Marks & Spencer Share News (MKS)

LONDON (Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices on Monday.----------FTSE 100 - WINNERS----------Ocado Group, up 3.8%, Marks & Spencer, up 1.9%. Marks & Spencer is in "secret" discussions to acquire Ocado's distribution centres, delivery vans and lorries, the Daily Mail reported. The newspaper said M&S is planning to launch its own GBP1 billion food delivery service, as part of the latest twist in M&S Chair Archie Norman's strategy to restructure the company. Daily Mail noted that for the past 20 years, Ocado vans have been delivering Waitrose groceries under a contract which is due to expire in September 2020. However, Waitrose now has its own separate delivery operation run directly from its own stores and warehouses. Therefore, the newspaper reported, M&S is considering buying the Waitrose part of the Ocado business and replacing it with its own products.----------Vodafone Group, up 1.5%. Keppler Cheuvreux raised the telecommunications firm to Buy from Reduce. ----------FTSE 100 - LOSERS----------Micro Focus International, down 1.5%. Goldman Sachs downgraded the software company to Neutral from Buy. ----------FTSE 250 - WINNERS----------TI Fluid Systems, up 8.8%. The automotive fluid maker guided for revenue to be broadly flat year-on-year at EUR3.5 billion for 2018. In 2017, revenue was EUR3.49 billion. On a constant currency basis, revenue growth should exceed growth in global light vehicle production by around 3%, the company said. TI Fluid's adjusted earnings before interest and tax margin is set to be "broadly" in line year-on-year at 11%. These results are in line with expectations as stated in November, and TI Fluid said it remains confident it can keep outperforming the light vehicle market. ----------Dixons Carphone, up 2.7%. Morgan Stanley upgraded the mobile phone and electrical goods retailer to Overweight from Equal Weight. ----------FTSE 250 - LOSERS----------Drax Group, down 2.5%. HSBC downgraded the power generation company to Hold from Buy. ----------IG Group, down 2.1%. Liberum resumed coverage on the spread betting and contracts-for-difference trading provider with a Hold rating. ----------OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS----------Kavango Resources, up 32%. The mineral exploration firm said drilling at one of its "exciting" targets at a prospect in Botswana was expected to start soon. Kavango said drilling will "start shortly" at the Ditau prospect in Botswana at the first of two geophysical and geochemical base metal conductor/anomalies. The initial 1,000 metre drill programme is designed to intersect targets at between 100 metres and 200 metres in vertical depth. The initial programme will involve both reverse circulation and core drilling and will be undertaken by Maquana Explorations. The firm hopes to find "significant" zinc deposits which also tend to points towards further mineralisation. ----------Flybe Group, up 22%. The regional airline confirmed a shareholder is trying to oust Chair Simon Laffin amid the company's takeover. Flybe made the statement in response to a report by Sky News on Saturday that Flybe's largest shareholder Hosking Partners wants to remove Laffin. Flybe confirmed Hosking has demanded a general meeting to vote on Laffin's removal and also on the appointment of Eric Kohn to the board to investigate Flybe's sales process. Kohn, Sky News said on Saturday, is an "experienced aviation executive". Hosking holds a 19% stake in Flybe. ----------OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - LOSERS----------Utilitywise, down 62%. The cost management consultant put itself up for sale, after not getting enough interest in a fundraise. Utilitywise has begun a strategic review "to deliver maximum value for its shareholders", and this may include a sale. Utilitywise has made moves to find new revenue streams, including entering the micro small and medium enterprise market, but its needs to investment of around GBP10 million to do so. Its lender is willing to refinance Utilitywise's GBP25 million facility it currently has, but only on the condition it secures finances from elsewhere. The company has thus approached current and potential investors over an equity fundraise, but it has not received enough interest. ----------Petra Diamonds, down 10%. The miner said interim revenue rose as diamond production and sales both increased, though net debt has grown amid cash flow pressure. For the six months ended December, revenue rose 8.0% to USD207.1 million from USD191.7 million the year prior. This was after diamond production expanded 9.5% to 2.0 million carats from 1.8 million carats the year before. Diamonds sold jumped 15% to 1.7 million carats from 1.5 million the year prior, but rough diamond prices reduced by around 4%. Capital expenditure fell 41% to USD40.6 million from USD69.4 million the year prior. Net debt rose 7.0% to USD557.2 million from USD520.7 million six months earlier after "positive" operating cash flow was held back by a number of costs. In addition, RBC Capital cut its rating on the stock to Sector Perform from Outperform. ----------