ISEQ up at hopes of Greek ECB deal
09/02/2012 at 18:48
The main Dublin shares index was up slightly at the close after steep falls on Wednesday as Irish and global investors awaited news of a Greek deal with the European Central Bank ECB.
By 17.30, the ISEQ was up 11.77 points to 3,118.62.
Greek leaders fell short of striking a deal on austerity cuts ahead of crucial euro zone talks, making the negotiation of a new bail-out package trickier. However, Mario Draghi, President of the ECB, hinted that the door might be open to offer direct aid to the Greeks. Before heading to Brussels for the euro zone talks later today, Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos said that Athens remained hopeful of winning the bail-out loan from euro zone finance ministers. "I leave for Brussels with hope that the Eurogroup will take a positive decision concerning the new aid plan," Venizelos said.
CRH peer, HeidelbergCement reported Q4 2011 EBITDA core earnings of E639m versus a Davy forecast of E593m and consensus of E580m. This compares to E598m in Q4 2010 +7pc year-on-year. The numbers are clouded by a number of once-off items. In Q4 2010, it had a CO2 benefit of E140m versus E10m in Q4 2011 i.e. a E130m shortfall, but in Q4 2011 there was a pension benefit of E82m included in the number. So excluding CO2 and pension benefits, Q4 2011 EBITDA came in +19.4pc to around E547m
Shares in CRH rose 15c to E15.45
Shares in Grafton Group rose marginally by 9c to E2.81
Davy is leaving its full year 2012 and 2013 forecasts unchanged for Smurfit Kappa following the better-than-expected Q4 and 2011 results reported by the company this week. "While we are leaving our full-year forecasts unchanged, we have revised down our H1 2012 forecasts to reflect the margin pressure alluded to by management. This refers to the impact of increasing OCC prices in an environment where corrugated prices are likely to decline in the first half of the year. We have revised up our second-half forecasts to reflect the fact that corrugated prices may stabilise during that period, albeit at the lower levels," said analyst, Barry Dixon. Smurfit shares dropped by 4c to E7.26
Greencore has issued an interim management statement covering the 17-week period to January 27th. In the legacy Greencore convenience foods business, the group recorded underlying revenue growth of 13pc yearon-year yoy. The continuing Uniq business grew 8.2pc yoy, leading to an overall growth rate of 11.2pc for the Convenience Foods division. Encouragingly, it saw strong volume growth in the period. Shares in the food firm, which have shifted from the ISE to London, rose 1.75 pence sterling to 69.50p
2011 was very much a transitional year in the evolution of Origin Enterprises. Non-agri services assets have been moved to the joint venture line and the operation is now a purer agri-services play. The re-branding of the UAP and Masstock businesses under the "Agrii" heading is a further step towards realising the full potential that exists for Origin in the UK agriculture services market, Davy notes. Origin's update on November 21st 2011 indicated that autumn planting estimates were higher year-on-year. In addition, estimates from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs DEFRA show that UK farm incomes are expected to be higher in 2012. Both estimates offer a favourable read-through for Origin as we move into the key trading period. Shares in the firm rose 11c to E3.55.