Vodafone Share News (VOD)

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

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FTSE 100 - WINNERS

Tullow Oil, up 4.9%. UBS has upgraded Tullow to Buy from Neutral. Following a sharp fall in the oil and gas company's share price over the past two years, UBS believes that, even taking a more conservative view of valuation and the likely share price relationship to that valuation, the group's investment opportunity is skewed to the upside. Nevertheless, UBS has lowered its price target to 900.00 pence from 925.00p.

Kingfisher, up 2.5%. The home improvement retailer said it is in exclusive negotiations to acquire French home improvement retail chain Mr Bricolage for an overall enterprise value of around EUR275 million. Under the terms of the proposed deal, Kingfisher will acquire a 41.9% stake from from ANPF, which is held by franchisees, and 26.2% from the Tabur Family, at an agreed price of EUR15 per share. It also said that it would file a mandatory offer to acquire the shares held by the minority shareholders at the same price.

British Land Company, up 0.6%. The firm has signed a new financing deal with a syndicate of 14 banks for GBP785.0 million. The unsecured revolving credit facility has a maturity of five years which may be extended to a maximum of seven years, on British Land's request and on each bank's approval for their participation. The facility has an initial margin of 115 bps over the London Interbank Offer Rate, and its terms include British Land's standard unsecured financial covenants.

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FTSE 100 - LOSERS

Vodafone Group, down 0.5%. The telecommunications giant has confirmed plans to invest GBP100 million in the UK to open 150 new retail shops and create 1,400 jobs, as it ramps up its investment programme in the country. Vodafone plans to invest GBP1 billion during 2014 in its UK networks and services. It said work was already "well under way" on its commitment to providing indoor and outdoor coverage of 2G, 3G and 4G services to 98% of the UK's population by 2015.

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FTSE 250 - WINNERS

BTG, up 3.1%. The specialist healthcare company said it expects revenue for year ended March 31 to be around the top end of its guidance range of GBP275 million to GBP285 million. It saw a strong performance in its Interventional Medicine Business, driven by the continued expansion of its embolisation and drug-eluting bead products, and new revenues coming in from its acquisition of live cancer treatment TheraSphere and EKOS Corporation in July 2013. The firm also saw higher licensing revenue boosted by the increased use of Johnson & Johnson's prostate cancer treatment Zytiga.

Dunlem Group, up 2.1%. The housewares retailer reported strong sales growth for the third quarter, albeit at a slower pace than in the prior year, as it continues to invest in its in-store offer, store expansion, and improving its multi-channel offering. It said total sales in the 13 week period ended March 29 rose 9.9% to GBP195.4 million, up from GBP177.8 million the prior year, with like-for-like sales growth of 5%.

Electrocomponents, up 1%. The electronics and maintenance products company said it expects to meet expectations for pretax profit, excluding reorganisation costs, for the year ended March 31, as profit margins remained stable and operating costs were "tightly controlled." Forecasts for headline pretax profit, which it said excludes reorganisation costs, are GBP101 million, up from GBP94.1 million in the previous year.

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FTSE 250 - LOSERS

St. Modwen Properties, down 4%. The company said members of the Clarke and Leavesley families, its largest shareholders, have sold about 8.3 million shares in the company at 380 pence each. It said that the shares represent a 3.75% stake in the company and that the Clarke family retain an 8.4% stake in the company, while the Leavesley family hold a 7.26% stake following the sale. It also said the share sellers have agreed to not sell any more shares for 90 days without the prior written consent of JP Morgan Cazenove and Numis Securities.

FirstGroup, down 1.8%. Both JPMorgan and Liberum Capital have lowered the bus and rail company's price target. JPMorgan has cut its target to 156.00 pence from 165.00p, while Liberum has lowered it to 155.00p from 160.00p. The fall extends the company's recent losses, having fallen 1.2% on Wednesday on the back of a disappointing trading update.

Tate & Lyle, down 1.1%. The sweeteners and starches maker said that its operating profit for the year just ended will be lower than the previous year, as sweetener volumes in both of its divisions were held back by a soft US beverage sector. It still expects its adjusted pretax profit for the year ended March 31, at constant exchange rates, to be broadly in line with the previous year.

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AIM - WINNERS

Toumaz, up 16%. Shares in the company have risen sharply after it said Chairman Richard Steeves bought 12.5 million shares at 3.05 pence and a further 1 million shares at 3.88 pence, and Chief Executive Officer Antony Sethill bought 1.5 million shares at a price of 3.225 pence per share. Following the deals, which are worth approximately GBP47 million, Steeves holds 19.8 million shares, equating to 1.2% of the issued share capital, while Sethill holds 4 million shares, which represents 0.3% stake in the firm.

ITM Power, up 12%. The energy storage and clean fuel company said it had won a GBP2.8 million contract to supply three refuelling stations in London under the HyFive project announced Thursday by London Mayor Boris Johnson. The HyFive project is a GBP31 million drive to make hydrogen vehicles a "viable and environmentally friendly choice of motorists across Europe," funded by the EU's EU Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Technology Initiative.

Unitech Corporate Parks, up 11%. The company has received a third-party approach expressing interest in potentially acquiring subsidiary Candor Investments Ltd, adding that it is in talks over a possible sale. Unitech has also announced that the separate discussions in relation to the sale its G2 investment property development announced in December 2013 have been suspended.

Intercede Group, up 10%. The company said that revenues for the year ended March 31, will be ahead of expectations and over 40% higher than the previous year, boosted by new contract wins for its MyID identity and credential management technology. It said it had executed its business strategy to deliver a 30% or more increase in sales, whilst accelerating its investment in people and resources to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the impact of smart phones and global cyber-security concerns.

Kea Petroleum, up 10%. The oil and gas company said Darwin Strategic Ltd is to convert GBP200,000 of its convertible loan notes into shares at 1.952975p per share. Overall, about 10.2 million shares will be issued to Darwin, and they are expected to start trading on AIM on April 9. Kea will have about 749.7 million shares in issue after Dawin's shares are admitted.

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

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