FTSE 250 movers: Pets at Home climbs, Greencore wilts

(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 250 was higher by 0.60% at 20,826.58 in afternoon trade on Tuesday, with Pets at Home leading the charge.
The pet supplies retailer gained as it reported an increase in interim profit and said it was on track to deliver annual pre-tax profit towards the top end of current market views.

Hargreaves Lansdowne analyst Sophie Lund-Yates said: "Pets at Home's results suggest there's bite behind the bark. In a time when retailers are struggling, the group is well and truly bucking the trend.

"The overall rise in revenue is impressive, but what's really telling is the 7.8% improvement in repeat retail business. Increased competition, especially online, makes that figure stand out even more, and shows Pets is holding its own."

Restaurant Group recovered some ground, having dropped on Monday after a trading update from its restaurant chain Wagamama, showed a deceleration in second-quarter UK like-for-like sales growth.

Down at the other end of the index, Irish food group Greencore was weaker despite posting a jump in full-year adjusted pre-tax profit and saying it expects another year of profitable growth in FY20.

West-end property owner Shaftesbury was also in the red after it reported a fall in full year pre-tax profits due to an asset revaluation deficit, although underlying earnings were higher on increased rental income.

Liberum analysts said that, though portfolio value has declined, they continue to believe the company's long-term prospects remain good, given the benefits of its established scale and control over an exceptionally well-positioned West End estate.

Finally, private healthcare group Mediclinic International fell after analysts at UBS downgraded the stock from 'buy' to 'neutral'.

Market Movers

FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,826.58 0.60%


FTSE 250 - Risers

Pets at Home Group (PETS) 240.80p 12.31%
Riverstone Energy Limited (RSE) 449.00p 7.16%
Restaurant Group (RTN) 140.50p 5.56%
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 1,628.00p 5.03%
Fisher (James) & Sons (FSJ) 1,990.00p 4.19%
Kainos Group (KNOS) 604.00p 4.14%
Bakkavor Group (BAKK) 127.60p 3.91%
Future (FUTR) 1,534.00p 3.65%
Sirius Minerals (SXX) 3.32p 3.62%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 197.35p 3.32%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Greencore Group (GNC) 232.50p -6.36%
Shaftesbury (SHB) 925.50p -2.68%
SSP Group (SSPG) 655.00p -1.80%
888 Holdings (888) 162.10p -1.70%
Hunting (HTG) 405.20p -1.60%
Mediclinic International (MDC) 394.20p -1.52%
Playtech (PTEC) 401.00p -1.30%
Avast (AVST) 445.00p -1.29%
Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 1,240.00p -1.27%
Balfour Beatty (BBY) 220.80p -1.25%