U.K. Stocks Climb, Led by Energy Companies; Premier Oil Surges

By Sarah Jones

March 25 (Bloomberg) -- U.K. stocks climbed, led by energy companies after Premier Oil Plc posted a record profit and Citigroup Inc. recommended buying shares of Tullow Oil Plc.

Premier Oil rallied 12 percent as the U.K. explorer with projects in the North Sea, Asia and Africa also announced plans to buy Oilexco North Sea Ltd. for $505 million. Cairn Energy Plc and Royal Dutch Shell Plc rallied more than 2 percent.

The FTSE 100 Index climbed 15.81, or 0.4 percent, to 3,927.27 at 8:58 a.m. in London. The FTSE All-Share Index added 0.4 percent, while Ireland’s ISEQ Index gained 0.7 percent.

Premier oil jumped 12 percent to 1,068 pence as the company reported a record profit of $98.3 million in 2008 and said it plans a rights offering to raise 171 million pounds.

Tullow Oil added 1 percent to 831 pence after Citigroup upgraded the shares to “buy”, citing the explorer’s “robust financing and unique exploration portfolio.”

Cairn Energy, the U.K. oil and gas explorer in India, gained 1.9 percent to 2,171 pence. Shell, Europe’s largest oil company added 1.5 percent to 1,606 pence.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sarah Jones in London at sjones35@bloomberg.net.