Kingfisher Share News (KGF)

LONDON (Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices on Wednesday.----------FTSE 100 - WINNERS----------London Stock Exchange, up 1.2% at 4,085.00 pence. Barclays raised its price target on the stock exchange operator to 4,635p from 4,365p and reiterated its Overweight rating. ----------FTSE 100 - LOSERS----------Kingfisher, down 8.0%. The DIY retailer, which owns the B&Q chain in the UK and Castorama stores in France, said profit fell in its recently ended financial year and said its future outlook is a "mixed picture". Sales rose 3.8% to GBP11.66 billion for the year ended January 31 from GBP11.23 billion the year before, but pretax profit fell as a result of exceptional costs to GBP682 million from GBP759 million the year prior. The outlook by country for the current financial year is a "mixed picture", Kingfisher said. In the UK it is "more uncertain", and in the fourth quarter both B&Q and Screwfix experienced softer sales. "Kingfisher, Carpetright, New Look, Moss Bros and Mothercare have all issued updates this morning that remind us that the retail sector is facing challenges on multiple fronts," noted IG Group analyst Chris Beauchamp. Micro Focus, down 4.5%. The software firm's losing streak continued after warning revenue was declining more sharply than expected and announcing the departure of its chief executive on Monday. The stock has fallen 52% since Monday and is down 62% since the start of 2018. ----------FTSE 250 - WINNERS----------Petrofac, up 1.5%. The oilfield services company said it has won a 30-month engineering, procurement and construction contract worth USD200.0 million with Indian state-owned oil and gas company Hindustan Petroleum Corp. The contract includes licensing and commissioning, and is for the Sulphur Recovery Unit Black Package for the Visakh Refinery Modernisation Project in Andhra Pradesh, India. The Sulphur Recovery Unit package will be constructed within the existing contract over the course of the contract.----------FTSE 250 - LOSERS----------Softcat, down 12%. The IT infrastructure products and services company said it recorded a significant increase in revenue and profit in the first half of its financial year, due to a strong market demand, driven by "customer buying behaviour". Softcat recorded a pretax profit of GBP24.1 million for six months to January 31, up 14% from GBP21.0 million the prior half year 2017. Revenue rose 25% to 472.8 million from GBP378.5 million the prior year. The company said there was a consistent and strong performance across all its customer segments and technology areas. The improved revenue and profit performance was attributed to higher customer demand for Softcat's security, data storage and computing solutions. Profit failed to keep pace with sales growth, as administrative expenses rose by 25% to GBP50.7 million from GBP40.4 million. The stock has risen 71% over the past 12 months. ----------MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS----------Mothercare, up 8.3%. The parent and baby products retailer confirmed that the discussions with its "lenders on the terms of its existing financial facilities are progressing constructively". The company expects that the discussions will end before the announcement of its preliminary results on May 17. The company said that the lenders have agreed to defer the testing of its financial covenants due on March 24. The company had said earlier this month that due to the challenging trading environment it anticipated an increase borrowings for the financial year 2019, and would require waivers of certain financial covenants.----------MAIN MARKET AND AIM - LOSERS----------Moss Bros, down 20%. The suits retailer issued a profit warning for its recently begun financial year, slashing its dividend in the process. Moss Bros is expecting profit for its current financial year, which ends on January 26 next year, to be "materially lower" than current market expectations, with over 10 months still to go. As a result, the final dividend for its most recently ended year, which ended on January 27, 2018, will be 1.97 pence per share, meaning a total of 4.00p, down from the prior year's total return to shareholders of 5.89p. The group said, due to a consolidation of its supplier base in the face of a weak pound, it has had supply issues, affecting sales in all retail channels, and this will continue until "late spring". Hire sales are likewise challenging, though its peak period is still to come, and thus Moss Bros' outlook in this segment "remains prudent". Lastly, the reduced footfall experienced towards the end of December has continued due to the more cautious consumer environment. ----------