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(Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices on Tuesday.
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FTSE 100 - WINNERS
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Ashtead Group, up 8.0%. The equipment rentals firm increased its total dividend for financial 2020, as it expressed confidence in the strength of its balance sheet despite the market turmoil caused by Covid-19. For the year to the end of April, the London-based equipment rental firm recorded a 7% drop in pretax profit to GBP982.8 million from GBP1.06 billion the year before. Segmentally, Ashtead's core Sunbelt US division recorded revenue of GBP4.34 billion, up 14% from GBP3.82 billion the prior year. Ashtead declared a final dividend of 33.5p per share, bringing its total payout for financial 2020 to 40.65p, up 1.6% from 40.0p the year before. "Overall, we still believe in the future growth prospects for Ashtead. Currently, Ashtead has a 7% market share in the US, the target is 15% through organic growth and acquisitions which we think is plausible as rental markets continue to improve. Furthermore, the group operates a strong, cash-flow generative model which can defend the company even in the most difficult times helping to preserve shareholder dividends," said analysts at the Share Centre.
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CRH, up 7.5%, Ferguson, up 6.0%. The Irish building materials firm and the US-focused plumbing specialist. The Trump administration is preparing a nearly USD1 trillion infrastructure proposal as part of its push to spur the world's largest economy back to life, Bloomberg reported.
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FTSE 250 - WINNERS
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Capita, up 12%. The outsourcer said it has secured a seven-year contract worth EUR67 million in total from Irish Water for the transformation and operation of its customer contact centre services. The contract is worth EUR10 million a year over five years. Irish Water also has an option to extend the contract for a further two years, worth an additional EUR17 million over years six and seven. Under the contract, London-based Capita will transform customer management support services for Irish Water's customers with a range of new software and digital capabilities.
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4imprint Group, up 7.5%. The marketing firm reported a steady rise in weekly order counts as lockdown restrictions in the US began to ease throughout May and early June. In April, the company said the spread of Covid-19 had led to order counts falling to 20% of the prior year's level. Now the weekly order counts are reaching 50% of the number reported for the year before. Operationally, 4imprint's two US locations in Oshkosh, Wisconsin and its UK office in Manchester have reopened. However, staff are continuing to work from home wherever it is practical. The group said its balance sheet remains strong, following actions taken to conserve cash, including significantly decreased marketing investment. As at the end of May, 4imprint had cash balances of USD28.1 million, and no debt. In addition, the company has a working capital facility of USD20 million.
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John Wood, up 7.3%. The oilfield services firm said it secured two contracts worth more than USD200 million with a US power and energy company. The Aberdeen, Scotland-based firm will deliver two major solar projects in the US state of Virginia with a 190 megawatt combined output. The first of these solar engineering, procurement and construction contracts will be a 120-megawatt solar facility located in Pittsylvania County and is expected to be operational in 2022 while. The other is a 70-megawatt solar facility in Chesapeake which is likely to become operational in late 2021. The two facilities further Virginia's clean economy act, which was passed in April 2020 and required that all of the states's electricity be entirely carbon-free by 2050. John Wood did not disclose the name of its client.
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Telecom Plus, up 7.0%. The utility services supplier reported record annual earnings, prompting a nearly 10% increase in its annual dividend. For the year ended March 31, Telecom's pretax profit improved 12% to GBP48.1 million from GBP43.0 million. Revenue grew 8.9% to GBP875.8 million from GBP804.4 million. The company noted this was in line with its own expectations. Telecom upped its full-year dividend by 9.6% to 57 pence per share, compared to the 52p distributed the year before. Looking ahead, Telecom said it holds "considerable confidence" in the future on the back of the strength of its balance sheet, and a significant fall in the Ofgem price cap expected this autumn.
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OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS
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Plant Health Care, up 6.5%. The biological products provider's shares rose after the US Environmental Protection Agency approved the company's application for the novel peptide product PHC398. PHC398 is the first active ingredient from Plant Health Care's PREtec technology platform approved for registration anywhere in the world. The approval will make it quicker and cheaper for future PREtec products to be registered in the US. PREtec peptides are derived from natural proteins, and are used to protect crops and increase yields. Looking ahead, Plant Health Care has submitted PHC279 for approval by the US EPA for use on several row crops, such as corn and soybeans, as well as fruit and vegetable crops.
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By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com
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