French Stocks Fall, Led by Alcatel, Lafarge; Bouygues Advances
By Florence Labedays
Paris, March 28 (Bloomberg) -- French stocks fell, led by phone-equipment stocks such as Alcatel SA after Nortel Networks Corp. forecast a wider first-quarter loss.
France's benchmark CAC 40 index fell 53.32, or 1 percent, to 5182.28, after gaining 8.5 percent in the past three days. The broader SBF 120 shed 32.28 points, or 1 percent, to 3535.99, with almost two shares dropping for every one rising.
Nortel, the biggest maker of fiber-optic equipment, said it expects a per-share loss of 10 cents to 12 cents in the quarter and sales of $6.1 billion to $6.2 billion. That compares with a Feb. 15 forecast of a per-share loss of 4 cents and sales of $6.3 billion, excluding expenses such as acquisition costs.
Alcatel, Europe's fourth-largest phone-equipment maker, fell 1.4 euros, or 3.3 percent, to 41.42.
The following stocks are making significant gains or losses in French markets today. Stock symbols are in parentheses after the company names.
Affine SA (IML FP) rose 40 cents, or 1 percent, to 40.9 euros. The real estate company created by the merger of Immobail and Sovabail said 2000 profit fell to 13.6 million euros, from 13.9 million euros, held back by merger costs.
Bouygues SA (EN FP) climbed 98 cents, or 2.6 percent, to 38.98 euros. The construction company and mobile-phone operator said 2000 profit jumped almost ten-fold to 421 million euros aided by its purchase of Colas, the largest road construction company.
Cegid (CGD FP) shed 1.5 euros, or 1.9 percent, to 77.4. The computer services company said it lost 3.8 million euros, or 2.52 euros a share, in the year ended Dec. 31, compared with a profit of 10.75 million euros, or 7.37 euros a share, in the same period a year earlier.
GFI Informatique SA (GFI FP) gained 7 cents, or 2.7 euros, to 26.6. The computer services company said full-year earnings climbed 40 percent to 23.8 million euros. It plans to distribute a dividend of 15 cents per share.
Lafarge SA (LG FP) fell 2.2 euros, or 2.1 percent, to 100.4. Lafarge Corp., which is 54 percent owned by Lafarge SA, will have its long-term credit rating cut by Standard & Poor's, the agency said. The action comes in response to Lafarge SA, the biggest maker of building materials, taking on additional debt to acquire Blue Circle Industries Plc, a British cement maker.
Trader.Com NV (TRD FP) added 8 cents, or 1.3 percent, to 6.2 euros, after the company reported results in line with its expectations. The classified-advertisement publisher said its full- year loss widened to 134.8 million euros from 48 million euros the previous year, hurt by investments in its Internet unit and restructuring charges. |
