London mid-morning: Utilities defy lower trend

London's leading stocks remain mostly lower after a survey indicated that already fragile consumer confidence waned further in July. The GfK NOP index of consumer sentiment fell to minus 22 from minus 19 in June, its lowest level in 11 months. Embattled airline British Airways provides an element of cheer as it said it still expects to break-even for the year even though ash clouds from Iceland and strike action caused losses to grow at during a tough first quarter. Losses before tax jumped to £164m in the three months ended 30 June from £148m a year ago as revenue fell by £46m, or 2.3%, to £1.94bn. Passenger revenue dropped 3.4% on capacity down 11.2%. BA blamed "additional finance costs and the impact of non cash foreign exchange movements" for its higher pre-tax loss. Investors are also turning to utilities after EDF sold its UK electricity grid operation to a consortium headed by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-Shing for £5.8bn. Severn Trent, National Grid, Centrica and United Utilities are all ahead. Anglo American's interim results came in slightly below analyst forecasts but the mining giant said it remains confident about its prospects. The group also announced that it reinstated its dividend payments with an interim dividend of 25c per share. Revenue came to $15.02bn in the six months ended 30 June compared with $11.13bn last time, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose to $5.41bn from 2.99bn previously. Sticking with the miners, Indian mining giant Vedanta more than doubled EBITDA in the first quarter, though mined metal production dropped slightly on last year. Broadband group TalkTalk has signed a deal with Vodafone to launch a mobile service under its own brand. The group also updated the market on quarterly figures. It added 34,000 net new broadband customers in the quarter, taking the total base to 4.231 million. Rentokil is to merge its pest control and washrooms businesses to cope with 'increasing price pressures', especially in Europe. Profits in the half year to June rose from £8.2m to £30.9m, with underlying profits up 37% to £77m. Revenues fell though, by 2.3% to £1.23bn. The first six months of 2010 were "encouraging" for insurance broker Jardine Lloyd Thompson as profit easily beat expectations. Paper and packaging group Mondi confirmed underlying operating profit for the first half of 2010 will be considerably higher than last year. Media conglomerate UBM is on track to meet expectations for the full year despite a decline in profit before tax at the half-way stage. Pre-tax profit for the six months ended 30 June fell to £58.1m from £59.5m, but was down 8% at £61.9m before exceptional items. Revenue was little changed at £434.3m. Adjusted operating profit rose 6% to £83.2m. Funeral home operator Dignity reported higher first-half revenue and profit and said it is on track to meet full-year expectations. Home maintenance specialist Homeserve reports good progress during the first four months of the year, with guidance unchanged.