Positive news on results leads ISEQ higher

IRISH Life & Permanent (IL&P) was one of the strong climbers on a generally good day for the ISEQ yesterday, on the back of a better-than-expected set of interim results and a determined outlook on potential acquisition activity.

The ISEQ was up by over 1.3%, its best daily showing in recent times, while IL&P finished the day at €1.45, up by over 4.3%, wiping out its previous day’s losses.

At its half-year results announcement IL&P said it cut its first half operating losses by 80%. It also confirmed that it had made a formal takeover proposal for the EBS Building Society and expected to gain some clarity on the progress of that move some time next month. It is currently thought that IL&P will be on a short-list of two potential buyers by then, ahead of a final outcome to the EBS takeover story by October or November.