LONDON -- The FTSE 100
Meanwhile, some individual FTSE index constituents have been doing well today. Let's take a look at three of them.
Trinity Mirror
Trinity Mirror shares surged 27% to 39.25 pence this morning after the newspaper publisher released interim results. I suggested last week that this could be a bottom-of-the-barrel share worth picking, and so it turned out as adjusted operating profit was up a respectable 11.5% to 52.5 million pounds, with earnings per share up 23.7% to 14.6 pence.
We were warned of a continuing decline in newspaper circulation, but the firm's success in cutting costs and reducing its net debt another 40.3 million pounds to 180.9 million pounds was more than enough to beat City forecasts and please the markets.
Smith & Nephew
Medical-technology specialist Smith & Nephew saw its shares rise by a modest 2% to 672.5 pence after releasing interim figures. The firm has been restructuring of late, and today it announced a "progressive dividend policy," hiking its half-time payout by a hefty 50% to 9.9 cents per share.
Spending on orthopedic surgery has been facing a bit of a squeeze in the current economic climate. S&N is turning its attention toward emerging markets, including China, India, and the Middle East, and it enjoyed 10% growth in that area.
Wilmington
Shares in Wilmington have been climbing ever since the education and training specialist released an upbeat preclose update on July 13. That continued today as the shares put on another 5% to 102 pence, making for a 29% climb from the end of June's 79 pence low point.
The firm's full-year results, due on Sept. 18, are expected to show an improved EBITDA margin and net debt falling below 37 million pounds (from 40 million pounds last year).
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