Interserve Share News (IRV)

LONDON (Alliance News) - A rising bullion price was lifting FTSE 100 gold miners Randgold Resources and Fresnillo amid a down overall market early Thursday.

Other big movers had provided updates early Thursday, including top gainer DCC and Imperial Brands. Miner Rio Tinto was to biggest blue-chip loser, down 8.1%, as it reported a net loss for 2015 but maintained its dividend.

Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: down 1.5% at 5,586.71
FTSE 250: down 1.2% at 15,329.65
AIM ALL-SHARE: down 0.2% at 672.30
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Hang Seng: down 3.9% at 18,545.80
Nikkei 225: market closed for holiday
DJIA: closed down 0.6% at 15,914.74
S&P 500: closed flat at 1,851.86
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GBP: firm at USD1.4492 (USD1.4480)
EUR: up at USD1.1287 (USD1.1211)

GOLD: up at USD1,208.90 per ounce (USD1,191.26)
OIL (Brent): soft at USD30.54 a barrel (USD30.76)

(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Thursday's Key Economic Events still to come
(all times in GMT)

holiday China Chinese New Year
holiday Japan National Foundation Day

EU Eurogroup meeting

11:00 Ireland Consumer Price Index
13:30 US Initial and Continuing Jobless Claims
13:30 Canada New Housing Price Index
15:30 US EIA Natural Gas Storage change
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The UK economy grew at a slightly slower pace in three months to January due to the weakness in the production sector, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research said. The monthly estimates of gross domestic product suggested that output climbed 0.4% in three months ending January compared to a 0.5% expansion in three months to December. "Despite our estimates indicating a subdued start to 2016, we do expect the economy to grow by 2.3% this year, primarily driven by consumer spending," James Warren, NIESR Research Fellow, said.
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The US Federal Reserve will stick to its plan to modestly increase interest rates, despite potential risks to the economy stemming from low oil prices and a slowdown in Chinese growth, Chair Janet Yellen said Wednesday. "Foreign economic developments, in particular, pose risks to US economic growth," Yellen told a congressional finance committee. But she noted that continued progress in the US labor market along with higher wages offered positive signals about private consumption. The Fed "expects that with gradual adjustments in the stance of monetary policy, economic activity will expand at a moderate pace in coming years and that labor market indicators will continue to strengthen," Yellen said.
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The US Senate voted unanimously to tighten sanctions on North Korea in the wake of nuclear and missile tests by the reclusive regime in recent weeks. The legislation "leaves no doubt about our determination to neutralize any threat with robust, realistic diplomacy to reach the clear goal of a denuclearized Korean Peninsula," Senator Bob Menendez, one of the its sponsors, wrote in an op-ed published Wednesday. The lower House of Representatives, which passed a similar measure last month, must now pass the Senate version before it can be submitted to the president, or both chambers can pass a compromise bill.
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Greece is trying to figure out how it will accommodate record numbers of migrants stranded there should countries further along the Balkan migration route block access for refugees. Greece is expecting "unilateral moves" from Macedonia, the minister in charge of migrants, Ioannis Mouzalas, told Greek TV channel Mega Wednesday. A day earlier, he said that closing the Balkan borders would strand tens of thousands of migrants in the EU's south-easternmost country. Around 1 million people, including many refugees from war zones in the Middle East, passed along the Balkan route in 2015, most of them in the latter half of the year.
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Information obtained from the first of three black boxes out of two commuter trains that collided head on in southern Germany shows no indication of a technical failure, Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt said. Dobrindt said that the remaining two black boxes would have to be examined to draw conclusions as to the cause of the crash near the Bavarian town of Bad Aibling, which killed 10 people and injured 81 early Tuesday. Prosecutors and police are trying to determine why an automatic safety system designed to avoid head-on collisions failed to prevent the accident, allowing two commuter trains carrying a total of 150 people to collide at full speed on a single-track line.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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UBS CUTS SMITH & NEPHEW TO 'NEUTRAL' ('BUY') - TARGET 1100 (1250) PENCE
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Cantor Fitzgerald Ups IAG To Hold From Sell, Target At 520p
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Panmure Gordon Ups DCC To Buy From Hold, Keeps Target At 5,900p
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Liberum Cuts Interserve To Hold From Buy, Cuts Target To 440p From 625p
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Rio Tinto said it is targeting further cost savings in 2016 as it continues to battle the downturn in the market after the miner saw its underlying earnings more than halve in 2015, resulting in a substantial net loss. Rio Tinto said its underlying earnings, used to measure the underlying performance of the business, fell 51% in 2015 to USD4.54 billion from USD9.30 billion, after revenue dropped to USD34.80 billion from USD47.60 billion. Revenue missed analyst expectations of USD36.62 billion. Importantly, the miner kept its dividend flat for 2015 at 215.0 cents.
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Glencore reported mixed production results for 2015 and said most commodities will see production fall this year. The miner and commodities trading company reported year-on-year falls in production of copper, nickel and coal in 2015, whilst production of zinc, ferrochrome and oil increased - with commodities continuing to receive lower prices. Glencore also said it has signed a long-term streaming agreement with Franco-Nevada Corp that will result in Glencore supplying silver and gold to the company from the Antapaccay mine in Peru. The sales agreement will assist Glencore in reducing its debt, as Franco-Nevada will make an advanced payment of USD500.0 million to Glencore's subsidiary once the agreement is finalised, which is expected to occur before the end of this month.
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Imperial Brands reported a rise in net revenue in the first quarter of its financial year and said it is on track to meet its full-year outlook. The company, which recently changed its name from Imperial Tobacco, said tobacco net revenue was up 17% in the three months ended December 31, in line with its guidance, supported by ITG Brands in the USA. However, total tobacco volume fell 3.0%, which it said was largely due to problems in Iraq and Syria.
