Astrazeneca Share News (AZN)

LONDON (Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices on Thursday.----------FTSE 100 - WINNERS----------Micro Focus International, up 15%. The software company increased the size of its share repurchase programme and said its decline in pro-forma annual revenue was not as bad as it had expected. For the 12 months to October, Micro Focus recorded 5.3% drop in pro-forma revenue to USD4.06 billion from USD4.29 billion in the same period a year ago. The revenue drop came in better than guidance of a 6% to 9% fall in pro-forma revenue. Micro Focus posted a pretax loss of USD78.5 million for the 12 months compared with USD131.5 million pretax profit in the same period a year ago. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation increased 8.6% year-on-year to USD1.41 billion. Micro Focus said it has decided to extend its share buy-back programme by a further USD110 million. In August 2018, the company announced a USD200 million buy-back programme which was extended in November 2018 to USD400 million. ----------AstraZeneca, up 5.2%. The pharmaceutical giant posted a drop in annual profit after getting a boost from its Lynparza cancer drug collaboration the year before, though guided to earnings growth for the year ahead. The pharmaceutical giant's pretax profit for 2018 was USD1.99 billion, a drop of 11% from USD2.23 billion in 2017. Product sales in 2018 were USD21.05 billion, an increase of 4.5% from USD20.15 billion the year before. Consensus was for USD21.00 billion. Astra's 2019 guidance is for a high single-digit percentage increase in product sales at constant currency, following a 4% year-on-year rise in 2018. It is also guiding for core earnings per share of between USD3.50 and USD3.70 at constant currency. In 2018, core earnings per share totalled USD3.46, dropping 19% from USD4.28 in 2017.----------FTSE 100 - LOSERS----------Coca-Cola HBC, down 4.3%. The soft drinks bottler said revenue marginally beat the market's expectations, though earnings came in slightly short, as currency movements proved a headwind. Net sales revenue for 2018 came in at EUR6.66 billion, up 2.1% year-on-year against analyst consensus of EUR6.65 billion. Comparable earnings before interest and tax were EUR680.7 million, 9.6% higher on 2017, compared to consensus of EUR682.3 million. The comparable Ebit margin was 10.2%, up from 9.5% in 2017, against consensus of 10.3%. Looking forward, Coca-Cola HBC is "well-placed" to withstand expected economic slowdown in many of its markets, but it still expects volumes to grow across all segments in 2019. Nigeria should return to volume growth, the firm added. ----------FTSE 250 - WINNERS----------Lancashire Holdings, up 5.4%. The insurer returned to a profit in 2018, with underwriting operations also becoming profitable once again. The FTSE 250-listed insurer posted a pretax profit of USD33.6 million for 2018, compared to a loss of USD72.9 million in 2017. In 2017, Lancashire cut its dividend after swinging to a loss after a year filled with a series of natural catastrophes. Lancashire is paying a final dividend of 10 cents per share for 2018, taking the year's total to 35 cents after paying just 15 cents in 2017. The company's combined ratio, a measure of underwriting profitability, was 92.2% in 2017 compared to 124.9% in 2017. A figure under 100% denotes underwriting profitability. Lancashire's gross written premiums climbed to USD638.5 million from USD591.6 million a year prior, with net premiums up to USD417.7 million from USD398.0 million. The net loss ratio for 2018 was 40.0%, from 78.4% a year before. ----------FTSE 250 - LOSERS----------ConvaTec Group, down 18%. The medical technology firm promised "swift and strong action" on its "failures in execution" after its profit increased significantly in 2018 but fell short of company guidance. The company's pretax profit was USD201.2 million for the year to December 31, rising 23% from USD164.0 million in 2017. Overall, revenue grew 4.0% to USD1.83 billion from USD1.76 billion but organic growth was only 0.2%, far below ConvaTec's forecast organic growth of 2.5% to 3.0%. ConvaTec's adjusted earnings before interest and taxation margin in 2018 was 23.4%, falling from 25.9% in 2017. This decline was below ConvaTec's guidance for a 24% to 25% margin. "These are disappointing results, in light of our revenue and margin guidance at the beginning of 2018. With the executive committee, I have undertaken an extensive review of the business since my appointment as [chief executive] and it is clear that swift and strong action is required," said ConvaTec Interim Chief Executive Officer Rick Anderson.----------OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS----------Tungsten Corp, up 16%. The electronic invoicing services provider said Chief Executive Richard Hurwitz has resigned with immediate effect, and also reiterated annual earnings expectations. The company has appointed recruiters to identify a new chief executive and expects to appoint a new boss in March. Hurwitz will leave the company on Friday. Tungsten has reconfirmed its revenue expectation of GBP36 million to GBP36.5 million and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, profit for 2019 financial year. It also reiterated sufficient capital position to deliver on current plans. The company also said trading for November and December 2018 was in line with expectations. Revenue for the two months was around GBP6.3 million and Ebitda was positive.----------OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - LOSERS----------Motif Bio, down 87% and Amphion Innovations, down 70%. Pharmaceutical firm Motif Bio said regulators in the US have rejected its iclaprim new drug application, sending shares in partner Amphion also lower. Iclaprim is a proposed treatment for acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections. The US Food & Drug Administration has said it cannot accept iclaprim in its current form, with further data needed on its risk to the liver before it can be approved. Motif Bio is planning a meeting with the FDA as soon as possible to discuss options. Motif Bio also said Thursday as of December it has cash of USD12.3 million and will need to raise further capital as current funds only cover it to the second quarter of 2019. ----------Restaurant Group, down 13%. The casual dining firm said Chief Executive Andy McCue will leave the company, citing "extenuating personal circumstances" for the "untimely" departure. A search for a replacement is currently underway and McCue will remain in his role until a successor is recruited. He was named CEO in August 2016. Restaurant Group owns dining brands such as Frankie & Benny's, Chiquito, Garfunkel's and only recently acquired Asian food chain Wagamama. "In recent years, we have achieved much in a challenging market. I'm confident The Restaurant Group is well positioned with the scale, talent and levers to drive profitable growth," McCue said. "While I recognise that this decision is untimely, it is the right one for me and my family. We have a strong team in the business and a clear plan which we are focused on delivering."----------