European Movers: UBS, Rio Tinto, EADS

Plus more European stocks making headlines in Tuesday's market

by S&P MarketScope Europe Staff

UK

RIO TINTO Down GBP0.98 to GBP44.92... China will fight BHP-Rio deal - The Australian Financial Review says one of the mining industry's legends has warned that China will fight BHP Billiton's plan to acquire Co.

INTERCONTINENTAL HOTELS Up GBP0.20 to GBP7.71... 1H op profit tops ests, growth slows in 2Q - Posts 1H operating profit incl discontinued ops US$291m, +28%; dividend US$0.122, +6%. Says generally RevPAR growth slowed through 2Q, and market conditions have become more challenging, particularly in the US. Analysts forecast: op profit US$285m.

TESCO Down GBP0.01 to GBP3.93... Cash-and-carry in India - Co. plans to develop a wholesale cash-and-carry business in India, with an initial investment of up to GBP60m in the first two years. Co. is also entering into an exclusive franchise agreement with Trent, the retail arm of the Tata Group to support the development of its hypermarket business, Star Bazaar.

BG PLC Up GBP0.22 to GBP11.12... New discovery in Norway - Co. and its consortium partners have made an oil discovery in the North Sea, off the Norwegian coast, The Daily Telegraph reports. Says the find, to the north-east of the Snorre field, was described as significant by one of Co.'s partners, Norway's Revus Energy.

FRANCE

BNP-PARIBAS Down EUR 2.40 to EUR 62.85... MS and WestLB cut targets - Morgan Stanley cuts target to EUR 77 from EUR 89, taking into account lower FY09 estimates, asset management multiples and unrealised capital gains forecasts. Keeps overweight, seeing Co. as an attractive investment for investors not looking to play restructuring stories. However, for investors comfortable with restructuring stories, broker sees greater upside at SocGen. WestLB cuts target to EUR 79 from EUR 86, reducing its 2008 and 2009 ests., mainly driven by higher estimates for risk provisioning. However, says 2Q showed Co. can deliver convincing results in a challenging environment. Keeps buy.

L'OREAL Up EUR 2.33 to EUR 75.10... Goldman Sachs upgrades to neutral from sell and trims target to EUR 71.80 from EUR 72.00. Sees further near-term operating risks remaining, particularly in the US and Europe due to slowing consumer spending. However, broker upgrades with the shares now trading broadly in line with its price target following a 19% decline over the past 12 months.

EADS Up EUR 0.23 to EUR 15.35... US$ marches on / Boeing mulls not bidding for refuelling contract - The US$ marches on, gaining strength on the back of worries regarding the European economies. EUR/US$ is at 1.4888. According to Aviation Week - though without naming its sources - Boeing is strongly considering not bidding in the forthcoming competition for the US$35bn US Air Force refuelling tanker contract.

GERMANY

CELESIO Up EUR 2.65 to EUR 26.96... Recovery hopes buoy stock - Co. reported 1H EBITDA of EUR 310m on sales of EUR 10.9bn. While Co. cautioned that 2008 will end significantly under the previous year, investors are already betting on a recovery for Europe's No. 1 pharma distributor.

AAREAL BANK Up EUR 0.19 to EUR 17.90... 2Q net profit tops expectations - coming in at EUR 32m. Operating profit of EUR 48m is also ahead of expectations.

TOGNUM Down EUR 0.53 to EUR 15.39... To make parts in US / 2Q tops forecasts - Co.'s 2Q net profit topped expectations, coming in at EUR 75m on revenues of EUR 790m, also ahead of expectations. Co. says it will make components in the US as soon as late 2009 to reduce its currency exposure.

FRESENIUS SE Down EUR 1.55 to EUR 53.35... Capital hike to fund APP - Co. says it has successfully offered US$2.4bn in senior secured credit facilities to help fund the purchase of APP Pharmaceuticals. Adds that the first part of the syndication was substantially oversubscribed. Co. will reportedly also issue up to 2,748,057 new ordinary shares and up to 2,748,057 new preferred shares.

ITALY

BUZZI-UNICEM Up EUR 0.06 to EUR 14.91... 1H net profit of EUR 168.7m - Co. discloses 1H net income of EUR 168.7m, up 3% y/y while EBITDA rose 6.