(Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices on Monday.
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FTSE 100 - WINNERS
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Rolls-Royce Holdings, up 3.5% at 229.60 pence. Shares in the jet engine maker were continuing to recover from a 17-year low of 100.80p reached earlier this month, having set out plans to bolster its balance sheet. The stock remains down 66% so far in 2020, however. "While some have suggested that part of the rebound may have been partly driven by bid speculation, this seems unlikely given the failure of KIO and Singapore's GIC in this regard, with the UK government's golden stake a big obstacle. It seems more likely that having removed the doubts over its short-term future, with the securing of extra funding, investors are taking a longer-term view that the company is now in better shape to reorientate its business model to deal with the challenges of the next ten years," commented CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson.
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FTSE 100 - LOSERS
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Aveva Group down 4.8%. The industrial software company said it has performed "creditably" in the first half against a challenging backdrop, but revenue is expected to fall. For the half-year ended September 30, Aveva expects to report revenue of around GBP333 million, down 15% from GBP391.9 in the first half of financial 2020. "First half revenue was always expected to be weak given last year's early renewal of a large (GBP20 million) global account deal with an EPC, which created a 500 basis points headwind to sales. Nonetheless, this is below market expectations, although currency (GBP8 million) was also a bigger headwind than was evident at the time of full-year results," said analysts at UBS.
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GVC Holdings, down 3.7%. The gambling company said it was awarded four sports-betting licences in Germany by the country's regulator. Some of the terms include a wagering limit of EUR1,000 per month that can be increased to EUR10,000. There also will be deposit limits until customer verification processes are complete and a maximum annual bonus per customer of EUR100. GVC estimates that earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation will be reduced by up to GBP40 million on an annual basis. The company said this hit to earnings from the German licenses will be incremental to the GBP70 million negative impact of its new Tolerance Policy. GVC reported underlying Ebitda of GBP761.1 million for 2019.
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International Consolidated Airlines Group, down 1.5%. The airline operator said Aer Lingus Chief Executive & Chair Sean Doyle will become the new CEO of British Airways, effective immediately, as Covid-19 causes job cuts at the airline. IAG said Doyle will replace Alex Cruz, who will step down as CEO & chair of British Airways but will remain as non-executive chair of the unit. At Aer Lingus, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Donal Moriarty will become interim CEO. A permanent appointment will be announced in due course, the company said. BA has caught flak recently for its handling of up to 12,000 job cuts as Covid-19 continues to bite the air travel industry. Plans were also made to put many older staff on lower paid, more flexible contracts. "Sean Doyle will have his work cut out to make immediate progress given that British Airways is facing the toughest challenge in its history as demand for international travel has plummeted and quarantine restrictions continue to constrain booking," Hargreaves Lansdown's Susannah Streeter commented.
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FTSE 250 - WINNERS
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Sanne Group, up 8.5%. RBC Capital upgraded the fund administration services provider to Outperform from Sector Perform.
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FTSE 250 - LOSERS
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National Express, down 4.5%. The transport operator said it has appointed Jose Ignacio Garat as its new chief executive effective from November 1. National Express said Chris Davies will step down as interim CEO, but will remain as group finance director. Davies stepped into the role on September 1 after former CEO Dean Finch was poached by FTSE 100 housebuilder Persimmon. Newly-hired boss Garat was previously senior vice president southern Europe, France and Benelux Operations for delivery services company FedEx Corp.
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OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS
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Eddie Stobart Logistics, up 31%. The logistics firm said 49% indirectly owned associate GreenWhiteStar Acquisitions swung to a profit in the first half following significant reductions in its cost base. GreenWhiteStar Acquisitions is a holding company of the Eddie Stobart, iForce, Pallet Network and Logistics People operating businesses. Eddie Stobart, with its iconic green and white lorries, is a supply chain, transport & logistics business. Underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation for the half-year ended May 31 was GBP16.6 million, swinging from a loss of GBP6.3 million a year before.
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RWS Holdings, up 4.3%. The language services company said its shareholders have approved plans for a merger with SDL. At a meeting held on Friday, the overwhelming majority of votes cast by RWS shareholders were in favour of the combination. SDL shareholders also met on Friday and voted in favour of the transaction. Back in August, the two unveiled plans for an all-share tie-up with a view of creating "the world's leading language services and technology group". Under the terms of the deal, SDL shareholders will be entitled to receive 1.2246 new RWS shares for each SDL share they own. Separately, SDL on Monday said it has secured a long-term contract to support the US Navy's rationalisation, reduction and centralisation strategy. The contract will standardise the creation, management and delivery of all technical publications on the SDL Contenta Publishing Suite. SDL shares were up 3.8%.
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OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - LOSERS
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Argentex Group, down 20%. The foreign exchange service provider said its interim revenue fell as Covid-19 hit activity among its clients. Argentex LLP - its UK Financial Conduct Authority regulated trading subsidiary - expects revenue in the six months ended September 30 to fall 15% year-on-year to GBP11.8 million from GBP13.8 million. The revenue fall was "primarily driven by a reduction in client activity" due to Covid-19, Argentex said. Argentex added that it saw an 87% jump in the rate of new client acquisition compared to a year earlier and has invested in "new talent", increasing its sales team by 62%.
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By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com
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