Bank of Ireland agm sets tone for other banks

DUBLIN REPORT Iseq: 2,693.34 (+27.65) Settlement date: July 8th 

INDEPENDENCE DAY celebrations in the US led to a slight slowdown in trade in Dublin yesterday despite a reasonably busy newsflow.

Bank of Ireland set the tone for the banks after its agm statement highlighted margin pressures. Shares in the bank itself held up fairly well after an initial drop, closing 1.4 cent weaker at €1.54.

Dealers said investors had already priced in some bad news for the bank but had not factored in the potential effects on other operators. Thus AIB took more pain yesterday, shedding 4.8 cent to close at €1.652. Irish Life & Permanent was down 11.3 cent at €3.20.

Grafton was also in the news, painting a fairly bleak picture of its first half. Analysts took an optimistic stance, however, asking if the worst might be over for the company. Shares finished 5.2 cent lighter at €2.538.

Smurfit was under some pressure after saying it had agreed new terms with almost all of its lenders. Shares fell 14 cent to €3.61.

C&C was a star amid the by now usual gloom, climbing by 21 cent, or almost 8.5 per cent, to €2.69 amid continued positive sentiment on its UK strategy.

Kerry Group also had a good day, adding 35 cent to end the session at €17.05. Other food stocks were not in such good shape at the close, with Greencore down 5 cent at €1.21 and Aryzta shedding 59 cent to close at €22.71.

Independent News & Media had a decent session after announcing a disposal in India on Thursday. Shares rose 0.9 cent to 25 cent. Ryanair gained 4.9 cent to reach €3.234 after releasing strong passenger figures. CRH was in fine fettle too, rising 43 cent to €15.96 in advance of next week’s trading update.

Elan did well after Thursday’s news of an investment from Johnson Johnson. It added 15 cent to finish at €5.85.