RAMSEY CROOKALL & CO

EVENING REPORT 24 February 2011

Outsourced services provider Capita is the best performer after its figures.

Capita lifted revenues and profits in 2010 despite the coalition government’s cost-cutting drive. Pre-tax profits climbed to £364.2m from £325.1m on revenues that rose to £2.74bn from £2.69bn. Serco has risen on the back of the Capita figures.

Oil and gas producers Tullow Oil, Cairn Energy and BG are all higher on the back of the rising oil price, although airline owner IAG is down again, taking its losses for the week to more than 10%.

Elsewhere, taxpayer-owned Royal Bank of Scotland is nursing losses after it stayed in the red last year, though lower impairment charges meant the deficit was sharply reduced. Pre-tax losses came in at £239m in 2010, down from £1.93bn, with the bank posting a small profit in the last three months of the year.

RSA Insurance’s net written premiums rose 11% (8% at constant exchange rates) to £7,455m in 2010 from £6,737m in 2009, with profitable top line growth in all regions. Profit before tax eased 14% to £474m from £554m the year before.

Finally, British American Tobacco, the maker of Lucky Strike cigarettes, is lower today, even after it squeezed out a higher profit in 2010 as price increases and emerging market growth helped it offset sluggishness in some markets. Pre tax profits rose to £4.39 billion from £4.08 billion the previous year.

THE FTSE 100 CLOSED DOWN 3 @ 5919

THE DOW JONES AT 4.30 IS DOWN 37 @ 12,068

THE NASDAQ COMP AT 4.30 IS UP 3 @ 2726

Exchange Rates

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