KCOM Share News (KCOM)

LONDON (Alliance News) - UK shares have opened marginally higher Tuesday, amid cautious trading ahead of significant data reports later in the week.

GKN leads the FTSE 100, up 6.2%, after reporting a rise in pretax profit in its first half.

BP is up marginally after saying its second quarter pretax profit increased against the previous year on lower costs, but its first half pretax profit slumped compared to the previous year due to lower revenues and a fall in disposals gains.

Both Credit Suisse and Barclays have initiated coverage of property website Zoopla with positive ratings - Outperform and Overweight, respectively.

Here is what you need to know at the UK market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: up 0.3% at 6,807.29
FTSE 250: up 0.2% at 15,651.32
AIM ALL-SHARE: flat at 771.63
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Hang Seng: up 0.8% at 24,632.56
Nikkei 225: closed up 0.6% at 15,618.07
DJIA: closed up 0.1% at 16,982.59
S&P 500: closed marginally up at 1,978.91
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GBP-USD: flat at USD1.6980
EUR-USD: flat at USD1.3433

GOLD: up at USD1,307.67 per ounce
OIL (Brent): up at USD107.66 a barrel

(changes since end of previous GMT day)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Tuesday's Key Economic Events still to come
(all times British Summer Time)

09:30 UK Mortgage Approvals, Consumer Credit, Net Lending, M4 Money Supply
13:55 US Redbook index
14:00 US S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices
15:00 US Consumer Confidence
16:30 US 4-Week Bill Auction
18:00 US 5-Year Note Auction
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The International Monetary Fund advised the UK to tighten its monetary policy if new regulations introduced to contain overheating in the housing market prove ineffective. The IMF late Monday said the monetary policy should stay accommodative until inflation show signs of rising or that costs move ahead of productivity growth. However, the lender said interest rates might need to be raised quickly if inflationary pressures intensify. The Bank of England may need to consider raising interest rates in case macroprudential measures prove insufficient to deal with financial stability risks from the housing market, it said. The Washington-based lender welcomed the micro and macroprudential measures taken by both the government and central bank. Last month, the BoE introduced new controls on mortgage lending.
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Germany's import prices continued to decline in June, data from Destatis showed. Import prices were down 1.2% year-on-year in June, slower than the 2.1% decrease seen in May. The rate of decline came in line with economists' expectations. On a monthly basis, import prices advanced 0.2% after staying flat in May. Economists had forecast a 0.3% rise for June.
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Japan's economy is continuing its moderate recovery, Bank of Japan's board member Koji Ishida said. Export growth has remained flat and lacks momentum. This is partially due to structural factors such as overseas production. However, a clear improvement in employment and the income environment is contributing positively to the economy, he added.
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Retail sales in Japan lost 0.6% on year in June, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Tuesday - worth JPY11.351 trillion. That missed forecasts for a decline of 0.5% following the 0.4% drop in May.
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The unemployment rate in Japan came in at a seasonally adjusted 3.7% in June, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said. That missed forecasts for 3.5%, which would have been unchanged from the May reading.
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The US government is convinced that Russia violated an arms control treaty by testing a ground-launched cruise missile, according to a report in The New York Times late Monday. President Barack Obama had informed Russian President Vladimir Putin of the findings in a letter on Monday, the report said, citing unnamed senior American officials. The move further complicates an already fraught relationship between Moscow and Washington over the Ukraine crisis.
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Fighting in the area around the Malaysia Airlines crash site in eastern Ukraine prevented a team of unarmed Dutch and Australian police officers from reaching the wreckage for a second consecutive day Monday. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said "security reasons" led to their convoy turning back to the city of Donetsk. A visit by the Dutch and Australian teams to secure the debris site and collect remaining bodies was also cancelled on Sunday amid reports of fighting between government forces and pro-Russian separatists.
