Ciments Francais, EDF, Ingenico, Sanofi: French Stocks Preview

By Alan Katz and Gareth Gore

June 29 (Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies whose stocks may have unusual changes in Paris. Symbols are in parentheses after company names and prices are from the last close.

France’s CAC 40 Index retreated 33.37, or 1.1 percent, to 3,129.73 in Paris. The SBF 120 Index decreased 0.9 percent.

Ciments Francais SA (CMA FP): The French cement maker and its majority owner, Italcementi SpA, said they abandoned plans to merge fully because of “excessive demands” by U.S. investors. Ciments Francais shares rose 1.27 euros, or 2 percent, to 64.31 euros.

Club Mediterranee SA (CU FP): Europe’s biggest vacation- resort operator plans to close Paris-based “urban leisure” center Club Med World, cutting 106 jobs. Losses at Club Med World totaled nearly 40 million euros ($56 million) since its opening. Club Med will also reorganize its European call-center operations. The shares fell 19 cents, or 1.8 percent, to 10.6 euros.

Electricite de France SA (EDF FP): The French power producer wants to extend the life of its 58 domestic reactors to 60 years at a cost of 400 million euros per reactor, La Tribune said, citing Bernard Dupraz, director of production and engineering at EDF. The shares declined 73 cents, or 2.1 percent, to 33.97 euros.

European Aeronautic, Defence & Space Co. (EAD FP): The parent of Airbus SAS doesn’t need a capital increase to finance its A350 aircraft, Chief Operating Officer Marwan Lahoud told French daily La Tribune in an interview. The shares gained 39 cents, or 3.5 percent, to 11.66 euros.

Ingenico SA (ING FP): The world’s largest maker of payment terminals expects its sales and operating-profit margin to be stable this year, the weekly Journal des Finances said, citing the company’s chief executive officer. The shares fell 7.5 cents, or 0.5 percent, to 13.79 euros.

Michelin & Cie. (ML FP): The French tiremaker doesn’t expect the production of tires for heavy vehicles to pick up before 2014 to 2016, La Lettre de L’Expansion reported, without citing anyone. The shares fell 16.5 cents, or 0.4 percent, to 40.49 euros.

Nexity SA (NXI FP): Alain Dinin, chief executive officer of the French real-estate developer, raised his outlook for the French housing market to sales of more than 80,000 units this year, the French weekly Investir said. In May, Nexity predicted a 2009 market of 75,000 units to 80,000 units and a target of a 10 percent market share. The shares rose 76 cents, or 3.9 percent, to 20.20 euros.

Sanofi-Aventis SA (SAN FP): France’s biggest drugmaker said it stands behind the safety of its diabetes drug Lantus and said data showed no definitive conclusions could be drawn between the drug and the occurrence of malignancies. The European Association for the Study of Diabetes issued on June 26 an “urgent” call for further research into a possible link between the drug and an increased risk of cancer. Sanofi shares fell 3.6 euros, or 8.1 percent, to 40.85 euros.

To contact the reporters on this story: Alan Katz in Paris at akatz5@bloomberg.net; Gareth Gore in Madrid at ggore1@bloomberg.net.