European Movers: Marks & Spencer, Infineon, ING

Plus more European stocks making headlines in Tuesday's market

by S&P MarketScope Europe Staff

UK

VODAFONE Down GBP0.01 to GBP1.39... To raise minimum call charges by 25% - Co. plans to raise its minimum call charges by 25% from 1 September, The Times writes. Says the cost of calls that exceed customers monthly bundle, or tariff, of calls will go up to 15p a minute from 12p a minute. Calling premium-rate and non-geographic numbers will also become 25% more expensive. The move comes after price rises from the rivals O2 and T-Mobile.

FRESNILLO Down GBP0.02 to GBP3.60... 1H revenue up 36.1%, confident of achieving targets Co. announces 1H08 total revenue of US$424.21m, up 36.1%; adj revenue US$493.83m, +29%; EBITDA US$212.06m, +46.3%; att profit US$140.97m, +56.4%; net op cashflow US$264.3m, +37.6%; basic and dil EPS US$0.215, +51.2%. Declares maiden interim div of US$0.059. Says silver production in 1H rose 0.1% to 17,437k oz, and gold fell 3.6% to 140koz. Says operating and financial performance has remained on track; production is in line with expectations, supported by healthy commodity prices. Remains confident of achieving 2008 production targets.

MARKS & SPENCER Down GBP0.16 to GBP2.57... To cut redundancy pays / GoS ups target - Goldman ups target to GBP2.92 from GBP2.20, neutral. Co. plans to slash the redundancy benefits for its 60,000 staff by up to 25% in a move that has infuriated employees and triggered fears of a middle management cull, says The Times.

FRANCE

LAFARGE Down EUR 2.51 to EUR 80.63... Venezuelan government to pay US$267m for units - press - Co. has reportedly signed an agreement in connection with the nationalisation of its Venezuelan units. The Venezuelan government will take an 89% stake in the business for US$267m.

CARREFOUR Down EUR 0.48 to EUR 35.94... Goldman Sachs upgrades to buy from neutral and lifts target to EUR 43 from EUR 35. Broker believes that earnings risks are largely discounted in Co.'s share price as consensus earnings expectations have come down since the beginning of the year while the shares have declined 28% YTD. Furthermore, in terms of valuation, thinks Co. is trading at close to its 10-year trough.

ESSILOR Down EUR 0.68 to EUR 33.85... Goldman Sachs cuts target - keeps buy - Goldman Sachs cuts target to EUR 45 from EUR 48, keeps buy.

GERMANY

SOLON AG Down EUR 1.91 to EUR 42.59... Flat guidance weighs as 1H profit jumps - Co.'s 1H net income rose 103% to EUR 17.9m on revenues 112% higher y/y at EUR 410.6m. Co. confirmed previously given guidance, considered disappointing by some given that sector peers have been more bullish.

SOLARWORLD Up EUR 0.29 to EUR 32.13... CEO adamant no sale - There is renewed talk of GE hovering, with EUR 37.50 per share thought to be on offer. CEO and key shareholder Asbeck reportedly said there is no offer on the table and that he wouldn't sell shares at EUR 36 nor EUR 63.

INFINEON Down EUR 0.24 to EUR 5.56... Cautious words from CEO on sector growth - New CEO Peter Bauer told Handelsblatt that the times for double-digit growth for chipmakers are over. He expects the industry to grow at a high single-digit percentage rate.

ITALY

SAIPEM Up EUR 0.12 to EUR 24.72... Lehman upgrades to overweight from equal weight and cuts target to EUR 31 from EUR 34. Believes investors should use the pull-back in the sector as an opportunity to build positions on a multi-year view. Broker has high confidence in its 9% revenue growth expectation for 2009 and expects to see continued margin expansion.

NETHERLANDS

ORDINA Down EUR 1.44 to EUR 7.59... Takes EUR 6.2m charge in 1H, EBITA margin 7% - Posts 1H net profit (ex impairments) EUR 10.6m, -12%; EBITA margin 7%; revenue EUR 360.7m. Impairment EUR 6.2m on BPO deal termination. Sees FY revenue EUR 700m-EUR 720m; EBITA margin 7%-8%. Analyst forecast: rev EUR 350m; net profit EUR 12.2m; EBITA margin 8%.

ING GROEP Down EUR 1.02 to EUR 21.04... Dutch property unit gets more selective - Co.'s Dutch commercial real estate arm will be 'more selective' when looking at loan requests, Reuters writes quoting a Co. spokesman.

NORDICS

TRYGVESTA Down DKK26.50 to DKK340.00... 1H08 PTP -54% y/y - cuts FY profit - Co. reports 1H gross premium income of DKK8.571bn (+5.7% y/y), PTP of DKK801m (-54%) and combined ratio of 87.6% (87.1%). Says decline of investment return was primarily due to value loss of equities of DKK466m vs a gain of DKK458m in 1H07. For 2008 maintains PTP target, however cuts net profit with DKK0.1bn to DKK1.5bn. S&P ER cuts TP to DKK409 from DKK430, keeps hold. The change reflects expectation of lower profits for 2008 and to a lesser extent more modest returns for 2009 and 2010.

BAVARIAN NORDIC Down DKK2.00 to DKK209.00... 1H pretax loss narrows - keeps outlook - Co. reports 1H revenue of DKK23m (-55.3%) and a pretax loss of DKK119m (-7.2%). Reiterates FY08 outlook: revenue in level of DKK180m and pretax loss of DKK255m. Raises outlook for net free liquidity to c.DKK620m at year-end 2008 from c.DKK500m.

SPAIN

TELEFONICA Down EUR 0.37 to EUR 16.33... Attractive valuation - Morgan Stanley - Morgan Stanley reviews Co.'s earnings model following the 2Q results. Broker says that at group level its OIBDA forecasts change below 1% either up or down for the period 2008-10. Feels comfortable with Co.'s guidance and thinks valuation is attractive. Argues domestic concerns have been overstated. Keeps overweight and EUR 25.50 target.

SWITZERLAND

CIBA SC Down CHF5.38 to CHF26.52... 1H loss of CHF569m; outlook questioned - Co. posted 1H net loss of CHF569m as earnings were dented by a non-cash goodwill impairment of CHF595m. Interim operating income before restructuring was down 15% y/y and free cash flow flat. Co. is mulling selling its paper and print colours business. A decision will be made in the coming months. Brokers such as Morgan Stanley and Citigroup believe the company's outlook of a 15% EBIT decline for FY is unrealistic and optimistic. Meanwhile, S&P Equity Research cut its target to CHF29, while keeping a buy recommendation.

This content is written by S&P MarketScope Europe (EMS), an equity newswire. Reporters are: Pawan Girglani, Emma Gonzalez, Julien Manrique, Sara Oscarsson, Rocio Opazo-Aniotz, Gaurav Panchal, Claudia Perotti, Michael Sanderson, Emma Stevenson, John West, Isabell Witt .