(Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers among London Main Market small-caps on Wednesday.
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SMALL-CAP - WINNERS
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Stagecoach Group PLC, up 37% at 104.60 pence, 12-month range 65.55p-108.10p. The Perth, Scotland-based bus and train operator's directors unanimously recommend a new GBP594.9 million cash offer from Pan-European Infrastructure III SCSp, an infrastructure fund managed and advised by DWS Infrastructure. They no longer support the previously agreed all-share merger with Birmingham-based peer National Express Group PLC. That deal, struck back in December, would have created a GBP1.9 billion market-cap public transport provider, though it was being reviewed by the UK Competition & Markets Authority. DWS will offer Stagecoach shareholders 105 pence in cash, which is a 37% premium to its closing price on Tuesday. Under the National Express merger offer, Stagecoach shareholders would have received 0.36 of a new National Express share for each Stagecoach share.
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Alfa Financial Software Holdings PLC, up 12% at 160.00 pence, 12-month range 115.00p-213.00p. Expects good revenue growth in 2022, but margins will come under pressure from salary inflation. Alfa is a London-based software developer for the finance industry. Pretax profit in 2021 increased 2.6% to GBP23.8 million from GBP23.2 million in 2020. A rise in revenue was mitigated by higher costs, leading to the marginal rise in profit. Revenue from continuing operations rose 5.4% to GBP83.2 million from GBP78.9 million. Cost of sales grew 7.4% to GBP29.0 million from GBP27.0 million, while sales, general & administrative expenses deepened 5.3% to GBP30.0 million from GBP28.5 million.
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SMALL-CAP - LOSERS
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Tullow Oil PLC, down 8.0% at 57.28 pence, 12-month range 40.28p-64.94p. Swings to annual profit, though revenue fell on declining volumes. On the up, however, were realised oil prices, climbing to USD62.7 a barrel in 2021, from USD50.9 barrel in 2020. Geopolitical tensions have lifted oil prices further in 2022, suggesting Tullow's realised prices could see another bump this year. In 2021, Tullow's revenue fell 8.8% to USD1.27 billion from USD1.40 billion. The company swung to a pretax profit of USD203 million, from a USD1.27 billion loss. The profit swing was aided by exploration write-offs being almost completely wiped out to USD60 million, from USD987 million in 2020. The net hit from impairments of property, plant and equipment fell to USD54 million from USD251 million, meanwhile. Despite the 23% rise in realised oil prices, Tullow's revenue fell. Sales volumes decreased by roughly a quarter to 55,450 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
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Photo-Me International PLC, down 8.5% at 62.40 pence, 12-month range 51.00p-78.80p. Offer from Tibergest Pte Ltd lapses due to not satisfying the acceptance condition on time, of gaining at least 50%. In mid-January, Tibergest agreed to buy 29.1 million Photo-Me shares from the Dan David Foundation, taking its total holding to 138.0 million shares, or a 37% stake, triggering a mandatory offer under UK takeover rules. As a result of offer lapsing, company now no longer in an offer period.
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By Paul McGowan; paulmcgowan@alliancenews.com
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