Marks & Spencer Share News (MKS)

LONDON (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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Marks & Spencer Group, up 0.3%. The retailer said Chief Executive Marc Bolland will retire from his role this year as it reported a fall in group sales in the third quarter of its financial year, as a poor performance from its general merchandise division offset growth in the food division. The retailer said Bolland, who has been at the helm for six years, will step down in April after the close of the group's current financial year. He will be replaced by Steve Rowe, the executive director of the company's General Merchandise business, covering its clothing and homewares. The news came as M&S said group sales in the 13 weeks to December 26 fell 0.4% year-on-year, remaining flat at a constant currency basis, as food sales rose 3.7% but general merchandise dropped 5.0%. On a like-for-like basis, food grew 0.4% and general merchandise declined 5.8%.
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FTSE 100 - LOSERS
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Miners and other stocks with an exposure to China slumped once more after Chinese authorities halted trading in Shanghai for the second time this week, this time after only 15 minutes of trading. The declines came after China's central bank set a weaker reference rate for the yuan exchange rate. The People's Bank of China fixed Thursday's central parity rate of the yuan at 6.5646 per dollar, weaker than Wednesday's reference rate of 6.5314. Miners were once more in the firing line, with Anglo American down 10%, Antofagasta down 5.9%, BHP Billiton down 5.7%, Rio Tinto down 4.9% and Glencore down 4.9%. In addition to miners, emerging markets-focused investment manager Aberdeen Asset Management took a hit, down 6.2%, while luxury goods retailer Burberry Group, heavily exposed to China and Hong Kong, fell 4.0%.
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FTSE 250 - WINNERS
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Home Retail Group, up 1.6%. The former chief executive of Tesco is understood to be considering leading a potential takeover offer for the Argos and Homebase owner to rival the interest in the business shown by J Sainsbury, The Times reported. Terry Leahy, who stepped down from the helm of Tesco in 2011 having led its transformation into one of the biggest retailers in the world, is thought to be working with private equity investor Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, to which he is a consultant, on a bid for the group.
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FTSE 250 - LOSERS
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Poundland Group, down 9.9%. The single-price discount retailer said it expects its pretax profit for the year to March to be at the lower-end of market expectations, as some of the sluggish trading seen in the first half of its current financial year continued into the third quarter. The company said total sales in the third quarter, covering the 13 weeks to December 27, rose 29%, with revenue growth coming from its current Poundland stores but with the majority of this attributable to the 99p Stores outlets added to its estate following the acquisition of its rival last year. Of constant-currency sales growth of 30%, excluding Spain, 99p Stores contributed 21 points, while 99p Stores converted into Poundland stores added a further 3 points. The read-across from Poundland's update also hit shares in rival discounter B&M European Value Retail, down 7.8%. It was the second piece of bad news in as many days for B&M after Card Factory announced on Wednesday it had recruited B&M COO Karen Hubbard to be its new chief executive.
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MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS
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HydroDec Group, up 23%. The industrial oil re-refining company said it has achieved a milestone at its Canton re-refinery in Ohio in the US and has made progress at the re-built site. HydroDec said the refinery has achieved a '500hr' oil status, which qualifies the oil produced to be high quality transformer oil and which is a pre-requisite for entering the larger power transformer market. The company also said it has hit a production record for Canton of over 94,000 litres per day. The re-refinery produced a total of 10.5 million litres of processed oil in 2015, in line with its expectations.

Somero Enterprises, up 13%. The concrete placing equipment maker said it expects revenue to be ahead of current market expectations for 2015, after trading in the second half of the year was boosted by a strong final quarter and monthly sales reached an "all-time high" in December, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation should be "materially ahead" due to improved margins. The demand seen in North America at the end of the year was driven by technology upgrades and fleet additions, highlighting "lengthy project backlogs" for the company's customers that extend "well into" 2016.

Majestic Wine, up 10%. The wine retailer reported a huge rise in sales in its Christmas trading period which it said was driven by its acquisition of Naked Wines. It said total sales in the 10 weeks to January 4 grew by 43% on the same period the year before, boosted by the acquisition of Naked Wines in April 2015. Like-for-like sales in Majestic Retail increased 7.3% in the period, versus a 1.7% decline the year before, which it said was supported by strategic investments to reinvigorate sales growth with a new and simplified pricing policy and improved customer experience in store and online.
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MAIN MARKET AND AIM - LOSERS
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Mobile Streams, down 19%. The emerging markets-focused mobile media company said it has taken a hit from the devaluation of the Argentinian peso. The peso devalued by around 25% in December, due to the lifting of restrictions on the currency, which has hit the valuation of Mobile Streams' assets denominated in the currency and which will hit revenue and earnings. Mobile Streams said most of the impact on its revenue would come in 2016 but said its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation for 2015 will take an GBP800,000 hit from the devaluation.

Cluff Natural Resources, down 12%. The coal gasification company said it believes it is now "unlikely" to receive funds it is owed from a subscriber to a placing that had been due last September. However cost cutting at its Kincardine project in Scotland helped Cluff to end 2015 in a stronger cash position than it had expected. Cluff said it has still not received the outstanding GBP331,125 it is owed by the subscriber and it is now considering its next course of action. It ended 2015 with a cash position of GBP1.1 million.
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By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance

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