[R]9:00AM New York – Antofagasta plc sale rose 24% and net income rose 8.8%. Guinness Peat Group plc revenue gained 7% and net loss was £42 million.[/R]

Antofagasta plc, the world''s biggest copper supplier said first-half sales rose 24% to $2.41 billion from $1.94 billion a year ago. Net income in the quarter rose 8.8% to $792.8 million or 80.4 cents per diluted share compared to net income of $728.4 million or 73.9 cents per share, a year earlier.

Guinness Peat Group plc, a London- based investment company said first-half revenues gained 7% to £701 million from £657 million a year ago. Net loss in the quarter was £42 million or 3.03 pence per diluted share compared to net income of £94 million or 6.31 pence per share, a year earlier.

Taylor Wimpey Reports Loss

Taylor Wimpey reported first half revenue rose to £1.9 billion from £1.4 billion a year ago and reported a loss of £1.5 billion compared to a profit of £18 million. In the period the group finished 8,494 homes compared to 4,857 homes. The home builder is facing challenging market conditions in UK, Spain and in the U.S but the company asserted that it is in compliance of all of its debt covenants. In the period the loss per share was 135 pence compared to 3.9 pence.

The home builder wrote down £1.55 billion of assets including £690 million of land in UK, Spain and in the U.S. In addition the builder wrote down goodwill and intangible assets worth of £816 million and £40 million related to UK housing business.

Revenue in the UK rose 54% to £1.159 billion from a year ago and the builder completed 6,317 homes compared to 3,378 homes a year ago. Average selling price in the UK was £202,000 compared to £224,000 a year ago.

Completions in North America grew by 52% to 2,094 compared to 1,376 in the first half of 2007 reflecting the contribution of the Morrison Homes business. The average selling price of completions in North America was £166,000 compared to £229,000 in the prior period, reflecting both the ongoing weakness in market conditions in the US reducing the overall average square footages and the mix.

Tullow Oil plc, the U.K. energy explorer with the most licenses in Africa said first-half sales gained 33% to £378 million from £285 million a year ago. Net income in the quarter climbed 70.48% to £124 million or 16.98 pence per diluted share compared to net income of £37 million or 5.03 pence per share, a year earlier.