France Telecom, Natixis and Schneider: French Stocks Preview

By Fabio Benedetti-Valentini and Sarah Thompson

Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies whose stocks may have unusual price changes in Paris. Symbols are in parentheses after company names and prices are from the last close.

France's CAC 40 Index declined 117.08, or 3.5 percent, to 3,193.79. The broader SBF 120 Index lost 3.7 percent.

Ales Groupe SA (PHY FP): The French maker of hair products based on plant extracts said nine-month revenue rose to 127.7 million euros ($161.2 million) from 125.2 million euros a year earlier. The Paris-based company sees a ``slight'' increase in full-year sales. The shares fell 3 cents, or 0.2 percent, to 14.55 euros.

Archos SA (JXR FP): The French maker of portable music and video players said nine-month revenue dropped to 59.3 million euros from 70.2 million euros. Archos maintained its full-year sales target at about 100 million euros. The shares slid 62 cents, or 14 percent, to 3.81 euros.

Automa-Tech SA (OMA FP): The French maker of machinery for producing printed circuit boards said talks with bankers have become ``difficult'' amid the global financial crisis. The shares were unchanged at 0.70 euros.

Boiron SA (BOI FP): The French homeopathic drugmaker said nine-month sales rose to 330.5 million euros from 306.6 million euros. The shares fell 34 cents, or 1.8 percent, to 18.55 euros.

Catering International & Services SA (CTRG FP): The specialist in providing catering services in remote locations said third-quarter sales rose to 40.1 million euros from 30.2 million euros a year earlier. The shares fell 1.65 euros, or 3.1 percent, to 51.34 euros.

Credit Agricole SA (ACA FP): Government actions in the U.S. and Europe brought the ``first positive signs'' amid the global financial crisis, Chief Executive Officer Georges Pauget told Le Journal du Dimanche in an interview. France's third- largest bank by market value is spending 200 million euros over two years to increase risk controls at its investment banking unit, Pauget also told JDD. The shares fell 0.29 euros, or 2.4 percent, to 11.37 euros.

Essilor International SA (EF FP): The world's largest maker of eyeglass lenses will probably have ``very modest'' debt at the end of 2008, representing about 5 percent of shareholders' equity, Chief Executive Officer Xavier Fontanet told Investir in an interview. The shares rose 24 cents, or 0.7 percent, to 31.83 euros.

European Aeronautic, Defence & Space Co. (EAD FP): Airbus SAS, the world's largest planemaker and a unit of EADS, delivered a second A380 on Oct. 26 to Emirates, its largest customer for the plane, and said it's sticking with a goal of shipping 12 of the superjumbos this year. The shares added 41 cents, or 3.9 percent, to 11.02 euros.

France Telecom SA (FTE FP): Europe's third-largest phone company is not planning to reduce its targets for 2008, Chief Executive Officer Didier Lombard said in an interview in Venice on Oct. 25. ``We're not changing our plan but we're a little bit nervous'' about market conditions, he said. The shares declined 1.04 euros, or 5.2 percent, to 19.05 euros.

Groupe Steria SCA (RIA FP): Steria, whose computer systems organize taxi arrivals at Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport, said it sees third-quarter internal sales rising by 3.5 percent. The stock closed 71 cents, or 6.4 percent lower, at 10.45 euros.

Laroche SA (ALLAR FP): The French winemaker said second- quarter sales fell 12 percent to 7.6 million euros from 8.6 million euros a year earlier. The shares fell 50 cents, or 5.9 percent, to 8 euros.

Natixis SA (KN FP): The investment-banking and asset- management unit of French mutual lenders Groupe Banque Populaire and Groupe Caisse d'Epargne will remain a publicly traded stock, Populaire's Chairman Philippe Dupont told Le Figaro. The shares slid 22 cents, or 11 percent, to 1.70 euros.

Renault SA (RNO FP) and PSA Peugeot Citroen (UG FP): French President Nicolas Sarkozy may use a new sovereign wealth fund to invest in carmakers to help avoid layoffs as sales decline, Le Journal du Dimanche reported, without saying where it got the information. The Elysee Palace declined to comment on the report to Bloomberg News. Shares in Renault lost 3.19 euros, or 13 percent, to 22.20 euros. Shares in Peugeot dropped 27 cents, or 1.5 percent, to 17.63 euros.

Schneider Electric SA (SU FP): The company has ``not enough visibility'' to provide targets after 2008 as the current period is ``very volatile,'' Chief Executive Officer Jean-Pascal Tricoire said, according to French business weekly newspaper Investir. Still, Schneider is ``confident'' about its profitability, Tricoire said in the interview. The shares lost 2.76 euros, or 6.1 percent, to 42.74 euros.

To contact the reporters on this story: Fabio Benedetti-Valentini in Paris at fabiobv@bloomberg.net. To contact the reporter on this story: Sarah Thompson in London at sthompson17@bloomberg.net.