The Stock Market closed quietly on December 31 following an action-packed year which saw the FTSE-100 fluctuate by more than 30 percentage points.

For most of 1998, shares ebbed and flowed against the backdrop of uncertainty and lack of confidence in the world's financial markets. In the last quarter of the year the FTSE-100 has made a remarkable recovery from its October low of 4648.7. The FTSE-100 ended the year at 5882.58, up 138.69 points on its November level. The local Bradford Index closed December at 88.83, down 1.15 points on the previous month.

Turning our attention to the local companies index, we can see that the top three places for December go to Readicut International, which announced the long-awaited sale of its American subsidiary Regal Rugs to Springs Industries for £18.1 million, ISA International and Hill Hire. Readicut saw its share price rise by 9.25 pence to 34.75 pence, and ISA by 5 pence to 45 pence.

Readicut has also said that it is on the lookout for acquisitions to boost its wallcoverings and fibres businesses in the UK and Europe. The company's half-year results to September 30 showed taxable profits up by 6.6 per cent at £4.8 million before an £8 million disposals charge. However, operating profits fell by 21 per cent to £2.2 million, mainly due to the wallcoverings division being badly affected by the collapse of the Russian market as well as the crisis in the Far East and strong pound.

Hill Hire, the truck and rental group, released half year figures during November which showed taxable profits up by 21 per cent to £2.61 million. The company's fleet grew by 28 per cent during this period bringing the total number of units to 5,577. Turnover also rose by 28 per cent to £15.57 million. Earnings climbed 18 per cent to 7.44 pence per share and the interim dividend increased 1.6 pence per share. In a bid to boost its business in the South East, Hill Hire opened its sixth depot at Rainham, Essex, during 1998. Two more sites are being sought to service the South West and West Midlands regions. The share price reflected these good results, gaining 12 pence during December to close at 140 pence.

At the end of November, Bradford Property Trust announced a slip in half-year profits which the company attributed to lower unit sales rather than a downturn in business. Joint managing director Tim Watts said that he expected sales to bounce back in the following six months and with this in mind, the interim dividend was increased to 4.4 pence. Pre-tax profits for the six months to 5 October fell from £16.3 million to £15.7 million but operating profits increased by seven per cent to £21.1 million. The shares gained 13 pence between October and November but dropped 19.5 pence during December to close at 202 pence. Chairman Philip Warner predicted that any down-turn in the economy was likely to produce interesting buying opportunities for the company, but they remained flexible with the options of renting or selling property.

Metrotect Industries, the coatings company, filed interim results which showed a fall in both turnover and pre-tax profits. Chairman John Philips said that Metrotect's principal markets had been hit by economic uncertainty in the UK and the reduction in demand for exports because of the strength of the sterling. In the six months to the end of September, turnover was reduced by £1.9 million to £6.5 million and profits were down by £138,000 to £483,000 on the comparable 1997 figures. Between November and December the share price nose-dived by nine pence to 17.5 pence but recovered some ground in December to close at 19 pence.

Transport engineering specialist Syltone increased taxable profits by 36 per cent to £2.73 million in the six months to 30 September. This was helped by the first full contribution from Perolo, the French tank-truck equipment manufacturer purchased in February 1998. The company's activities in continental Europe had shown major improvement whilst in the UK there were signs of a slowdown in orders despite good levels of sales and profits. The share price remained steady and gained just 1 pence between November and December to close at 102.5 pence.

John Riding is a partner at KPMG

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.