Home Retail Group Plc (LON:HOME), Associated British Foods plc (LON:ABF) and Petropavlovsk PLC (LON:POG) all report great trading.
The FTSE 100 (UKX) is hovering around yesterday's close, up seven points to 6,111 by early afternoon, as world markets aren't moving much and there's little in the way of global economic news. Miners held the index back a little after Rio Tinto announced a shock £9 billion write-down.
While the index is having an unremarkable day, some of its constituents are enjoying a much better time of it. Here are three that are flying today:
Home Retail
Home Retail (LSE: HOME) shares got a nice boost, zooming up 19.6p (16%) to 141p, after the firm revealed news of its impressive Argos turnaround. Argos recorded a 1.6% rise in total sales for the 18 weeks to 5 January, with like-for-like sales up 2.7%. Internet sales for the year to date accounted for 42% of total sales, with mobile orders more than doubling. The transition of Argos to a multi-channel retailer looks like it's going well.
Homebase sales were down by 4.5%, but according to chief executive Terry Duddy, full-year pre-tax profit is now expected to come in about £10 million ahead of the market consensus of £73 million.
Associated British Foods
Associated British Foods (LSE: ABF) enjoyed a good morning, too, with its share price leaping by 107p (6.9%) to 1,663p. In the 16 weeks to 5 January, the company saw group revenues rise by 10%, with an "outstanding sales performance from Primark", which beat the same period last year by 25%.
The shares are now up around 45% over the past 12 months, which is pretty good going for a £13 billion FTSE 100 company
Petropavlovsk
After a tough year, shares in Petropavlovsk (LSE: POG) got a much-needed boost, gaining 28p (7.6%) to 399p after the gold miner released a full-year trading update. Gold production for the year totalled 710,400 ounces, up 13% and beating the company's earlier guidance of 700,000 ounces. The average sales price gained 3%, to $1,670 per ounce.
The firm was confident enough to lift its 2013 forecasts significantly, predicting a full-year production of between 740,000 and 780,000 ounces, which represents a rise of between 4% and 10% on last year.
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> Alan does not own any shares mentioned in this article.
