Construction shares demolished by OFT report
The results of a price fixing investigation by the Office of Fair Trading were announced yesterday and share prices of leading construction companies fell as news of the fine levels became apparent.
Chris Bradshaw
shareprices.com - Thursday, September 24, 2009
Balfour Beatty (down 0.65%) was fined £5.2m and Carillion (down 2.2%) £5.3m but the largest fine was reserved for Kier (down 2.47%) who racked up a massive £17.9m penalty. The fines could have been worse as the OFT has the power to fine up to 10% of turnover. No firms were blacklisted.
Things are going well for cigarette maker Imperial Tobacco following last year's acquisition of Franco-Spanish firm Altadis. The company issued a trading update that confirmed it expected to make management expectations by September 30th and that the integration of the acquisition was progressing well. Analyst Killick & Co. noted that the company's international brands are growing strongly in emerging markets and complementing the 45% domestic UK share. Share prices rose slightly on the news. Full year results will be published on November 10.
As JJB Sports and Sports Direct International continue to be distracted by events, JD Sports Fashion released results showing an 11% increase in profits for the six months trading to August. The company is powering ahead with store revamps, the opening of five new sports stores and an equal number of fashion estates. It has also dabbled with overseas acquisitions by buying French company Chausport. The results were in line with broker expectations and share prices stayed firm.
Investors in Cadbury stepped up the pressure on US bidder Kraft by asking them to consider a 850p offer for the company. The move came as Cadbury approached the UK Takeover Panel, requesting that they instruct Kraft to make a formal bid or back off. The move could flush out competitive offers for the company in the next few weeks.
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