Bank of Ireland (LSE:BKIR) Group PLC hardened 11% to 4.898p after its interim results met with approval.
The bank declared an underlying profit before tax of €465mln and upgraded its full-year guidance on total income and CET1 – a measure of balance sheet strength.
“Group operating profit of €465 million is up 72% compared with the same period last year. If we leave aside the turbulent year of 2020 and compare our results to the same period in 2019, our underlying operating profit, pre impairment, is up 7%,” said Francesca McDonagh, the chief executive of the Bank of Ireland.
12.45pm: Explosive rise for Tintra (formerly St James House)
St James House PLC (AIM:SJH) has changed its name to Tintra, which means it can now rejoice in the stock exchange ticker of TNT.
Quite why this should elicit a 42% surge in the share price to 37.5p is a mystery. It is not as if the company is a stranger to name changes: it used to be known as Boxhill Technologies and before that as The Weather Lottery.
Late last week, the company reported that it hopes to complete a review of its lottery business this month.
11.50am: TP ICAP (LSE:TCAP) underwhelms
TP ICAP (LSE:TCAP) Group PLC, the inter-dealer broker, eased 3.9% to 192.26p on the back of an underwhelming trading statement.
Revenue in the first half of the year was down 1% on a constant currency basis at £936mln but up 6% on the same period of 2019.
The group said it expects full-year revenue to be “broadly” in line with 2020’s revenues on a constant currency basis.
10.55am: Rotork searching for a new CEO
Rotork PLC (LSE:ROR) slipped 6.9% to 337.8p after the engineering group’s chief executive officer (CEO) Kevin Hostetler announced plans to return to the US.
He will step down as CEO in a process that is expected to conclude by June 30 2022.
The valve maker said the board has commenced a search for a new CEO and will consider external and internal candidates with a further update to be provided in due course.
10.00am: Keller on the up after better than expected first half
Keller Group PLC (LSE:KLR), the world's largest geotechnical specialist contractor (whatever that is), jumped 9% to 949p on the back of a better than expected first-half performance.
Profit before tax rose 41%, or 57% on a constant currency basis, to £29.2mln from £20.8mln in the corresponding half-year period of 2020 on revenue that eased 5% to £984.1mln.
The company, which prepares the ground for construction projects, said its order book at the end of June was up 11% from a year earlier at £1.2bn.
9.05am: URU Metals jumps as it completes sale of nickel subsidiary; Aeorema on the comeback trail
URU Metals Limited, up 21% at 512.5p, was the top riser in London in early trading as it completed the sale of the Zebediela project.
The nickel project has been acquired by Blue Rhino Capital, which has subsequently changed its name to ZEB Nickel.
The sale was announced on 27 July.
Live events agency Aeorema Communications (AIM:AEO) PLC was also up 21%, at 34.5p, after a trading update.
The group, which has adapted to the pandemic by switching to the provision of consultancy services and meeting the demand for virtual and hybrid events, said its gross margin improved in the first half of 2021.
The outlook for the start of the new financial year is very strong, Aeorema said, with revenues for the second half of 2021 anticipated to be greater than any previous half-year period on record.