VGAS.L Share News (VGAS)

LONDON (Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices midday Tuesday.

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FTSE 100 - WINNERS

Aberdeen Asset Management, up 6.1%. The asset manager estimates net outflows slowed to approximately GBP200 million in March, after it reported GBP3.9 billion in net outflows across its asset classes over January and February. Aberdeen also reported growth in its pipeline of new business, with mandates totalling about GBP3.6 billion awarded but not funded at the end of February. The asset manager also revealed that it has identified and implemented "significant additional costs savings."

Babcock International Group, up 4.5%. The engineering support provider has been named the preferred bidder on a 21 year fleet management contract by The London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority to manage London Fire Brigade's vehicle fleet. Babcock said the contract is slated to be become operational November 13, 2014. The rise follows a strong share price performance on Monday after it announced that the Cavendish Fluor Partnership, its joint venture with Flour Corp of the US, has been selected as the preferred bidder for the decommissioning of 12 UK nuclear sites.

BHP Billiton, up 2.6%. The global mining company said it is mulling an overhaul of its operating portfolio to focus on up to five commodities, after media reports that the company is considering a AUD20 billion demerger of non-core assets. BHP noted the press speculation and said simplification of its portfolio is a priority, believing that a portfolio focused on its major iron ore, copper, coal and petroleum assets would retain the benefits of diversification, generate stronger growth in free cash flow and a superior return on investment.

GKN, up 2.4%. The firm has bought the hybrid engines business of Williams Grand Prix Engineering Ltd, the Formula 1 team's listed holding company, for GBP8.0 million in cash plus further payments based on a percentage of sales. The business has already been working with GKN to develop flywheel technology for buses and trams.

WPP, up 1.3%. The media buying giant has acquired Paris-based digital marketing company X-Prime via its marketing communications agency JWT. X-Prime had revenue of EUR4.7 million for 2013, with gross assets of around EUR3.2 million. WPP didn't provide financial details of the acquisition. It comes just a day after WPP said its Hill+Knowlton Strategies communications consultancy had struck a deal to buy China-based digital creative agency Rice5.

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FTSE 100 - LOSERS

Weir Group, down 3.2%. The engineering company has confirmed that it has made a takeover approach to Metso, which its Finnish rival separately said it is considering. According to The Times, the approach is worth more than EUR4 billion, although Metso said it has never been in talks with Weir about a deal and the approach was unsolicited.

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FTSE 250 - WINNERS

Jupiter Fund Management, up 3.7%. Shares in the company have jumped after FTSE 250-constituent Rathbone Brothers said it had raised GBP24.4 million to fund two acquisitions, one of which is the acquisition of Jupiter's private client and charity investment management business in a deal that could be worth up to GBP53.9 million. Rathbones shares are up 1.3%.

ICAP, up 3.1%. The interdealer broker expects results for its recent financial year to be in line with current market expectations. According to a poll of 11 analysts conducted by ICAP, the current range of forecasts for the year ending March 31 is between GBP266 million and GBP280.0 million, with a GBP273.0 million consensus.

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FTSE 250 - LOSERS

Catlin Group, down 2.1%. Barclays has downgraded the non-life insurance group to Equalweight, from Overweight. In a note covering the whole sector, Barclays said that "we are probably at the beginning of a gentle but steady pricing decline cycle". Margin erosion is likely to put steady long-term downward pressure on shares in this sector, Barclays says.

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AIM - WINNERS

Volga Gas, up 7.4%. The oil and gas exploration and production group said it swung to a pretax profit in 2013 as revenues jumped on increased gas prices and operational upgrades. It posted a pretax profit of USD9.1 million in 2013, versus a pretax loss of USD6.3 million in 2012, as revenues increased 22% to USD34.6 million from USD28.3 million.

IQE, up 4.3%. The group has been chosen as a supply-chain partner for NASDAQ-listed M/A-COM Technology Solutions Inc's Gallium Nitride on Silicon programme. Gallium nitride is a hard semiconductor material primarily used in light-emitting diodes. Under the agreement, IQE will deliver wafers that have a Gallium Nitride on Silicon performance at a mainstream 200 millimetre silicon cost structure. No financial details of the agreement were disclosed.

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AIM - LOSERS

ZincOx Resources, off 25% at 12.00 pence. The zinc recycling company has conditionally raised GBP1.0 million by way of a placing of roughly 10.3 million shares at a price of 10 pence per share, and announced plans to raise a further GBP4 million by way of an open offer at the same price. It said the placing price represents a discount of 38% to the closing mid-market price of the company on March 31. The proceeds of the placing and open offer will be used for general working capital purposes, repairs to its refractory, and the purchase of equipment to complete the ramp-up of the company's first recycling plant, KRP in South Korea.

Ashley House, down 25%. The health and community care property company said it was not likely to make a profit in the financial year ending April 30. It had previously said that, in order to reach market expectations for profit for the year, it would need to achieve planning and exchange legal contracts on four out of six of its extra care schemes. However, although this is likely to be achieved, completing legal agreements with prospective tenants and purchases has been slower than Ashley House had expected.

Touchstone Gold, down 18%. The gold mining company said its pretax loss widened in 2013 as it a wrote down the value of assets including property and equipment, and it again warned that it faced defaulting on some payments if it can't get new funding. The firm, which is yet to produce any revenues, said its pretax loss widened to USD18.7 million from USD10.3 million the previous year. Its costs and expenses increased to USD19.0 million, from USD10.3 million, mainly due to a USD15.0 million impairment as the carrying amount of the company's property, plant and equipment fell significantly. The company said it is continuing to review a number of options in order to secure financing and reiterated that if it cannot gain funding, it will be unable to meet its scheduled payments to vendors on its concession contracts.

Getech Group, down 11%. The company said its pretax profit declined 83% in the first half of its financial year as it was hit by a slowdown in spending by customers. It said it made a GBP233,000 pretax profit for the six months to the end of January, compared with a GBP1.4 million profit for the corresponding period a year earlier. Revenue fell to GBP3.1 million, from GBP4.0 million, due to "general restrictions on spending" by major exploration and production companies. Administrative costs were up by GBP54,000 to about GBP1.8 million.

Trafalgar New Homes, down 11%. The property developer said that its financial results for the year ended March 31 are now expected to be significantly below market expectations as a result of planning delays and the decision to reject an offer from an investor buyer for eight of the twelve units at its Oakhurst Park Gardens in Kent.

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By James Kemp; jameskemp@alliancenews.com; @jamespkemp

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