LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE

UK recruitment consultancy Michael Page International Plc reported a 32 percent rise in fourth-quarter gross profit, as most of the growth came from permanent recruitment and said it was optimistic about its 2011 prospects.

Shares of British-based chipmaker ARM Holdings are surging on the London Stock Exchange after Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) said last night that its new Windows operating system would work with chips designed by ARM.

Leisure company Carnival Corp. & Plc reported a 29 percent rise in fourth quarter profit, as 4.9 percent capacity increase and higher revenue yields drove revenue growth.

UK retailer Sports Direct International Plc (LON: SPD.L), controlled by Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley, reported a 73 percent rise in pretax profits for the first half as the World Cup and strong online sales drove revenue growth.

SuperGroup, the owner of Superdry brand, reported a 86 percent rise in pretax profit for the first half on strong sales growth at its retail and wholesale segments. But, the British fashion retailer warned rising raw material prices may affect gross margins in the next financial year.

U.K. chipmaker Imagination Technologies, which licenses and sells its designs to Intel and Apple, said interim pretax profits doubled on strong revenue growth from both licensing and royalties. The volume of partner chips shipping with Imagination’s IP has nearly doubled to 107 million.

Bunzl Plc, Britain's distribution and outsourcing company, sees full year group revenue growth to be between 3 percent and 4 percent boosted by acquisitions.

US conglomerate GE said it agreed to buy Britain's oilfield-services company Wellstream Holdings Plc for 800 million pounds ($1.3 billion) to broaden its base in fast-growing emerging markets.

British packaging company DS Smith Plc said first half pretax profit rose 17.5 percent, helped by strong volume and revenue growth in the recycled packaging business.

U.K. lender Standard Chartered Plc sees double digit pretax profit growth for 2010 at its consumer and wholesale banking segments, and that it is tracking towards a strong performance in the full year.

British IT services company Micro Focus International Plc reported a 63 percent rise in pretax profit for the first half as revenue rose and the company lifted its interim dividend by 28.6 percent to 7.2 cents.

British building and support services firm Carillion Plc expects annual revenue to be lower than last year's $5.4 billion pounds, citing the reduction in UK construction, the sale of non-core business and equity investments in Public Private Partnership projects.

British homebuilder Bellway Plc sees pretax profits to rise by up to 20 percent for the first half to end January, saying home reservations taken are ahead of its expectations.

British construction products supplier Wolseley said trading profit rose 39 percent in the first quarter, helped by revenue growth in the US and Canada as well as cost control measures.

U.K. homebuilder Berkeley Group said it was confident of outperforming its full-year expectations, saying there is an underlying demand for the well-located, quality homes developed by Berkeley in London and the South East.

U.K.'s Greene King Plc, the brewer of Old Speckled Hen ale, reported a 17 percent rise in interim pretax profits, driven by strong like-for-like (LFL) sales growth at its Retail division.

Brewer and pubs group Marston’s Plc said it has made a strong start to the new financial year even as it reported a rise in profits for the 52 weeks ended Oct. 2.

Europe's biggest tour operator TUI Travel reported a full-year pretax loss, blaming weaker trading in the UK, mainly due to increased winter losses resulting from capacity-led volume reductions. However, underlying pretax profit rose 4 percent on good turnaround progress.

Travel company Thomas Cook posted lower annual profits as revenue fell due to a softer summer trading environment. In the UK, the tour operator said trading was even tougher than anticipated, and it expects to save between 40 million pounds and 50 million pounds mainly through reduction of over 500 managerial and support jobs.

British software maker Sage Group said it saw a return to organic revenue growth in the second half and improving market for its services. The company, which added 252,000 customers in the year, said support contract renewals were maintained at 81 percent.

U.K.'s Halma Plc, the health and safety sensor technology group, posted strong interim results and said it is well placed to perform equally strongly in the second half.