Gulfsands Petroleum Share News (GPX)

LONDON (Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices on Friday.
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FTSE 100 - LOSERS
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Burberry Group, down 2.1%. The luxury goods company saw its price target downgraded by Societe Generale, Goldman Sachs, Bernstein, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, UBS, Jefferies and Barclays. On Thursday, Burberry said its exposure to the slowing Chinese market was hitting its sales growth, and its above-sector-average sales derived from the market meant it took a heavier hit than its rivals. The stock closed the day down 8% having hit lows not seen since the end of 2012.
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FTSE 250 - WINNERS
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Provident Financial, up 4.2%. The lender said it has found a new managing director for its Vanquis Bank credit cards division, after Michael Lenora stated his intention to retire in 2016. The news came as the lender said that all three of its businesses performed well in the third quarter, reinforcing the company's confidence in generating "good-quality growth" in 2015 as a whole. "I am pleased to report that the group has performed well through the third quarter of the year. Vanquis Bank continues to outperform, and the Consumer Credit division and [vehicle finance provider] Moneybarn are both performing in line with internal plans," Chief Executive Peter Crook said.

Evraz, up 3.7%. The Russian steel maker and coal miner said production of all of its products and commodities rose in the third quarter from the second, but in the first nine months of 2015 most production areas were down year-on-year. Coking coal production was the only area to experience a quarter-on-quarter fall. However, all of Evraz's commodities were hit by lower commodities and steel prices. Evraz said crude steel production rose to 3.5 million tonnes in the third quarter of 2015, up 3.3% from 3.4 million tonnes in the immediately previous quarter on the back of completed repair works at Russian steel mills.
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FTSE 250 - LOSERS
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ICAP, down 2.6%. The inter-dealer broker was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight by Barclays, which also cut its target price to 500 pence from 600p. Shares in the company were trading at 450.2p mid-morning.
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MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS
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China New Energy, up 126%. The company said it is set to sign a new deal with its existing partner to develop a cassava to bioethanol plant in Zimbabwe. Although the company intends to enter the deal, it said the media has incorrectly suggested it has already signed an agreement and clarified a deal will signed imminently. The company said its partner, Sunbird Bioenergy Ltd, has signed a deal with the government of Zimbabwe to develop a 120.0 million litre cassava to bioethanol plant in the Machonaland Central Province of the country. Cassava, also known as tapioca or arrowroot, is a woody shrub found in tropical climates that can be converted into bioethanol, which is principally used as a substitute for petrol.

Sefton Resources, up 18%. The troubled company said its nominated adviser will resign next week after it agreed to overhaul its board and appoint Clement Chambers as interim chief executive. Later in the morning, however, it said lawyers representing former executive chairman, Jim Ellerton, in the ongoing court case against the company has pulled out, leaving him searching for a new legal representative to pursue his case.

SyQic, up 13%. The company, which provides live television and on-demand video content on mobile devices, revealed a new 'click to pay' payment platform for its flagship product, Yoomob, teaming up with Estonian global mobile payment provider Fortumo, a move intended to cut its reliance on telecommunication providers. It said the 'click to pay' platform holds an advantage over launching in collaboration with telecommunication providers, as has been the case to date. SyQic said the time taken by telecommunication providers has put "considerable strain" on its working capital due to delayed payments.
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MAIN MARKET AND AIM - LOSERS
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Gulfsands Petroleum, down 13%. The oil and gas company said it has had to forfeit USD5.0 million because it failed to complete a minimum work programme in Morocco, after its partner rejected a request to extend the agreement between the two companies. The Fes agreement is between Gulfsands and the state-owned oil company in Morocco, and Gulfsands has been trying to source a partner to assist it with completing a minimum work programme on the Fes licence. However, the agreement expired on September 24, by which point Gulfsands was expected to have drilled three exploration wells and completed seismic work. The company applied for an extension to the agreement with the state-owned oil company to give it more time to source a partner, but this was rejected.

PeerTV, down 12%. The company proposed a share consolidation under which shareholders will get one share in the company for every 1,000 they hold. The company said the fractional entitlements, or any shares left over after the consolidation, will be aggregated and sold in the market for the benefit of the company. Following the consolidation, PeerTV shareholders will have the same proportion of the company's share capital as prior to the move.
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By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance

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