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Israeli military jets struck the house of Ismail Haniya, deputy chief of the Islamist Hamas movement, in western Gaza City, local media and witnesses said. No injuries were reported and neither Haniya nor his family were at home when it was destroyed by the missiles, Hamas' al-Aqsa television reported. Airstrikes on central and southern areas of the Gaza Strip killed at least 16 Palestinians and wounded more than 50 others early Tuesday, medics and witnesses said.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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JPMORGAN RAISES STANDARD CHARTERED TO 'OVERWEIGHT' ('NEUTRAL') - PRICE TARGET 1450 (1350) PENCE
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TRADERS: MORGAN STANLEY CUTS ADMIRAL GROUP TO 'UNDERWEIGHT' ('EQUAL-WEIGHT')
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SOCGEN CUTS ABERDEEN ASSET MANAGEMENT TO 'HOLD' ('BUY') - TARGET 465 PENCE
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JEFFERIES RAISES BTG TO 'BUY' ('HOLD') - TARGET 760 (525) PENCE
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CREDIT SUISSE RESUMES DAILY MAIL WITH 'OUTPERFORM' - TARGET 1040 PENCE
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CREDIT SUISSE INITIATES ZOOPLA PROPERTY WITH 'OUTPERFORM' - TARGET PRICE 290 PENCE
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BARCLAYS INITIATES ZOOPLA WITH 'OVERWEIGHT' - TARGET PRICE 315 PENCE
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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BP PLC said its second quarter pretax profit increased against the previous year on lower costs but its first half pretax profit slumped compared to the previous year due to lower revenues and a fall in disposals gains. The oil and gas giant said its first half pretax profit more than halved to USD11.14 billion for the six months ended June 30 from USD24.62 billion in the previous year as revenues and other income fell 7.0% to USD188,82 billion from USD202.92 billion. The company said it revenues fell as production dropped 7.3% to 2,118 million barrels of oil equivalent per day leading to a downstream drop in revenues to USD171.17 billion from USD175.13 billion.
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GKN PLC said pretax profit rose in its first-half while revenues declined marginally due to a currency translation impact. In its results for the half-year to June 30, the British multinational automotive and aerospace components company said pretax profit rose 6% to GBP296 million from GBP278 million in the comparative period last year.
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St James's Place NAV Per Share 604.9p, Up 15% On Year, 5% On Half; Funds Under Management On June 30 GBP47.6B, Up 19% On Year, 7% On Half;Interim Dividend 8.93p, Up 40%; H1 Profit Before Shareholder Tax 82.4M, Down From GBP90.1M
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UK clothing and homeware retailer Next PLC raised its profit and sales forecast for the current financial year for a second time , after reporting strong growth in the first half of the year driven by all parts of the business. Next total brand sales were up 11% in the second quarter and for the first half of the year to July 26, driven by a combination of improving sales from its stores, new retail space, strong growth online and a flourishing international business. In the first half, 2.4% of sales growth was the contribution from new retail space. "Sales are currently ahead of the 5.5% to 9.5% full-year growth guidance we gave in April. We are therefore raising and narrowing our sales guidance range for the year to 7% to 10%," the company said in a statement. The retailer also raised its profit guidance for the year ending in January 2015 by GBP25 million, and said it now expects to deliver a profit in the region of GBP775 million and GBP815 million, growth of between 8% and 14% for both profits and earnings per share.
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Mondi PLC said it expects underlying operating profit for its first-half to come in higher than the comparative period last year as a net special item charge will be reduced in the half-year due to restructuring activities. The international packaging company said in a statement that it expects its underlying operating profit to be above that of the EUR367 million recorded in the first-half of 2013.
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Babcock International Group PLC said it has appointed Group Finance Director Bill Tame as Chief Executive of the Group's enlarged International division. Tame has served as group finance director since 2002. In the new role he will take over responsibility for the South African operations and the Avincis Group, as well as the group's business development activities in the Middle East. Following Tame's appointment, Babcock has promoted Franco Martinelli to the role of group finance director. Martinelli has served as Babcock's group financial controller for 12 years.
