FTSE 250 movers: FirstGroup falls despite contract win

Transport firm FirstGroup was a heavy faller despite winning the West Coast franchise, awarded by the Department for Transport. The contract runs from December 2012 to 2026 and has annual revenues of around £900m for FirstGroup. Panmure Gordon said this morning that while this is a "significant franchise win", it was probably already priced into the stock with shares having risen strongly in recent weeks. International infrastructure specialist Balfour Beatty headed the other way after underlying profits came in higher than expected. Services and construction group Interserve was also up after a solid first half that was ahead of some market expectations. Headline profit before tax in the first six months of 2012 rose 8.2% to £35.7m from £33.0m the year before, while reported profit before tax of £32.6m was up 8.3% from £30.1m in the first half of 2011. FTSE 250 - RisersSalamander Energy (SMDR) 213.00p +5.65%Ted Baker (TED) 1,010.00p +4.02%International Personal Finance (IPF) 309.80p +3.27%Rank Group (RNK) 123.90p +3.25%Savills (SVS) 386.30p +2.63%Bank of Georgia Holdings (BGEO) 1,179.00p +2.52%Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 102.00p +2.51%TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 189.10p +2.49%Interserve (IRV) 331.50p +2.31%Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 144.80p +2.12%FTSE 250 - FallersMan Group (EMG) 79.50p -7.61%FirstGroup (FGP) 242.60p -6.33%Ruspetro (RPO) 145.20p -3.59%New World Resources A Shares (NWR) 290.70p -3.55%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 185.10p -3.19%Kenmare Resources (KMR) 38.00p -3.06%JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 671.00p -3.03%Petropavlovsk (POG) 433.00p -2.85%Talvivaara Mining Company (TALV) 139.90p -2.51%Bodycote (BOY) 341.90p -2.20%NR Balfour Beatty Firstgroup