AQP.L Share News (AQP)

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 - LOSERS
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SABMiller, down 1.1%. The brewer said that group net producer revenue declined in both the second quarter and first half of its financial year due to unfavourable movements in foreign exchange rates. The brewer said it had brought forward its half-year trading update as it is in an offer period under the UK Takeover Code, resulting from the bid approach from Anheuser-Busch InBev last month. The drinks giant said that group net producer revenue in the six months ended September 30 fell 9% on the year before, also falling 9% in the second quarter to the same date, which it said was due to the continued depreciation of its key operating currencies against the US dollar.
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FTSE 250 - WINNERS
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Greggs, up 5.1%. The bakery and food-to-go retailer reported growth in sales in the third quarter of its financial year and said it expects to report full-year growth slightly ahead of previous expectations amid favourable market conditions. It said the new UK National Living Wage will raise its costs, but noted that it already pays staff above the current minimum. Greggs said that total sales in the 13 weeks to October 3 rose 5% on the same period the year before, while own-shop like-for-like sales grew 4.9%, slightly ahead of its expectations. In the year to date, total sales grew 5.1% and own-shop like-for-likes rose 5.6%.

Halma, up 1.2%. The safety, heath and environmental technology group said it has spent USD110.0 million to acquire US-based fire detection and suppression systems maker Firetrace USA. Halma said Firetrace is based in Scottsdale, Arizona and designs and manufacturers automatic fire detection and suppression products for small enclosed environments. Firetrace will continue to operate from its existing facility and its management team will remain in place following the acquisition. "Firetrace further extends Halma's product offering within the fire protection industry, adding fire suppression to our market leading fire detection capabilities," said Halma Chief Executive Andrew Williams.
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FTSE 250 - LOSERS
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Acacia Mining, down 13%. The gold miner said its production output in the third quarter was weaker than anticipated and said its full-year production will now fall below previous guidance. Acacia said its production in the third quarter was around 164,000 ounces of gold, lower than its had expected due to several short-term issues which hit production at its Bulyanhulu and Buzwagi mines over the period to the end of September, while North Mara performed in line with its expectations. All three mines are based in Tanzania. The group does expect production to improve in the fourth quarter, but its full-year production will come in broadly flat on the 718,851 ounces it delivered in 2014, below its previous guidance for full-year production to hit 750,000-800,000 ounces.

BTG, down 9.7%. The specialty pharmaceuticals company said it anticipates it will deliver full year revenue in the lower half of its guidance range, as interest in its varicose veins treatment Varithena has "not yet translated into sales growth." It did, however, reiterate its expectations of double-digit revenue growth for the year. BTG reported "very positive feedback" for Varithena, however, Varithena claims are currently taking longer to settle than claims for established treatment options, and longer than the company has previously guided. As a result, the company now believes full year revenue for Varithena is likely to be around the same level as the previous year.
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MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS
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Aquarius Platinum, up 43%. The platinum miner said it has recommended a takeover bid from Sibanye Gold, a privately-owned South African mining group. Sibanye has made an offer of USD0.195 per share for Aquarius, or around 12.9 pence per share. The price is a 60% premium to Aquarius' closing price on Monday and a 71% premium to its volume-weighted average share price for the 30 days prior to the deal. The offer values Aquarius at around GBP194.2 million.

Nostra Terra Oil & Gas, up 15%, Independent Resources, up 14%. The joint venture formed by the oil and gas companies has struck a deal to acquire a producing asset in Egypt. The venture has signed a deal with TransGlobe Energy to acquire a 50% stake in the East Ghazalat concession in Egypt for USD3.5 million. The project currently produces around 880 barrels of oil per day, based on production levels from June 2015, or 440 bopd net to the joint venture. The 2P reserves attributable to the asset at June 30 were estimated at 1.0 million barrels of oil.
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MAIN MARKET AND AIM - LOSERS
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Stanley Gibbons Group, down 27%. The rare stamps and collectibles retailer issued a profit warning for the first half of its financial year, saying that gross margin and profit are expected to be substantially below the first half of the previous year, which will result in it missing market forecasts for the full year. The company said that while it completed some high value sales in September, the overall revenue for the six months ended September 30 was only at a similar level to the first half of the prior year. Gross margin and profit for the first half are therefore expected to be substantially below last year, which benefited from high margin sales of material sold from exceptional purchases of major collections.

Paragon Entertainment, down 26%. The company, which designs, builds and operates attractions such as theme parks and museum, said project delays will result in it missing its full-year expectations. The company now expects to report earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of GBP200,000 for 2015, on revenue of GBP9 million. In 2014, the company reported an Ebitda loss of GBP100,000, and revenue of GBP7.7 million. Paragon did, however, express optimism on its 2016 earnings visibilty, and said good progress is being made on its order book.
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By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance

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