LONDON -- What's better than a rising FTSE 100? Owning shares that are rising faster than the FTSE!
Here are three blue-chip winners from the last seven days.
1. ARM
ARM has advanced almost 12% to 663 pence since last Thursday on the back of strong third-quarter results released Tuesday.
Revenue was up 20%, with profit before tax up 22% year on year. ARM also confirmed that its royalty revenue continued to outpace the industry and said it was entering Q4 with a "record" order backlog. Processor royalty revenue advanced 27% year on year, buoyed by increased demand for chip designs for devices such as smartphones, tablets, and e-book readers.
2. Reckitt Benckiser
The last seven days have seen the shares of Reckitt Benckiser climb 3% to 3,759 pence.
The recent buying activity follows the release of strong third-quarter results from the household-brands behemoth on Wednesday. Reckitt said year-to-date growth had been 4% on a like-for-like basis, with a 5% improvement seen during Q3.
Reckitt's chief executive, Rakesh Kapoor, said the results were underpinned by an "excellent performance" in emerging markets, plus improvements within the group's European and North American operations. Recent trading was driven largely by the company's well-known Dettol, Harpic, Finish, Gaviscon, Durex, and Vanish product lines.
3. Imperial Tobacco
Ticking up 1% to 2,321 pence, Imperial Tobacco has also been among the FTSE 100's leading gainers since this time last week.
The small gain may owe to investors looking ahead to the group's preliminary results -- due next Tuesday. Published during September, Imperial's latest trading update stated that net tobacco revenue was expected to be up by around 4%, with the volume of cigarettes sold projected to decline by 3%. The City reckons the group's dividend may be lifted to 100 pence per share, too.
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