LONDON MARKET MIDDAY: Stocks Mixed As Centrica's Slump Weighs On FTSE

LONDON (Alliance News) - London share prices were mixed at midday on Thursday, primarily reacting to earnings reports, as Centrica and BAE Systems kept the FTSE 100 in the red, while FTSE 250 constituents Playtech and Serco lifted the mid-cap index into positive territory.The FTSE 100 was 35.48 points lower, or 0.5%, at 7,193.14 Thursday midday. The mid-cap FTSE 250 was up 37.39 points, or 0.2%, at 19,239.42, while the AIM All-Share index was down 0.2% at 908.59.The Cboe UK 100 index was down 0.5% at 12,215.46. The Cboe UK 250 was up 0.4% at 17,142.61. The Cboe UK Small Companies down 0.1% at 11,192.53.A double-digit share price decline for British Gas parent Centrica was weighing on the FTSE 100 at midday, 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.Another blue-chip stock providing drag to the market was BAE Systems, down 6.6% 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 declined 3.7% as the tobacco firm went ex-dividend, meaning new buyers no longer qualify from the FTSE 100 constituent's latest payout.These falls were more than offsetting a 2.7% gain for RELX, 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.Lender Barclays was among the FTSE 100's winners as well, up 1.1% after raising its dividend and pledging a greater focus on returns to shareholders as 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, 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.FTSE 250 constituent Playtech climbed 6.5% as annual revenue rose sharply amid progress with recent acquisitions, whilst 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. Outsourcer Serco rose 5.1% as it 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 outsourcing 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 sank 5.2% 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.On London's junior AIM market, shares in Purplebricks sank 29% as the online estate agent cut its annual revenue guidance by GBP35 million amid a disappointing performance in Australia and the US.Purplebricks now expects to post revenue of between GBP130 million to GBP140 million in the year to the end of April. It previously guided for revenue to be between GBP165 million and GBP175 million.The reduction is due to both Australian and US revenue being expected to come in below the board's expectations due to "a number of headwinds". Furthermore, the real estate agent said that both UK CEO Lee Wainwright and US CEO Eric Eckardt will leave the company shortly. Wainwright will be replaced by Chief Operating Officer Vic Darvey, who joined the business last month from Moneysupermarket.com. Meanwhile, group CEO Bruce will take on day-to-day management of the US business with immediate effect, the company added.In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris and the DAX 30 in Frankfurt were up 0.1% and 0.4% higher respectively at midday. 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."In an economy close to stagnation, this is a welcome sign and suggests continued, albeit slow growth in the first quarter," said Bert Colijn, economist at ING.Still to come in the economic calendar on Thursday are minutes from the European Central Bank's last monetary policy meeting at 1230 GMT. In the US there are initial and continuing jobless claims at 1330 GMT, with durable goods orders due at the same time. The Markit US services PMI for February is at 1445 GMT.In New York, stocks are pointed to a broadly higher open on Thursday with the Dow Jones seen up 0.1%, the S&P 500 called slightly higher, and the Nasdaq on course to rise 0.1%.