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LONDON (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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BHP Billiton, up 3.4%. The mining giant trimmed its full-year production guidance for iron ore after being hit by a string of issues, as the company reported a fall in production across all of its major commodities in the first nine months of its financial year. BHP has managed to maintain its guidance for its other major commodities, including petroleum, copper and coal, but said iron-ore production from its operations in Western Australia will be around 10.0 million tonnes lower in 2016 than previously expected. BHP was also upgraded to Hold from Sell by Investec. The broker said defensive strategies BHP Billiton employed have left it well positioned to benefit from the expanded cash flows higher commodity prices enable.
GKN, up 2.8%. The engineer said trading in the first quarter was in line with its expectations, though its trading margin took a hit from an adverse shift in the revenue mix for its aerospace arm. The company, which makes airframe structures and automotive driveline systems, said sales in the three months to the end of March hit GBP2.18 billion, up from GBP1.94 billion a year before. Organic sales grew 1.0% and the group got a 3.0% boost from beneficial currency moves, but the majority of the rise was driven by acquisitions.
ARM Holdings, up 2.6%. The micro processor designer reiterated expectations for full-year dollar revenue in line with market expectations, as it reported a rise in pretax profit for its first quarter. ARM saw pretax profit rise to GBP112.0 million in the first quarter of 2016, up from GBP103.4 million the year before, as revenue rose 14% to USD398.0 million from USD348.2 million. In sterling, revenue rose 22% to GBP276.4 million from GBP227.5 million. ARM said, at the start of 2016, it has seen its current technology gaining share in target end markets and strong demand for its next generation of products from a wide range of companies.
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FTSE 100 - LOSERS
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BT Group, down 2.5%. The telecommunications group was downgraded to Hold from Buy by Jefferies.
Travis Perkins, down 1.8%. The builders merchant said trading met its expectations in the first quarter, with total and like-for-like sales growth proving robust. Travis said total sales grew 5.0% in the quarter to the end of March, while like-for-like sales rose 4.2%. Like-for-like sales in Travis's General Merchanting division rose 4.7% in the quarter, helped by good growth in heavyside categories and timber, while Plumbing & Heating trading settled following a volatile few quarters driven by a restructuring programme in 2015. Contracts sales grew 2.1%, with good growth across the division, while Travis Perkins said its Consumer business saw like-for-like sales rise 7.3%, particularly strong given the early date of Easter this year.
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FTSE 250 - WINNERS
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Rentokil Initial, up 3.3%. The pest control company said revenue grew in the first quarter, primarily driven by acquisitions. The group said total first quarter revenue hit GBP472.0 million, with GBP468.1 million from its ongoing operations. Revenue from ongoing operations grew 12% year-on-year in the quarter at constant currencies, with 2.8% of this growth organic and the balance driven by acquisitions.
Virgin Money Holdings, up 2.3%. The lender said trading in the first quarter of 2016 was in line with its expectations. In a brief trading update ahead of a more detailed release due on May 4, Virgin Money said it made good progress in the quarter across its mortgages, credit cards and savings products.
Evraz, up 2.2%. The steel maker and mining company operating in Russia published a mixed set of production results covering the first quarter of 2016, but said coking coal, pig iron and prices for its steel products have continued to fall since the start of the year. The group said consolidated crude steel output "remained stable" in the first quarter of 2016, amounting to 3.5 million tonnes, adding that its Russian steel mills are currently running at full capacity. That is down 0.5% from the final quarter of 2015 and also 0.5% lower than a year earlier.
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FTSE 250 - LOSERS
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N Brown Group, down 13%. The online and catalogue fashion retailer reported a fall in profit in its recently-ended financial year due to exceptional costs it booked, but revenue was boosted by a continued strong performance from its three 'power brands'. Despite the mixed past results, shares still fell as N Brown issued a profit warning for the current year. N Brown warned that trading since the year-end has been subdued with lower year-on-year sales. "Looking forward, whilst we face challenging market conditions for the fashion sector overall, and trading since the year end has been subdued, we remain confident in our ability to make further progress this year," N Brown Chief Executive Angela Spindler said.
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MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS
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Servoca, up 17%. The recruiter said trading for the first half will be significantly ahead year-on-year. In a short trading statement, the company said its results for the half to March 31 will be "significantly ahead" of the prior year following "excellent" trading progress.
Serabi Gold, up 11%. The gold miner said it has continued to build on its strong finish to last year after reporting a rise in production in the first quarter of 2016, prompting the miner to reiterate its full year guidance. Serabi produces gold from its flagship Palito mine in Brazil and kick-started commercial production from its nearby Sao Chico deposit at the start of this year, allowing the company to report a 23% year-on-year rise in production in the first quarter of 2016.
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MAIN MARKET AND AIM - LOSERS
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Atlantis Resources, off 7.7% at 63.67 pence. The renewable energy company said it has raised GBP6.5 million through a placing to fund project development work. Atlantis said it has issued 11.9 million shares at 55.00 pence per share. The proceeds will provide working capital and fund ongoing project development work on the MeyGen tidal power project in Scotland.
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By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com; @ArvindBhunjun
Copyright 2016 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
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