Paddy Power Betfair Share News (PPB)

LONDON (Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices on Wednesday.----------FTSE 100 - WINNERS----------Rolls-Royce, up 12%. The aircraft-engine maker reported a swing to profit for 2017, and guided to further growth in underlying revenue and operating profit for the year ahead. Rolls-Royce said revenue rose 9% in 2017 to GBP16.31 billion from GBP14.96 billion in 2016, as it swung to a pretax profit of GBP4.90 billion from a loss of GBP4.64 billion the year before. Underlying pretax profit rose 25% on an organic basis to GBP1.07 billion, as underlying revenue rose 6% to GBP15.09 billion. The company said it continues to focus on its operational restructuring, proposing a "considerably simplified" staff structure. The restructuring programme is expected to deliver a "significant reduction" in costs, Rolls-Royce said. "The chances of Rolls-Royce meaningfully increasing its returns to shareholders in the years to come look much better now," Hargreaves Lansdown analyst George Salmon noted. ----------Smurfit Kappa, up 3.4% at 3,144.00 pence. The Irish corrugated packaging company said it has advised shareholders to take no action concerning the "unsolicited and highly opportunistic proposal" by International Paper Co. On Tuesday, Smurfit Kappa said it had rejected a takeover approach from the US company, later revealed to have been a EUR8.60 billion cash and stock offer made on February 23. Under the International Paper offer, Smurfit shareholders would receive EUR22.00 in cash and 0.3028 International Paper of a share for each Smurfit share, which values Smurfit shares at EUR36.46 each, or EUR8.60 billion in total. This represents a 27% premium to Smurfit's closing share price of EUR28.62 on Monday in Dublin, and a 30% premium to Smurfit's closing share price of EUR28.00 on February 13, the last business day prior to International Paper's initial approach to Smurfit.----------FTSE 100 - LOSERS----------Paddy Power Betfair, down 3.9%. The bookmaker increased its annual dividend by 21% as it reported a strong 2017, though bookmaker-friendly results at the start of 2018 has hit customer activity. The company has declared a final dividend for 2017 of 135.00 pence per share, bringing its total payout for the year to 200.00p, up 21% on 2016. Revenue rose 13% to GBP1.75 billion, driven by growth in sports revenue, which rose 16% to GBP1.39 billion, though gaming revenue was slower at 2% to GBP360.0 million. Pretax profit including exceptional items jumped to GBP246.6 million from GBP11.9 million, and pre-exceptional items still rose to GBP388.5 million from GBP315.6 million. The new financial year has started as 2017 ended, with sporting results favouring bookmakers, Paddy Power said. However, this sustained period of bookmaker friendly results has "significantly affected customer activity", including reduced re-cycling of customer winnings. ----------NMC Health, down 3.3%. The Middle East-focused private hospital group's shares were lower despite reporting substantial growth in profit and revenue for 2017. Annual pretax profit rose to USD210.4 million, up from USD151.6 million the year before, on revenue that grew by 31% to USD1.60 billion from USD1.22 billion. The greatest increase in revenue came from the group's Healthcare unit, which remained the biggest contributor, with revenue growth of 41% to USD1.61 billion from USD823.3 million the prior year. Distribution revenue meanwhile rose 13% to USD486.8 million from USD431.9 million. During 2017, NMC's patient numbers increased by 34% to 5.8 million, and revenue per patient rose by 7.6% to USD189.3. Hospital bed occupancy however dropped by 270 basis points to 71.6% with the number of operational beds nearly doubling to 1,365 beds from 679 in 2016. NMC said it expects 2018 to be promising despite a challenging environment, with continued discipline in organic and inorganic expansion, sustained ramp up of utilisation at facilities and the integration of acquired assets.----------FTSE 250 - WINNERS----------Hill & Smith Holdings, up 9.5%. The galvanising services firm hiked its dividend after reporting its "best ever" trading performance in 2017, with profit and revenue both growing strongly and positive prospects for 2018. In 2017, pretax profit expanded 45% to GBP70.2 million from GBP48.3 million the year prior. This was after revenue advanced 8.3% to GBP585.1 million from GBP540.1 million the year before. Profit performance was also helped by the decline in restructuring and asset impairment costs in 2017 compared to 2016. Restructuring costs fell to GBP2.8 million from GBP10.5 million the year before. Impairments fell to GBP400,000 from GBP4.1 million. Excluding one-off costs, Hill & Smith explained, underlying pretax profit expanded 15% to GBP78.5 million from GBP68.0 million the year before. The group hiked its final dividend per share 15% to 20.6 pence from 17.9p the year prior. For the full year, the dividend was increased 14% to 30.0p from 26.4p.----------FDM Group, up 7.0%. The IT services company reported strong growth in both profit and revenue for 2017, with the firm upping its dividend for the year by 33%. FDM's pretax profit for 2017 increased 24% year-on-year to GBP43.7 million, and rose 26% to GBP47.2 million on an adjusted basis, which removes performance share plan expenses. Revenue climbed 23% to GBP233.6 million, with 'Mountie' revenue rising 24% to GBP207.3 million. FDM calls its permanent IT and business consultants Mounties, and they are placed on client sites. Mountie headcount grew 17% in 2017, with all operating regions recording headcount growth of at least 15%. FDM proposed a final dividend of 14.00 pence per share, which takes the year's total to 26.00p, having paid out 19.60 in total in 2016.----------FTSE 250 - LOSERS----------PageGroup, down 5.7%. The recruiter boosted its dividend after profit and revenue grew strongly in 2017, despite the UK acting as a drag. Pretax profit grew 18% to GBP118.2 million from GBP100.0 million in 2016. This is after revenue advanced 15% to GBP1.37 billion from GBP1.20 billion the year before. PageGroup proposed a 8.6 pence per share final dividend, up 4.5% from 8.23p the year before. For the full year, the dividend also increased 4.5% to 12.50p per share from 11.98p. However the UK, which accounts for a fifth of its total profit, saw gross profit fall 3.8% at constant exchange rates. By contrast, Europe, Middle East & Africa grew by 15%, Asia Pacific by 10% and the Americas by 16%. In total, gross profit advanced 9.8% at constant exchange rates to GBP711.6 million from GBP621.0 million the year before.----------Rank Group, down 2.9%. The Grosvenor Casino and Mecca Bingo owner said Chief Executive Henry Birch has given 12 months' notice to leave his position. Birch is leaving the company to join retailer Shop Direct as chief executive. Shop Direct's brands include Littlewoods and Very. Rank Group said Birch will remain while it looks for a successor, and he will ensure an orderly handover.----------MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS----------Restaurant Group, up 10%. The Frankie & Benny's and Chiquito restaurant chains owner maintained its dividend despite falling profit and sales in 2017, with the company saying this reflects its confidence in the delivery of its strategic plan. Revenue for 2017 fell 4.4% to GBP679.3 million, with like-for-like revenue dropping 3.0%, though this was an improvement from 2016. Restaurant Group actually swung to a pretax profit of GBP43.6 million on a statutory basis after a loss of GBP49.3 million in 2016. However, on an adjusted basis, pretax profit fell to GBP56.7 million from GBP77.1 million. In 2016, it booked exceptional items of GBP126.5 million, compared to just GBP13.2 in 2017. Despite the drop in profit, Restaurant Group is paying a final dividend of 10.60p per share, which means the total payout for 2017 will be flat year-on-year at 17.40p. ----------