LONDON (Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices on Tuesday.----------
FTSE 100 - WINNERS----------
Micro Focus International, up 3.0%. Shares in the software company were rebounding from heavy losses on Monday after it warned full year revenue is expected to decline further than originally anticipated, and also announced the departure of its chief executive. The stock closed down 46% on Monday. In addition, Credit Suisse raised Micro Focus to Neutral from Underperform. ----------
FTSE 100 - LOSERS----------
GKN, down 1.3%. The engineer said it has a "clear and comprehensive" plan to eliminate its pension deficit as it continues to attempt to fend off a hostile
GBP8.40 billion takeover from turnaround specialist Melrose Industries through a deal with New York-listed engineering firm Dana. On Monday, Melrose argued the remaining aerospace-focused GKN business would be overburdened with up to
GBP3 billion of pension liabilities upon the planned disposal of its Driveline and - eventually - powder metallurgy units. GKN argued that Melrose's comments were "misleading as to the true status of GKN's pension obligations post the combination of our Driveline business with Dana".
Imperial Brands, down 0.9%. The tobacco firm said it has disposed of its non-core other tobacco products in the US in order to simplify its operations in the country and focus on core brands and next generation products. The company sold a range of "other tobacco" products which includes roll your own brands, tubes, tips, cigarette papers, and other smoking accessories in the US. No financial details were disclosed.----------
FTSE 250 - WINNERS----------
Bellway, up 3.1%. The housebuilder hiked its interim dividend after revenue and profit grew in the first half of the year. Bellway proposed an interim dividend of
48.00 pence, up 28% from 37.50p the year before. The group posted pretax profit of
GBP288.7 million for the six months ended January 31, up from
GBP247.6 million the same period a year earlier. This was on revenue of
GBP1.30 billion, up from
GBP1.20 billion. Bellway sold 4,741 homes at an average selling price of
GBP275,945, compared to the 4,462 homes sold for an average of
GBP256,100 in the prior year. Bellway said trading conditions were strong in all parts of the country, with its reservation rate having increased 7.2% to 178 sales per week from 166 sales per week the year before. Peer Crest Nicholson was up 3.2%. ----------
FTSE 250 - LOSERS----------
888 Holdings, down 4.5%. The online gambling firm cut its dividend and reported a 68% drop in profit for 2017 due to exceptional charges. Pretax profit fell to
USD18.8 million from
USD59.2 million, as a result of the exceptional charges, while adjusted pretax profit increased to
USD78.3 million from
USD69.9 million. 888 reported
USD50.8 million in exceptional charges in 2017, versus
USD3.9 million the previous year, with the biggest contribution to this amount coming from a potential historical VAT charge of
USD45.3 million, while another
USD5.5 million was in connection with a UK Gambling Commission settlement. 888 declared a final dividend of
5.9 cents per share, plus an additional one-off payment of
5.6 cents per share, bringing the total for 2017 to
15.5 cents per share, down from
19.4 cents per share in 2016. Peer GVC Holdings was down 3.1%.
John Wood Group, down 3.8%. The oilfield services company said it swung to a loss for 2017 due to costs related to its acquisition of peer Amec Foster Wheeler, as performance was resilient despite continued challenges in its core oil and gas markets. John Wood posted a reported pretax loss of
USD21.6 million in 2017 after a profit of
USD66.0 million in 2016. Stripping out exceptional items of
USD184.5 million, mainly related to the Amec Foster takeover, pretax profit still fell to
USD162.9 million from
USD220.3 million. Looking ahead, John Wood said it expects "modest" Ebita growth in 2018 as the core oil and gas market recovers and the benefits of cost synergies are realised. Further, it said, it had good momentum in contract awards over the second half of 2017. ----------
MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS----------
Fenner, up 24% at
610.52 pence. The conveyor belt maker late on Monday said it has agreed an all-cash takeover deal with French tyre maker Compagnie Generale des Etablissements Michelin for
GBP1.20 billion. Michelin is to pay
610.00 pence per Fenner share, giving the
GBP1.20 billion valuation. This compares to a market capitalisation of around
GBP925.4 million based on its closing price on Monday of 477.64p. This price is a 31% premium to Fenner's closing price on Friday of 467.00p, and a 33% premium to the volume weighted average share price in the three months prior to Monday.
Enquest, up 7.1%. The oil and gas company said it expects a "material" increase in production in 2018 as it ramps up certain projects, after what it labelled a transformational 2017. Production in 2017 dipped by 5.9% to 37,405 barrels of oil equivalent per day. The drop, it said, was due to the performance of the electrical submersible pump at the Alma/Galia field in the North Sea as well as lower contributions from the Scolty/Crathes and Kraken developments. However, EnQuest is guiding for a sharp increase in production in 2018 of between 50,000 boepd and 58,000 boepd. Kraken, which achieved first oil in the second quarter of 2017 and was a major focus in the year, averaged around 38,000 boepd in the first two months of 2018. ----------
MAIN MARKET AND AIM - LOSERS----------
De La Rue, down 14%. The banknote printer said its Chief Financial Officer Jitesh Sodha will step down from the company amid a caution forecast for full year profit. Sodha has resigned with immediate effect after three years in the role but will remain in De La Rue until the end of September to ensure an orderly transition while a successor is found. In addition, De La Rue said it expects the outturn for the year ending March 25 to be at the lower end of its current consensus range.----------
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