Lonmin Share News (LMI)

LONDON (Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices on Monday.
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FTSE 100 - WINNERS
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Fresnillo, up 3.1% and Randgold Resources, up 1.1%. The gold miners were up on the higher gold price. The precious metal is quoted at USD1,281.30 an ounce compared to USD1,269.64 at the London equities close on Friday.

Oil companies, Royal Dutch Shell 'A', up 0.8%, Shell 'B', up 0.7% and BP, up 0.6%. The stocks were up as oil hit a high of USD48.85 a barrel earlier in the session, its highest level since early November. Brent is quoted at USD48.55 a barrel, having stood at USD47.85 at the London equities close on Friday.
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FTSE 100 - LOSERS
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British Land, down 1.7%. The property developer said its current committed development pipeline is "modest", but said there were significant opportunities across its portfolio, as it posted a slip in full-year pretax profit on lower valuation gains. The group reported a pretax profit of GBP1.33 billion for its financial year that ended March 31, down from GBP1.79 billion a year earlier, despite revenue rising to GBP590.0 million from GBP556.0 million. British Land said this was "primarily due to a reduced level of property valuation movement reflecting the slowdown in yield compression and the recent increase in stamp duty on commercial property". For the recently ended financial year, British Land's valuation movement was a positive GBP616.0 million, down from a positive GBP884.0 million the year earlier.
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FTSE 250 - WINNERS
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Crest Nicholson Holdings, up 5.1%. The housebuilder said it has seen signs that both sales prices and build costs are moderating in its first half, as it said it was continuing its strategy to grow its average selling price. Crest said it is on track to reach its stated target of GBP1.00 billion revenue for the full year to October 31, after having seen a good performance in its first half to April 30. Unit completions rose 7.0% in the half-year to 1,206,compared to the same period a year earlier. Forward sales at the end of April, excluding private rented sector, were at GBP324.0 million, up around 8.0% from the GBP300.0 million reported a year earlier.

Victrex, up 4.2%. The specialty chemicals company said pretax profit and revenue dipped in the first half amid mixed trading in end markets, though it forecasts an improvement in the second half. The polymer products company, which makes pipes, films and coatings, said pretax profit for the half to the end of March was GBP47.5 million, down 12% from the GBP53.9 million made a year earlier. Revenue for the half fell 10% to GBP117.0 million from GBP130.3 million, and the group's gross margin declined 200 basis points to 62.9% from 64.9% year-on-year, mostly due to new plant costs. Victrex said it will pay a flat interim dividend of 11.73 pence.
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MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS
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Lonmin, up 14%. The miner said it remains on track to deliver its full-year guidance, after reporting a narrower loss in the first half thanks to a small rise in revenue and a fall in impairments and other items. The group, which operates in South Africa, reported a pretax loss of USD21.0 million in the six months to the end of March, compared to the USD118.0 million loss booked a year earlier, after revenue experienced a slight lift and the level of impairments booked fell. Revenue in the period rose to USD515.0 million from USD508.0 million a year earlier, allowing Lonmin to squeeze out earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of USD36.0 million compared to a USD6.0 million loss last year.

Plaza Centers, up 11%. The Netherlands-based property developer said it has sold its Riga Plaza shopping and entertainment centre to an unnamed global investment fund for EUR93.4 million, in line with its strategy to refocus the portfolio towards more "resilient and higher quality income-producing properties". The company said the property in Riga, Latvia, which comprised of 50,0000 square metres of gross leasable area, had been owned by its subsidiary, in which it holds at 50% stake. The property was the second largest shopping centre to have been developed by Plaza Centers, the company said. Plaza Centers said 75% of the net cash proceeds from its share of the sale will be distributed to its bondholders within the quarter, after the repayment of its bank loan and following closure of the deal.

LiDCO Group, up 8.1%. The hemodynamic monitoring company said it has signed a US distribution deal with partner ICU Medical. Under the agreement, US medical technology company ICU will sell LiDCO's IM non-invasive hemodynamic monitoring system in the US market. The system is set to be made available in the third quarter of this year. No financial details on the project were disclosed. The pair have an existing royalty agreement in place allowing ICU to incorporate LiDCO technology into its Cogent hemodynamic system.
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MAIN MARKET AND AIM - LOSERS
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Carclo, down 6.1%. The technical plastics supplier said it will exit its Diagnostics Solutions business and will focus on its LED Technologies and Technical Plastics divisions. Carclo said it has completed a review of the division which found a significant level of future investment would be required to back the development of a wider range of assays. Given uncertainty in the division's end markets, Carclo said its review "did not identify a credible strategic option", to take the business forward. Carclo said it will discontinue investment in the Diagnostics Solutions business and will book a charge on the carrying value of the business in its results for the financial year to the end of March 2016. This will cover a GBP4.9 million impairment on the value of the business. Another GBP1.0 million in costs which will be booked in the 2017 financial year related to closing it down.
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By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com; @ArvindBhunjun

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