ALM.L Share News (ALM)

LONDON (Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices on Tuesday.
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FTSE 100 - WINNERS
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Standard Chartered, up 9.6%. The emerging markets-focused lender said it expects its performance to remain "subdued" throughout 2016, after a drop in first-quarter operating income hit profit. Pretax profit fell to USD589 million in the three months ended March 31, from USD1.44 billion in the corresponding quarter a year earlier, the bank said in a statement. Operating income fell by 24% to USD3.35 billion and operating expenses fell by 10% to USD2.25 billion, while impairment losses on bad loans improved slightly to USD471 million from USD476 million. Impairment charges for bad loans fell from USD1.13 billion in the final quarter of 2015. UBS expected investors react positively saying, "Income was up quarter-on quarter, loan losses much lower than feared, and cost reduction plans were on target."

BP, up 3.6%. The oil major said said it swung to a loss in the first quarter of 2016 compared to a year earlier, but its loss was an improvement on the fourth quarter of 2015. The oil and gas major said its loss for the first quarter was USD583.0 million, compared to a USD2.6 billion profit a year earlier. The loss narrowed from the USD3.3 billion loss made in the fourth quarter of 2015. Underlying replacement cost profit, the preferred measure for analysts, fell to USD532.0 million from USD2.58 billion a year earlier but again improved on the USD196.0 million profit in the fourth quarter. BP said it will pay a 10.00 US cents dividend for the quarter, flat year-on-year.

Whitbread, up 2.7%. The Costa Coffee parent reported growth in profit in its recently-ended financial year driven by sales growth at both the Premier Inn and Costa brands, and said it is confident in making further progress in the new year. The hotel and coffee shop operator said its pretax profit in the year ended March 3 grew to GBP487.7 million from GBP463.8 million the year before, as revenue rose to GBP2.92 billion from GBP2.61 billion. Whitbread will pay a total dividend of 90.35 pence for the year, a 10% increase on the 82.15p paid the year before.

St James's Place, up 1.5%. The wealth manager shrugged off stock market volatility in the opening months of 2016 to report higher funds under management in the first quarter. Net inflows of client funds amounted to GBP1.36 billion in the three months ended March 31, versus GBP1.32 billion the corresponding quarter a year earlier. That helped to boost funds under management to GBP62.02 billion at the end of March, from GBP58.61 billion at the start of the quarter and GBP55.81 billion a year earlier. St James's Place had a GBP0.79 billion net investment return in the first quarter, versus GBP2.48 billion the corresponding quarter a year earlier.
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FTSE 250 - WINNERS
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Allied Minds, up 1.9%. The investment company said it secured funding commitments for up to ten drug discovery programmes through its newly formed ABLS Capital business. Allied Minds said it secured USD80.0 million from investors for the ABLS Capital business, including Woodford Investment Management and Invesco Asset Management. ABLS will fund 80% of the lead optimisation phase of up to ten new drug candidates which pass initial feasibility studies funded by Allied Bristol Life Sciences, a partnership with US drug company Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.
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FTSE 250 - LOSERS
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Cobham, down 19%. The defence technology company said trading in the first quarter missed its expectations and said it will launch a GBP500.0 million rights issue in the second quarter of 2016. Cobham said its trading profit in the first quarter was GBP15.0 million, well behind the GBP50.0 million made in the first quarter of 2015. The hit to its earnings, coupled with investment requirements in long-term development programmes, means Cobham now expects its group leverage may be close to a net debt to earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation ratio of 3.5 times by the end of June. Therefore, the group has decided to cut its indebtedness and said it intends to raise GBP500.0 million through a fully-underwritten rights issue of shares in the second half.

Thomas Cook Group, down 2.1%. JPMorgan downgraded the travel agent to Neutral from Overweight.
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MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS
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AB Dynamics, up 9.4%. The testing and measurement systems group said its pretax profit and revenue both jumped in the first half of its financial year, prompting a hike to its interim dividend. AB Dynamics said pretax profit for the six months to the end of February grew 50% year-on-year to GBP2.3 million from GBP1.5 million a year prior. Revenue grew 34% in the half to GBP10.1 million from GBP7.6 million, amid robust demand for the company's products and services. Favourable currency movements and further improvements to manufacturing infrastructure also helped boost margins in the half, AB said.

Trakm8 Holdings, up 9.1%. The telematics company said revenue for the year to end of March grew substantially and it will pay a maiden final dividend. The company said revenue for the financial year was up 44% year-on-year, helped by 28% growth in like-for-like sales and 50% growth in its recurring revenue stream. Orders grew 29% on a like-for-like basis in the year as the company won substantial deals with retailer Iceland and roadside assistance group AA. Trakm8 said the good performance will mean it will declare its maiden dividend payout of 2.00 pence per share.
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MAIN MARKET AND AIM - LOSERS
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Snoozebox Holdings, down 59%. The portable hotel company warned it made a wider loss than previously expected in 2015, while revenue in 2016 will decline after it failed to secure new customers, meaning the company may be unable to continue if it doesn't receive financing from its lender. The group said it now expects to report an adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation loss of around GBP5.5 million in 2015, wider than the GBP5.0 million loss it had predicted in November, and also wider than the GBP3.6 million loss it posted in 2014.

RPS Group, down 17%. The energy consultancy said its results for 2016 will be weaker year-on-year as it continues to face challenges in the oil and gas sector, and said it has acquired a UK-based business. RPS said it has seen significant reductions in the spending plans of customers in the oil and gas industry going into 2016, which has hit new commissions in all its oil and gas-exposed businesses in the first quarter. RPS said it has continued to cut costs to cope with the problems and while its BNE:Europe business has continued to perform well, due to its lower exposure to oil and gas, the problems in the oil industry have weighed on the wider business.

Carpetright, down 17%. The carpet and floor coverings retailer reported growth in like-for-like sales in the 12 weeks to April 23 and revised its estimate for full-year UK gross margin to a smaller decline than previously expected. The group said UK like-for-like sales in the 12-week period grew by 0.7%, while rest of Europe like-for-likes rose by 1.9% in local currency terms. In the financial year so far to the same date, UK like-for-likes were up 2.9% and rest of Europe like-for-likes increased by 4.6%. However, Cantor Fitzgerald were less convinced, "We are concerned about prospects for 2017 and that forecasts are too optimistic. Gross margins will remain under pressure... while macro drivers of carpet sales are likely to remain relatively subdued," the broker said.
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By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com; @ArvindBhunjun

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