(Correcting the price per share issued under the Ascent Resources placing.)
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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Tesco, up 0.6%. Data from Kantar Worldpanel showed Tesco overtook rival J Sainsbury becoming the supermarket with the slowest sales decline among the big four UK grocers. In the 12 weeks ended May 22, UK supermarket sales rose by just 0.1% year-on-year, the same rise Kantar reported in the preceding 12-week period. Tesco posted the slowest sales decline out of the big four supermarkets, as sales fell by 1.0% in the period and its market share slipped to 28.3% from 28.6%. Wm Morrison Supermarkets followed in third place with a sales decline of 2.1%, while its market share decreased to 10.7% from 10.9%. Sainsbury's saw its sales fall by 1.2% in the latest 12 week period and its market share also slipped to 16.2% from 16.5%. Sainsbury's was down 1.6% and Morrisons was down 0.9%
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FTSE 100 - LOSERS
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Wolseley, down 6.5%. The plumbing and heating goods supplier said it saw "decent revenue growth" in the third quarter of its financial year, despite deflationary headwinds and mixed market conditions, although it noted that recent revenue growth trends have been weaker. The company posted revenue of GBP3.66 billion for the three months to April 30, an 11% increase from the GBP3.30 billion reported for the same period a year earlier, which drove trading profit up to GBP230.0 million from GBP195.0 million. "Demand in several of the group's markets remains subdued, and we continue to experience the adverse impact of commodity deflation, particularly in the US," Wolseley said. Liberum said the third quarter figures were strong but the market will be disappointed this hasn't continued into its fourth quarter.
Anglo American, down 3.4%, Antofagasta, 3.1%, Glencore, 3.1%, Rio Tinto, down 2.7%, BHP Billiton, down 2.7%. Mining stocks were lower after weak Chinese manufacturing data overnight. China's official manufacturing purchasing managers' index came in at 50.1 for May, unchanged from the reading in April. However, the Caixin manufacturing PMI stayed below the 50.0 mark, which separates expansion from contraction, for the 15th straight month. Markit said the index slipped to 49.2 in May from 49.4 in April and a touch lower than economists' expectations of 49.3.
Persimmon, 2.7%, Taylor Wimpey, 2.5%, Barratt Developments, down 2.5%, Berkeley Group Holdings, down 2.1%. Housebuilders were lower as UK house price inflation slowed more-than-expected in May to its lowest level in four months, survey figures from the Nationwide Building Society showed. The house price index rose 4.7% annually following 4.9% increase in April. Economists had forecast 4.8% gain. The latest figure was the lowest since January, when it was 4.4%. "In the near term, it's going to be difficult to gauge the underlying strength of activity in the housing market due to the volatility generated by the stamp duty changes which took effect from 1 April," Nationwide Chief Economist Robert Gardner said.
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FTSE 250 - WINNERS
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Cobham, up 1.0% at 164.60 pence. The aerospace and defence company set out the terms of its discounted, fully-underwritten rights issue, first announced in April with the aim of shoring up its finances. Cobham tabled plans for the rights issue in late April after issuing a profit warning for 2016 following weak trading in the first quarter. Cobham said it will launch a fully-underwritten, one-for-two rights issue to raise GBP506.7 million. The company will issue 569.3 million shares at 89.00 pence per share, a 45% discount to its closing price on Tuesday of 163.49p. Cobham said it intends to reduce its indebtedness with the proceeds from the rights issue and said the move will allow it to focus on its development programmes in order to insulate the business from short-term market challenges.
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FTSE 250 - LOSERS
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Halfords Group, down 5.6%. The bicycle and car parts retailer reported a fall in profit in its recently-ended financial year due to exceptional costs, and as the prior year benefited from an extra week, but revenue excluding that extra week increased due to growth in the autocentres division. The company said its pretax profit in the year ended April 1 fell to GBP79.8 million from GBP83.8 million the year before, as revenue slipped slightly to GBP1.02 billion from GBP1.03 billion. Halfords will pay a total dividend of 17 pence for the year, up from 16.5p the year before.
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MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS
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Pennant International Group, up 43%. The logistics support services company said its Pennant Training Systems subsidiary has secured two new contracts worth a total of GBP13.0 million. Both contracts are to supply equipment, hardware and software to support aeronautical engineering training in the Middle East. The two Middle Eastern clients awarding the contracts were not named. The deals are expected to run through to the end of 2017, Pennant said.
Northern Bear, up 11%. The building services company said earnings for its financial year to the end of March were in line year-on-year despite weather constraints. Northern Bear said the flooding which hit the north of England in late 2015, plus prolonged periods of high winds during the winter, seriously affected its ability to carry out site works, particularly for its roofing arm. Revenue will fall in the 2016 financial year, though net profit has been maintained by selectivity on contracts and eschewing lower-margin work. Northern Bear said its order book remains strong and the current financial year has started well. The group intends to raise its dividend payout for the 2016 financial year, having paid out 1.5 pence a year earlier.
Lamprell, up 4.3%. The energy services company said it has signed a joint development agreement with three major companies that may lead to a new maritime yard being developed by the group in Saudi Arabia. Lamprell signed the joint development agreement with Saudi Aramco, the National Shipping Co of Saudi Arabia, and Hyundai Heavy Industries following the memorandum of understanding signed between the group back in January. Saudi Aramco is the national oil company of Saudi Arabia, and the National Shipping Co is also known as Bahri.
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MAIN MARKET AND AIM - LOSERS
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Ascent Resources, off 29%. The oil and gas explorer's shares lost almost a third in value after it conducted a severely discounted placing that only raised enough funds to keep the company going until the end of September. Ascent aims to start delivering gas from its operations in Slovenia before the end of the year. The company conducted the share placing through online funding platform Primarybid.com, issuing 83.3 million new shares priced at just 0.6 pence each, more than a 76% discount to the company's closing share price on Tuesday. Shares in the firm were trading at 0.599p on Wednesday. The shares issued represent around 19.3% of the company's enlarged issued share capital, and the funds raised will keep the company going only until later this year, with Ascent hoping to find a solution to the problems it has encountered trying to secure a integrated pollution prevention & control permit for the gas treatment plant it wants to build in Slovenia.
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By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com; @ArvindBhunjun
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