Keller Share News (KLR)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Shares have opened flat Monday, with some positive FTSE 100 company results helping the London market to buck a negative lead from Asian markets and a lower close on Wall Street on Friday.

Intertek Group shares lead blue-chips, up an impressive 7.5%, after saying its pretax profit rose in the first half of 2015 on the back of margin improvements and better revenue.

HSBC is the third leading gainer, after Rolls-Royce. The bank's pretax profit increased by 10% in the first half, and it has agreed to sell its Brazilian operations to Banco Bradesco for USD5.2 billion. The stock is up 1.5%.

Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: flat at 6,697.55
FTSE 250: flat at 17,682.62
AIM ALL-SHARE: down 0.1% at 750.31
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Hang Seng: down 0.9% at 24,427.38
Nikkei 225: closed down 0.2% at 20,548.11
DJIA: closed down 0.3% at 17,689.86
S&P 500: closed down 0.2% at 2,103.84
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GBP: up at USD1.5633
EUR: flat at USD1.0987

GOLD: up at USD1,096.97 per ounce
OIL (Brent): up at USD51.61 a barrel, having hit six-month low of USD51.47

(changes since end of previous GMT day)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Monday's Key Economic Events still to come
(all times in BST)

Ireland August Holiday
Canada August Civic Holiday
08:45 Italy Markit Manufacturing PMI
08:50 France Markit Manufacturing PMI
08:55 Germany Markit Manufacturing PMI
09:00 EU Markit Manufacturing PMI
09:30 UK Markit Manufacturing PMI
13:30 US Personal Income, Spending and Consumption Expenditure
14:00 US FOMC Member Powell Speech
14:45 US Markit Manufacturing PMI
15:00 US ISM Manufacturing PMI and Prices Paid
15:00 US Construction Spending
18:30 US Total Vehicle Sales
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China's manufacturing sector contracted further to a two-year low in July, due to renewed falls in total new work and new export orders, the latest survey from Caixin and Markit Economics showed. The Caixin manufacturing purchasing managers' index, or PMI, dropped to 47.8 in July from 49.4 in June. The latest data is below the flash score of 48.2 and signalled the sharpest deterioration in the health of the sector since July 2013. The latest reading was below the neutral 50.0 mark for the fifth straight month.
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Japan's manufacturing sector improved in July to the highest in five months, reflecting expansions in production, new orders, employment and stocks of purchases, the latest survey from Nikkei and Markit Economics showed. The headline Nikkei manufacturing purchasing managers' index, or PMI, grew to 51.2 in July from 50.1 in June.
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Britain and France on Sunday urged other EU nations to help them handle an escalating crisis over thousands of migrants stranded in the French port of Calais. "What we are currently facing is a global migration crisis," British Home Secretary Theresa May and French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said in a joint commentary in the Sunday Telegraph. "This situation cannot be seen as an issue just for our two countries," they wrote. "It is a priority at both a European and international level."
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US President Barack Obama is to issue on Monday a final, tougher version of rules aimed at limiting carbon emissions from power plants that are expected to seal a key part of his presidential legacy. He signalled his intent in a Facebook posting on Sunday, saying the new rules would be "the biggest, most important step we've ever taken to combat climate change." At issue is a set of rules that have been more than a year in the making. When they were proposed last year, the administration suggested that carbon emissions from power plants would need to be reduced by 30% below 2005 levels by 2030. But the final regulation will require a 32% reduction, according to news reports.
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High-level talks on creating a trade zone among the US and 11 other Pacific nations ended Friday without agreement, dealing a setback to US President Barack Obama's trade agenda. More than a week of meetings on the Hawaiian island of Maui broke off with negotiators having made "significant progress" on the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, according to a joint statement by the trade representatives. Work will continue on "resolving a limited number of remaining issues," it said. But the meeting had been meant to complete the ambitious free trade accord, and the brief statement named no concrete results and set no date for future talks.
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Iran's nuclear deal will make the Middle East safer if it is implemented, US Secretary of State John Kerry said Sunday ahead of talks with Gulf allies. "There can be absolutely no question that if the Vienna plan is fully implemented, it will make Egypt and all the countries of this region safer than they otherwise would be or were," Kerry told reporters in Cairo.
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Iran has plans to acquire up to 90 planes annually from Boeing and Airbus upon the lifting of trade sanctions by Western countries, the Islamic nation's state news agency IRNA is reported to have said, quoting an aviation official. The plans to acquire the planes follows last month's landmark nuclear breakthrough between Iran and world powers led by the US that mas increased the possibility of the easing of sanctions by this year. It is reported that Iran would need at least 300 planes spread over a number of years to refurbish its ageing commercial aircraft fleet.
