3i Group Share News (III)

LONDON (Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices on Thursday.
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FTSE 100 - WINNERS
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3i Group, up 5.6%. The private equity investor said it has increased the book value of its investment in Action, the Benelux-based non-food retailer, following strong trading and a number of approaches the company has received in respect of the investment. 3i said it has increased the book value of its investment in Action to GBP1.46 billion from GBP902.0 million at the end of March. Though 3i said it remains actively engaged in developing Action and is not intending to sell or float the business in the near term, SocGen analyst Michael Sanderson believes actions will be taken in the medium future. "While there is no detail on the timings of any realisation activity in the announcement, we anticipate some form of realisation event to occur in 2018 in line with the requirements of 3i's limited partner co-investors."

Antofagasta, up 4.5%, Anglo American, up 3.8%, Glencore, up 3.3%, BHP Billiton, up 2.1%. The FTSE 350 mining index was up 2.0%. "A rise in metals and commodities prices is aiding the likes of Anglo American and Glencore," said Joshua Mahony, market analyst at IG.

BP, up 1.2%. The oil major was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight by Morgan Stanley.
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FTSE 100 - LOSERS
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Royal Bank of Scotland Group, down 5.4%. The bank was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight by Morgan Stanley.

Travis Perkins, down 4.5%. The builders' merchant was cut to Hold from Buy by Berenberg. Travis Perkins's long-term strategy is sound said Berenberg, but the bank is cautious on the effect of Brexit uncertainty on UK consumer sentiment and the housing market.

Royal Mail Group, down 2.0%. The stock went ex-dividend meaning new buyers no longer qualify for the latest dividend payout.
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FTSE 250 - WINNERS
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John Laing Group, up 1.7%. The infrastructure investor and manager maintained its guidance for its full year, noting that there was "significant potential" across the infrastructure markets in which it operates and said its well-diversified portfolio meant it was protected against the outcome of the UK referendum on European Union membership. John Laing said it has made total investment commitments of GBP76.0 million in the first half of 2016 so far, and maintained its full year guidance at GBP180.5 million, in line with 2015. It has made GBP57.7 million in realisations in the year to date, the company said, and is on track to hit its target of around GBP100.0 million, excluding the GBP19.5 million transaction agreed in February.
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FTSE 250 - LOSERS
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Zoopla Property Group, down 7.4%. The property portal's share price decline in the wake of the Brexit vote last week has further to go, says Panmure Gordon, which slashed its rating on the property buying portal to Sell from Buy. Following the Leave vote by Britain on Friday, Zoopla's share price had fallen by 22% but had rebounded on Tuesday and Wednesday. Panmure analyst Jonathan Helliwell believes there is further to go on the downside for Zoopla shares, as its estate agent customers now face a prolonged period of market uncertainty and lower volumes.

Paragon Group of Cos, down 4.4%. The stock went ex-dividend.
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MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS
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Beowulf Mining, up 118%. The miner said its application for an exploitation concession at the Kallak magnetite iron ore site in Sweden has been listed on the Swedish government's meeting agenda for discussion on Thursday. The mining inspectorate of Sweden recommended the concession for the project should be awarded to the company nine months ago, but neither the Swedish government nor the minister for enterprise and innovation have issued any response to the company since. However, Beowulf said its application had been tabled for discussion by the Swedish government, noting that it will be notified of any outcome once a decision is made public.

Nighthawk Energy, up 31%. The oil and gas explorer said it has entered an amended agreement with lender Commonwealth Bank of Australia. The new USD23.0 million loan will carry an interest rate of Libor plus 6.0 percentage points, payable monthly in cash. An additional USD3.0 million has been negotiated to back the Arikaree Creek water flood project in the US state of Colorado. Nighthawk will no longer be subject to the original financial covenants on the agreement and said the new covenants negotiated are "more reflective of the current market".

Stobart Group, up 12%. The support services and logistics provider said it remains on track to meet its medium-term goals amid solid trading in its divisions. Stobart said it remains well-placed to navigate through the challenges resulting from the UK's vote to leave the European Union and is confident it will deliver growth under its strategy to boost its Energy, Aviation and Infrastructure businesses out to 2018. In the Energy arm, Stobart said total biomass fuel tonnages supplied in the first quarter, to the end of May, increased 2.0% year-on-year to 247,000 tonnes. Stobart said the focus remains on fulfilling the contracts it already has in place and boosting margins in the energy unit.
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MAIN MARKET AND AIM - LOSERS
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China New Energy, down 28%. The engineering services group said its loss swelled significantly in 2015 after costs rose and it booked provisions against the court case it lost, and then subsequently appealed, last year. The company said its pretax loss ballooned to CNY26.4 million from the CNY8.5 million loss in 2014 as a provision booked against an ongoing legal case offset a rise in revenue. Revenue increased CNY61.7 million from CNY57.3 million to push the gross profit up to CNY7.7 million from CNY4.3 million. The majority of the revenue was derived by providing maintenance services to existing clients.
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By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com; @ArvindBhunjun

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