London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.2% at 7,355.12 in afternoon trade on Wednesday.
Berkeley Group rallied to the top of the index after it increased its guidance for the current year and beyond as the housebuilder reported a 26% increase in first-half profit fuelled by its investment in London and surrounding areas.
Pre-tax profit for the six months to the end of October rose to £290.7m from £230.8m a year earlier as revenue increased 36.3% to £1. 22bn. The company lifted its guidance for the year by 5% from an earlier forecast for profit little changed at about £518m.
Berkeley said it expected profit to increase by 5% over the next three years, resulting in pre-tax profit of about £625m for the year to the end of April 2025.
Elsewhere, Croda was boosted by an upgrade to ‘buy’ from ‘neutral’ at UBS.
On the downside, British Airways and Iberia parent IAG, engine maker Rolls-Royce and caterer Compass were all in the red amid reports the government is preparing to implement ‘plan B’ Covid restrictions. This would mean a return of work from home advice and the introduction of vaccine passports for large events.
FTSE 100 – Risers
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 4,793.00p 3.41%
Croda International (CRDA) 10,325.00p 2.63%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,658.50p 2.34%
Admiral Group (ADM) 3,084.00p 2.09%
St James’s Place (STJ) 1,612.00p 1.86%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,924.00p 1.56%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 6,540.00p 1.52%
SEGRO (SGRO) 1,426.50p 1.24%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 6,226.00p 1.20%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 6,788.00p 1.13%
FTSE 100 – Fallers
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 137.10p -3.52%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 127.70p -3.11%
Darktrace (DARK) 417.00p -2.80%
DCC (CDI) (DCC) 5,666.00p -2.68%
3i Group (III) 1,422.50p -2.17%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,735.00p -1.62%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,260.00p -1.56%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,539.00p -1.25%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,937.50p -1.25%
Pearson (PSON) 586.60p -1.25%
