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The FTSE 100 had dipped slightly by midday to 6,955.92 as investors weighed up mixed trading in Asia overnight with another outstanding set of numbers from the US tech sector as Amazon reported better than expected quarterly figures
High-street bank Barclays reported a sharp rise in first-quarter profit as 'materially' lower credit impairment charges offset a fall in income. For the three months through March, pre-tax profit jumped to a record £2.4 billion from £0.9 billion, while income slipped 6% to £5.9 billion year-on-year. However, its share price slipped in morning trading, down 6% to 177.2p.
Packaging firm Smurfit Kappa has revealed that corrugated volume growth in the first quarter was up approximately 7% in both Europe and the Americas, driving underlying revenue growth of 6% to €2,269 million (£1,972 million). It opened today up 3.2% to £36.78 per share.
Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca reported a rise in revenue in the first quarter, driven by performance in new medicines across oncology and biopharmaceuticals.
For the first quarter of the year, revenue was up 15% to $7.32 billion as product sales increased 15% to $7.26 billion. It traded up 3.2% to £76.34.
Another pharmaceutical firm, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, forecast its generics business to generate revenue toward the top end of guidance following a 'good' start to the new year that was in line with its expectations. It opened up 1%, climbing to £23.89 per share.
Flow control and instrumentation group Rotork has reported that performance in the period was in line with expectations amid global disruption. The firm reports that revenue was up mid-single digits year-on-year on an organic constant currency basis, in part reflecting the weighting of first half 2020 sales to the second quarter. Its share price dipped slightly to 355.4p.
Technology-based security solutions firm Westminster has reported a loss after tax of £0.7 million. However, it is an improvement on 2019's loss of £1.3 million. It opened up, rising to 4.16p per share.
Oil and gas company Diversified Gas & Oil said it had conditionally acquired certain Cotton Valley upstream assets and related facilities primarily in the state of Louisiana for $135 million. It was up 3.7% to 122.8p
Fund and private client services JTC said it had raised gross proceeds of £65.9 million through an equity offering at a discount. The company placed 10,626,078 shares at a price of 620 pence per share, representing a discount of 1.7%.
Infrastructure investment company BBGI Global Infrastructure said it has completed the acquired two recreation facilities and 100 residential units across two sites in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, UK. It was down slightly, to 180.58p per share.