NUCLEAR takeover target British Energy fell yesterday despite reporting better-than-expected profits, boosted by higher energy prices.
Traders blamed the fall on a lack of reassurance on the bidding process for the company. Some of Britain's bigge
st utilities are thought to be running the rule over BE, but there was further detail given by the company yesterday. Shares dropped 1.6 per cent to 725p.
Corporate telecoms company Thus soared almost 26 per cent after Cable & Wireless, the FTSE-100 company, revealed it was mulling a bid. Shares in Glasgow-based Thus rose 28.5p to 138.5p.
Oil companies fell as crude prices dropped below $130 a barrel on concerns that recent record prices may cut demand from Asia. Cairn Energy fell 1.7 per cent to 3,315p, Dana Petroleum, also hit by news it was taking legal action against a partner over its drilling programme in Kenya, slipped 58p to 1,819p. Aim-listed BowLeven announced it had started drilling a key well in Cameroon, but fell 3.4 per cent to 395p.
Ardana, the Edinburgh-based early-stage pharmaceutical company which is seeking a sale or merger, continued to fall, hitting a fresh record low of 6.38p, a fall of 29 per cent.
The full article contains 220 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
