The FTSE 100 (FTSEINDICES: ^FTSE) has got off to a limp start to the week, dropping 20 points by midday to 6,576. The up-down-up-down mining sector is slipping again as metal prices are dipping a little, and Centrica shares are down a bit as the firm has cancelled two gas storage projects.
But we do have some shares that look set to beat the FTSE today. Here are three from the various indices:
Aberdeen Asset Management
A pre-close update ahead of full-year results from Aberdeen Asset Management (LSE: ADN) sent the investment firm’s share’s up 7.2p (1.9%) to 395p, taking them up nearly 30% over the past 12 months — though they have been quite a bit higher.
As of 31 August, assets under management had dropped slightly to £201.7bn, from £209.6bn on 30 June. But underlying pre-tax profit for the year is “expected to be towards the upper end of market forecasts“. That suggests we could be looking at profit of close to £460m, with earnings per share (EPS) of about 30p, but we’re going to have to wait until 25 November to find out.
Dairy Crest Group
A first-half update from Dairy Crest Group (LSE: DCG) gave the shares a 6p (1.3%) boost to 478p, after the firm assured us that despite a “challenging trading environment“, its first-half performance has been steady. Net debt should be higher, partly due to pension fund payments, but the company’s profit guidance is unchanged.
Analysts are currently forecasting a rise in EPS for the full year of around 25% to 37.5p, and there’s a dividend yield of about 4.5% expected from shares on a P/E of 12. Results are due on 7 November.
A.G. Barr
A.G. Barr (LSE: BAG) shares picked up 4.5p (1%) this morning to 530p, this time based on results for the six months to 28 July.
Turnover rose by 5.8% to £128.7m, with pre-tax profit before exceptionals up 12.3% to £16.6m and underlying EPS up 12.6% to 11.34p. There will be an interim dividend of 2.825p per share, representing an 8% rise on the same stage last year.
Chief executive Roger White told us that, despite the start of the year being tough, Barr has “accelerated our growth in the second quarter“.
