LONDON (Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices midday Tuesday.
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FTSE 100 - WINNERS
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RSA Insurance Group, up 14%. Zurich Insurance Group said it is evaluating a potential bid for the insurer. In a short statement, the Swiss insurer confirmed it is evaluating a potential offer for the FTSE 100-listed company. It added that the announcement does not represent a firm offer to buy RSA and said there is no assurance that any offer will be made. Shore Capital upgraded its rating on RSA Insurance Group to Buy from Hold, while Panmure Gordon upgrades RSA to Hold from Sell.
Hikma Pharmaceuticals, up 7.0% at 2,225.00 pence. The pharmaceutical company said it has agreed a USD2.65 billion deal to acquire Roxane Laboratories and Boehringer Ingelheim Roxane from Boehringer Ingelheim, the German pharmaceutical company. The Roxane businesses are a US specialty generics operation, Hikma said. Under the terms of the deal, Hikma will issue 40 million shares to Boehringer at 2,350 pence per share, along with a USD1.18 billion cash payment.
GKN, up 6.3%. The engineer said its pretax profit declined in the first half of the year, hit by continued weakness in some of its key markets, and said it has agreed a EUR706 million deal to acquire Fokker Technologies Group. The company, which manufactures components for the aerospace, automotive and industrial sectors, said its pretax profit for the six months to the end of June was down to GBP212 million from GBP224 million a year earlier, despite an increase in sales for the group to GBP3.62 billion from GBP3.57 billion. It said it would pay an interim dividend of 2.9 pence, slightly up from the 2.8 pence it paid a year earlier.
ITV, up 2.6%. The broadcaster maintained its outlook for 2015, continuing to expect "another strong performance with revenue growth across the business", as it posted a rise in pretax profit for its first half. ITV posted a pretax profit of GBP327 million for the half year to end-June, up from GBP250 million a year before, as revenue rose to GBP1.36 billion from GBP1.23 billion. Revenue growth was boosted by a strong performance from its ITV Studios business, and 6% revenue growth in its Broadcast & Online segment. ITV proposed an interim dividend of 1.9 pence, up from 1.4 pence a year before.
Next, up 2.1%. The fashion retailer said its full-price brand sales rose in the first half of its financial year and said it has upgraded its full-year pretax profit expectations after its sales came in ahead of guidance. Next said its total sales in the 26 weeks to July 25 were up 3.5%, with 0.8% growth in retail sales and 7.5% growth in directory sales in the period. The company said it has upgraded its pretax profit forecast for the year to GBP810 million to GBP825 million, up 1.9% on its previous forecast.
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FTSE 100 - LOSERS
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Royal Mail, down 3.3%. UK media and communications regulator Ofcom said it has issued a statement of objections to postal service operator, with a provisional view that the company breached competition law by discriminating in its wholesale pricing against postal operators that competed with it on delivery. Ofcom said the provisional findings, part of the investigation launched following a complaint by Whistl, a former competitor of Royal Mail, found that Royal Mail's changes to prices, terms and conditions for the provision of access services included "unlawful price discrimination".
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FTSE 250 - WINNERS
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Drax Group, up 11%. The power plant operator said it swung to a pretax profit in the first half of 2015, leading to a higher interim dividend in line with its policy, but the company reiterated that it will be hit by changes to the UK climate change levy in the second half of the year. Drax reported a pretax profit of GBP53.0 million in the first half of 2015, swinging from a GBP10.8 million loss a year earlier, as revenue for the period rose to GBP1.24 billion from GBP1.05 billion. Drax raised its interim dividend to 5.1 pence per share from 4.7 pence per share.
Melrose Industries, up 11%. The industrial engineering group said it has sold its Elster business to US industrial conglomerate Honeywell International for GBP3.3 billion in cash. The news of the disposal came as Melrose posted its results for the six months to the end of June, with a pretax loss of GBP13.4 million compared to a GBP13.2 million profit a year earlier, as revenue for the group dropped to GBP117.7 million from GBP164.5 million. The company said it will pay an interim dividend of 2.8 pence per share for the half.
Virgin Money Holdings, up 8.8%. The lender reported a 37% increase in underlying profit, which it said was a result of growing its balance sheet, an improvement in its net interest margin, and managing costs, though it warned of competition in the UK mortgage market. Virgin Money said it made GBP81.8 million underlying pretax profit in the six months ended June 30, compared with GBP59.7 million in the corresponding period the prior year. Virgin Money said it will pay an interim dividend of 1.4 pence per share.
Informa, up 7.3%. The business information company reiterated its full-year expectations as it posted a rise in pretax profit for its first half, and sweetened its interim dividend. Informa posted a pretax profit of GBP121.9 million for the half year to end-June, up from GBP100.2 million, as revenue rose to GBP618.8 million from GBP569.6 million. Revenue growth was primarily driven by the acquisitions of the Hanley Wood and Virgo exhibition business in the second half of 2014. Informa proposed an interim dividend of 6.55 pence, up from 6.4 pence a year before.
Domino's Pizza Group, up 3.9%. The pizza delivery company said its pretax profit increased in the first half of its financial year, driven by higher revenue, as its system sales surged higher in the period, prompting a hike to its dividend. It said its pretax profit for the 26 weeks to June 28 was GBP32 million, up from GBP25 million a year earlier, while its revenue, which comprises revenue paid by its franchisees along with royalty payments, rose to GBP157.6 million in the half, up from GBP145.6 million. It will pay an interim dividend of 9 pence per share, up from 7.81 pence, a 15% rise.
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FTSE 250 - LOSERS
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Saga, down 2.7% at 207,50p. Acromas Bid said it has sold a further 6% stake in the over-50s products provider, raising a total of GBP141 million. Acromas, owned by funds managed or advised by Charterhouse Capital Partners, CVC Capital Partners and Permira, said it sold 68.8 million shares in Saga for 205 pence per share.
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AIM ALL-SHARE - WINNERS
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Edenville Energy, up 8.2%. The company said field activities have started for the power plant at the Rukwa Coal to Power Project in Tanzania. The company has started a water survey and sampling programme for the power plant at the site and will submit the environmental impact assessment for the plant once the definitive design has been confirmed. Edenville Chief Executive Rufus Short said that talks with engineering, procurement and construction partners for the project are ongoing.
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AIM ALL-SHARE - LOSERS
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Trap Oil Group, off 27% at 0.23p . The company said it has agreed to acquire Jersey Oil and Gas E&P, for a total of GBP495,000, which will be satisfied by the issuance of 2.25 million new Trap Oil shares. Trap Oil said it will reorganise Jersey Oil and Gas' share capital, conduct a placing, shuffle its board, and change its name once the deal has been closed. Trap Oil also will conduct a further placing of over 3.7 million new shares at 22.0 pence per share to raise a further GBP820,000 to provide it with additional working capital.
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By Daniel Ruiz; danielruiz@alliancenews.com
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