Intertek Group Share News (ITRK)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Stocks in London closed mostly lower on Thursday, with the FTSE 100 hurt by declines in Centrica and BAE Systems, while Barclays shares also halted after rising sharply in early trade.The FTSE 100 index finished 61.23 points lower, or down 0.9%, at 7,167.39. The FTSE 250 ended up 34.85 points, or 0.2%, at 19,236.88, and the AIM All-Share closed down 1.29 points, or 0.1%, at 908.85.The Cboe UK 100 ended down 0.9% at 12,162.43, the Cboe UK 250 closed up 0.4% at 17,131.12, and the Cboe Small Companies ended down 0.2% at 11,181.36."There doesn't appear to have been one particular catalyst, however weak manufacturing reports from Japan, France and Germany suggest that the global manufacturing sector is heading towards a possible recession. A raft of corporate earnings have also been disappointing which hasn't helped," said CMC Markets Chief Market Analyst Michael Hewson.Centrica was the worst performer in the blue-chip index on Thursday, closing nearly 12% lower after the energy supplier warned on its financial performance in 2019 following the introduction of the UK default tariff cap.For 2018, the energy company posted pretax profit of GBP575.0 million, significantly higher than the GBP137.0 million profit posted a year ago.Adjusted pretax profit was in line with analysts consensus at GBP1.12 billion, 24% higher than the GBP901 million generated last year.Revenue meanwhile rose to GBP29.69 billion from GBP28.04 billion, and adjusted operating profit increased 12% to GBP1.39 billion, just short of analysts' expectations which were set at GBP1.41 billion."Our 2019 financial performance will be impacted by the UK default tariff cap and continuing lower volumes in Exploration & Production and Nuclear, meaning our 2018-20 target range for average adjusted operating cash flow is under some pressure," Chief Executive Officer Iain Conn said.Also at the bottom was BAE Systems, closing down 7.9%, as it posted a dip in annual revenue, though profit rose on lower costs.In 2018, pretax profit widened 14% to GBP1.22 billion from GBP1.07 billion the year prior. This was despite reported revenue falling 2.3% to GBP16.82 billion from GBP17.22 billion the year before, on a constant currency basis falling by 1%.Profit performance was helped by a sharper 3.3% fall in operating costs to GBP15.51 from GBP16.04 billion the year before.Imperial Brands closed 4.2% lower as the tobacco firm went ex-dividend, meaning new buyers no longer qualify for the FTSE 100 constituent's latest payout.Intertek closed down 2.0% as brokers Berenberg and Kepler Cheuvreux downgraded the product testing and certification company to Hold from Buy.Barclays shares finished 0.1% lower after gaining 3.7% in early trade. The bank raised its dividend and pledging a greater focus on returns to shareholders after litigation charges pulled down 2018 profit.Pretax profit for 2018 came in at GBP3.49 billion, slightly lower than the GBP3.54 billion achieved in 2017. This included litigation and conduct charges of GBP2.2 billion, which the bank said was principally related to a GBP1.4 billion settlement with the US Department of Justice.Excluding these charges, pretax profit for the year was up 20% on 2017 to GBP5.7 billion.The lender declared a full-year dividend of 4.0 pence per share, bringing its total dividend to 6.5p. This is more than double the 3p paid out in respect of 2017."We will use the strong capital generation of the bank to return a greater proportion of those earnings to shareholders by way of dividends and to supplement those dividends with additional returns, including share buybacks. I am optimistic for our prospects to do more in 2019 and beyond," said Chief Executive James Staley.Meanwhile, at the top of FTSE 100 index was RELX, closing up 4.8%, as the Anglo-Dutch information and analytics company beat revenue consensus for 2018.Revenue increased 2.0% in 2018, hitting GBP7.49 billion versus GBP7.34 billion in 2017. The latest result was 1.8% ahead of company-compiled consensus for GBP7.36 billion.Selling and distribution costs rose to GBP1.19 billion from GBP1.16 billion and administration and other expenses rose to GBP1.73 billion from GBP1.68 billion. Additionally, finance costs rose to GBP217 million from GBP205 million.Consequently, RELX's annual profit was flat in 2018 from the year before due to increased costs and expenses, with pretax unchanged at GBP1.72 billion.In the FTSE 250, TBC Bank finished up 9.5% as it reported a sharp rise in annual profit, driven by a rise in income, as it settled its regulatory dispute with the Georgian banking watchdog, the National Bank of Georgia. For 2018, the Georgian bank reported a 29% increase in pretax profit to GEL510.2 million, about GBP147 million, from GEL394.7, about GBP113 million.TBC attributed its "robust profitability" on strong income generation, improved cost efficiency and prudent risk management.The bank's net interest income also increased 29% in 2018 to GEL778.0 million from GEL604.0 million in 