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Yemen's exiled prime minister, Khaled Bahah, arrived Saturday in Aden, four months after Iran-backed rebels forced his government to flee the southern city. He is the highest-profile Yemeni official to visit Aden since Saudi-backed militiamen loyal to exiled President Abd Rabu Mansour Hadi regained the port city from Houthi rebels more than two weeks ago. Bahah, who is also Hadi's deputy, arrived in Aden aboard a Saudi plane that also carried other government officials from Riyadh.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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UBS RAISES SHELL TO 'BUY' ('NEUTRAL') - PRICE TARGET 2150 (2130) PENCE
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BARCLAYS RAISES BG GROUP TO 'OVERWEIGHT' ('EQUAL WEIGHT') - PRICE TARGET 1350 PENCE
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SOCGEN CUTS AVEVA GROUP TO 'HOLD' ('BUY') - TARGET 2500 (2000) PENCE
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BERENBERG CUTS DOMINO'S PIZZA TO 'HOLD' ('BUY') - TARGET 900 (770) PENCE
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BERENBERG RAISES TALK TALK TELECOM TO 'HOLD' ('SELL') - TARGET 290 PENCE
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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HSBC Holdings said that its pretax profit increased by 10% in the first half, as a strong showing in Asia more than offset a USD1.14 billion charge for settlements and provisions in connection to legal matters, and that it has agreed to sell its Brazilian operations to Banco Bradesco for USD5.2 billion. HSBC reported a USD13.63 billion pretax profit for the six months to the end of June, up from the USD12.34 billion reported for the first half of 2014. HSBC's interim dividend remained at USD0.20 per share.
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The UK government has cut its stake further in Lloyds Banking Group, meaning it now owns 13.99% of the FTSE 100 bank, according to a stock exchange filing on Monday. The government had previously owned 14.98% of the bank, which it is returning to full private ownership after taking a 43% stake in the lender through a GBP20 billion bailout in the global financial crisis of 2007-09. The share sale means the government has sold about 10% of the bank's shares since February.
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The UK government could begin the process to start selling its 80% stake in Royal Bank of Scotland Group from Monday, the BBC reported on Sunday. Citing sources, the report said that a stake worth billions of pounds could be sold if investors in the City show enough appetite. The report said the move is "tentative" and could be pushed back a month or more.
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AstraZeneca said it has agreed a collaboration with Isis Pharmaceuticals to discover and develop antisense drugs for cardiovascular, metabolic and renal diseases. Antisense drugs are small compounds that are similar to DNA or ribonucleic acid that are chemically modified to create drugs. The collaboration builds on a broad existing relationship between the two companies, AstraZenca said, and AstraZeneca will pay an upfront fee of USD65 million to Isis Pharmaceuticals plus development and regulatory milestones for each programme AstraZeneca advances to clinical development. Isis Pharmaceuticals also will be eligible to earn tiered double-digit royalties on annual net sales for each programme.
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Intertek Group said its pretax profit rose in the first half of 2015 on the back of margin improvements and better revenue. The company, which provides inspection, testing and certification services, said its pretax profit for the six months to the end of June was GBP139.1 million, up from GBP119.8 million a year earlier, driven by its revenue edging up to GBP1.06 billion from GBP1.02 billion and by an improvement in its margins, with its operating margin up to 14.5% from 12.8% in the half. The group said it has seen good growth in its products and trade divisions, which has been partially offset by weakness in its industry services arm. Despite that, it said it is on track to meet its full-year expectations. Intertek said it will pay an interim dividend of 17 pence per share, up from 16p a year earlier.
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BG Group said it has generated the first oil from the Cidade de Itaguaí floating production, storage and offloading vessel in the Santos Basin, offshore Brazil. The oil and gas producer, which is being acquired by bigger rival Royal Dutch Shell, said the vessel is the sixth unit to start production from its Santos Basin discoveries. It will produce from the Iracema North area of the Lula field in the Petrobras-operated BM-S-11 block, BG said. BG has a 25% interest in the Block, with Petrobras, the Brazilian state oil company, owning 65% and Petrogal Brasil owning the other 10%.
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Irish building materials company CRH said its deal to acquire assets from French and Swiss merger partners Lafarge SA and Holcim Ltd has been completed. The only exception are the assets it is acquiring in the Philippines, for which it expects to receive regulatory approval this quarter. CRH agreed a EUR6.5 billion deal back in February to acquire assets in Europe, Canada, Brazil and the Philippines from Lafarge and Holcim, which have now completed their USD41 billion merger.
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InterContinental Hotels Group is weighing bids for rival hotel chains Fairmont and Mövenpick after saying Thursday it is not in talks with US hotel group Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc about a merger, The Sunday Times reported. Citing "senior City sources", The Sunday Times said IHG and Starwood — which runs the Sheraton and Westin brands — discussed a deal earlier this year but “talks never got off the ground” because of regulatory hurdles. Both Canadian operator Fairmont, which manages the Raffles hotel in Singapore and is majority owned by the government of Qatar, and Mövenpick, a Swiss-based hotel management firm controlled by the von Finck family of Germany, are being advised about potential sale options by Deutsche Bank, The Sunday Times said.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Fidessa Group said the additional investment it is making in new opportunities is having a "small impact" on its operating margin, and said there may be greater pressure arising going into 2016 from potential consolidation activity amongst its customers. The FTSE 250 trading, investment and information company said it made a GBP19.4 million pretax profit in the first half of 2015, down slightly from the GBP19.7 million reported for the first six months of 2014. Revenue was up by 7% to GBP145.9 million, and expenses before amortisation of acquired intangible assets increased by 8% to GBP126.5 million. Fidessa said its interim dividend payment to shareholders will remain at 13.1 pence per share.
