RAMSEY CROOKALL & CO
EVENING REPORT 1 MARCH 2011
Despite a strong set of results aerospace and vehicles engineer GKN had few friends. It bounced
back into the black last year as all divisions bar aerospace saw good sales growth. Profits came
in at £345m in 2010, a near £400m swing from losses of £54m the previous year, while sales rose
by 20% to £5.1bn and by 22% on an underlying basis.
Analysts at RBS thought the outlook was quite positive, but probably broadly in line with
onsensus expectations. The shares have doubled since last July.
There’s better news at Capita - the best performer in the FTSE 100 - after the outsourcing group
said it was in talks with Zurich about performing some administrative tasks for the insurer in the
UK and supporting some of its European administrative operations.
It’s a former FTSE 250 constituent HMV that’s making the headlines though. Robert Swannell has
stepped down as chairman after the CD and computer games retailer issued another profits warning and
admitted it will probably breach some of its loan covenants. The former investment banker, who took
the chairman’s seat at Marks & Spencer just two months ago, is finding it impossible to keep up both
jobs given the “increasing time requirements” of the role at HMV.
Valve and actuators group Rotork delivered record revenue and profit in 2010, with all three of its
divisions making progress. Revenue rose 7.6%, to £380.6m in 2010 from £353.5m in 2009. The market
had been expecting sales of £374.5m.
Finally, despite competition from firms using talking meerkats and comedy opera singers to advertise
their products, Moneysupermarket.com saw improving trends in 2010 in all four of its main divisions.
THE FTSE 100 CLOSED DOWN 58 @ 5935
THE DOW JONES AT 4.30 IS DOWN 51 @ 12,175
THE NASDAQ COMP AT 4.30 IS DOWN 7 @ 2774
Exchange Rates
GBP – USD 1.6318
GBP - EURO 1.1809
Tuesday 1st, March 2011 05:10pm.
