UK: SABMiller froths up but fails to keep FTSE buoyant

SABMiller jumped to a three-month high thanks to an upgrade from Dresdner Kleinwort, which claimed that the company was "poised for a re-rating", The Telegraph published April 18.

The shares gained 59p to £11.79 after Dresdner argued that it would benefit from firm pricing and beneficial currency movements.

"Successful pricing initiatives are offsetting higher input costs while FX has been favourable," noted analyst Simon Hales, who lifted his recommendation from add to buy.

SABMiller was the top blue-chip riser but its performance was not enough to hold up the FTSE 100, which failed to sustain the brief rally of the previous two sessions.

18 April, 2008