BP Share News (BP.)

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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Rio Tinto, up 2.2%, Anglo American, up 1.7%, Glencore, up 1.2%, BHP Billiton, up 1.0%, and Fresnillo, up 0.9%. According to an analyst, the mining stocks are continuing the run that started Monday in the wake of positive Chinese export data which signalled some strength in the country's economy. China is responsible for a large portion of the demand for mining products, therefore a strong Chinese economy is seen as positive news for miners.

International Consolidated Airlines Group, up 0.5%. HSBC has raised the company to Overweight from Neutral with a price target increase to 400.00 pence from 380.00p. The stock currently trades at 325.70p.
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FTSE 100 LOSERS
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Burberry Group, down 4.1%. The British luxury fashion retailer said sales growth slowed in the second quarter as its key travelling Chinese consumers splurged out less on its clothes and leather goods, and it warned that weak consumer confidence in Europe and slower Asian growth would weigh on its second half. The company said revenue rose 14% on an underlying basis in the six months to September 30, to GBP1.1 billion, buoyed by 15% sales growth in retail revenue, and 13% growth in wholesale revenue. It said licensing revenue was down 3% on an underlying basis. On a reported basis, retail and wholesale sales were up only 8%, while licensing revenue was down 18%, which marked a slowdown from the first quarter when it had reported underlying sales growth of 17%, or 9% on a reported basis. Comparable retail sales growth in the first quarter was 12%, but slowed to 8% in the second quarter. Burberry said it now expects a smaller profit hit from currency moves than previously expected for the full financial year. It also warned of a "tougher macro environment" for the second half, but would not clarify what the more "difficult" environment for the remainder of the year would be.

Hargreaves Lansdown, down 2.9%. The investment management company reported a GBP100.0 million increase in assets under administration over the course of the traditionally quiet first quarter, but said levels of net new business were lower than in the corresponding period last year amid uncertainty over the Scottish independence referendum, concern over Middle East and Ukrainian conflicts and unfavourable Eurozone economic data. Hargreaves Lansdown reported GBP970.0 million of net new business inflows in the quarter ended September 30, compared with GBP1.26 billion in the corresponding quarter last year.

Tullow Oil, down 1.6%, BP, down 1.6%, and BG Group, down 1.4%. The companies are down after the price of Brent Oil fell to a near four-year low at USD87.55 a barrel on Tuesday morning.
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FTSE 250 WINNERS
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Bellway, up 3.4%. The UK housebuilder reported a jump in full-year profit as higher sales volumes at higher average prices lifted revenue by a third, and the company predicted further volume growth in the current year, albeit at a slower rate. The company reported a pretax profit of GBP245.9 million for the year to end-July, up from GBP140.9 million a year earlier, as revenue rose to GBP1.49 billion, from GBP1.11 billion. It also raised its total dividend to 52.0 pence, from 30.0 pence, on the back of the strong results, meaning it will have returned over GBP220 million to shareholders since 2007. The final dividend will be 36.0p, up from 21.0p. It said the total dividend is covered by earnings 3.0 times, a level it expects to maintain for the foreseeable future.

Afren, up 2.6%. The oil and gas explorer and producer confirmed that it has terminated the employment of Chief Executive Osman Shahenshah and Chief Operating Officer Shahid Ullah with immediate effect, firing them for gross misconduct based on evidence found by a review that unearthed irregular payments and starting legal proceedings to recover money from them. It also fired Associate Directors Iain Wright and Galib Virani with immediate effect for the same reasons, and started disciplinary action against seven more employees who it said also received payments.

Just Retirement Group, up 1.6%. The specialist insurer said it has completed its largest defined benefit de-risking transaction, a buy-in deal for GBP75 million which was contracted in September. In a statement, the company said it can't disclose the full details of the deal until all the scheme's members have been told the particulars, but it will provide a bulk annuity contract to the scheme trustees to cover all pensioner members and the deal marks it first completed transaction with the employee benefit consultant advising on the scheme.
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FTSE 250 LOSERS
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Michael Page International, down 10%. The recruitment company took a seven percentage point hit to its gross profit and said adverse currency movements will contribute to the group's operating profit growth coming in below market expectations. The company said its gross profit grew 11.6% on a constant currency basis in the quarter to September 30, with positive results coming from all four of its operating regions. On an actual currency basis, however, gross profit for the group increased only 4.7% as it was hit by the strength of sterling. Asia Pacific gross profit rose 2.9% to GBP28 million on an actual currency basis, up 11.1% on constant currency, while its Americas business posted a decline in its reported gross profit of 0.8% to GBP20 million, despite rising 9.6% on a constant currency basis.

