LONDON (Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices on Thursday.----------
FTSE 100 - WINNERS----------
Ferguson, up 1.2%. The heating and plumbing products company said Lone Star Funds has received the necessary clearance from "the relevant" competition authorities for its takeover of Stark Group. Ferguson expects the deal to complete towards the end of the month. Ferguson announced the sale agreement of Stark Group, its Nordics building materials distribution business, to Lone Star for
EUR1.02 billion in November. Ferguson, formerly known as Wolseley, said at the time the net assets of Stark are approximately
EUR500 million, and noted it had retained approximately
EUR150 million of property assets which it expects to sell "in due course".
Old Mutual, up 1.6%. Old Mutual boosted its dividend as 2017 results were "ahead of expectations" with profit rising strongly amid progress in its ongoing business separation due to complete by the end of 2018. In 2017, pretax profit expanded to
GBP617 million from
GBP306 million the year prior. Adjusted operating pretax profit also rose, to
GBP2.04 billion from
GBP1.67 billion the year before. Adjusted net asset value rose to
242.3 pence per share from 228.6p per share in 2016. Old Mutual hiked it second interim dividend by 5% to
3.57 pence from 3.39p the year before. For the full year, the dividend grew to
7.10 pence from
6.06 pence the year prior. Old Mutual said it was "on track" to separate its Old Mutual Ltd and Quilter businesses by the end of 2018. Old Mutual Emerging Markets and Old Mutual Wealth businesses are ready for independence, with separate balance sheet finalised, Old Mutual said. The company said it is on track to deliver around
GBP95 million in annual central costs savings. Total one-time separation costs are expected to be around
GBP230 million, it said. Old Mutual added 2018 had started well with a positive global economic backdrop. Its Old Mutual Ltd business have started the year on a "positive" note. Quilter has been trading "in line" with expectations.
Antofagasta, up 1.8%. Deutsche Bank raised its rating for the miner to Hold from Sell, and raised its price target to 1,000.00p from 900.00p. ----------
FTSE 100 - LOSERS----------
Hammerson, down 5.2%. Credit Suisse cut its rating for the property investor and developer to Neutral from Outperform, and its price target to 460.00p from 605.00p. Goldman Sach also trimmed its price target on the stock to 620p from 625p, though it added Hammerson to its Conviction Buy list from a simple Buy rating.
GKN, down 1.4%. Aircraft maker Airbus has warned that it would be "practically impossible" to give new work to aerospace and automotive engineering group GKN were
Melrose Industries to succeed in its hostile takeover bid, the Financial Times reported. Airbus is GKN's single biggest customer, according to the newspaper. Melrose on Monday raised its offer for GKN to
GBP8.4 billion from the initial
GBP7.1 billion announced in January. The increased bid followed the announcement last Friday that GKN had reached an agreement to combine its automotive Driveline business with New York-listed engineering firm Dana Inc in a
USD6.1 billion cash-and-shares deal. Airbus' Chief Operating Officer for commercial aircraft division Tom Williams told the FT that the possible change in ownership at GKN was troubling because a turnaround specialist would be too focused on the short term. "It would be practically impossible for us to give any new work to GKN under such an ownership model when we don't know who will be the long-term investor," Williams told the FT. Later Thursday, GKN issued a statement agreeing with Airbus's comments.
Unilever, down 1.1%. The Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant said it will simplify itself into a single legal entity incorporated in the Netherlands. The company, which currently has headquarters in Rotterdam and London and two separately listed entities, a UK PLC and a Dutch NV, attributed the decision to the fact its Dutch NV shares account for 55% of the company's combined ordinary share capital and trade with greater liquidity than London-listed shares. The company intends to maintain its stock listings in London, Amsterdam, and New York. The Dove soap maker also said that it will have three divisions - Beauty & Personal Care, Home Care, and Foods & Refreshment. The headquarters of the Beauty & Personal Care Division and the Home Care Division will be in London, while the Foods & Refreshment Division's headquarters will continue to be in Rotterdam.----------
FTSE 250 - WINNERS----------
Hikma Pharmaceuticals, up 16%. Citigroup raised the company to a Buy rating from Neutral, and Jefferies also upped its rating, to Hold from Underperform.
Computacenter, up 5.4%. UBS moved its rating for the company to Buy from Neutral.
