London afternoon: Footsie becalmed

28th Sep 2010 14:12

Expectations of a firm start on Wall Street have lured buyers back into the market in London and the blue-chip index ended the lunch time session barely changed on the day.Hedge fund manager Man has been usurped as worst performing FTSE 100 stock by weapons systems developer BAE Systems. Defence firms are out of fashion today after high-tech weapons group QinetiQ said that uncertainty over defence spending plans in both the UK and US has reduced visibility and meant delays in orders.Man is still in the dog-house, however, after its glum pre-close trading update. The hedge fund firm's first half profits will fall by a fifth to $215m as performance fees dwindled after a tough half for its flagship AHL fund. Funds under management have stabilised recently and the end of September were up over the previous three months to $39.5bn from $38.5bn.Charles Stanley is sitting on the fence with its view on Man. It likes the yield, but wants to see improvement in trading before it switches from its "hold" recommendation."We believe that the year to date performance of AHL gives Man Group something positive to build upon. However, we would like to see a clear trend of declining redemptions and increased sales before we raised our recommendation on the stock from Hold, but we do point out that the stock is yielding around 6.5% even after it has been rebased.Among second liners tour operator Thomas Cook is the big faller after it said it has now started a review of its UK cost base after softer than expected business over the summer and in view of the difficult market backdrop. "Our cost experience in the UK has not been as favourable as expected, particularly in the airline, and this will result in a net impact of around £10m on the underlying operating profit," Thomas Cook said. It will take a £10m restructuring charge.Thomas Cook's FTSE 100-listed peer TUI Travel dips in sympathy.Accountancy software giant Sage Group tops the list of FTSE 100 risers as rumours of an imminent bid approach refuse to die down. The latest company to be added to the list of likely bidders is French software titan Capgemini.Others suggest that contract programmer outfit Logica makes a more logical target for Capgemini than Sage. Logica will continue work on all of its existing UK government contracts after the software company announced today it had agreed a number of efficiency savings as part of the coalition's spending review. Despite the memorandum of understanding signed with the government and subsequent savings demanded by ministers, Logica says these were anticipated in its forecasts, so expectations flagged at last month's interim results remain unchanged.With just days to go until its year-end, newspaper publisher Daily Mail and General Trust expects the full-year result to be at least in line with the City consensus. Underlying revenue rose 2% during the 11 months to the end of August, but fell 7% on a reported basis, although trading remains "robust" and the business to business (B2B) and consumer media businesses report underlying growth.Irn-Bru maker AG Barr achieved sales growth well in advance of the market in the first half of its financial year. Total turnover at the fizzy drinks firm in the six months to 31 July rose 13.9% to £119.2m from £103.7m in the corresponding period of 2009. Underlying profit before tax increased by 18.8% to £16.0m from £13.5m the year before.Specialist mortgage provider Paragon expects full-year profit to be at the top end of analysts' forecasts and is going to restart buy-to-let lending immediately after securing a new loan facility. A "strong" performance in the first 11 months means operating profit before exceptional and fair value items for the year to September 30 should be towards the upper end of the £40.5m-£65m range.Close Brothers has had a "good" result for the full-year, driven by strength at the banking business, and the merchant bank expects a "satisfactory" outcome for 2011.Computer games retailer Game slumped into the red as the boost from the launch of Nintendo's Wii faded away. Losses in the half year to July came in at £21.5m, compared to a profit of £10.8m. Revenues fell to £625m from £691m, with like-for-like sales over the period down by 10.9%. Sportswear retailer JJB Sports has made progress on its three-year turnaround plan, but still posted heavy interim losses and indicated it will need more sales and promotions to keep momentum going.