London close: Flat finish on eventful day

27th Apr 2011 16:56

Shares lost their puff ahead of the close having burst into life following a sluggish start, but there were some big movers in both directions, particularly in the mid-cap index.First quarter GDP data was the main talking point though growth of 0.5% was in line with expectations.On the company front, banking giant Barclays was nursing big losses after it saw adjusted profit before tax rise 10% in the first quarter of 2011, despite a 15% slide in top-line income at Barclays Capital, its high profile investment banking arm. Adjusted profit before tax grew to £2,004m from £1,822m in the first quarter of 2010. Net operating income dipped 1% to £6,478m from £6,557m a year earlier.British Sugar and Primark owner Associated British Foods turned a little sour after it saw adjusted earnings per share grow by 7.9% year on year at the interim stage, ahead of some brokers' expectations, but warned full year results will only be roughly on a par to last year. Group revenue rose 9% to £5,207m in the 24 weeks to 5 March, up from £4,976m in the corresponding period a year earlier and ahead of the £5.16bn predicted by broker Charles Stanley.But on the plus side, temporary power supplier Aggreko surged ahead after saying it expects its full year profits to be slightly ahead of 2010 after a strong start to the year. The prediction comes in spite of Aggreko's expectation that movements in the US dollar will reduce full year profits by about £7.5m. Group revenues excluding the impact from major events such as the football World Cup were up by 9% from the same period a year ago.Controversial oil colossus BP saw its first quarter profit advance to $7,124m from $6,079m the year before. Replacement cost profit dipped to $5,481m from $5,598m, however. Including the impact of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, net cash provided by operating activities for the first quarter was $2.4bn, compared with $7.7bn in the same period of last year.In the FTSE 250, engineering firm Bodycote roared ahead after saying it expects headline operating profit for the year to 31 December 2011 to be towards the top end of analysts' forecasts after strong demand for heavy trucks. The metals engineer said revenues for the three months to 31 March 2011 were 19.2% higher than in the same period last year.Investors had an appetite for Domino's Pizza, another posting double-digit percentage gains, after it established a launch pad for rapid international expansion with the acquisition of 75% of the master franchisee for the pizza delivery group in Germany. The other 25% of the franchisee, Intergrowth Enterprises, will be retained by Briskas, an affiliate of the German hotel operator Grand City Hotels Group. Greene King fizzed ahead. In addition to the acquisition of a London-based pub operator, the pub group and brewer has confirmed a strong end to the year, with sales rising by 8.2% since week 35, the last week to have been affected by the winter weather. For the 51 weeks to 24 April, retail like-for-like (LfL) sales have grown 4.7%, with its largest retail brand, Hungry Horse, showing a LfL sales growth of 10.1%. The group expects full-year retail margins to be slightly ahead of the prior year. Food LfL sales have increased by 8.2%. Carpet and floor coverings retailer Carpetright was slightly trampled after it warned underlying pre-tax profit for the year is expected to be slightly below the level of profits achieved in the 2009 as tough trading conditions continued in the fourth quarter. Group sales for the 11 weeks ended 16 April 2011 fell by 6.5%. UK and Republic of Ireland sales declined 6.5% during the quarter, with like-for-like sales down 6.3%.Mining firm Kenmare Resources fell after it reported a strike at its Moma titanium mine in Mozambique. The strike has 'temporarily suspended' production, Kenmare said. Moma is Kenmare's only operation. While Premier Foods managed to up its prices to cover inflation in the first quarter, the Hovis bread and Branston pickle maker saw sales fall by 3.1%. However, the company did stress that the rate of decline slowed towards the end of the period, and expects that "a better performance in March is more representative of the year ahead than the weaker trading in January and February."Conveyor belt maker Fenner nearly doubled profits in the six months to 28 February as revenues soared amid continuing economic recovery. Underlying pre-tax profits were up by 93% from the same period a year ago at £31.4m on revenues that increased by 35% to £332.5m. "Half year revenue was significantly ahead of the previous comparable period, when the effects of the global economic downturn were still evident," the company said. Video game retailer Game Group moved sharply higher after it posted a sharp fall in profits and revenues for 2010 as economic and sector-specific difficulties continued, but reassured the market by reporting good progress in the early months of the year and maintaining guidance for the full year. Pre-tax profits for the 52 weeks to 31 January fell to £23.1m from £84.2m over the previous year, on revenues that were down to £1.63bn from £1.77bn. Like-for-like sales were down by 6.7% over the 52-week period. The final dividend was maintained at 3.9p, making for a full-year dividend of 5.78p.FTSE 100 - RisersAggreko (AGK) 1,786.00p +4.44%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG) 239.10p +4.14%Resolution Ltd. (RSL) 305.00p +3.74%Carnival (CCL) 2,432.00p +2.79%Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,000.00p +2.67%GKN (GKN) 221.20p +2.27%GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,286.50p +2.06%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 391.00p +1.98%Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 3,324.00p +1.93%WPP (WPP) 759.50p +1.88%FTSE 100 - FallersAssociated British Foods (ABF) 984.00p -5.84%Barclays (BARC) 287.50p -4.75%ITV (ITV) 72.75p -3.90%Centrica (CNA) 321.40p -3.48%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,359.00p -2.65%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,606.00p -2.61%BHP Billiton (BLT) 2,505.00p -2.15%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 913.50p -2.14%Xstrata (XTA) 1,521.00p -1.87%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,366.00p -1.80%FTSE 250 - RisersBodycote (BOY) 380.00p +12.96%Domino's Pizza UK & IRL (DOM) 443.30p +12.54%Kesa Electricals (KESA) 128.00p +6.67%Morgan Crucible Co (MGCR) 313.40p +5.31%Renishaw (RSW) 1,728.00p +5.11%Melrose (MRO) 347.40p +4.17%TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 142.30p +3.64%Marston's (MARS) 108.10p +3.64%Spectris (SXS) 1,473.00p +3.51%Domino Printing Sciences (DNO) 657.00p +3.22%FTSE 250 - FallersStobart Group Ltd. (STOB) 139.50p -5.49%Drax Group (DRX) 430.40p -4.38%Rathbone Brothers (RAT) 1,158.00p -3.82%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 522.00p -3.24%Centamin Egypt Ltd. (CEY) 129.50p -3.07%Ashtead Group (AHT) 196.70p -2.86%Hochschild Mining (HOC) 595.00p -2.86%Ocado Group (OCDO) 224.00p -2.57%Heritage Oil (HOIL) 250.90p -2.45%Atkins (WS) (ATK) 777.00p -2.39%