At the start of 2003 the ceramics maker looked to be about to go to the wall. Two new port facilities at Immingham in north-east England become operational in the second half of this year.This is the best hope for growth that outstrips the market, unless there are suitors with fat wallets lurking offshore.This is not a risky stock but the shares are already above many analysts' price targets, making it hard to recommend a buy. He admits that possible terrorist activity is a constant concern but claims that, so far, cost increases arising from the need to more carefully check shipments have been passed on to customers rather than absorbed by the business.Yesterday's full-year results were slightly ahead of expectations, leaving earnings per share at 31.6p and a price-earnings ratio that tops 20. He was open about not having had any takeover approaches himself, however. The chief executive Bo Lerenius, a steady hand for sure, all but ruled out any serious acquisitions yesterday, insisting there is growth potential in the 21 properties it already owns.The ports at Hull, Ipswich, Southampton, Cardiff and elsewhere do look expandable, but not at a rate that is likely to do much for the shares.Mr Lerenius, who joined ABP in 2000, was pleased by the P&O deal, which he sees as indicating that there is good value in the ports sector.

Solid but dull.Profits at Britain's biggest ports group were up for the sixth year running, but only by 2 per cent, at £132.3m. The shares have rallied by 20 per cent since November thanks to the take-over battle for P&O that rippled through the sector It is hard to see them going any higher, however. So it's a shame to have to report that the numbers from Associated British Ports yesterday were dull. Life in the normally staid world of ports has rarely been this exciting. Take-over bids, political bust-ups and the lurking fear that ports are likely terrorist targets at least means that City analysts are occupied enough to keep awake during results presentations. The company has profited from the boom in AIM listings and traders expect it to continue its excellent start to the year.But the news was not all good for AIM stocks: Endace, a supplier of network security and analysis applications, admitted that industry component shortages had created longer lead times, which will dent profits The stock plummeted 41p to close at 125.5p..

Deutsche Bank, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch all waxed lyrical about Barclays, with Merrill increasing its fair value for the shares to 819p.The AIM-listed engineer Aero Inventory rallied 13p to 405p as rumours circulated among traders that the company is about to announce it has won a "massive" contract from Airbus.Elsewhere on AIM, the investment banking boutique Daniel Stewart Securities gained a penny to 20.5p on talk the company has hit its internal budgets several months ahead of expectations due to the boom in corporate activity. UBS upped its price target on the stock to 240p, and the shares rose 13.5p to 210.5p, the best performer in the FTSE 100.After a somewhat underwhelming response to results yesterday, Barclays rallied 18.5p to 664p as a raft of positive analyst notes were released. Oriel said it is increasingly convinced that the company has turned the corner and that the shares are due a run. Many traders now feel the LSE is looking overvalued, with another bid now less likely. The shares slipped 10p to close at 809p.William Morrison has had a tough time since the company bought its rival Safeway. Some analysts think its trouble could be behind it, with UBS and Oriel Securities publishing "buy" notes yesterday.

Index heavyweight Vodafone also fell 1.75p to 118.75p as 535 million shares changed hands. A strong start to the day in New York led to a late buying surge as the FTSE 100 closed 14.7 higher at 5872.4.London Stock Exchange shares came in for another bout of profit-taking after Reto Francioni, the chief executive of Deutsche B?, told reporters that Euronext would be his preferred choice for consolidation in European stock markets. The brokers JP Morgan and Seymour Pierce both urged their clients to buy the stock, up 22.5p to 525p.London shares were in negative territory for most of the day as BP, down 12p to 651p, Rio Tinto, down 54p to 2,875p and Scottish & Southern Energy, off 5.5p at 1151.5p, all went ex-dividend, dragging the index down. The company reported a 6.8 per cent rise in pre-tax profits to £307m despite a tough underlying aluminium price, as well as the €146m purchase of the Dutch foam pump manufacturer Hairspray. The shares closed a penny firmer at 107.5p.After a dismal start to 2006, when its shares have declined about 8 per cent against a rising market, the world's largest drinks can maker Rexam pleased the market with solid results and an upbeat trading statement.