FTSE 100 movers: Shire shines on Q1, but IAG hits turbulence

London’s FTSE 100 was down 0.9% to 6,268.47 in afternoon trade.

British Airways and Iberia parent International Consolidated Airlines flew lower. Although the company reported a jump in first-quarter pre-tax profit, it said demand for flights had been hit by the Brussels terror attacks and the upcoming EU referendum.

RBS was also under the cosh after saying first-quarter losses more than doubled to £968m as the bank paid out a £1.2bn dividend to the UK government.

Operating profits rose to £421m from £37m in 2015, although revenues slumped 13% to £3.06bn.

Dixons Carphone fell as Deutsche Bank cut its price target on the stock to 560p from 575p. Still, it said ‘buy’-rated Dixons remained a top pick.

“We think a combination of robust trading, store revitalization, synergies and services should lead to several years of double-digit earnings growth.”

On the upside, pharmaceutical company Shire posted better-than-expected first-quarter revenue and earnings on Friday as it said its acquisition of US-based Baxalta was on track.

In the three months to the end of march, total revenue was up 17% to $1.71bn, surpassing analysts’ expectations of $1.69bn.

Meanwhile, non-GAAP earnings per share came in at $3.19, up 12%, and beating consensus forecasts of $3.04.

Product sales grew 14% in the quarter to $1.63bn, driven in part by hyperactivity drug Vyvanse.

AstraZeneca was higher after posting a drop in first-quarter earnings but a rise in revenue as core research and development costs increased, reflecting recent acquisitions.

Core earnings per share fell 7% at constant currency and 12% in dollar terms to 95 cents, while revenue was up 5% at constant currency to $6.1bn, or 1% in dollar terms.

Consensus estimates were for revenue of $5.95bn.

Core operating profit, meanwhile, fell 12% in dollar terms to $1.59bn, with core R&D costs up 15% to $1.43bn as the company continued to focus on its pipeline. This reflected the number of potential medicines in pivotal trials and the absorption of the R&D costs of ZS Pharma and Acerta Pharma.

Risers

Shire Plc (SHP) 4,358.00p 4.08%
BT Group (BT.A) 442.65p 1.93%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 4,029.00p 1.76%
Glencore (GLEN) 158.35p 1.21%
Anglo American (AAL) 762.30p 1.21%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 6,580.00p 0.84%
Paddy Power Betfair (PPB) 9,060.00p 0.72%
Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG) 361.50p 0.67%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 3,709.50p 0.60%
Sage Group (SGE) 595.50p 0.51%

Fallers

International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 524.50p -4.81%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 233.30p -4.70%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 986.00p -3.71%
Whitbread (WTB) 3,867.00p -3.61%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 2,967.00p -3.23%
Dixons Carphone (DC.) 424.50p -2.70%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 455.40p -2.56%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 901.50p -2.49%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 677.50p -2.38%
Schroders (SDR) 2,509.00p -2.30%