2017.Playtech ended up 8.3% as annual revenue rose sharply amid progress with recent acquisitions, while reported profit suffered from one-off costs.In 2018, pretax profit narrowed 31% to EUR183.4 million from EUR266.6 million the year prior. This was despite revenue rising 53% to EUR1.24 billion from EUR807.1 million the year before.Profit was hurt by a rise in one-off costs - including depreciation & amortisation and professional costs related to acquisitions - with adjusted pretax profit widening 17% to EUR297.2 million from EUR254.3 million the year before. Serco shares closed 5.8% higher as the outsourcer posted a sharp jump in annual profit and boosted its revenue guidance for the year ahead.Pretax profit for 2018 was GBP74.1 million, seven times higher than its GBP10.6 million profit in 2017.While Serco's revenue decreased 3.7% to GBP2.84 billion from GBP2.95 billion, gross profit was 21% higher at GBP290.2 million versus GBP240.3 million. This was due to a drop in cost of sales to GBP2.55 billion from GBP2.71 billion.The company also raised its 2019 revenue guidance to between GBP2.9 billion and GBP3.0 billion, up from December guidance of GBP2.8 billion to GBP2.9 billion. This reflects recent contract wins, particularly is asylum support service contracts in the UK and a defence health contract in Australia. Hays ended down 4.2% despite the recruitment firm hiking its interim dividend after profit and revenue both rose as "supportive" markets boosted fee performance.For the six months ended December, pretax profit widened 7.6% to GBP122.6 million from GBP113.9 million a year prior. This was after revenue rose 7.4% to GBP3.04 billion from GBP2.83 billion a year before.In European equities on Thursday, the CAC 40 in Paris ended down 0.1%, while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt up 0.2%.The manufacturing sector in the eurozone swung into contraction in February, according to a survey by IHS Markit, with the lowest purchasing managers' index score since 2013.However, a slightly faster pace of growth in services left the overall eurozone private sector's pace of expansion essentially unchanged.The eurozone manufacturing PMI fell to 49.2 points in February from 50.5 in January, moving below the line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction for the first time since 2013.However the services PMI reading was the highest in three months, rising to 52.3 points from 51.2 in January.As a result, the composite PMI reading for February edged up to 51.4 from 51.0 in January, also its best reading in three months.The euro stood at USD1.1335 at the European equities close Thursday, slightly lower compared to USD1.1348 at the close on Wednesday.European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has said he is "not very optimistic" that a no-deal Brexit can be avoided.Speaking the morning after his talks with UK Prime Minister Theresa May in Brussels, Juncker said UK withdrawal from the EU without a deal would have "terrible economic and social consequences".His comments came as Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay and Attorney General Geoffrey Cox visited the Belgian capital for talks with chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier, who was also holding separate discussions with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.Meanwhile, UK Chancellor Philip Hammond described Brexit as "a large black cloud" hanging over the UK economy, and said a no-deal departure would be "extremely bad" for Britain.The pound was quoted at USD1.3054 at the London equities close Thursday, marginally lower compared to USD1.3081 at the close on Wednesday.Stocks in New York were lower at the London equities close, coming off of Wednesday's moderate gains, with the DJIA down 0.5% - having climbed 0.2% in the previous session - the S&P 500 index down 0.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.5%.US and Chinese trade negotiators met at the White House to begin two days of meetings to resolve their trade dispute ahead of a March 1 deadline.The high-level talks come after the latest round of negotiations in Beijing last week ended inconclusively and after a series of meetings between deputies earlier this week in Washington.The White House said Monday the negotiators would discuss "China's pledge to purchase a substantial amount of goods and services from the US."Gold was quoted at USD1,330.61 an ounce at the London equities close Thursday, lower against USD1,344.85 at the close on Wednesday."A slightly firmer US dollar has seen gold prices slip back from their highest levels in ten months," explained CMC's Hewson.Brent oil, meanwhile, traded slightly higher, quoted at USD66.99 a barrel at the London equities close Thursday compared to USD66.66 at the close on Wednesday.In the economic calendar on Friday, European inflation is due at 1000 GMT and the European Central Bank's President Draghi speech at 1530 GMT.The UK corporate calendar on Friday has annual results from publishing company Pearson and building materials company Kingspan Group.