FTSE 100 movers: IAG flies lower on results; LSE gains
London’s FTSE 100 was down 1.2% at 5,919.58 in afternoon trade on Friday.
British Airways and Iberia parent IAG flew lower after it posted a second-quarter operating loss before exceptional items of €1.36bn as the Covid-19 pandemic led to a 95.3% drop in passenger capacity. It also said it will tap financial markets for €2.75bn in fresh equity.
BT was in the red after it reported a 13% decline in first-quarter profit as revenue was dented by the pandemic. In the three months to the end of June, reported pre-tax profit fell to £561m as revenue dropped 7% to £5.2bn, "primarily due to the impact of Covid-19", including reduced BT Sport revenue and a reduction in business activity in its enterprise units.
Inspection, product testing and certification company Intertek lost ground after it said first-half profit fell as it took a hit from the pandemic, and announced an exclusive partnership with Bangladeshi textile and garment company BEXIMCO to meet the growing demand for PPE. Pre-tax profit during the half fell 33% from the same period a year ago to £151.5m, with revenue down 7.8% to £1.3bn. Like-for-like revenue was down 7.9% to £1.3bn.
On the upside, British Land and Land Securities were the top gainers, while LSE rallied after hiking its interim dividend following a better-than-expected half.
FTSE 100 - Risers
British Land Company (BLND) 374.50p 4.76%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 581.60p 4.08%
RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 435.60p 3.71%
3i Group (III) 898.60p 3.48%
Avast (AVST) 576.00p 3.13%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 8,588.00p 2.90%
Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 2,624.00p 2.58%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 26.86p 2.50%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,757.00p 2.36%
St James's Place (STJ) 956.60p 2.24%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 167.80p -7.32%
BT Group (BT.A) 102.00p -5.42%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 5,378.00p -4.34%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 537.60p -3.59%
ITV (ITV) 57.26p -2.98%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,310.00p -2.31%
GVC Holdings (GVC) 669.00p -2.05%
Informa (INF) 374.10p -1.91%
BAE Systems (BA.) 495.50p -1.88%
Whitbread (WTB) 2,246.00p -1.75%