Ascent Resources Share News (AST)

LONDON (Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices midday Thursday.
----------
FTSE 100 - WINNERS
----------
Associated British Foods, up 4.4%. The company said its results for the full year will be harder hit than expected by the weak euro, as revenue in the first 40 weeks was flat at actual rates amid continued tough trading in its sugar business, offset a still-buoyant performance by discount fashion retailer Primark. It said group revenue for the 40 weeks to June 20 was flat year-on-year at actual currency rates and up by 2% in constant currencies, as the weakness of a euro against a wide basket of currencies hit its results.

Barratt Developments, up 3.0%. The housebuilder said it expects to post a 45% rise in annual profit for the year to the end of June as it sold more houses at higher prices over the period. Barratt said it expects total completions for the year to the end of June to be up by 11% to 16,447 units from 14,838 a year earlier, on the back of strong consumer demand and increased site numbers.

Prudential, up 2.4%. Goldman Sachs added the life insurer to its Conviction Buy list.

Smith & Nephew, up 2.0%. The medical technology company has been upgraded to Buy from Hold by Berenberg.
----------
FTSE 100 - LOSERS
----------
Next, down 2.0%. The stock is down after going ex-dividend, meaning new buyers no longer qualify for the latest dividend payout.
----------
FTSE 250 - WINNERS
----------
Hays, up 5.6%. The recruiter reported growth in net fees for the fourth quarter, driven by its permanent recruitment business, though figures were hurt by the depreciation of the euro and Australian dollar against sterling. Despite the pressure from foreign exchange movements, Hays reiterated its guidance that second half operating profit will be "slightly ahead" of the first half's GBP81.5 million. Hays said currency movements remain a "material sensitivity" to profitability in the new financial year.

Fidelity China Special Situations, up 5.3%. Shares in the investment trust are trading higher after a rebound in stocks in China. The Shanghai Composite closed up 5.8% having suffered heavy falls in recent trading sessions. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong ended up 3.7%.

Drax Group, up 4.5%. The biomass power plant operator's shares are recovering somewhat from a 28% sell-off on Wednesday due to the UK government's decision in the Summer Budget to remove the exemption that generators of renewable electricity have had from the climate change levy. Drax shares also have been raised to Hold from Sell by S&P Capital IQ.

IP Group, up 3.8%. The intellectual property company said it has secured a GBP30 million, eight-year debt facility from the EU's European Investment Bank, giving the company funds to invest in companies spun out from universities in the UK. It said the facility represents an "evolution" in its capital structure, providing it with additional long-term capital.

SuperGroup, up 3.8%. The clothing retailer said its pretax profit rose in its 2015 financial year on the back of robust retail sales over the course of the year and said it has signed a joint venture deal to enter the Chinese market as sales in the first quarter rose sharply against weak comparables. The Superdry brand owner said its pretax profit for the year to April 25 was GBP59.5 million, up from GBP45.2 million last year when the group was hit by GBP16.8 million in exceptional charges. Revenue increased to GBP486.6 million from GBP430.9 million, and the group's gross margin improved to 60.9% from 59.7%.

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment, up 2.4%. GVC Holdings has tabled a formal takeover offer for bwin.party digital entertainment that values its online gambling rival at 110 pence per share, equivalent to about GBP906.5 million, the companies said. Bwin currently trades at 101.506p
----------
FTSE 250 - LOSERS
----------
Vedanta Resources, down 5.7%, WS Atkins, down 1.5%, and TalkTalk Telecom Group, down 1.4%. The companies have gone ex-dividend.

Balfour Beatty, down 4.5%. The support services and construction group said it expects an additional hit to its pretax profit in 2015 due to legacy issues in its UK, US and Middle East businesses. Balfour said the ongoing review of its business to identify legacy issues will result in a further GBP120 million to GBP150 million hit to its pretax profit for 2015, with around two-thirds of this coming from its UK business.

Grafton Group, down 4.0%. The builders merchant and DIY company said its revenue in the first half increased on the back of good performances in its UK merchanting and manufacturing businesses, even as its operations in Europe were dragged back by the weak euro. The company said its group revenue in the six months to the end of June was up by 6.6% to GBP1.08 billion, though it increased by 9.5% in constant currencies.

Debenhams, down 3.3%. UBS downgraded Debenhams to Neutral from Buy, saying the risk/reward ratio on the stock is balanced as the department store operator reaches the bank's price target. UBS also said the increase in the national living wage announced in the Summer UK budget on Wednesday may see a GBP10 million additional increase in Debenhams' financial year 2017 cost-base.

Acacia Mining, down 2.6%. Panmure Gordon initiated coverage on the gold miner at Sell.
----------
AIM ALL-SHARE WINNERS
----------
InternetQ, up 8.5%. The mobile marketing and digital entertainment services company said it has secured a EUR17 million fundraising for its Akazoo music streaming service. InternetQ said the investment in the business has been made by a consortium of investors, led by Toscafund Asset Management and Penta Capital.

Ascent Resources, up 7.9%. The company said it had agreed a restructuring of its debt owed to fellow London-listed oil and gas company EnQuest. Ascent said a total of GBP3 million had been due to be paid to EnQuest on December 20 this year, related to the agreement the pair entered in 2010 to Ascent to buy EnQuest's stake in the Petišovci project in Slovenia.

Independent Resources, up 7.3%. The company said it has signed a deal with Scotforth Ltd to carry out a remote sensing hydrocarbon survey at the Ksar Hadada permit in Tunisia. Independent Resources says the survey is set to take around six weeks and should provide a better understanding of the hydrocarbon resource at the permit, therefore aiding the process of securing a farm-out partner.
----------
By Neil Thakrar; neilthakrar@alliancenews.com; @NeilThakrar1

Copyright 2015 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.