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(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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easyJet, up 4.4%. The low-cost airline said it plans to resume flights from June 15 to destinations that have sufficient customer demand to support profitable flying. easyJet said its initial schedule will comprise mainly of domestic flying in the UK and France. It added that it will implement new biosecurity measures, which include requiring customers and crew to wear masks, deep-cleaning all aircraft, and suspending the provision of food on board. easyJet will continue to announce further routes as customer demand increases and lockdown measures across Europe are relaxed.
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Intertek, up 4.2%. The safety testing firm said revenue in the first four months of 2020 declined year-on-year, but it expressed confidence in its outlook for 2020. Intertek said revenue for the four months ended April was GBP882 million, down 4.6% from GBP924.3 million the year prior. Like-for-like revenue was down 4.9% at constant currency, with its Product unit revenue diving by 6.6% and Trade unit revenue by 5.9%. However the Resources unit saw revenue growth of 2.4%. Intertek confirmed that it will pay its proposed 2019 final dividend of 71.6 pence, up 6.5% from 67.2p for 2018. The final dividend amount takes the full year payout to 105.8p, up from 99.1p. Looking ahead, the company said it responded quickly to the Covid-19 crisis by implementing measures to mitigate the extent to which the pandemic would hurt its business, adding that it remains confident in its ability to navigate what is expected to be a "challenging" 2020.
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FTSE 100 - LOSERS
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Whitbread, down 11% at 2,521.00 pence. The hospitality firm reported a rise in earnings for financial 2020 but slashed its annual dividend payout as it announced plans to raise GBP1 billion through a fully underwritten rights issue. For its financial year that ended February 27, Whitbread's revenue rose 1.1% to GBP2.07 billion from GBP2.05 billion reported for financial 2019. Pretax profit was GBP280 million, a 28% increase from GBP218 million the year prior. The increase in profit was largely due to separation costs incurred in the prior year from the disposal of the Costa coffee-shop business. No final dividend for financial 2020 was declared in an effort to conserve cash amid Covid-19-related uncertainty. As a result, the full-year payout amounts to 32.7p, a sharp 67% cut from 99.7p paid the year before. Future dividend payments have been suspended, Whitbread said. Turning to more recent events, the FTSE-100 listed company said it had "significant" liquidity entering the new financial year and the Covid-19 crisis, but it now intends to raise GBP1.01 billion via a fully underwritten, 1-for-2 rights issue at a price of 1,500p each to provide a platform for future growth and investment.
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FTSE 250 - WINNERS
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QinetiQ, up 4.8%. The defence firm reported a "strong" financial year, with its largest order intake in nearly a decade. In the year to March 31, QinetiQ reported pretax profit of GBP123.1 million, flat on the GBP123.2 million reported in the same period the year before. Revenue improved 18% year-on-year to GBP1.07 billion from GBP911.1 million, with orders up 25%. "While we enter FY21 in a position of strength, it is too early to draw conclusions on the overall impact of COVID-19 to our business. At this stage we are planning for a range of outcomes depending upon the duration and extent of national safeguarding measures and any potential budget pressures. We have implemented short-term temporary actions to mitigate the immediate challenges," said QinetiQ.
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FTSE 250 - LOSERS
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Pets at Home, down 9.1%. The pet products retailer warned on its half-year profit outcome after a strong annual result. Like-for-like revenue growth was 9.0% in the financial year to March 26, with revenue up 10% on a reported basis to GBP1.06 billion. Pretax profit surged to GBP85.9 million, up from GBP49.6 million the year before, the pets product retailer said. However, "nearly all" of the exceptional demand witnessed in the closing weeks of the final quarter has unwound during the first quarter of the current year which, combined with social distancing across its operations and restrictions on the sale of pet products and services deemed non-essential, has temporarily depressed normal levels of group turnover, Pets At Home said. "Accordingly, we anticipate H1 FY21 group pretax profit, including both the one-off benefit from the business rates holiday, which will be utilised to partially mitigate the estimated financial impact of Covid-19 this year, as well as additional operating costs related to social distancing, to be materially below the prior year," said Pets at Home.
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OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS
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Dart Group, up 16% at 667.00 pence. The Jet2-owner said it has successfully placed 29.8 million shares at a price of 576.50p each, raising proceeds of GBP172 million. The placing was "significantly oversubscribed", the travel firm said. The placing price was equal to Wednesday's closing price. "The company consulted with a number of its major shareholders prior to the placing in order to adhere to the principles of pre-emption as far as possible through the allocation process and is pleased by the strong support it has received from existing shareholders and new investors," said Dart.
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OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - LOSERS
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Ceres Power, down 5.1% at 448.80 pence. IP Group said it has sold 12.3 million shares in clean energy company Ceres Power at 425p each, netting GBP51 million. IP Group said the sale was conducted by way of an accelerated bookbuild process in which Joh Berenberg Gossler & Co acted as sole book runner. Following completion of the sale, IP Group will continue to own around 9.4 million shares in Ceres Power, representing 5.5% of the company's share capital. Ceres Power is not a party to the placing and will not receive any proceeds. IP Group shares were down 0.3%.
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By Lucy Heming;Â lucyheming@alliancenews.com
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