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Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC said Andrew Higginson is to replace Ian Gibson as the company's chairman when Gibson retires in 2015. Ahead of taking up the role, Higginson will join the board of the supermarket on 1 October as non-executive deputy chairman and chairman elect. Higginson currently holds chairmanships at Poundland PLC and N Brown PLC and is a senior independent director at British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC. Prior to this, he was an executive director at Tesco PLC for 15 years. As part of the move, Higginson will step down as chairman of Poundland, which said Tuesday he would be replaced by Darren Shapland.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Informa PLC maintained its expectations for its full year results despite a hit from the strength of sterling, as it saw pretax profit rise in the half year to end-June. The business media and events company proposed an interim dividend of 6.4 pence, unchanged from the previous year. Informa posted a pretax profit of GBP100.2 million, up from GBP74.6 million, as revenue rose to GBP569.6 million from GBP564.0 million, and operating expenses reduced to GBP457.3 million from GBP473.4 million.
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Greencore Expects Adjusted EPS Growth For Full Year In Line With Market View; Revenue GBP326.4 In 13 Weeks To June 27, Up 6.7%, 7.5% Like-For-Like
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Jardine Lloyd Thompson H1 Pretax Profit Up 16% At GBP98.4M; Total Revenue Up 15% At GBP559.6M; Interim Dividend Up 5% To 10.6p; Cautious On Outlook Due To Low Insurance Rates, Pound Strength
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Elementis H1 Pretax Profit Up, USD72.4M Vs USD67.5M; evenues Up, USD400.0M Vs USD388.2M; Dividend Up 5% To 2.70 cents
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Tullett Prebon H1 Pretax Profit GBP8.9M, Vs GBP52.5M Year Before; Revenue GBP360.3M, Vs GBP439.8M Year Before; Interim Dividend 5.6p, Unchanged; Underlying Operating Margin 14.0%, Down From 16.2%; Will Continue To Focus On Costs Amid Difficult Market Conditions
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Segro Says Portfolio Is Fully Let, Leases Have Average Length Of 6.2 Years To Break, Expiry
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Drax H1 Swings To Pretax Loss GBP10.8M Vs Pretax Profit 205.6M; Revenues Up, GBP1.26B Vs GBP918.5M; H1 Dividend Down, 4.7pps Vs 8.7pps; Says Outlook For Full Year Remains Unchanged
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Domino's Pizza H1 Pretax Profit Up 10% to GBP24.5M; System Sales Up 15% to GBP375.0M; Interim Dividend Up 10% To 7.81p
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PZ Cussons FY Statutory Pretax Profit GBP123.7M Vs GBP94.8M; Revenue At GBP861.4M Vs GBP883.2M; Total Dividend Per Share Up 5% To 7.76p Vs 7.39p; Says Currency Moves Wiped GBP12M Off FY Profits; Says Trading Conditions In Most Markets Remain Challenging
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COMPANIES - MAIN MARKET AND AIM
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Carpetright Q1 UK Like-For-Like Sales Up 6.1%, Total Sales Up 5.2%; Rest Of Europe Total Sales Down 3.9%, Like-For-Like Sales Down 3.6%; Rest Of Europe Sales Down 10% After Currency Impact; Expects FY Gross Profit Percentage Decline Between 50-100bp; Says Netherlands, Belgium Businesses Returned To Profit
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Costain Wins EPC Contract Extension WIth Perenco; Contract Is For Environmental Upgrade Of Dimlington Gas Terminal; Contract Is Worth Approximately GBP30M
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Tungsten Corporation Secures Contract With BT Group; Contract Covers Electronic Invoicing, Purchase Order Services, Invoice Status Service
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Brammer H1: Pretax Profit Down GBP3M To GBP11.6M Vs GBP14.6M; Interim Dividend Up 5.9% To 3.6P Vs 3.4P
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KCOM Confirms Commitment For 10% Increase In FY Dividend For Next 2Y
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Fitbug Holdings Secures GBP1.75M Loan On 'Attractive Terms'; Says Trial Date For Legal Action Against Fitbit On 9 February 2015
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Tyman CEO: FY Expectations Remain Unchanged Despite Sterling Strength; Encouraging H1, Made Progress In Number Of Areas
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Tuesday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs

Vodafone Group
Halfords Group
KCOM Group
Acal
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

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