It is not just local butchers and Quorn which have been benefiting from the horsemeat scandal — safety inspector Intertek looks like it also might be expected to get a boost.
Intertek tests everything from electrical goods and aerospace parts to toys and T-shirts. They also do food — important at a time when a wave of new checks for the industry are emerging to uncover any equine presence.
Analysts at WH Ireland believe the “UK horsemeat scandal is a topical example of the intense public concern about product integrity” and expect it to bring in more work for the likes of Intertek. They also think its full-year results on Monday will be strong. The investors which splashed out on shares today agreed as Intertek’s share price was pushed up 59p to 3395p.
Another riser today was outsourcer Capita. It has bought debt collection agency iQor and its shares collected a 20.5p rise to 843.8p.
Chinese and European manufacturing data failed to inspire traders and the FTSE 100 tumbled 25.15 points to 6335.66.
The biggest loser on the benchmark index, for the second day, was copper miner Kazakhmys. Today Société Générale downgraded the Kazakhstan-focused miner to a Sell and the shares dug their way to the bottom of the index, down 38p to 581.5p.
Analysts at JPMorgan Cazenove also took their red pen to Evraz, the Russian steel-maker which is part-owned by Roman Abramovich. They rate it underweight and reduced their price target to 252p. The shares slipped 12.5p to 260.5p.
After the Royal Bank of Scotland’s results yesterday, it was Lloyds Banking Group today. It reduced its losses but the £570 million full-year net loss did not cheer the market and the shares banked a 3p decline to 51.5p.
Over on AIM, North Sea-focused oil group Ithaca Energy paid £203 million for Valiant Petroleum. The deal will help Ithaca double its production forecast for the year. Its shares slipped 12.5p to 115.75p.
Archipelago Resources reported good drilling results in Mali and its shares were 2.5p better off at 54p. But uranium explorer Forte Energy has failed to agree a deal and its shares dipped 0.37p to 1.4p.
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Small-cap investment group Candover Investments revealed net asset value per share fell to 608p for the year to the end of December. Shares also dropped on the news — off 42.12p to 383.5p.
