Excellent Bank of Ireland results fail to excite market

There was little to get excited about on the Irish market yesterday and even the bumper results from Bank of Ireland failed to generate any great level of trading.

Dealers agreed that the results from the bank were excellent, even when the once-off gain from the sale of its Citizens Financial is excluded, but argued that, from now on, the pace of growth may slacken.

Bank of Ireland shares have recovered strongly in the past month compared to AIB - up 26 per cent compared to 16 per cent - but with the results now out of the way, there is a feeling in some sections of the market that the focus may switch back towards AIB.

From the overnight level of £11.95, Bank of Ireland traded up to a high on the day of £12.20 before closing just 5p firmer on £12 - hardly a remarkable performance given that the results were so much higher than even the most optimistic forecast. AIB itself fell as low as 962p before closing up 3/4p at 980 3/4p on the day in a late sterling-denominated deal.

There was little activity in the other financials with Anglo Irish unchanged on 176p and First Active also unchanged on 325p although Irish Permanent rebounded from some recent selling and dealt up 20p to 900p. Hibernian was unchanged on 750p, but was offered at that closing level as the prospects of a bid from CGU recede.

Independent remained under some pressure after the Davy downgrade and the 50p fall on Wednesday. But the buyback of 750,000 shares at 225p seems to have persuaded the market that that is the floor for the share. Independent shares eventually closed 10p firmer on 230p, but bid interest at that level was described as "lukewarm" by one dealer.

Elsewhere, the latest outbreak of the banana war between the EU and the US has not had any impact on Fyffes which closed 3p higher on 129p. Unlike the American giants Dole and Chiquita, Fyffes is only peripherally affected by the dispute which threatens to deteriorate into a transatlantic trade war.

Ryanair is suffering from a post-results hangover, with the shares down 30p in Dublin on 440p and down almost $1 on Nasdaq at $32.75. There was little volume in the trading on either market but with little in the way of corporate news in the pipeline, some analysts believe that the shares may be in for a period of drift.

Lamont did not trade in Dublin, but was 8p lower on 46p sterling in London after yet another profits warning. Elsewhere among the industrials, CRH drifted 5p to 975p, while Smurfit was 1p easier on 121p ahead of next week's shareholders' meetings to approve the JS Corp and Stone merger. JS Corp was 25 cents lower on $12.75.

Other Irish stocks on Nasdaq were mixed with Iona up 38 cents on $26.25, while Elan continued to recover after last week's heavy selling and was trading up 31 cents on $68.19. CBT drifted 31 cents lower to just over $12.12, while Saville - the other Irish high-tech stock that has taken a battering in recent months - was 88 cents higher on $18.