Why Experian, IMI, and Tullett Prebon Should Beat the FTSE 100 Today

LONDON -- Having set yet another five-year high this morning, of 6,590 points, the FTSE 100 then dropped back a little to 6,578 at the time of writing, six points down on the day. Although we had some positive company updates, Wm Morrison Supermarkets helped hold the index back with a 1.4% fall.

But where is the good news? Here are three companies with positive tidings today:

Experian
Experian shares spiked up 63 pence (5.4%) to 1,235 pence this morning after the credit-scoring agency announced a strong full-year performance. The firm, which provides a range of finance-related information services, announced a 6% rise in total revenues from continuing activities to $4.71 billion, from $4.46 billion a year ago.

That generated a 6% rise in underlying pre-tax profit to $1,195m, with underlying earnings per share up 9% to 85.7 cents. The firm has lifted its full-year dividend by a similar 9% to 34.75 cents per share, providing a yield of 1.8%.

IMI
Shares in IMI were lifted by a positive interim update, gaining 37 pence (2.9%) to 1,315 pence, taking them up 45% over the past 12 months. In the first four months of the year, trading at the engineering firm was in line with prior management expectations. Though adjusted revenues were down 1%, the firm expects to "deliver progress over the full year," is in a strong financial position, and has so far spent 31.2 million pounds toward its planed share buyback program of up to 175 million pounds.

Full-year forecasts suggest a 4% rise in EPS, putting the shares on a P/E of around 14.5, and there's a dividend yield of 2.8% expected.

Tullett Prebon
Tullett Prebon gained a welcome respite from its recently falling share price this morning, as an interim update boosted the price by 5.8 pence (2.3%) to 257 pence. The financial services firm told us that "market conditions have continued to be challenging," due largely to the state of the world's financial markets and a tougher regulatory environment, but that was expected. Revenue for the period fell by a fairly modest 4%, to 293 million pounds.

The company says its financial position is strong, after it replaced its previous banking facilities with a new three-year 150 million-pound revolving credit facility.

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The article Why Experian, IMI, and Tullett Prebon Should Beat the FTSE 100 Today originally appeared on Fool.com.

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