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Unilever leads Britain's FTSE slightly higher

Reuters - UK Focus

* FTSE 100 up 0.1 pct

* Unilever (NYSE: UL - news) adds 3 points to FTSE on results

* Aberdeen Asset Management (Other OTC: ABDNF - news) , SSE (LSE: SSE.L - news) fall

By Liisa Tuhkanen

LONDON, July 23 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index edged slightly higher on Thursday as better-than-expected results from several companies, including Unilever, overshadowed disappointing updates from Aberdeen Asset Management and SSE.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index was up 0.1 percent at 6,671.11 points by 0915 GMT.

It closed 1.5 percent lower in the previous session after a poorly received earnings report from Apple (NasdaqGS: AAPL - news) hit tech stocks and weaker metals prices dragged down miners.

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Chipmaker ARM Holdings was the top gainer on the blue-chip index, adding 2.7 percent as it recovered from the more than two-year lows hit on Wednesday after disappointing results from major customer Apple.

Unilever rose 2.2 percent, contributing three points to the index's advance after it reported higher-than-expected quarterly sales, driven by gains in its home and personal care units.

"Having raised our recommendation to Outperform relatively recently, we welcome a good set of results from Unilever," analysts at RBC (Other OTC: RBCI - news) said in a note reiterating its "outperform" rating.

"First (Other OTC: FSTC - news) half results beat consensus expectations, albeit not by a lot, on all the important measures."

Kingfisher (LSE: KGF.L - news) also gained on results, rising 1.6 percent after the Europe's largest home improvements retailer posted improved sales growth in both Britain and France in its latest quarter, helped by soft comparative figures in the previous year.

On the downside, Aberdeen Asset Management tumbled 6.2 percent after the emerging markets-focused fund manager said it saw net outflows of 9.9 billion pounds ($15.5 billion) during the quarter ended June 30 as institutional investors cut exposure to Asia and emerging markets equities.

Among other top fallers, Britain's second-biggest energy supplier SSE dropped 4.4 percent after saying it expected lower profits from its retail business this year. (Reporting by Liisa Tuhkanen; Editing by Toby Chopra)