidance from the fashion retailer in January. Profit before tax increased to £551.4m in the 12 months to January, up from £505.3m in 2010, led by catalogue arm Next Directory where profits jumped 21% from £183.6m to £221.9m this time.The shares move up, dragging Marks & Spencer along with them. Do-it-yourself retailer Kingfisher built profits by 19% last year, pretty much in line with market expectations. The B&Q owner made £671m in the year ended 29 January, up from £566m last time. The increase was 22.5% when adjusted for one-off items. Sales fell 0.5% to £10.45bn, in line, but rose 0.5% at constant currency. They dropped 0.9% on a like for like basis.Tobacco group Imperial is running out of puff. Underlying first half tobacco net revenues are expected to increase by around 2%, as anticipated, but the group said the Spanish market remains challenging due to an increase in duty in December, the ban on smoking in public places and the continuing weakness of the Spanish economy.The shares move down, taking sector peer BATs with them. Oil firm Premier Oil notched up record revenue and profit in 2010 as oil and gas prices rocketed higher. Sales revenues in 2010 jumped to $763.6m from $621.1m in 2009, while profit before tax moved through the $100m barrier to $100.8m from $79.9m the year before, helped by a $38.6m gain on derivative financial instruments; in 2009, the company booked a $61.1m loss on derivatives. Rail and bus operators have been rushing out statements celebrating being on the shortlists for the east and west coast UK rail franchises. Stagecoach Group has welcomed the announcement by the Department for Transport that its joint venture group, Virgin Rail, has pre-qualified to bid for the new West Coast rail franchise, which is expected to start in April 2012. It will be in competition for the franchise with First Group.Stagecoach is also in the running for the East Coast franchise, currently being run by National Express. It will be competing with Go-Ahead Group for this franchise.United Utilities is still trading "slightly" ahead of management expectations, keeping the water utility on track for a "solid" underlying full-year result.Telecoms group Cable & Wireless Worldwide is a big faller after its pre-close trade statement. The group said earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation this year is expected to be of a similar level to last year.Irish medical devices manufacturer ClearStream Technologies is poorly even after it revealed half year revenues nearly doubled as it posted a net profit compared to a loss the same time a year earlier.FTSE 100 - RisersKingfisher (KGF) 257.50p +5.62%Next (NXT) 2,055.00p +4.58%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 354.00p +2.46%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,524.00p +2.14%Xstrata (XTA) 1,448.00p +1.79%Anglo American (AAL) 3,162.00p +1.44%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,663.00p +1.06%BP (BP.) 475.10p +1.03%Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,168.50p +0.98%Vedanta Resources (VED) 2,193.00p +0.83%FTSE 100 - FallersImperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 1,871.00p -2.65%BT Group (BT.A) 176.90p -1.94%Aviva (AV.) 426.90p -1.34%Prudential (PRU) 719.50p -1.30%British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,360.00p -1.07%United Utilities Group (UU.) 574.00p -0.95%WPP (WPP) 739.50p -0.74%Vodafone Group (VOD) 173.35p -0.72%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,569.00p -0.70%Old Mutual (OML) 130.00p -0.69%FTSE 250 - RisersRPC Group (RPC) 271.10p +11.93%JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 946.00p +4.70%Go-Ahead Group (GOG) 1,394.00p +3.80%Hochschild Mining (HOC) 646.50p +3.69%Carpetright (CPR) 729.50p +2.67%Savills (SVS) 372.80p +2.64%Avis Europe (AVE) 195.00p +2.52%Premier Oil (PMO) 1,956.00p +2.35%FTSE 250 - FallersCable & Wireless Worldwide (CW.) 56.85p -10.19%Drax Group (DRX) 370.60p -5.51%Paragon Group Of Companies (PAG) 172.10p -1.88%EnQuest (ENQ) 135.50p -1.53%Kier Group (KIE) 1,254.00p -1.26%SDL (SDL) 662.00p -1.19%Gem Diamonds Ltd. (DI) (GEMD) 276.40p -1.14%Restaurant Group (RTN) 302.90p -1.14%