(Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices on Friday.
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FTSE 100 - WINNERS
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Rolls-Royce, up 7.5%. The jet engine maker's shares were higher after Bloomberg reported Europe's top aviation regulator is satisfied that changes to Boeing Co's 737 MAX have made the aircraft safe enough to return to the skies before 2020. According to Bloomberg, the European Aviation Safety Agency is performing final document reviews ahead of a draft airworthiness directive it expects to issue next month. That will be followed by four weeks of public comment, while the development of a so-called synthetic sensor to add redundancy will take 20 to 24 months.
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Burberry Group, up 3.7%. The fashion house was benefitting from a positive read-across from French peer LVMH Moet Hennessey Louis Vuitton. LVMH late Thursday reported improving trends in the third quarter. The Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior owner reported revenue of EUR30.3 billion in the first nine months of 2020, down 21% on a year ago on both a reported and organic basis. In the third quarter, revenue was down 7% organically, reflecting a "marked improvement" in trends versus the first half. LVMH shares were up 6.7% in Paris, hitting a record high in early trade.
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Whitbread, up 3.5%. Berenberg upgraded the Premier Inn owner to Buy from Hold.
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FTSE 100 - LOSERS
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International Consolidated Airlines, down 2.5%. Shares in the British Airways parent were lower after the UK government late Thursday dealt a fresh blow to holidaymakers by adding Italy to its quarantine list. This means that travellers returning to the UK from Italy, Vatican City and San Marino as of 0400 BST on Sunday must self-isolate for two weeks. Ryanair was down 1.1%, easyJet down 1.6% and Wizz Air down 0.9%, though Jet2 was up 0.6%.
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FTSE 250 - WINNERS
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Serco Group, up 16%. The outsourcer updated its annual revenue guidance following strong growth in the third quarter of 2020 in conjunction with what it called good cost control. The Hook, Hampshire-based public services provider set its new full-year revenue guidance at around GBP3.9 billion, up from the previously set GBP3.7 billion, with an organic growth rate in revenue of around 15% year-on-year. Revenue in 2019 totalled GBP3.25 billion. Underlying trading profit is expected to be between GBP160 million and GBP165 million, up from GBP120.2 million in 2019. All regions are performing better than expected, the company said.
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Man Group, 5.7%. The asset manager said "robust" net inflows and positive investment performance led to a 4% rise in funds under management and the company remains "well-placed" to withstand market volatility. Man Group said FuM increased to USD113.1 billion at September 30 from USD108.3 billion at June 30, driven by net inflows of USD1.7 billion primarily from the company's Alternative Strategies as redemption levels normalised following Covid-19 related rebalancing. Positive investment performance added USD1.7 billion to FuM and positive foreign exchange movements contributed USD1.4 billion, resulting from a weaker dollar particularly against sterling and the euro.
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Dixons Carphone, up 3.5%. RBC Capital upgraded the electrical goods retailer to Sector Perform from Underperform.
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FTSE 250 - LOSERS
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JD Wetherspoon, down 13%. The pub chain said it suffered severe losses in financial 2020 due to the Covid-19 lockdown, which Chair Tim Martin said was full of "ill-thought-out regulations" and not based on science. The pub owner reported a pretax loss for the year ended July 26 of GBP34.1 million, swinging from a profit of GBP102.5 million a year prior. Revenue fell 31% to GBP1.26 billion from GBP1.82 billion, with like-for-like sales down 30%. Wetherspoon put its poor performance down to the effects of the closure of pubs by the UK government in March, which lasted for around three months. The company opted to skip a final dividend, compared to last year's 12.0 pence each. This brings the year's total payout to nothing, compared to last year's total payout of 16.0p. "Putting aside the validity of the government's approach, the reality is that unless pubs return quickly to normal or receive substantial support, then it'll soon be last orders for a significant number of favourite pubs and restaurants," commented eToro analyst Adam Vettese.
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OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS
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Loungers, up 8.9%. The bar and restaurant operator said like-for-like sales jumped by a quarter in the 13 weeks ended early October, but did note that rising Covid-19 cases mean it could be slapped with more restrictions again. The company, which operates 168 bars, cafes and restaurant sites in England and Wales, said a "significant outperformance of the market" since it reopened back in July has continued. In the 13 weeks to October, like-for-like sales jumped 25% year-on-year. "Whilst the resurgence in Covid-19 cases increases the likelihood of additional trading restrictions, we remain very encouraged by the strength of our trading post reopening," Loungers said all of its sites are open at the moment.
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OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - LOSERS
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Iofina, down 11%. The iodine producer posted a rise in third-quarter iodine production but said that production for the second half of 2020 will be at the lower end of estimates due to a brief pause in activity at one of the iodine plants. In the third quarter of 2020, Iofina produced 170.8 metric tonnes of crystalline iodine from its five operating IOsorb plants in the US state of Oklahoma, up 2.1% from 167.3 metric tonnes a year ago. In the first nine months of 2020, the company produced 455 metric tonnes of crystalline iodine. Iofina said it remains on track to achieve the lower end of its 340,000 to 360,000 metric tonnes forecast for second half of 2020.
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By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com
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