London’s FTSE 100 was down 0.4% at 6,999.90 in afternoon trade on Tuesday.
Consumer goods giant Reckitt Benckiser slid after saying it swung to a loss in the first half as it wrote down the value of its IFCN business. In the six months to 30 June, the company swung to a pre-tax loss of £1.94bn from a profit of £1.44bn in the same period a year ago, while net revenues fell 4.5% to £6.6bn.
Speciality chemicals company Croda was sitting pretty at the top of the index after saying it expects annual profit to be well ahead of expectations and reporting record results for the first half.
Just Eat was also in the black as Cat Rock Capital – one of its largest shareholders -said it should explore combinations with other global players and consider selling non-core assets if it wants to defend itself against a potential hostile takeover.
Cat Rock founder and managing partner Alex Captain said: “Just Eat Takeaway.com is a fantastic business with #1 positions in many of the world’s most valuable online food delivery markets and a long runway for growth.
“However, JET has failed to upgrade its communications with investors and the markets since IPO, leaving it deeply undervalued and vulnerable to takeover bids at far below intrinsic value.
“JET can quickly and materially improve its standing in the capital markets by improving transparency, selling non-core assets, and exploring strategic options to strengthen the business and generate significant shareholder value.”
FTSE 100 – Risers
Croda International (CRDA) 8,324.00p 6.36%
Just Eat Takeaway.Com N.V. (CDI) (JET) 6,290.00p 4.99%
Rightmove (RMV) 679.40p 1.68%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 426.30p 1.23%
Experian (EXPN) 3,135.00p 1.13%
Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 14,760.00p 0.96%
Unilever (ULVR) 4,066.00p 0.87%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 97.71p 0.71%
Halma (HLMA) 2,855.00p 0.71%
Smurfit Kappa Group (CDI) (SKG) 4,036.00p 0.67%
FTSE 100 – Fallers
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 5,688.00p -8.63%
Intermediate Capital Group (ICP) 2,186.00p -3.40%
Informa (INF) 486.30p -2.74%
Prudential (PRU) 1,331.00p -2.60%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 258.90p -2.56%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 1,304.00p -2.36%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,992.00p -1.93%
Glencore (GLEN) 320.10p -1.87%
Aviva (AV.) 383.70p -1.69%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 699.40p -1.66%
