Friday 9 December, 5:00 PM GMT (Thomson Financial): European markets came
off their intra-day lows but still ended the day lower. The retail and
media sectors were instrumental in bucking the downward trend. Schering
remained under pressure on press reports that it was trying to acquire the
rights for Betaferon from Chiron for about 1 billion euros, while there
was a delay to the review of its contraceptive treatment Yaz. Berkeley
Group posted an 81.4% year-on-year rise in first half profits while
Bradford & Bingley said it expected its full year underlying profit before
tax to be comfortably ahead of market expectations. In M&A news, VNU
traded higher on reports that two private equity consortiums were mulling
over potential bids for the Dutch publisher, while the London Stock
Exchange rejected an offer from Macquarie Bank.
London's FTSE-100 Index fell by 13.70 points or 0.25% to 5517.40, while
Paris's CAC-40 Index declined by 8.92 points or 0.19% to 4661.01.
Frankfurt's DAX Index weakened by 4.62 points or 0.09% to 5282.13 and
Milan's S&P MIB Index ended down by 57 points or 0.16% to 34,811. The
pan-European blue chip Dow Jones Stoxx 50 Index dropped by 5.53 points or
0.17% to 3343.57.
* According to a report in the Financial Times Deutschland, Schering is
trying to acquire the rights for Betaferon from Chiron for about 1 billion
euros, which is itself in the process of being snapped up by Swiss rival
Novartis. Meanwhile, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration informed
Schering's U.S. affiliate Berlex, that it was extending the review period
regarding its new oral contraceptive Yaz.
* U.K. property developer Berkeley Group Holdings posted first half
profits of 142.4 million pounds compared to 78.5 million pounds in the
same half last year. Operating profits dipped to 89.2 million pounds from
90.2 million pounds last year, on a 19.9% year-on-year rise in revenues to
503.1 million pounds. The company said the housing market had remained
stable over the last six months with a return to normal market conditions
after a period of moderation.
* Bradford & Bingley expects full year underlying profit before tax to be
comfortably ahead of market expectations. It said the lending business has
performed well during the second half of the year, with new lending
volumes significantly higher than in the first half. Bradford & Bingley
added that the credit quality of its fully secured lending book remained
strong and that arrears had continued to increase moderately from
historically low levels but remained well within corporate guidance.
* VNU remained higher on press reports, which suggest that two private
equity consortiums were mulling over potential bids for the Dutch
publisher.
* Soft drinks company Britvic started trading on the London Stock Exchange
and closed slightly above its issue price of 230 pence per share.
* The Board of the London Stock Exchange rejected outright a proposal from
Macquarie Bank about making a cash offer to acquire the company for 580
pence per share. The LSE said the offer fundamentally undervalued the
company and lacked any strategic or commercial credibility.
* French Connection closed sharply lower after it issued a disappointing
trading update. The clothing company said that an improvement in its
interim results had not been sufficient to meet its targets, and combined
with a shortfall in wholesale orders for summer 2006, had resulted in
pressure on the group's financial forecasts. It now anticipates profit
before tax for the year to 31 January 2006 to be in the 11 to 14 million
pounds range.
* Belgian telecom services group Telindus decided to make available a set
of information on the group's business and financial performance to
several potential bidders. Telindus' move means that Belgacom's bid for
the company might be trumped by another firm, although Telindus added that
Belgacom had also been granted access to the information.
* Meanwhile, BAA said 10.4 million passengers used its U.K. airports in
November, an increase of 2.2% over the same period last year. Traffic on
all of BAA's key markets increased, except for the European Charter
market.
* French computer games group Ubisoft Entertainment posted a half year net
loss of 11.3 million euros, compared to a 32.9 million euros loss last
year, as revenues climbed to 152.9 million euros from 128.2 million euros
in the same period last year. Ubisoft said it was well placed to meet its
full-year targets of 600 million euros in net sales, free cash flow above
40 million euros and no debt as at 31 March 2006.
Simon.Tse@Thomson.com; Thomson Financial
This is Thomson Financial Corporate Services Europe Market Commentary.
The information herein is believed to be true and accurate. If you have
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SOURCE Thomson Financial Corporate Group
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