Exel keeps FTSE positive

Lloyds TSB and road haulier Exel kept the London market in positive territory today after posting profits ahead of expectations.

Lloyds cheered investors by announcing annual pre-tax profits of £3.5bn (€5bn) - 20% down on last year, but better than the £3.36bn (€4.9bn) some analysts had predicted.

Exel headed the Footsie risers after announcing a forecast-beating 15% rise in profits, a rise in the final dividend and a likely return of capital to shareholders.

The markets reacted positively to the news, elevating the FTSE 100 Index by 4.6 points to 5019.4 by mid-morning.

There was only modest support for the Footsie from the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which closed up 21 points last night.

The Dow was expected to fall today ahead of important US jobless figures.

Shares in Lloyds TSB were third in the Footsie, gaining more than 1%, or 6.75p, to 495p after its profits announcement and news of an improved position on bad debt levels.

Most of the rest of the banking sector failed to move the same way, with HBOS down half a penny at 831.5p, Alliance & Leicester off 2p at 876p and Royal Bank of Scotland slipping 8p to 1784p.

Logistics group Exel was leading the pack with a 25p gain to 835p after pre-tax profits of £170.2 m (€247m) proved £7m (€10.2m) higher than expected.

But there was no such jump for JD Wetherspoon after the FTSE 250 Index pubs group said like-for-like sales fell 1.9% in February, following a “testing” first six months of its financial year.

Shares in Wetherspoon fell 8p to 264p, although rivals made up earlier losses, with Mitchells & Butlers putting on 0.75p to 342p and Punch Taverns adding 7.5p to 684p.

Motor dealer Caffyns saw its shares drop into a lower gear after warning that a softer car market meant second-half profits would fall short of the £2m (€2.9m) achieved in the first half. The stock lost nearly 10% of its value, slipping 90p to 850p.