ATK.L Share News (ATK)

LONDON (Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices on Thursday.
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FTSE 100 - WINNERS
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Fresnillo, up 4.0%, Randgold Resources, up 3.9%. The gold miners were popular after gold hit a high early Thursday of USD1,313.36 an ounce, its highest level since August 2014. Gold was quoted at USD1,307.60 compared to USD1,284.20 at the London equities close Wednesday.

BP, up 0.3%. The oil major was upgraded to Buy from Neutral by Citigroup.
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FTSE 100 - LOSERS
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Mediclinic International, down 2.3%. The stock went ex-dividend meaning new buyers no longer qualify for the latest dividend payout.
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FTSE 250 - WINNERS
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N Brown Group, up 7.0%. The home shopping and catalogue retailer reported a fall in revenue in the first quarter of its financial year, but said it is trading in line with expectations and left its full-year guidance unchanged. The company said group revenue in the 13 weeks ended May 28 fell by 0.2% year-on-year, as a 1.6% decline in product revenue offset 3.4% growth in financial services revenue. The decline was an improvement on the 3.5% fall seen in the fourth quarter of the previous financial year but was short of the 4.3% growth reported in the first quarter of that year. N Brown said overall trading is line with expectations, and its full-year guidance remains unchanged.

WS Atkins, up 3.7%. The design, engineering and project management consultancy posted a 23% rise in pretax profit for its financial year, which it said was ahead of market expectations despite continuing uncertainty in some of its markets. WS Atkins reported pretax profit of GBP131.1 million for the year ended March 31, up from GBP106.7 million the year earlier, on the back of a 6.0% rise in revenue to GBP1.86 billion from GBP1.76 billion. WS Atkins declared a dividend for the year of 39.5p per share, up 8.3% from 36.5p the year earlier.

Safestore Holdings, 2.0%. The self-storage provider said it expects its earnings for its full financial year to be "modestly above the top end of current market expectations", although its pretax profit dipped in its first half as the gain on investment properties came in lower. Safestore said early trading in the second half of the year ending in October was encouraging, and it is confident of a strong performance for the full year. Safestore posted a 7.3% rise in revenue for its half year ended April 30 to GBP54.1 million from GBP50.4 million for the same period a year earlier. The company declared an interim dividend of 3.60 pence per share, up 20% from 3.00p a year earlier.
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FTSE 250 - LOSERS
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William Hill, down 4.2%. Investec cut its rating on the bookmaker to Reduce from Add. The broker said "internal issues not seen by competitors, technology risk and regulatory headwinds combine to create a bleak outlook."

Indivior, down 4.1%, Restaurant Group, down 3.7%. The two stocks went ex-dividend.
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MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS
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Craven House Capital, up 11% at 1.02 pence. The investment company said it raised GBP3.3 million before expenses by selling new shares, in a move that provides the AIM-listed company with money to implement its investment policy. In a statement, the company said it raised the money through a placing of 266.8 million new shares at 1.25 pence per share. Craven House said it is continuing its talks with "additional prospective investors" with regard to making investments in the company through further subscriptions for new shares.

Purplebricks Group, up 5.0%. The estate agency said it was planning to launch its estate agency in Australia, after its full-year revenue came in more than five times the figure it reported for its previous financial year. Purplebricks, which does not operate any high street branches and instead employs 'local property experts' who advise customers through the process of selling their home, reported revenue of GBP18.6 million for the year ended April 30, compared to GBP3.4 million a year earlier. Purplebricks said the average number of monthly instructions "continues to grow", and in its second half the monthly average came in at 2,033 instructions, compared to 578 for the same period a year earlier.

Liontrust Asset Management, up 1.4%, The money manager reported higher pretax profit, on growing revenue and assets under management, and raised its full-year dividend 50% in response. Pretax profit rose to GBP9.4 million in the year ended March 31, from GBP7.3 million a year earlier, Liontrust said in a statement, as revenue increased to GBP45.0 million from GBP36.8 million, boosted as performance fees rose to GBP7.4 million from GBP3.2 million. The results allowed the company to declare a second interim dividend per share of 9.0 pence, which brings the total dividend per share for the financial year ended March 31 to 12.0p, up from 8.0p a year earlier.
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MAIN MARKET AND AIM - LOSERS
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PSHC, down 21%. The health and safety company said its revenue for the year to the end of March fell, and it anticipates its results will miss its expectations. The company said revenue for the year to March 31 was around GBP7.0 million, 9.0% lower year-on-year primarily due to the end of a large asbestos management contract handled by its Adamson's Laboratory Services subsidiary. The ALS unit was not able to secure sufficient work in the second half to offset the shortfall caused by the end of this contract, PHSC said. PHSC said revenue did improve in the second half, but it is set to book a goodwill impairment charge for the full year which will mean its results will miss its expectations. The charge relates to the ALS subsidiary, given the difficult trading conditions the division faces.

Chariot Oil & Gas, down 11%. The oil and gas company said it has been awarded new exploration permits in Morocco and has declined to renew a licence in Mauritania. Chariot said its Chariot Oil & Gas Investments (Morocco) arm has been awarded a 75% interest and operatorship of the Mohammedia offshore permits 1 to 3. The licences have been awarded by the Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines, which will hold a 25% carried interest in the licences. The company also said it has elected not to enter in the first renewal phase for the C-19 licence in Mauritania. Chariot said the work it undertook to de-risk the licence attracted some industry interest, but none of the potential discussions led to a firm deal within the required timeframe.
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By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com; @ArvindBhunjun

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