London open: Kingfisher and Dunelm lead retail risers

15th Sep 2011 08:33

Shares are going well in early dealings, with the retailers Kingfisher and Dunelm in demand after results.Kingfisher is flying high after it saw its underlying profit before tax in the 26 weeks to 30 July rise 24% from a year earlier to £439m, on the back of a 3.8% rise in sales. That comfortably beat Panmure Gordon's forecast of £409m.Ian Cheshire, Chief Executive of the DIY retailer said he was confident the group would continue to outperform, despite challenging conditions for retailers. The interim dividend has been bumped up 28.3% to 2.47p from 1.925p last year.Homewares retailer Dunelm Group is wanted after it unveiled robust results for the year to 2 July, with revenue and pre-tax profit both up 9%. Although like-for-like growth was slightly down by 0.6% from a year earlier, revenues rose from £492.8m to £538.5m, while profit before tax profit moved up to £83.6m from £76.8m the year before. Electrical goods retailer Kesa' is among today's laggards though after it saw like-for-like (LFL) revenues tumble 9.9% from a year earlier between May and July. Its Comet brand saw LFL sales fall 22.1%, while in France, Darty's sales were down 3.7% on a LFL basis. "The start of the year has been tough against the strong World Cup comparatives of last year and weakening market conditions," admitted Chief Executive Thierry Falque-Pierrotin.Food wholesaler and cash and carry operator Booker rises after it saw a surge in like-for-like (LFL) sales in its second quarter, driven by strong demand for fruit and veg. Like-for-like sales rose 5.6% in the 12 weeks to the 9th of September from the corresponding period of last year. Non-tobacco sales rose by 4.5% and tobacco sales by 7.6% on a LFL basis, while LFL fruit and vegetable sales were up 34% from last year. Shares in Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT) jumped after it announced that the international conglomerate Jardine Matheson plans to acquire about 10% of the insurance broker, bringing its stake to more than 40%. While the funds will strengthen JLT's competitive position, Jardine Matheson's holding of 40.35% in the company will still allow it to retain its independence, JLT said. FTSE 100 - RisersKingfisher (KGF) 251.80p +5.09%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 34.79p +3.85%Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,106.00p +3.75%Weir Group (WEIR) 1,846.00p +3.19%BP (BP.) 407.35p +3.10%GKN (GKN) 189.30p +3.10%ITV (ITV) 58.05p +3.02%Inmarsat (ISAT) 508.00p +2.63%Barclays (BARC) 156.00p +2.63%Next (NXT) 2,548.00p +2.62%FTSE 100 - FallersImperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,008.00p -0.20%Autonomy Corporation (AU.) 2,529.00p 0.00%Diageo (DGE) 1,220.00p +0.33%Rolls-Royce Group (RR.) 613.50p +0.41%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,935.00p +0.42%British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 705.00p +0.43%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,546.50p +0.47%Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 294.40p +0.51%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 6,975.00p +0.58%Glencore International (GLEN) 423.10p +0.59%FTSE 250 - RisersDunelm Group (DNLM) 452.50p +5.95%Tullett Prebon (TLPR) 389.30p +5.85%Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group (JLT) 651.00p +5.17%Booker Group (BOK) 72.45p +4.85%Ashtead Group (AHT) 143.80p +4.28%Kier Group (KIE) 1,166.00p +3.74%Enterprise Inns (ETI) 37.33p +3.69%Travis Perkins (TPK) 754.00p +3.64%Informa (INF) 341.50p +3.45%Premier Foods (PFD) 11.76p +3.43%FTSE 250 - FallersPerform Group (PER) 205.10p -2.33%RPC Group (RPC) 306.50p -1.83%F&C Asset Management (FCAM) 65.15p -1.36%Kesa Electricals (KESA) 86.30p -0.98%Salamander Energy (SMDR) 212.70p -0.89%Cranswick (CWK) 609.00p -0.81%AG Barr (BAG) 1,127.00p -0.79%SDL (SDL) 605.50p -0.74%ITE Group (ITE) 181.20p -0.66%BH Macro Ltd. USD Shares (BHMU) 19.9 -0.50%