Construction stocks dominate Thursday’s ISEQ trading
Abbey posted pre-tax profits of €28.81m on Thursday, a jump of €7.63m for the same period last year.
The building firm attributed the figures to a strong performance in its Irish division and sent encouraging vibes to the market by predicting that more was to come when the figures for the second six months of 2003 are released.
The group saw its share price rocket a further 90c (13%) to €8.20 on the back of the news.
Fellow building firm Grafton lost 5c to close at €5.80 despite a trading statement outlining strong growth in 2003.
The company, which operates the Woodie’s DIY chain of stores said that it completed 10 acquisitions in the period.
Grafton also expects 2004 to be a good year with what it termed a ‘healthy pipeline’ of potential acquisitions.
The Heiton Group was up 20c to €4.40 while McInerney rose 27c to €5.12.
Financials saw AIB up 39c to €13.14 while Anglo Irish rose 10c to €12.68. Bank of Ireland continued the trend up 4c to €10.94.
Bookmaker Paddy Power saw its stock rise 5c to €7.50. Earlier, figures released by Horse Racing Ireland showed that on-course and off-course betting continued to perform strongly last year.
