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ISEQ slumps below 3,200 mark at close

Tuesday, October 23 17:37:02

The ISEQ dipped under the 3,200 mark again, falling in step with European and world markets as investors looked at the latest big earnings news and were disappointed with worries over Spain also resurfacing.

The index was down 45.12 points to 3,191.83.

Shares in drinks group, C and C, surged 23c to E4.00 in the morning but closed just 3c up at E3.80 after said it is to buy U.S. cider firm Vermont Hard Cider for $305 million to tap into a fast-growing market and offset weakness in its core Irish and UK business, where sales of its flagship Bulmers/Magners brand slumped during a wet summer. First half results were in line with brokers' forecasts overall. H1 operating profit of E65.6m (-6pc constant currency) compared to the Davy forecast of E64m. Full year guidance was confirmed at the lower end of the guidance range of E112-118m (Davy FY: E112m). There was a weak GB and ROI cider performance with intense competition in UK cider and significant deflation in Ireland. Tennent's was very strong as was International (+33pc volume growth). "The H1 results will be overshadowed by the acquisition of the Vermont Cider Company. The US cider market is exhibiting very strong growth (80pc in September yoy). With this deal, C and C now has a strong infrastructure to capture growth in this nascent market. This deal will transform the geographical exposure of the business and will lift the growth rate of the group. C&C's rating is also likely to expand," said Davy's Barry Gallagher.

Elsewhere, shares in Dragon Oil rose 14c to E6.99 after it published an IMS for Q3. Gross production averaged 69,600 b/d during the three-month period (+13pc yoy) and is currently producing over 70,000 b/d. Average price realisation was $98 per barrel - an 11pc discount to Brent. Dragon also provided guidance that production growth in 2012 compared to 2011 was now likely to be closer to the bottom end of the 10-15pc range. Similarly, it indicated that 2013 production growth was likely to be at the bottom of the same range. Medium-term guidance at 100,000 barrels per day is unchanged.

Shares in CRH fell 31c to E13.55 and Kerry Group fell 1c to E40.30 while Ryanair dropped 10c to E4.42.