U.K. Stocks Rise as Shell Beats Forecasts; Unilever Declines

By Toby Anderson

London, May 2 (<a href=quote.bloomberg.com>Bloomberg) -- U.K. stocks advanced, paced by oil companies as Shell Transport & Trading Co. reported first- quarter profit that beat analysts' forecasts.

Unilever, the world's largest food and soap maker, fell after saying sales of its 400 leading brands rose less than it forecast.

The FTSE 100 Index climbed 12.8, or 0.3 percent, to 3892.9 as of 10:41 a.m. in London. The index has added 0.6 percent this week and in April posted its largest monthly gain since September 1997. The FTSE All-Share Index rose 0.3 percent to 1877.19 today.

The following stocks are making significant gains or losses today. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names.

EasyJet Plc (EZJ LN) dropped 11p, or 6 percent, to 174. Martin Borghetto, an analyst at Morgan Stanley, cut his recommendation for Europe's largest low-cost airline to equal- weight/in-line'' from overweight/in-line'' because of concern about competition from rivals.

The ``endurance of traditional carriers puts the longer-term market opportunities for low-cost carriers focused on main hubs into doubt,'' Borghetto said in a note to investors.

Enact Plc (ENA OF) tumbled 5p, or 26 percent, to 14.5. Protherics Plc, a maker of antidotes for snake bites, said it will pay 7.9 million pounds ($12.7 million) for Enact, a maker of cancer treatments. Protherics (PTI LN) added 0.7p, or 0.4 percent, to 17.5.

Homestyle Group Plc (HME LN) dropped 2p, or 1.7 percent, to 118.5. Britain's largest bed and curtain retailer said it may have to pay 15 million pounds in unpaid taxes on the so-called structural guarantees it offers customers on goods such as sofas.

London Clubs International Plc (LCI LN) added 0.75p, or 2.9 percent, to 26.5. The owner of casinos in countries including Egypt and South Africa sold its Palm Beach Club unit to rival Stanley Leisure Plc for 36.25 million pounds. Stanley Leisure (SLY LN) shares slipped a penny, or 0.4 percent, to 270.5p.

Pace Micro Technology Plc (PIC LN) jumped 2p, or 5.4 percent, to 39. The maker of television set-top boxes for clients including British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc named John Dyson as its chief executive officer.

Shell Transport & Trading Company Plc (SHEL LN) added 4.25p, or 1.1 percent to 376.5p. The owner of 40 percent of Royal Dutch/Shell Group said first-quarter profit almost doubled to a record because oil prices surged as war in Iraq loomed and a strike in Venezuela curtailed supplies.

Profit before special items and changes in the value of inventories increased to $3.91 billion from $1.99 billion a year earlier. The result beat the average estimate of $3.67 billion from analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.

Unilever (ULVR LN) dropped 41p, or 6.8 percent, to 566. The world's biggest food and soap maker said sales of its 400 leading brands, such as Knorr soups and Breyers ice cream, rose 3 percent, which was less than it forecast.

First-quarter profit surged 45 percent to 637 million euros ($716 million). Revenue excluding exchange-rate fluctuations fell 4 percent to 11.1 billion euros. Last Updated: May 2, 2003 05:44 EDT