FTSE 250 movers: Restaurant Group sinks as revenues lift Rotork

(ShareCast News) - The FTSE 250 was down in afternoon trading on Friday, as investors picked their way through a raft of corporate earnings and as data showed the eurozone fell further into deflation in April.Valve maker Rotork was among the index leaders in afternoon trading, after it reported a 0.7% increase in first quarter revenues earlier in the day. Order intake rose 2.5% during the period. Currencies contributed 3.1% to offer intake and 3% to revenue, with acquisitions contributing 8.4% to order intake and 9.2% to revenue."Oil and gas remained challenging, with weakness evident in the midstream sector. Power was impacted by continued weakness in China. There was good activity in the water and industrial markets. Geographically, Latin America, parts of North America and India remained subdued," the company said.In a separate announcement, Rotork also said it was acquiring US outfit Mastergear from Regal Beloit Corporation for $25m on a cash-free, debt-free basis.Tullow Oil was another riser, as investors appeared to concentrate on rising crude prices, brushing off a research note from Investec. Analysts there reiterated their rating on Tullow's stock as 'sell', and set a target price of 70p on the stock. That implied a potential downside of 74.7% from its opening price of 276.5p. Tullow Oil's 50 day moving average is 211.03p.Shares in Restaurant Group were tumbling after the company warned over its annual profits, highlighting a further deterioration in trading conditions and announcing the departure of its chief financial officer.The company, which owns restaurants such as Garfunkel's and Chiquito, said total sales were up 4.7% in the 17 weeks to 24 April, but like-for-like sales were down 2.7%.Restaurant Group also said CFO Stephen Critoph will step down from his role with immediate effect after 11 years, adding that the search for a replacement was underway.Ophir Energy was another stock under pressure, after the firm revealed before markets opened that it had hit a serious stumbling block at the Fortuna floating liquefied natural gas project, offshore Equatorial Guinea, after it was unable to reach agreement with Schlumberger over an upstream participation arrangement."The Fortuna project workstreams are progressing towards FID. We have been reviewing a number of options and our discussions continue with other quality counterparties that can offer an attractive source of funding," said Ophir CEO Nick Cooper. FTSE 250 - RisersRotork (ROR) 192.90p 7.53%Centamin (DI) (CEY) 118.30p 5.16%Acacia Mining (ACA) 350.20p 2.07%BGEO Group (BGEO) 2,322.00p 1.71%AO World (AO.) 187.90p 1.57%Tullow Oil (TLW) 285.00p 1.28%John Laing Group (JLG) 212.60p 1.24%Evraz (EVR) 146.40p 1.17%Berendsen (BRSN) 1,191.00p 1.10%Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 238.40p 1.06%FTSE 250 - FallersRestaurant Group (RTN) 279.90p -25.22%Ophir Energy (OPHR) 76.35p -16.92%IP Group (IPO) 164.30p -6.81%Sports Direct International (SPD) 389.30p -5.51%Telecom Plus (TEP) 952.50p -4.85%Barr (A.G.) (BAG) 585.00p -4.80%Cineworld Group (CINE) 516.00p -4.71%OneSavings Bank (OSB) 286.40p -4.53%Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) 73.70p -4.22%Sophos Group (SOPH) 204.10p -4.22%