London open: BP heads advance

27th Oct 2009 08:35

BP has helped investors get over last night's three-figure dive on Wall Street, leading London higher in early deals.Index heavyweight BP kicked off the oil majors results season with third quarter figures that showed a smaller than feared drop in profits. Profit attributable to shareholders came to $5.34bn from $8.05bn in the third quarter last year. Analysts predicted nearer $3bn.That attracted buyers to rivals BG and Shell, which is due to publish its numbers on Thursday.Banks are on the back foot again though. RBS, Lloyds and Barclays are among the top 100's worst performers. Meanwhile, a drop in metal prices has hurt commodity plays, with Vedanta the morning's biggest casualty so far. Fresnillo, Rio Tinto and Kazakhmys have also taken a whack.Profits fell at paper and packaging firm Mondi during the third quarter, with a recovery in volumes offset by lower average selling prices. Underlying operating profit was "modestly" lower than the previous three-month period, but the firm said it is beginning to feel the benefits of its recently completed cost cutting programme.Yellow Pages business Yell slumped after it extended the deadline for its lenders to approve its refinancing proposals for a second time. The company, which is looking to restructure £3.8bn of debt, set a new deadline of 5pm on Wednesday 28 October after last night's cut-off passed without success.Computer chip designer ARM improved after it said it still expects full year dollar revenues to be in line with market expectations, after announcing an 8% dip in third quarter turnover, though it rose 5% in sterling terms to £75.2m from £71.7m. Profit before tax eased to £24.3m from £24.9m the year before.Cinema operator Cineworld said total revenues rose 6.5% in the 43 weeks to 22 October 2009 and added that the final quarter has a promising film line up that includes "Sherlock Holmes" and "A Christmas Carol". The strength of the group's box office revenues, up 10.9% year on year, has underpinned Cineworld's performance which is set against the backdrop of exceptional Q3 trading last year due to the outstanding success of "Mamma Mia", the group said.Aquarius Platinum moved back into the black in the third quarter despite a slide in total revenue. Net profit in the third quarter was $17.9m on total revenue of $85.8m, compared to a net loss of $20.4m on revenue of $106.2m a year earlier.Ormonde Mining has confirmed Antofagasta as the previously unidentified joint venture partner for its La Zarza ground holdings in the Huelva Province of southern Spain.Getech swung to a full-year loss and scrapped its final dividend as the fall in crude prices hurt the oil data analysis specialist. The group reported a loss before tax of £627,901 in the 12 month ended 31 July compared with a profit of £900,000. Revenue was down 20% at £3.31m.