The FTSE 100 (FTSEINDICES: ^FTSE) slipped back a bit today, dropping 17 points by late morning to 6,725. Mixed news seems to have put the market on hold a little — in the US the Dow Jones closed yesterday at a record level, but data suggests the eurozone recovery is still fragile.
There were few big share movements this morning, but here are three that helped boost the FTSE indices:
Tate & Lyle
A first-half report gave Tate & Lyle (LSE: TATE) shares a modest boost today, sending them up 11p (1.4%) to 805p by late morning — the shares went into a bit of a slump in the summer, but since October the price has been recovering and is now around 8% up over 12 months.
Sales for the six months to 30 September were up 7% to £1,737m, although adjusted pre-tax profit dropped 3% to £173m. Adjusted earnings per share fell 2% to 29.9p, with analysts forecasting a 1% fall for the full year.
Chief Executive Javed Ahmed said that “…our overall results were held back by a soft beverage season in the US which affected both divisions“, but the firm said that it expects “to deliver another year of profitable growth“.
Randgold Resources
Randgold Resources (LSE: RRS) (NASDAQ: GOLD.US) got a welcome uplift this morning, with third-quarter results sending its share price up 365p (7.9%) to 4,970p — it’s still down 30% over 12 months, but it is starting to move in the right direction.
The company produced 19% more gold than in the second quarter, unearthing 233,677 ounces of the shiny stuff, and after selling down its stocks realised a 38% rise in gold sales to $348.6m. Profit for the period soared 80% from the previous quarter to $97.5m — although the gold price fell 3%, Randgold’s cash cost fell from $795 to $662 per ounce.
Earnings per share gained 76% to 88 cents.
Supergroup
Turning to the FTSE 250, Supergroup has been having a cracking year with its share price up more than 80% since this time in 2012. And today an upbeat second-quarter trading update sent the price up 11p (1%) to 1,217p.
Sales for the quarter climbed 18.5% to £116.6m, with half-year sales up 21.1% to £191.6m. The owner of the SuperDry brand expanded its total retail space by 6.1% during the quarter, and by 17% year-on-year, to 573,000 square feet.
Supergroup says it is confident of meeting market expectations, suggesting full-year earnings per share should rise close to 20%.
