BBC NEWS
BBCi CATEGORIES   TV   RADIO   COMMUNICATE   WHERE I LIVE   INDEX    SEARCH 

BBC News UK Edition
 You are in: Business  
News Front Page
World
UK
England
N Ireland
Scotland
Wales
Politics
Business
Market Data
Your Money
E-Commerce
Economy
Companies
Fact Files
Entertainment
Science/Nature
Technology
Health
Education
-------------
Talking Point
-------------
Country Profiles
In Depth
-------------
Programmes
-------------
BBC Sport
BBC Weather
CBBC News
SERVICES
-------------
EDITIONS
Thursday, 31 October, 2002, 17:31 GMT
ICI rebounds after beating market
Shares in ICI, the chemicals and paints group, have jumped more than 10% following a forecast beating set of results from the company.

The group, maker of Dulux paints, cheered investors by saying it expected to meet expectations for the rest of the year.

It also said production difficulties in its Quest division - which makes flavours and fragrances - had now been resolved.

Despite the good news, some analysts remained cautious about the bigger picture and warned of further costs ahead.

But ICI shares closed up 10.2% at 251 pence.

The group reported a 12% lift in earnings for the three months to the end of September and said it would reduce its £2.1bn ($3.3bn) debt by the end of the year.

Brokers at Merrill Lynch raised their share price target on the group to 270p.

However, the broker said there were still possible concerns "such as possible pension top-ups and restructuring costs".

See also:

17 Jun 02 | Business
04 Feb 02 | Business
31 Jan 02 | Business
01 Nov 01 | Business
Internet links:


The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites

Links to more Business stories are at the foot of the page.


E-mail this story to a friend

Links to more Business stories

© BBC ^^ Back to top

News Front Page | World | UK | England | N Ireland | Scotland | Wales |
Politics | Business | Entertainment | Science/Nature | Technology |
Health | Education | Talking Point | Country Profiles | In Depth |
Programmes