Intertek Group Share News (ITRK)

LONDON (Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices on Friday.----------FTSE 100 - WINNERS----------Paddy Power Betfair, up 2.5%. The bookmaker said it has acquired a controlling stake in Georgian online gaming company Adjarabet for GBP101 million in cash. Paddy Power Betfair has acquired a 51% interest in Adjarabet, and through option arrangements expects to acquire the remaining 49% three years after the acquisition. The acquisition will provide Paddy Power with exposure to the Georgian market and the newly growing Armenian market, it said. For 2018, Adjarabet reported revenue at GEL215 million, or GBP64 million, and earnings before interest, taxes, deprecation and amortisation at GEL68 million.----------FTSE 100 - LOSERS----------Fresnillo, down 1.9%. The gold miner was tracking spot gold prices lower, quoted at USD1,318.10 an ounce from USD1,322.57. The precious metal was retreating from the eight-month highs reached on Thursday as demand for safe-haven assets waned. ----------Intertek, down 0.9%. Jefferies downgraded the product testing and certification company to Hold from Buy. ----------FTSE 250 - WINNERS----------Metro Bank, up 4.9%. Shares in the high street lender were rebounding after it confirmed on Thursday it was UK regulators who initially uncovered irregularities in its loan book and not the company itself. The stock closed down 11% on Thursday and plunged 39% last Wednesday on the news of the accounting error.----------Plus500, up 3.5%. Peel Hunt raised the contracts-for-difference provider and forex broker to Add from Hold. ----------Ferrexpo, up 3.1%. The iron ore pellet company has gained 36% in the past week following a surge in iron ore prices following the Brumadinho dam disaster in Brazil a week ago. ----------FTSE 250 - LOSERS----------TalkTalk Telecom, down 7.6%. The home phone and broadband provider warned earnings for its current financial year are set to miss analyst consensus. Looking to its year ending March, TalkTalk said its underlying business in on track with "significant" year-on-year headline profit growth expected. It is guiding for headline earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation of GBP245 million to GBP250 million, from GBP197 million a year prior. This is below consensus, however, of GBP259 million. Earnings will be hit between GBP10 million to GBP15 million due to accounting changes, investment and mix in the Fibre segment. TalkTalk is confident on "strong" earnings growth in its year ending March 2020, and should meet market expectations of GBP271 million. ----------OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS----------Cambria Africa, up 20%. The Zimbabwe-focused investment company said its profit rose more than fourfold in its recently ended financial year, with revenue up by 10%. Pretax profit for the year to the end of August was USD3.0 million, up more than fourfold from USD716,000 the year before. The profit hike was due to a substantial reduction in operating costs to USD4.0 million from USD5.0 million, as well as 10% growth in revenue to USD9.4 million from USD8.6 million. Looking ahead, Cambria said it was well positioned to stand against uncertainties, caused by the Zimbabwe government introducing measures said to quash hopes for foreign investment.----------M&C Saatchi, up 15%. The advertising firm said it expects its annual results to be in line with the board's expectations as it saw organic revenue growth in 2018. Separately, the company said it disposed of a business unit to French advertising giant Publicis Groupe. For 2018, the UK advertising firm said it continued to "outrun sector averages". Furthermore, the company said it made a good start to 2019 and is confident to make further good progress. M&C Saatchi said it sold its remaining 24.9% stake in Walker Media to French ad giant Publicis for GBP25 million in cash. The company will use the sale proceeds to fund future growth and start new businesses.----------OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - LOSERS----------CML Microsystems, down 20%. The semiconductor manufacturer said its new order bookings in the second half were behind management expectations. The company said it expects its revenue in the second half to be behind its first half and its full year revenue to be 12% behind the year before. CML also said its profit for the year will be "materially below" current market expectations. For the six months ended September 2018, CML reported pretax profit of GBP2.37 million on revenue of GBP15.1 million. For the financial year ended March 2018, the firm reported pretax profit of GBP4.6 million on revenue of GBP31.7 million. CML attributed its second half performance on the "tangible effects of a softening" Chinese economy coupled with "on-going geopolitical issues". CML said this has resulted in weaker demand.----------