Stm Grp. Share News (STM)

LONDON (Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices on Wednesday.
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FTSE 100 - WINNERS
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Burberry Group, up 4.6%. The fashion house reported growth in revenue in the first quarter of its financial year, benefiting from the weak pound, and upped its guidance for full-year profit, but the company warned about revenue measured at constant currencies. The company said retail revenue in the three months ended June 30 grew by 4% year-on-year to GBP423 million, but within this, comparable sales declined by 3% in what Burberry described as a "challenging external environment". Burberry said all three global regions of Asia, the UK and US experienced a low single-digit percentage comparable sales decline, due to persisting underlying cost-inflation pressures. However, Liberum said the decline in comparable sales was not as bad as the consensus forecast for a 5% fall.
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FTSE 100 - LOSERS
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Barratt Developments, down 4.4%. The housebuilder said it is preparing for the greater uncertainty following the UK's referendum on European Union membership. Barratt said it expects to post a 20% increase in pretax profit for its recently ended financial year, on rises in both sales volume and the prices of those houses sold, as it said it was "too early" to assess the impact of the UK's vote to leave the EU. Barratt said it expects to post a pretax profit of GBP680.0 million for the year ended June 30, a 20% increase from the GBP565.5 million reported a year earlier. Barratt "hit investors with a very encouraging report, seeing healthy demand, but as usual investors decided to worry about the imponderables of Brexit, which Barratt mentioned in passing, and pushed the shares down taking other house builders with them," said IG Group analyst Chris Beauchamp. Barratt tooks its blue-chip peers with it. Berkeley Group Holdings was down 3.7%, Taylor Wimpey, down 2.6%, and Persimmon, down 2.4%. Mid-cap peer Redrow was down 3.9%.
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FTSE 250 - WINNERS
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Playtech, up 4.2%, The gambling software and services provider said it has bought Best Gaming Technology for EUR138 million. Playtech has bought 90% of Best Gaming through existing cash resources, with the remaining 10% retained by Best Gaming's Chief Executive and Founder Armin Sageder, who will remain with the company for at least three years from completion. Headquartered in Vienna, Best Gaming provides sports betting software for gaming and sports betting operators, with customers including Ladbrokes, Paddy Power Betfair and William Hill.

JD Wetherpoon, up 2.6%. The pub chain reported growth in sales in the 11 weeks to July 10 and in the 50 weeks to the same date, as it prepares to close its current financial year. The company said total sales in the 11 weeks grew by 3.8% year-on-year, while rising by 5.5% in the 50 weeks. Like-for-like sales increased by 4% in the 11 weeks and by 3.4% in the 50 weeks. Full-year operating margin before exceptional items and before a GBP3.8 million property gain is expected to be around 6.8%, compared with 7.4% last year. The stock was also raised to Hold from Sell by Panmure Gordon. "While we continue to see downward pressure on earnings from cost inflation, these are now more industry wide rather than company specific," the broker said.
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MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS
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Poundland Group, up 13%. The discount retailer said it has reached an agreement with South African furniture retailer Steinhoff International Holdings for Steinhoff to buy Poundland. Under the terms of the offer, Poundland shareholders will receive 222 pence in cash for each Poundland share, comprising 220 pence in cash per share and Poundland's final dividend of 2p per share for its financial year ended March 27. This values Poundland at approximately GBP597 million, and represents a premium of 40% to Poundland's 158.25p closing price on June 13, which was the last business day before Steinhoff first bought Poundland shares, and a premium of 13% to Poundland's 196p closing price on Tuesday. Steinhoff currently owns 24% of Poundland.

Amphion Innovations, up 23%. Biopharmaceutical firm Motif Bio said it had filed to list American Depositary Shares on the NASDAQ Global Select Market. The company's shares will continue to trade on the AIM market in London. The number of ADSs to be offered and the price of the offering have not yet been determined, Motif said, but it said it will publish a circular to shareholders on Wednesday seeking the authority to allot up to 100 million shares pursuant to the offering. Motif Bio was up 12%. Amphion Innovations, which holds a 26% stake in Motif, noted the company's intention to list. Separately and unrelated to Motif, Amphion said it has agreed terms to draw down an additional tranche of USD750,000 under its loan facility. It will receive the proceeds of this additional draw immediately. Motif Bio shares were up 6.8%

Ashley House, up 13%. The health and community care property company said its revenue more than doubled in its financial year ended April 30, and it swung to profit, though noted its pipeline was being delayed as the UK government reassesses its benefit policy on elderly and vulnerable people. Ashley House posted pretax profit of GBP241,000 for its financial year, compared to the GBP11.9 million loss it recorded a year earlier. This came as the company's profit more than doubled to GBP20.7 million, from GBP8.4 million, and the deprecation and impairment charge declined to GBP7.6 million from GBP1.5 million.
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MAIN MARKET AND AIM - LOSERS
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STM Group, down 6.9%. The financial services provider said it now expects to report a decline in pretax profit for the first half of 2016, as it suffered from expatriates delaying decisions over their pensions due to uncertainty surrounding the Brexit vote. STM expects its pretax profit for the first half of 2016 to June 30 to be around GBP1.2 million, down from GBP1.4 million in the previous year, on revenue of GBP7.9 million, down from GBP8.3 million, after restructuring costs and other one of costs of around GBP200,000. It expects its pretax profit for 2016 as a whole to be comparable with 2015.
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By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com; @ArvindBhunjun

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