Company results help FTSE up

Boots gained 29p to 661p after reporting a 38% increase in full-year profits helped by higher volumes driven by price cuts on toiletries and the avoidance of a one-off cost that slashed £700m out of the previous year’s results. Intercontinental, the biggest hotel chain by number of rooms, is up 10p to 523p after reporting a near 400% jump in quarterly profit compared to the same time last year as the global travel business continues to recover. Barclays is down 9.75p to 486.5p after reporting a rise in first quarter profits, but also reporting a rise in costs the market had hoped woul...