Wood Group (J) Share News (WG.)

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
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Imperial Tobacco, up 1.8%. The company reported a slight fall in sales volume and revenue for the first nine months of its financial year, but left unchanged its full-year guidance for "modest" growth in earnings per share and a dividend increase of at least 10%. It said its stock optimisation programme - by which it is reducing stock levels to improve supply and cost efficiencies - reduced trade inventories in a number of markets, especially Iraq and Russia, which has hit volume, revenue and profit. However, the company still expects "modest growth" in earnings per share at constant currency rates for the full financial year, accompanied by at least a 10% increase in dividend. It also said its cost-optimisation programme remains on track to deliver incremental savings of GBP60 million for the full year.
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FTSE 100 LOSERS
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BHP Billiton, down 4.5%. The mining giant leads the FTSE 100 fallers after it released preliminary full-year results and confirmed the demerger of a swathe of assets. Liberum believes that the stock has fallen on the lack of a "much anticipated" USD3 billion to USD5 billion buyback. The company confirmed that it will demerge its aluminium, coal, manganese, nickel and silver assets into a new company, pledging to cut costs and improve the productivity of its remaining businesses in an attempt to boost shareholder returns.

CRH, down 1%. The building materials group is one of fallers in the blue-chip index despite saying it swung to profit in the first half. The America's division has been hurt by weather patterns, particularly in the eastern half of the US, with very cold conditions earlier in the year limiting building activity.

Meggitt, down 0.5%. The company is down after Goldman Sachs cut its rating on the stock to Neutral, from Buy, and its price target to 493 pence, from 533p.
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FTSE 250 WINNERS
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John Wood Group, up 5.8%. The oil and gas services company reported an increase in profit, following a strong performance from its production services business. Pretax profit from continuing operations was USD233.3 million in the six months ended June 30, up from USD176.3 million a year earlier, as revenue from continuing operations rose 16% to USD3.22 billion. It kept its full-year guidance and increased its interim dividend 25% to 8.9 cents from 7.1 cents.
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FTSE 250 LOSERS
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Cairn Energy, down 2.7%. The oil explorer leads the FTSE 250 fallers after it announced that its net loss narrowed sharply in the first half of the year, after last year's result was hit by big impairments, but its operating loss widened as unsuccessful exploration costs rose. The company reported a net loss of USD62 million for the six months to June 30, compared with the USD219 million loss it reported a year earlier when it had booked a USD268 million writedown on its investment in its former Indian subsidiary. However, its operating loss widened to USD125.2 million, from USD107.7 million in the first half of 2013, as unsuccessful exploration costs rose to USD79.9 million, from USD49.2 million. The company isn't currently earning any revenue.

NMC Health, down 0.8%. The private healthcare network operator has seen its shares move lower despite reporting a higher profit and revenue in the first half of the year. The company, which operates in the United Arab Emirates, posted a pretax profit of USD40.9 million for the six months to June 30, compared with a profit of USD32.3 million in the first half of 2013, as revenue rose 15% to USD314.3 million, from USD273.1 million. Numis Securities says the results were driven by rising patient volumes, and that the outlook remains positive given the projected population and economic growth in the UAE.

Fenner, down 0.5%. The company has said that Group Finance Director Richard Perry has informed the board of his intention to retire in January 2015. Perry has served as finance director of the company since 1994.
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AIM ALL-SHARE WINNERS
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Ultrasis, up 20%. The company has said invoiced sales for the full-year are set to come in more than twice as high as the year before and that acquisitions it has made and contracts won are moving it towards profitability. It said invoiced sales for the year to July 31 will be approximately GBP2 million, more than double the GBP0.7 million reported a year earlier.

Sirius Minerals, up 13%. The company, which is planning on mining a large potash deposit in North Yorkshire, has been initiated by WH Ireland with a Buy rating and a price target of 37 pence, well above Monday's closing price of 11.75 pence.

Roxi Petroleum, up 12%. The central Asian oil and gas company said it successfully took a third core sample from the A5 deep well on the BNG Contract Area, and the gross oil-bearing interval now exceeds its initial expectations. It said it now intends to determine the full extent of the oil-bearing interval by drilling and logging rather than taking additional core samples. The company reported that once this has been completed and after the delivery of additional equipment, it intends to put well A5 on flow test.

Berkeley Mineral Resources, up 11%. The resource company said its environmental impact statement for its lead-zinc recovery and copper-processing project at Kabwe in Zambia has been approved by the Zambia Environmental Management Agency. The approval is subject to Enviro Processing Ltd implementing the project within three years.

Safeland, up 9.8%. The property investment group said it was able to make its first distribution to shareholders in over a decade due to the demerger of its Safestay joint venture, despite a fall in profit for the full year.

Stellar Diamonds, up 7.1%. The diamond company reported more positive results from the Tongo kimberlite project in Sierra Leone and said it was set to increase the diamond resource at the site. The company said it recovered 1,182 carats from kimberlite ore during the final bulk sample grading with an average grade of 178.7 carats per hundred tonnes, 49 % higher than the 120 carats per hundred tonnes in its current resource estimate.
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AIM ALL-SHARE LOSERS
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Aurasian Minerals, off 13%. The company has said that Chief Financial Officer Simon Bullock is set to step up from the role to join the company's board as a non-executive with effect from September 1. He will retain oversight of the company's financial management and controllership.

Beacon Hill Resources, down 12%. The company reported a delay in the approval of its proposed USD20.0 million senior debt facility, citing circumstances beyond its control. Beacon Hill still expects final credit approval during the third quarter, subject to implementation of a rolling stock sub-lease and any other final conditions imposed by the new senior lender. The company cautioned that shareholders should note there is no certainty that such debt shall be forthcoming or any re-financing will be successful.

Gaming Realms, down 9.7%. The group said it has agreed to buy e-gaming marketing company Blueburra Holdings, the holding company of Digital Blue, for up to GBP10.5 million, following on from its acquisition of marketing agency QuickThink Media late last year. In order to part fund the acquisition, Gaming Realms said it has conditionally raised about GBP6.0 million through a placing of 18.1 million new shares at 33 pence each with new and existing shareholders. Gaming Realms shares were Tuesday untraded at 36.50p.
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By Neil Thakrar; neilthakrar@alliancenews.com

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