RAMSEY CROOKALL & CO

EVENING REPORT 17 February 2011

Defence firm BAE Systems led the market lower. The group is expecting sales in 2011 to dip as cutbacks in government spending start to bite. The company saw sales edge up by 1.8% in 2010 to £22,392m from £21,990m in 2009. The market had pencilled in a figure of £22,548m for sales. Profit before tax from continuing operations was £1,027m, compared to a loss of £61m in 2009.

Elsewhere, B&Q owner Kingfisher expects full-year profit to be at the top end of expectations after strength in the international business helped the DIY retailer shrug off weather and economy-related difficulties in Britain and Ireland in the fourth quarter. Analysts had been predicting a consensus adjusted pre-tax profit of £666m for the full year, in a range between £661m and £672m.

Bookmaker Ladbrokes ramped up profits by 20% in 2010, driven by gains at its digital business, up over a third last year. The shares fell, however, as current trading is a bit more mixed. “The start to FY11 is mixed though gross amounts staked were up 14%, however net revenues (excl. high rollers) were up only 0.1% as a result of lower gross margins in horses and football,” noted broker Daniel Stewart.

Finally, housebuilder Redrow posted a first half profit after making a loss the same time a year earlier. The Wales based company said pre-tax profit came in at £8.5m for the six months to 31 December 2010 compared to a pre-tax loss of £8.7m the same time a year earlier as it sold more houses at higher prices. Revenue jumped to £216.1m from £187.2m.

THE FTSE 100 CLOSED UP 2 @ 6087

THE DOW JONES AT 4.30 IS UP 7 @ 12,295 THE NASDAQ COMP AT 4.30 IS UP 2 @ 2828

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