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(Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices on Wednesday.
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FTSE 100 - WINNERS
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United Utilities, up 0.1%. The water company raised its interim dividend as it reported mixed interim earnings. The company said pretax profit declined by a quarter to GBP195.1 million in the six months to the end of September from GBP259.6 million a year prior, due to more than doubled finance expenses to GBP193.9 million from GBP90.7 million. The FTSE 100-listed company also said profit was hurt by one-off costs of GBP25 million associated with the "extreme hot and dry" weather incurred during the hot summer of 2018. More positively, revenue grew by 2.1% in the first half to GBP935.5 million from GBP916.4 million a year before. United Utilities declared an interim dividend of 14.20 pence a share, up from 13.76p it paid a year prior. It said this was in line with its sixth asset management plan, a regulatory period for UK water companies.
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FTSE 100 - LOSERS
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Kingfisher, down 5.5%. The DIY retailer warned its prospects remain gloomy following a "disappointing" third-quarter performance. This, Kingfisher said, was due to continued disruption in bringing in new product ranges, lower promotional activity, weakness in France, as well as generally softer market conditions in the firm's core markets. In the UK, B&Q UK & Ireland delivered a 3.5% decline in revenue, with like-for-like down 3.4%. Screwfix increased revenue by 7.9%, and 3.7% like-for-like. Kingfisher's French businesses, Castorama and Brico Depot, posted a 5.7% and 6.2% revenue decline respectively. Like-for-like, revenue was down 6.0% for Castorama and 6.1% for Brico Depot. Looking to the full-year, Kingfisher sees softness and range disruption continuing in the UK, while in France, Castorama is set to underperform the market and Brico Depot will suffer from lower promotional activity.
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Sage Group, down 4.5%. The accounting software provider reported mixed annual results, which saw strong recurring revenue growth but a decline in annual profit. Sage said for the financial year ended September 30, revenue was up 4.9% to GBP1.94 billion from GBP1.82 billion in financial 2018. Organic revenue growth was 5.6% to GBP1.8 billion from GBP1.7 billion, underpinned by software subscription revenue growth. Profit before tax was GBP425.0 million, down 11% from GBP475.0 million in 2018. Underlying profit before tax was down 9% to GBP361.0 million, compared to GBP398.0 million in 2018.
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FTSE 250 - WINNERS
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Mitchells & Butlers, up 6.1%. The restaurant and pub operator reported "strong" growth in financial 2019, with an increase in profit driven by a rise in sales. In the 52 weeks to September 28, Mitchells & Butlers recorded GBP177 million in pretax profit, 36% higher than the GBP130 million reported the year before. Revenue grew 4.2% year on year to GBP2.24 billion from GBP2.15 billion, with total sales up 3.9%. Total like-for-like sales grew by 3.5%, with strong performances across all of Mitchells & Butlers brands contributing to "continued, consistent outperformance" of the market, the company added. Mitchells & Butlers will pay not dividend for the year, having scrapped its payout the year before, citing a challenging eating-out industry. "Impressively, M&B has recorded steady sales growth across both food and drink at a time when the rest of the industry is contracting. That will give investors peace of mind as we enter the all-important Christmas party season," said eToro analyst Adam Vettese.
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Bodycote, up 3.0%. The coatings services firm said its performance in the four months to the end of October matched the first half, giving the company confidence its full-year results will be in line with current market expectations. In the period from July 1 to October 31, Bodycote said it recorded GBP244.7 million in revenue, 1% higher than in the same period year before. Revenue for the 10 months to the end of October was flat year on year, with Bodycote saying its performance showed a "marginally" improving trend on the first-half growth rate.
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Micro Focus International, up 2.5%. The enterprise software company said it expects to report annual profit and revenue in line with market consensus. For the year ended October 31, Micro Focus sees adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation in line with company-compiled consensus. This consensus, gathered from 12 analysts, forecasts adjusted Ebitda for the year to be around USD1.37 billion, a 2.8% drop from USD1.41 billion the year before. Meanwhile, constant currency revenue is set to be in line with the group's revised guidance at the end of August, which is for a 6% to 8% fall from USD3.68 billion.
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FTSE 250 - LOSERS
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Babcock International Group, down 4.1%. The defence contractor reported a sharp rise in profit for the first half of its financial year, despite revenue falling on step-downs from big projects reaching the end of their tenure. For the six months to September, the firm's pretax profit was GBP152.5 million, more than doubled from GBP65.1 million the year before. However on an underlying basis the figure dropped by 18% to GBP202.5 million from GBP245.5 million. Revenue meanwhile dropped by 2.7% to GBP2.19 billion from GBP2.25 billion the prior year, with underlying revenue slipping by 4.7% to GBP2.46 billion from GBP2.58 billion. Babcock said that the revenue drop on a statutory basis was due to the step downs in its Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers contract, as well as the impact of exits and disposals in the group's prior year.
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OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS
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Carclo, up 11%. The West Yorkshire-based plastic parts maker announced the sale of Wipac Czech to Magna Automotive Europe, a subsidiary of Canadian automotive supplier Magna International for EUR1.1 million. The EUR1.1 million payment comprises EUR800,000 in cash and the assumption of EUR300,000 of outstanding liabilities. The transaction is expected to be completed on Tuesday next week. Wipac Czech designs and develops automotive lighting, acting as a sub-contract engineering resource for the main Wipac business, which is a subsidiary of Carclo. Carclo remains in discussions for the potential sales of the principal Wipac UK business, with negotiations with a single party now in an advanced stage.
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By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com
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