PGR.L Share News (PGR)

LONDON (Alliance News) - The following stocks are among the biggest risers and fallers within the main London indices midday Friday.
-------
FTSE 100 WINNERS
-------
British Land Co, up 0.9%. Société Générale has upgraded the company to Buy, from Hold, with a price target increase to 780 pence from 740p. The stock currently trades at 697.68p

Lloyds Banking Group, up 0.9%. The bank said it raised GBP161 million by selling 57.5 million shares in TSB Banking Group at 280 pence each, a sale that leaves it with about a 50% stake in the business it is spinning out. In a statement, Lloyds said the latest share sale representing around 11.5% of TSB's issued ordinary share capital. It added that it expects to continue consolidating TSB's financial results in its own accounts.

British Sky Broadcasting Group, up 0.8%. The company said that it has signed a new five-year agreement with American Football association the National Football League, which includes rights to 'Monday Night Football,' starting 2015. Under the new deal BSkyB has rights to 80 live fixtures a season, including up to five games each week of the regular season. Coverage will also include matches from the NFL's International Series.

Standard Chartered, up 0.8%. Vietnam-focused investment company VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund said it has finalised a share purchase agreement to sell its stake in An Giang Plant Protection JSC to Standard Chartered Private Equity, the private equity and venture capital arm of Standard Chartered. VinaCapital will sell its 23.6% stake in An Giang, the Vietnam-based pesticides maker, for USD63.1 million in cash.

EasyJet, up 0.7%. Cantor Fitzgerald says easyJet will be the main beneficiary of the decision earlier this week by Air France KLM to drop plans to expand its low-cost airline Transavia.
-------
FTSE 100 LOSERS
-------
J Sainsbury, down 2.6%. The UK's third-largest supermarket chain by market share pledged lower prices on its branded products, and said it will now only match its 'brand match' scheme with Asda's prices and not Tesco as well. The grocer, said it will be lowering base prices on thousands of lines within its food business from October 2, and will match Asda's prices on brands even when those products are on promotion.
-------
FTSE 250 WINNERS
-------
Balfour Beatty, up 2.2%. Deutshe Bank has raised the international infrastructure group to Buy from Hold with a price target increase to 270p from 245p. The stock currently trades at 225.125p.
-------
FTSE 250 LOSERS
-------
De La Rue, down 31%. The banknote printer is by some distance the biggest faller in the mid-cap index, after it warned that its underlying operating and pretax profit for the current year will be GBP20 million lower than the previous year, and lowered its expectations for next year as a result of deteriorating trading conditions. In 2013/14 the company posted an underlying pretax profit of GBP77.3 million. De La Rue also said that, in light of the difficult trading environment, it intends to "reappraise" the level of its dividend for the full year. It expects to propose an interim dividend of 8.3 pence, down from 14.1 pence a year before.
-------
AIM ALL-SHARE WINNERS
-------
Kalimantan Gold Corp, up 431%. The company reported its maiden inferred mineral resource for the Beruang Kanan prospect in Indonesia. It said the inferred resource at the site is 47 million tonnes averaging 0.6% copper, of 621.7 million pounds of copper, and the resource is contained in a near-surface, shallow-dipping and strongly-mineralised system. Kalimantan added that the mineralisation remains open in a several directions.

Oxus Gold, up 7.9%. The company said it has raised GBP175,000 through a share subscription with Darwin Strategic Ltd. Oxus issued Darwin 9.2 million shares at 2.05 pence per share. Oxus shares closed at 1.9 pence on Thursday. The subscription for the new shares in the company by Darwin has been made under the terms of the equity financing facility signed by the two businesses, Oxus said.
-------
AIM ALL-SHARE LOSERS
-------
TomCo Energy, off 32%. The shale gas explorer said it has raised GBP1 million via a discounted conditional placing which will be used to complete the permitting process at the Holliday Block in Utah, US and working capital. The company said the placing would provide the company with sufficient working capital for the next 12 months.

Gowin New Energy Group, down 28%. The China-based LED lighting products company said its pretax profit and revenue fell in the first-half, after its second quarter was hit by the implementation of better credit policies and tougher qualification criteria for government street lighting projects in the Chinese market. It cautioned that its full-year results may fail to meet expectations. Gowin's pretax profit in the six months to June 30 was CNY6.2 million, against CNY8.2 million a year earlier, as revenue fell to CNY51.4 million from CNY60.5 million.

Andrews Skykes Group, down 21%. The heating and air conditioning company said its pretax profit fell in the first half of the year as its hire and sales business struggled in both the UK and Europe, although it expressed cautious optimism for a "satisfactory performance" in the remainder of 2014 despite seeing disappointing trading in the third quarter so far. Andrew Sykes posted a pretax profit of GBP4.1 million for the six months to June 30, down from GBP6.7 million a year earlier, as revenue declined to GBP26.8 million from GBP29.7 million. Additionally, net finance costs rose due to an inter company foreign exchange loss caused by the strength of sterling. However, the company proposed a sweetened interim dividend of 11.90 pence, up from 8.90 pence in the previous year.

Premier Gold Resources, down 16%. The company said no material operational developments occurred during its first-half as it continues to press its case with the Kyrgyz authorities so it can continue its work programme at its Cholokkaindy license. It recorded a narrowed pretax loss for the six months ended June 30 of GBP415,640, compared to a GBP807,930 loss in the first-half of 2013, as it cut costs. In order to preserve capital, the board has suspended all directors' salaries and has taken steps to minimise outgoings, it said. Premier Gold generates no revenue and reported a cash balance of GBP26,928 at June 30. Its expenditure relates to activities and administrative expenses associated with the Cholokkaindy licence in the Kyrgyz Republic.
-------
By Neil Thakrar; neilthakrar@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2014 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.