ISEQ breaks 5700 mark
The ISEQ Index of Irish shares closed up 60.09 at 5,736.51 today.
The market responded with a gesture of faith in pharmaceutical group Elan, whose stock was up 56 cent to €20.22 after a third-quarter results announcement from the company.
Elan announced that its total revenue decreased 23% to $101.1m (€79.45m) in the third quarter of 2004 from $131.2m (€103m) in the same quarter of 2003.
The company reported a third-quarter net loss of $107.8m (€84.8m) compared with a loss of $91m (€71.6m) the same time last year, but said it was on course to return to profitability in 2006.
It was a mixed day for the financials. Bank of Ireland was up six cent to €10.89, while AIB was up 20 cent to €13.85. Anglo Irish Bank saw a fall of five cent to €15.20, while Irish Life and Permanent were down five cent to €13.40.
Ryanair shares jumped 18c to €4 as the no-frills airline today said it had agreed to repay €4m in illegal state subsidies paid by Belgium to encourage it to keep a hub at the country’s Charleroi airport.
The Dublin-based carrier said it would place €4m in an escrow account until the European courts hear its appeal of the European Commission’s decision to rule the payments illegal.
It said that if its appeal is successful, the funds would be returned to Ryanair, or if unsuccessful, repaid to the Walloon authorities.
The commission ruled earlier this year that discounts on landing fees and ground handling services at the publicly owned airport near Brussels should be repaid because they were illegal under European Union anti-trust rules.