Balfour Beatty, down 3.6%. The struggling engineering and construction company has issued a last-ditch warning to investors that failure to sell its American arm could result in it defaulting on its debts, The Daily Telegraph reported. In a circular posted to shareholders, the company revealed that it could breach its banking covenants in the coming months if the sell-off of Parsons Brinckerhoff is not approved, the newspaper said.

Ashmore Group, down 2.7%. The emerging markets asset manager reported a USD3.7 billion fall in assets under management over the course of the first quarter, citing negative investment performance of USD3.4 billion and net outflows of USD300 million. In a statement, the company said assets under management fell to USD71.3 billion at the end of September from USD75.0 billion at the end of June. Chief Executive Mark Coombs said the decline in assets under management over the quarter was primarily due to the "correction" in the markets towards the end of the period, driven by the strength of the US dollar.

Essentra, down 1.4%. The packaging components company has had its price target cut by three banks after Monday's trading update. Goldman Sachs has reduced its price to 970.00p from 1,000.00p keeping its Buy rating, JP Morgan cut its target price to 802.00p from 906.00p, with an Overweight rating, and Deutsche Bank cut its price to 840.00p from 920.00p with a Buy rating. The company currently trades at 688.00p.
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AIM ALL-SHARE WINNERS
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Global Energy Development, up 50%. The Latin America-focused petroleum explorer and producer has agreed to sell the rights and obligations of its contract areas within the Llanos Basin for USD50 million in cash to a subsidiary of TSX-listed oil and gas exploration company Platino Energy Corp. The company said it will use part of the proceeds to eliminate its its outstanding debt balance of USD7.5 million, and will decide what to do with the rest after the deal closes.

Allocate Software, up 34%. The company's board has recommended a takeover offer from an HgCapital Group takeover vehicle that would value the company at around GBP109.6 million. The vehicle has made an offer at 153.55 pence per share, which it said is a 35.3% increase on Allocate's closing price of 113.5 pence Monday. The acquisition is subject to approval from shareholders at the company's annual general meeting, and HGCapital has received acceptances for around 47.1% of Allocate's issued share capital. It needs at least 75% approval to pass. Allocate's board said that it considers the acquisition price to represent a "full and fair value to shareholders, providing certainty through the opportunity to realise value now for their current holdings in cash."

Solo Oil, up 14%. The company said it has signed a deal with Aminex to buy up to 13% of the Kiliwani North Development Licence in Tanzania. Solo said it would buy an initial 6.5% interest in the licence from Aminex-owned Ndovu Resources Ltd for USD3.5 million. The company also holds a 45-day option to increase its interest in the licence by a further 6.5% to 13%.

Scancell Holdings, up 9.6%. The company said it has seen positive results for its SCIB1 trials on a malignant melanoma treatment. Scancell said it has seen strong survival and safety data from the Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials conducted on SCIB1, its ImmunoBody platform vaccine. The results showed the product has the potential to become the first effective standalone treatment for adjuvant melanoma, it added. Adjuvant therapy is treatment provided in addition to the primary, main or initial treatment.
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AIM ALL-SHARE LOSERS
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Caledonia Mining, off 13%. The company said its earnings for the full year will be "materially lower" than current market expectations, after production fell at its Blanket Mine in Zimbabwe in its third quarter. Caledonia produced 9,890 ounces of gold at Blanket in the third quarter to end-September, down from 12,042 ounces in the previous year and 11,223 ounces in the previous quarter. The average head grade was lower than in previous quarter, and the tonnes mined and milled did not increase sufficiently to offset this, although plant recoveries have remained strong, Caledonia said. As a result, Caledonia lowered its gold production guidance for the year to 40,000 ounces from 45,000 ounces. It produced 31,354 ounces in the first nine months.

Immunodiagnostic Systems Holdings, down 13%. The company said it expects its revenue for the first half to be down on the previous year, as the near-term trading environment for its business "remains challenging." As it has previously flagged up in August and September, the company has seen a low level of placements, meaning instruments sold or leased to customers, and a faster decline in manual revenues, driven by lower 250H Vitamin D sales. This means it now expects revenues to GBP22 million in the first half to end-September, compared to GBP27 million a year before. Automated revenues fell by around 9% compared to the previous year as it saw number of instrument returns, and continued price pressure on its automated Vitamin D assay.

Mulberry Group, down 9.9%. The luxury bags, clothes and accessories maker gave a bleak outlook for the remainder of its financial year, after it said revenue in the first half fell 17% to GBP64.7 million, compared with GBP78.1 million the prior year, and warned its pretax profit for the full year to end of March 2015 will be "significantly below current expectations".
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By Neil Thakrar; neilthakrar@alliancenews.com

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