Aukett Swanke Share News (AUK)

LONDON (Alliance News) - The following stocks are amongst the biggest risers and fallers within the main London indices midday Tuesday.
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FTSE 100 WINNERS
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British American Tobacco, up 2.8% and Imperial Tobacco Group, up 1.6%. The tobacco companies are the best blue-chip performers after Credit Suisse re-initiated both businesses with Outperform ratings.

National Grid, up 0.4%. The power grid operator has been raised to Overweight from Equal-weight by Morgan Stanley.
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FTSE 100 LOSERS
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Ashtead Group, down 2.0%. The industrial rental company trades lower despite reporting strong growth in profit and revenue for its recently-ended financial year thanks to organic growth in both the US and UK and an acquisition in Italy. The company also raised its dividend and gave a positive outlook. Analysts at Investec, Panmure Gordon and Berenberg all reiterated their Buy ratings on Ashtead Group after company's full-year results came in ahead of their expectations. The stock had hit an all-time high at the end of May, but has declined in.

Royal Mail, down 2.0%. The UK's communications and postal regulator Ofcom widened its review of the regulation of Royal Mail in light of the decision by competitor Whistl to pull its plans to launch its own direct delivery services in the UK. Ofcom said it wanted to look at what changes to the overall postal framework might be appropriate to secure the so-called universal postal service - Royal Mail's obligation to deliver to every address in the UK at the same price.
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FTSE 250 WINNERS
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Ladbrokes, up 2.3%. Morgan Stanley raised the bookmaker to Overweight from Equal Weight, and raised its price target to 150.00 pence from 135.00p. The company currently trades at 119.70p.

Dignity, up 0.5%. The funerals company said it is spending GBP38 million in cash on expanding its funeral network by acquiring 38 of 83 locations currently served by Laurel Funerals.
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AIM ALL-SHARE WINNERS
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Lekoil, up 10%. The company received ministerial consent for its farm-in to the Otakikpo Marginal Field in Nigeria. Lekoil said the Minister of Petroleum Resources of Nigeria granted consent to complete the transfer of the 40% participating interest in Otakikpo to its Lekoil Oil and Gas Investment Ltd subsidiary.

Daniel Steward Securities, up 9.5%. The company said it doesn't know why its share price has risen so sharply recently but said its planned placing is likely to be priced at a discount to its current share price.

Iofina, up 9.4%. The iodine and iodine speciality chemical derivatives producer raised its iodine production target for the first half of 2015, saying it now expects to produce over 280 metric tons of crystalline iodine, ahead of the 220 to 260 metric tons it had previously guided.

Pressure Technologies, up 8.0%. The high-pressure engineering group swung to a pretax loss in the first half of its financial year as it booked costs associated with acquisitions and was hit by a fall in the price of crude oil. However, the company reported a rise in revenue to GBP32.1 million from GBP19.9 million.

Europa Oil & Gas, up 7.5%. The company said a recent independent assessment of its interest in a licence in the Porcupine Basin, offshore West Ireland, estimates a mean un-risked net present value of USD1.6 billion. This value is attributed to Europa's 15% interest in three prospects with literary associations: Wilde, Beckett and Shaw. On a risked basis, the assessment estimates a risked net present value of USD251 million to Europa's interest in the prospects.

Jarvis Securities, up 5.5%. The parent of Jarvis Investment Management declared a special dividend of 10 pence a share, after deciding that it would still have enough left to meet the cash needs of the business and meet the capital requirements of its regulated subsidiary.
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AIM ALL-SHARE LOSERS
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Flowgroup, off 37%. The company reduced the number of boiler installations it had planned for 2015 and said it would instead focus on its cost reduction programme, after it was hit by a ruling by the European Court of Justice that a UK sales tax reduction on energy saving products breached EU laws. The company also warned that it will now taker longer than expected to become net cash flow generative and profitable.

Thor Mining, down 28%. The company said it has raised GBP525,000 through the placing of 1.05 billion shares at 0.05 pence each, which it plans to use to progress its Spring Hill gold project in Australia. Subscribers for shares in the placing also have been granted one warrant for every two shares to subscribe for further shares at a price of 0.075 pence per share, valid for a year. Shares currently trade at 0.065p.

PowerFilm, down 27%. The maker of thin flexible solar panels' shareholders approved its de-listing from the AIM market in London. The company said last month that it wanted to cancel its AIM listing after concluding that it is no longer in the best interests of the company or its shareholders to maintain a listing due to a lack of liquidity in its shares and the expected cost of complying with an upcoming requirement for dematerialisation of its common shares.

Aukett Swanke Group, down 14%. The architecture and interior design company said results for its current financial year depend on its second-half performance in the UK, where it expects a pick up in activity following the Conservative Party's surprise majority victory in the General Election in May.

Metminco, down 10%. The Australian base metal explorer is down despite saying an updated Mineral Resource Estimate following detailed geological modelling of the Los Calatos porphyry complex had identified a new higher grade copper development opportunity.
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By Neil Thakrar; neilthakrar@alliancenews.com; @NeilThakrar1

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