Ixico Share News (IXI)

LONDON (Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices on Tuesday.----------FTSE 100 - WINNERS----------Ashtead Group, up 2.5%. The equipment rentals firm said it will increase and extend its current share buyback programme following profit growth in the first quarter of current financial year. Ashtead said revenue in the three months to the end of July rose 22% to GBP1.05 billion from GBP880.1 million reported a year earlier, pushing pretax profit up 23% to GBP274.4 million from GBP228.9 million. Ashtead said the results were driven by strong organic growth, supplemented by bolt-on acquisitions, most notably the purchase of bulldozers retailer CRS in August last year. During the quarter, the company said it bought back 4.1 million shares, totalling GBP94 million. To date, Ashtead has spent GBP300 million under the share buyback programme announced in December last year. The company said it intends to increase and extend its buyback plans, increasing the spend to GBP125 million per quarter and resulting in a total outlay of GBP675 million in financial 2019. The company also revealed plans for a new share buyback programme in financial 2020, with an anticipated spend of at least GBP500 million.----------FTSE 100 - LOSERS----------BHP Billiton, down 1.5%. The Anglo-Australian miner was cut to Hold from Buy by Deutsche Bank. ----------FTSE 250 - WINNERS----------JD Wetherspoon, up 2.2%. Berenberg raised the pub chain to Buy from Hold.----------Hilton Food Group, up 2.1%. The food packaging company said it is confident in the company's future growth after posting an increase in profit and revenue for the first half of the year. For the 28 weeks to July 15, the firm posted 14% rise in pretax profit to GBP21.0 million from GBP18.4 million a year ago. This was as revenue jumped by 25% to GBP863.6 million from GBP690.7 million. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation increased to GBP35.5 million from GBP29.6 million in the comparative year ago period, "broadly" reflecting the new Seachill, business which was acquired in November 2017 and has "delivered on expectations", Hilton Food said. The company upped its interim dividend by 12% to 5.6 pence from 5.0p a year prior.----------Sanne Group, up 2.0%. The fund administrator said its profit for the first half of 2018 came in lower year-on-year due to the integration expenses associated with IFS Group. Sanne said pretax profit declined 13% to GBP10.9 million in the six months to June 30 compared to GBP12.5 million reported for the same period a year ago, despite revenue jumping by 17% to GBP65.9 million from GBP56.3 million. However, the company said it saw a good organic growth across all of its divisions, supported by acquisition of alternative investment fund LIS in February, which contributed for five months of the period. Sanne said this acquisition provided a number of good cross-selling opportunities and exposure to a new range of institutional real estate fund managers. As a result, revenue in the Europe, the Middle East & Africa Alternatives division rose by 41% to GBP32.7 million from GBP23.1 million.----------FTSE 250 - LOSERS----------Cairn Energy, down 5.0%. The oil and gas explorer said it swung to a loss in the first half of its financial year on the back of constrained production and downtime and fair value losses. For the six months to June 30, the company posted a pretax loss of USD602.9 million, compared to a USD77.7 million profit in the half-year period last year. This was due to the company swinging to a USD319.4 million loss on the fair value of its financial assets compared to a USD200.5 million profit the year prior. The swing to a loss on financial assets was mainly caused by Cairn's 3% stake in Vedanta Ltd. Cairn recognized a USD230.8 million loss on the holding, after it was sold on the demand of the Indian tax authority and USD231 million in proceeds from the sale seized. Cairn said it remains confident of its legal position in the tax dispute.----------Elementis, down 3.9% at 243.00 pence. The speciality chemicals company said it will now pay USD553 million to acquire Dutch industrial talc mineral additive firm Mondo Minerals Holding instead of USD600 million agreed previously. The company, which was forced to reconsider the Mondo deal due to shareholder concerns, will pay USD500 million in cash to Advent Mondo (Luxembourg) to buy Mondo plus USD53.0 million in earn-out payments upon subject to the achievement of certain performance targets by Mondo. It intends to fund the deal via a USD230 million rights issue of shares and by utilising a new USD775.0 million term and revolving credit facility. The right issue will be on the basis of 1 new ordinary share at 152.0 pence per share for every 4 existing shares, and Elementis will offer up to 116.0 million new shares.----------OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS----------Produce Investments, up 32% at 187.20p. The fresh potato and daffodil producer said it reached an agreement with Promethean Investments for acquisition of the company by a Promethean vehicle April 1983 Bidco. The offer of 193 pence per share in cash values Produce as a whole at GBP53.0 million. The 193p offer is a 35% premium on the company's closing price of 143p on Monday. The Promethean offer includes a partial share and loan note alternative under which Produce shareholders will be able to elect to receive 98.43p in cash and one unit. Each unit comprises one April 1983 share and one April loan note. Produce's board said it "considers the terms of the offer to be fair and reasonable". ----------IXICO, up 24%. The brain medicine developer said it inked a new contract worth GBP9.1 million with an unnamed "top-10 global pharmaceutical company". The contract which lasts over a four-year term is for the provision of IXICO's technology-enabled imaging services in support of a study of Huntington's disease, a genetic neurodegenerative disorder affecting movement, cognition and behaviour. As part of the study, IXICO will optimise, standardise and collect magnetic resonance imaging data from specialist imaging centres. Afterwards, the company's "data science expertise and artificial intelligence software algorithms will be applied to provide insights into brain cellular microstructure and neuronal connectivity to support the evaluation of drug safety and efficacy", IXICO explained.----------OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - LOSERS----------Haydale Graphene, down 14%. The graphene materials firm said it is holding talks with the Amiblu Technology research team to discuss "the next steps" after a disappointing trial to develop a new pipeline product. The results of a trial in March for Amiblu Technology, formerly Flowtite Technology, "did not show the improvements Haydale had hoped for", the company explained. Amiblu Technology is the glass fibre reinforced plastic pipe technology and research and development centre of the Saudi Arabian Amiantit Co with which Haydale partnered to develop glass fibre reinforced plastic products in May 2016.----------