LONDON -- Buoyed by rising mining shares, the FTSE 100 (INDEX: ^FTSE) has recovered some of yesterday's losses this morning, up 0.71% to 6,336 as of 7:55 a.m. EST. Yesterday's dip saw the index of top U.K. stocks close below 6,300 for the first time in eight days, though it had breached the 6,400 level earlier this week, hitting 6,412 on Wednesday.
Individual FTSE constituents are reaching new highs every day, too. We take a look at three of them.
easyJet (EZJ +1.54%)
easyJet shares hit a new 52-week high today, reaching 1,007 pence before dropping back to finish at 1,002 pence. This comes a day after the company's board fended off the latest attack from founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, whose family owns 36% of the airline and who wants the board to reexamine its plans to buy more aircraft.
There was a 44% vote against the board's remuneration proposals, though a year in which the share price more than doubled and a total of 196 million pounds was paid out in dividends was enough to win the day.
Ladbrokes (LSE: LAD)
Shares in Ladbrokes closed on a new high of 231 pence on Wednesday, the day before the bookmaker's annual results. The price has since dropped a bit yesterday to 226 pence at the time of writing. Over the year, Ladbrokes shares have gained about 50%.
Revenue for the year grew by 7% to 1 billion pounds, with operating profit up 8% and underlying earnings per share up 20% to 18.4 pence. The company lifted its full-year dividend by 14% to 8.9 pence per share for a yield of 3.9% on the current share price.
CSR (LSE: CSR)
Our third for today is electronics technologist CSR, whose shares soared by 12% yesterday to 432 pence on the occasion of the firm's full-year results. In early trading today the price rose further to set a new 52-week record of 437.5 pence, but it has settled back to 430 pence as I write.
Key highlights included a 15% rise in the full-year dividend and the proposal of a $50 million share buyback. From revenue that rose 21% to $1 billion, CSR grew its profits by 50%, with diluted earnings per share up 35% to $0.27. The full-year dividend of $0.118 cents per share represents a yield of about 1.8% at today's price.
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