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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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Gold miners Fresnillo, up 5.8%, and Randgold Resources, up 4.7%. Rising gold prices pushed the precious metal miners higher. With DCC, they were the only three FTSE 100 gainers, as index declined 2.3%. Gold was trading at USD1,217.80, up from USD1,191.26 per ounce at the London equities close on Wednesday.
DCC, up 1.6%. The distribution and logistics company reiterated expectations that it will see operating profit and adjusted earnings per share "very significantly ahead" of the previous year and in line with market expectations for its current year to end-March. In the year to end-March 2015, DCC reported an operating profit of GBP221.7 million, and adjusted earnings per share of 202.2 pence. The stock was also upgraded to Buy from hold by Panmure Gordon.
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FTSE 100 - LOSERS
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Glencore, down 5.6%. The miner and commodities trading company reported mixed production results for 2015 and said most commodities will see production fall this year. Glencore reported year-on-year falls in production of copper, nickel and coal in 2015, whilst production of zinc, ferrochrome and oil increased - with commodities continuing to receive lower prices. More positively, Glencore said it has signed a long-term streaming agreement with Franco-Nevada that will result in Glencore supplying silver and gold to the company from the Antapaccay mine in Peru and receiving an advanced payment of USD500.0 million.
Rio Tinto, down 3.8%. The miner said it is targeting further cost savings in 2016, which will include a change to its dividend policy from "progressive" to "flexible", as it continues to battle the downturn in the market after reporting a substantial net loss in 2015. Rio alleviated some concerns Thursday by sticking to its dividend for 2015, but warned its progressive policy is unsustainable moving forward as it outlined hefty cuts to its budgets to try to adjust to the current environment. Its underlying earnings fell 51% in 2015 to USD4.54 billion from USD9.30 billion, after revenue dropped to USD34.80 billion from USD47.60 billion. Revenue missed analyst expectations of USD36.62 billion.
BP, down 4.7%. The oil major's stock went ex-dividend meaning new buyers no longer qualify for dividend payments.
ARM Holdings, down 5.4%. The microchip designer's stock was downgraded to Underperform from Marketperform by Bernstein.
Insurers and banks were giving back their gains from Wednesday - Prudential, down 5.8% Barclays, down 6.0%, Standard Chartered down 5.9% and Royal Bank of Scotland Group, down 3.3%
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FTSE 250 - WINNERS
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Informa, up 4.1%. The events and business publishing company said it expects to see further earnings and cash flow growth in 2016 as it undertakes the third and final year of its 'Growth Acceleration Plan', and reported a swing to a profit for 2015. The company reported a pretax profit of GBP219.7 million for 2015, swung from a pretax loss of GBP31.2 million in 2014, as a result of a rise in revenue to GBP1.21 billion from GBP1.14 billion and lower exceptional costs.
Enterprise Inns, up 1.9%. The pub company said it has made a strong start to its financial year with growth in like-for-like net income, ahead of its annual general meeting on Thursday. Like-for-like net income in its leased and tenanted estate in the 19 weeks ended February 6 grew 1.6% year-on-year. Enterprise Inns added that its strategic plan is on track, as the trading performance and expansion of its managed house operations is progressing in line with its plans. It expects to have in excess of 100 managed houses in operation by end September.
Workspace Group, up 1.2%. The real estate investment trust said it has agreed to sell five light industrial buildings for GBP64 million. The industrial estates total 369,000 square feet of net lettable space, with an average rent per square foot of GBP9.07. The portfolio was sold at a premium of 12% to its September 2015 valuation, at a net initial yield of 5.4% and a capital value of GBP171 per square foot.
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FTSE 250 - LOSERS
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Tate & Lyle, down 8.9%. The sugar maker said it remains on track to deliver full-year results in line with expectations and that its longer term outlook remains positive despite some of its divisions continuing to face headwinds. The company said its results for the full year should meet expectations, aiming for an adjusted profit before tax from continuing operations at a constant currency rate of around GBP193.0 million, flat on last year. However, it said the reported adjusted before tax will be "modestly below" that GBP193.0 million.
Interserve, down 8.7%. Liberum cut the construction and outsourced services company to Hold From Buy.
Henderson Group, down 6.0%. The asset manager said it will "review" its short-term plans if the tough market conditions seen in the opening weeks of 2016 continue. The company reported strong net inflows, higher assets under management, and improved profit in 2015. Assets under management rose to GBP92.0 billion at the end of December from GBP81.2 billion a year earlier, as net inflows of money from clients swelled to GBP8.5 billion from GBP7.1 billion. Underlying pretax profit from continuing operations rose to GBP220.0 million in 2015, versus GBP187.8 million in 2014.
Ashmore Group, down 4.7%. The investment manager backed the investment case for key asset classes in emerging markets, as it reported a fall in assets under management and first-half pretax profit. "Markets have remained volatile in early 2016, and while this can provide great value-based investment opportunities, sentiment is likely to continue to be affected by the lower oil price and ongoing concerns about slowing global growth, particularly with respect to China," Chief Executive Mark Coombs said. Ashmore reported that assets under management fell to USD49.4 billion at the end of December from USD58.9 billion at the end of June. Pretax profit fell to GBP62.7 million in the six months ended December 31, versus GBP110.7 million the corresponding half the prior year, as net revenue dropped to GBP116.4 million from GBP164.0 million.
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MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS
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Ariana Resources, up 8.1%. The miner said it remains on schedule to start producing gold from the Red Rabbit project in Turkey later this year as construction continues to progress. Ariana, with its partner Proccea Construction Co, is developing the Kiziltepe mine at the Red Rabbit gold project with the aim of pouring its first gold sometime in the second quarter of 2016 before production starts in the second half. The company provided an update on the ongoing construction and said the site administration, accommodation, depot and laboratory buildings have all been completed, with construction crews beginning to move in as of next week.
European Metals Holdings, up 7.5%. The miner said it has identified shallow, higher-grade lithium zones at the Cinovec lithium/tin deposit in the Czech Republic as part of a new geological model. The company will use this geological model, along with recent drill results, to update its current mineral resource model. This will allow the company to investigate targeting these areas in the early years of development of the project, it said.
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By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com; @ArvindBhunjun
Copyright 2016 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
10 Jan 2024 13:00
Global activist investors pressed companies to sell or spin in 2023 as M&A dropped off
NEW YORK, Jan 10(Reuters) - "Sell" or "split" was the favorite word for activist investors across the world last year when their demands for companies to pursue some form of mergers and acquisition-related activity hit a new record and appeared in roughly half of their 2023 campaigns even as M&A activity dropped off, according to new data from Barclays.
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