Cineworld, up 4.7%. The UK cinema operator, fresh from clinching its reverse takeover of US peer Regal Entertainment, reported strong profit and revenue growth for 2017, with performance outside the UK & Ireland particularly positive. On a statutory basis, Cineworld's 2017 pretax profit rose 23% to
GBP120.5 million. The adjusted figure, which strips out various items, increased by 15% to
GBP127.5 million from a figure of
GBP111.4 million in 2016. Revenue for 2017 was up by 12% at actual currency rates, or by 8% at constant currency, to
GBP890.7 million from 2016's
GBP797.8 million. Cineworld increased its final dividend to 15.40p, which added to an interim dividend of 6.00p, takes the year's total to 21.40p, up from 19.00p the year before.
Spirax-Sarco Engineering, up 4.5%. Spirax-Sarco hiked its dividend after both profit and revenue grew strongly despite acquisition-related costs hitting earnings. In 2017, pretax profit expanded 12% to
GBP192.5 million from
GBP171.4 million the year prior. Revenue rose 32% to
GBP998.7 million from
GBP757.4 million in 2016. Profit performance was held back by a rise in exceptional costs in 2017. Exceptional costs rose to
GBP36.6 million from
GBP6.5 million the year prior. This was due to a mixture of acquisition-related costs and goodwill impairments. On an adjusted basis, pretax profit rose 29% to
GBP229.1 million from
GBP177.9 million. Spirax-Sarco proposed a
62.0 pence per share final dividend, up 16% from 53.5p the year before. For the full year, the dividend grew 15% to 87.5p from 76.0p the year before. ----------
FTSE 250 - LOSERS----------
PZ Cussons, down 16%. The consumer products company said pretax profit for the financial year ending in May is now expected to be between
GBP80.0 million and
GBP85.0 million, with the company having posted pretax profit of
GBP88.0 million in its last financial year. PZ Cussons said its Washing & Bathing division has seen lower purchases due to consumer caution in the UK, while significant cost inflation in Nigeria continues to hurt demand in the West African nation. New product launches in the UK have been well-received, it said, but have not had a strong enough impact on sales to offset declining volumes and margins. In Nigeria, consumer income's remain under pressure and as a result the usual peak season uplift did not occur, and thus inventory levels remain high especially in milk. The company announced a number of initiatives to address this, including a review of product costs, a review of its Nigerian milk business, and a re-focus onto fewer but bigger projects. Results in the rest of its geographies remain "robust", PZ Cussons said, with performance in Australia and Indonesia ahead of the previous year.
Kier Group, down 4.4%. The property, residential, construction and services group reported a 6% drop in first-half pretax profit, but a 4% rise on an adjusted basis, and said it remains on course to deliver double-digit profit growth in 2018. Pretax profit was
GBP33.7 million for the six months to the end of 2017, down from
GBP35.7 million in the comparative year ago period, on revenue of
GBP2.01 billion and
GBP1.99 billion, respectively. The dip in pretax profit was blamed on higher administrative and finance costs, while the rise in revenue was due to the McNicholas business, which was acquired in July 2017, and organic growth of 2%. First half profit, before tax and exceptional items, grew to
GBP48.8 million from
GBP47.1 million. Kier lifted its interim dividend payment by 2% to
23.0 pence per share from
22.5 pence paid a year ago.----------
MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS----------
Nature Group, up 36%. The company said it has received interest from "a number of parties" relating to a possible acquisition of its Maritime division. The port reception facilities and waste treatment solutions provider is already in advanced talks with a preferred bidder to sell its oil & gas business.
African Battery, up 18%. The resources company said it expects to "significantly" advance exploration activity in battery metals, especially cobalt, in 2018 after posting a widened loss in the year to September of
USD3.9 million from
USD1.8 million. ----------
MAIN MARKET AND AIM - LOSERS----------
InterQuest, down 18%. The technology recruitment firm axed its dividend after posting a drop in pretax profit in 2017 before exceptional items to
GBP2.0 million from
GBP2.7 million. Including these, InterQuest swung to a profit of
GBP748,000 from
GBP739,000. The company will not be returning any cash to shareholders for 2017, having paid out 1.5p per share in 2016. Revenue also fell by 5%, to
GBP136.0 million, but net fee income rose 3% to
GBP22.4 million. These results, InterQuest said, were in line with market expectations after a year of "significant" change but behind board expectations. The company also announced the acquisition of Albany Beck Consulting through the issue of up to 13.3 million shares to holders of Albany Beck stock.
Autins Group, down 16%. The acoustic and thermal insulation company said Chief Executive Michael Jennings has given notice of his intention to resign to take up the same role at Hydro International, from which he actually joined Autins. He will continue during his notice period for up to a year to ensure a smooth transition while a replacement is found. ----------