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Ground engineering company Keller Group posted a substantial rise in pretax profit for the first half of 2015, flattered by a one-off charge it booked last year not recurring, but it said its revenue fell amid tough market conditions. Keller said its pretax profit for the first half was GBP23.5 million, significantly higher than the GBP4.9 million it posted a year earlier, when it was hit by a GBP27.6 million one-off charge. Stripping out exceptional items, its pretax profit was up to GBP34.6 million from GBP32.5 million. Keller said it will pay an interim dividend of 8.8 pence, up from 8.4 pence a year earlier.
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Defence company Ultra Electronics Holdings posted a big fall in pretax profit for the first half of the year, hit by a writedown due to the loss of its contract in Oman and by continued subdued activity in the US and UK defence markets. The company said its pretax profit for the six months to the end of June was GBP14.8 million, significantly lower than the GBP45.8 million it posted a year earlier. Revenue fell to GBP331.7 million from GBP341.0 million, as administrative expenses rose and the group booked a GBP16.4 million one-off cost from the liquidation of its Ithra vehicle following the termination of its Oman Airport IT contract. The company said it will pay an interim dividend of 13.8 pence per share, up from 13.2p a year earlier.
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Dechra Pharmaceuticals has agreed to acquire a 63.3% interest in Croatian listed pharmaceuticals business Genera DD in a deal that values Genera at EUR51.4 million. Dechra is acquired the 63.3% interest from Marijan Han?ekovic at EUR23.66 per share, equivalent to HRK179.60, which it said is a 42.5% premium on the company's closing price of HRK126.00 Friday. Under Croatian takeover code, Dechra is required to make a mandatory offer for the remaining shares in Genera, and its offer to acquire the 63.3% interest is conditional on shareholder acceptances reaching 75% of the company's issued share capital. The offer to other shareholders will be at the same price per share.
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COMPANIES - LONDON MAIN MARKET AND AIM
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Emirates National Oil Co said it has increased the value of its bid for Dragon Oil to 800 pence per share, a deal which would value Dragon Oil at around GBP4 billion. Emirates its seeking to acquire the shares in Dragon Oil it does not already own and had already made a bid of 750 pence per share, but has now increased that to 800 pence. The deal would value the shares it does not already own in Dragon at GBP1.8 billion. Emirates also said the new offer is final and will not be increased. It added it has secured acceptances from Baillie Gifford and Elliott Capital Advisors for the new offer, which together hold 13.1% of Dragon's shares.
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COMPANIES - INTERNATIONAL
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Commerzbank reported that its first-half profit to shareholders more than doubled to EUR646 million from EUR300 million, previous year. Revenue before loan-loss provisions increased considerably in the first half of 2015, to EUR5.2 billion from EUR4.5 billion euros, a year ago.
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Goldman Sachs has agreed to pay around USD270 million to settle a lawsuit by investors who claimed the bank misled them about the safety of billions of dollars worth of residential mortgage-backed securities, Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with the matter. The agreement hasn't been signed yet and is expected to be disclosed as soon as Monday, the report said.
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Heineken reported its net profit for the half year of 2015 rose to EUR1.144 billion from EUR631 million in the year ago period. Group revenue for the period rose to EUR10.926 billion from EUR10.196 billion in the prior year. Aside from an adjustment for capital expenditure guidance Heineken reaffirmed all elements of its 2015 outlook.
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Finnish network equipment maker Nokia announced an agreement to sell its HERE digital mapping and location services business to a consortium of leading automotive companies, comprising AUDI AG, BMW Group and Daimler AG. The transaction values HERE at an enterprise value of EUR2.8 billion with a normalized level of working capital. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2016. When the HERE transaction is closed, Nokia will consist of two businesses: Nokia Networks and Nokia Technologies.
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Internet giant Yahoo! said Friday it has agreed to buy social shopping site Polyvore. The acquisition will enhance Yahoo's consumer and advertiser offerings. Polyvore will strengthen Yahoo's digital magazines and verticals through the incorporation of community and commerce, and together Yahoo and Polyvore will power native shopping ads that drive traffic and sales to retailers.
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Monday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs

Vedanta Resources
Camco Clean Energy
Akers Bioscience
Dods
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

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