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Scotsman.com: Cairn Energy Powers into FTSE 100

Scotsman.com: Cairn Energy Powers into FTSE 100

“Cairn has seen its shares more than triple since January when it announced the first of 10 finds in India on an oil field purchased from Shell for £4 million in 2002. The company is now valued at more than £2 billion.”

By David Winning, City Staff, PA News

The meteoric rise of oil and gas group Cairn Energy continued today as its place among the UK’s top 100 firms was confirmed.

The Edinburgh-based group joins larger rivals Shell and BP in the FTSE 100 Index at the expense of banking group Bradford & Bingley following a review of membership of the Footsie.

Cairn has seen its shares more than triple since January when it announced the first of 10 finds in India on an oil field purchased from Shell for £4 million in 2002. The company is now valued at more than £2 billion.

At the same time, the fortunes of B&B dipped following the departure of chief executive Christopher Rodrigues in March and a change in strategy that has seen the sale of a host of non-core assets.

Cairn was set up by chief executive Bill Gammell in the 1980s and originally explored for oil and gas in the North Sea.

It changed tack in recent years and began prospecting in south Asia, operating in Bangladesh and Nepal as well as India.

Although pre-tax profits only totalled £69.1 million last year, investors expect these to grow significantly once the first oil starts to flow from the field in Rajasthan.

The FTSE 100 Index’s Europe committee decided promotions and demotions from the top flight at its quarterly review meeting held this afternoon.

In the second tier, new entrants were Virgin Mobile, Halfords and Premier Foods which have all floated on the stock market in recent months.

Virgin Mobile chief executive Tom Alexander said he was delighted at inclusion in the FTSE 250 Index, adding: “We aim to consolidate this position as the company continues to deliver on its business objectives.”

Companies demoted from the FTSE 250 Index were car dealership Reg Vardy, IT group Xansa and debt-laden Eurotunnel.

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