European Market Report 04 Νοεμβριου 2011

In Germany, Commerzbank was the big faller after its third quarter numbers came up short. The bank made a net loss of €687m versus a profit of €113m a year earlier, as it took a €798m hit on the value of the Greek sovereign bonds it has on its books.

Deutsche Lufthansa and International Airlines Group (IAG) have agreed, in principle, for ownership of Lufthansa subsidiary BMI to pass to IAG.

IAG shares were up in Madrid but down in London after the airlien said revenue in the third quarter of 2011 rose 2.2% to €4,490m from €4,392m the year before. The company warned that high fuel costs continue to have a significant impact on our business.

Underlying operating profit was down by just over a third to €351m from €528m the year before, while underlying profit before tax fell 34.4% to €316m from €482m last year.

French cement giant Lafarge has announced a plan to save €500m next year while elevated material costs weighed on third quarter results. The news cheered investors, who propelled the stock to the top of the CAC leader-board.

Net income fell 10% to €336m while operating profit fell 9% to €750m. Sales rose 1% to €4.21bn, driven by solid sales in emerging markets.

Network equipment giant Alcatel-Lucent was a major drag on the CAC index after disappointing third quarter figures. Revenue fell 6.8% from a year earlier to €3.8bn and the company warned that turnover in the fourth quarter is likely to be lower than previously envisaged. Guidance on operating margin was also lowered, with the company predicting the full-year margin will be around 4% of sales.