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DCC reiterated expectations that it will see operating profit and adjusted earnings per share "very significantly ahead" of the previous year and in line with market expectations for its current year to end-March. In the year to end-March 2015, DCC reported an operating profit of GBP221.7 million, and adjusted earnings per share of 202.2 pence. The distribution and logistics company said Thursday its group operating profit for its third quarter to end-December was "very significantly ahead" of the previous year, it said.
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Worldpay Group is launching into Canada through a partnership with the Peoples Trust Co, The Financial Times reported. The London-listed payments processor's move gives it a domestic licence for its customers to accept card payments in Canada. Previously, Worldpay would have had to opt for cross-border transactions - a more expensive option - to accept payments in Canada, the report said. The partnership enabled Worldpay to form a deal to manage Canadian ebook seller Rakuten Kobo's online payment processing.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Thomas Cook Group reported a marginally wider pretax loss in the first quarter of its financial year, as revenue slipped amid decreased customer demand following the terrorist attacks in Tunisia, Egypt, France and Turkey, although the travel operator said it is seeing signs of recovery. Thomas Cook said its pretax loss in the seasonally light three months ended December 31 widened slightly to GBP116 million from GBP115 million the year before, as revenue slipped to GBP1.40 billion from GBP1.52 billion, although revenue rose by 1% on a like-for-like basis.
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Sugar and sweetener manufacturer Tate & Lyle said it remains on track to deliver full-year results in line with expectations and said its longer term outlook remains positive despite some of its divisions continuing to face headwinds. The company said its results for the full year should meet expectations, aiming for an adjusted profit before tax from continuing operations at a constant currency rate of around GBP193.0 million, flat from last year.
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Events and business publishing company Informa said it expects to see further earnings and cash flow growth in 2016 as it undertakes the third and final year of its 'Growth Acceleration Plan', and reported a swing to a profit for 2015. The company reported a pretax profit of GBP219.7 million for 2015, swung from a pretax loss of GBP31.2 million in 2014, as a result of a rise in revenue to GBP1.21 billion from GBP1.14 billion and lower exceptional costs. Informa proposed a final dividend of 13.55 pence, taking its total dividend for the year to 20.1 pence, up from 19.3 pence a year before.
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Ashmore Group backed the investment case for key asset classes in emerging markets, as the investment manager reported a fall in assets under management and first-half pretax profit. Ashmore reported that assets under management fell to USD49.4 billion at the end of December from USD58.9 billion at the end of June. Pretax profit fell to GBP62.7 million in the six months ended December 31, versus GBP110.7 million the corresponding half the prior year, as net revenue dropped to GBP116.4 million from GBP164.0 million. Ashmore maintained its interim dividend at 4.55 pence.
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Pennon Group said it is on track to meet management expectations for the year ending March 31, helped by the performance of its waste management business Viridor, South West Water, and the recently acquired Bournemouth Water. The water company said its return on regulated equity - a measure of profitability - is on track to remain at about 11.5% for the full year.
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COMPANIES - LONDON MAIN MARKET AND AIM
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Johnston Press confirmed it is in "late stage discussions" about potentially acquiring the i newspaper brand from Independent Print, but said the value of the deal is less than has been reported in the media. The multi-media company noted recent media speculation about a potential deal with Independent Print, which purchased The Independent and Independent on Sunday titles back in 2010, with The Guardian suggesting a GBP25.0 million price tag for the i brand. Johnston Press confirmed it is in discussions, but said the consideration for the deal would likely be around GBP24.0 million, and said that would be funded by its cash resources.
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COMPANIES - INTERNATIONAL
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Despite a slew of new features meant to keep users loyal, Twitter's audience decreased in the fourth quarter, the company said . Twitter reported 305 million monthly active users in the period from October 1 to December 31, down from 307 million the quarter before - though the company took pains to point out the numbers bounced back in January. The San Francisco-based company posted a loss of USD90.2 million for the quarter and USD521 million for the year, despite a 48% jump in revenue.
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Cisco Systems announced earnings for its second quarter that gained ground from last year. The company said its bottom line totaled USD2.9 billion, or USD0.57 per share. This was up from USD2.7 billion, or USD0.53 per share, in last year's second quarter. Analysts had expected the company to earn USD0.54 per share, according figures compiled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items. The company said revenue for the quarter fell 0.1% to USD11.93 billion.
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French lender Societe Generale reported its fourth-quarter group net income climbed 19.5% to EUR656 million from last year's EUR549 million. Group net income excluding non-economic items was EUR686 million, compared to EUR499 million a year ago. Operating income, meanwhile, plunged 46% to EUR547 million.
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French advertising and communications company Publicis Groupe reported that net income attributable to the group for fiscal 2015 was EUR901 million or 3.99 per share, up from EUR720 million or 3.16 per share in the prior year. Headline net income for the year rose to EUR992 millions or EUR4.39 per share from EUR829 million or EUR3.64 per share in the prior year. Revenue for the period grew 32% to EUR9.60 billion from EUR7.26 billion last year. Publicis Groupe expects all its financial indicators to increase in 2016 - revenue, operating margin, adjusted earnings per share, and dividend payout.
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Thursday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs

Enterprise Inns
easyJet
Paragon Group of Companies
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

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