UK WINNERS & LOSERS: Cairn Falls As Indian Tax Department Gets In Touch

LONDON (Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices midday Friday.

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FTSE 100 - WINNERS

Weir Group, up 0.2%. The engineering company said it had won a USD98 million, or GBP59 million, two-year contract to provide general maintenance services on Lukoil's West Qurna-2 oilfield in southern Iraq.

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FTSE 250 - WINNERS

Close Brothers Group, up 1.7%. The financial services company said it is expecting a strong result for the first-half of its financial year, as the recovering economy boosted all three of its divisions. Close Brothers said its positive first-quarter performance has so far carried on into the second quarter, adding that it is confident in its outlook for the full financial year.

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FTSE 250 - LOSERS

Cairn Energy, down 4.2%. The oil and gas exploration company said it has been contacted by the Income Tax Department of India to discuss previous income tax assessments. It said the discussions cover tax assessments from the year ending March 31, 2007. While the discussions are taking place, the Income Tax Department has instructed Cairn to hold its shares in Cairn India Ltd.

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AIM - WINNERS

Victoria Oil & Gas, up 15%. The oil and gas exploration and development company said it has signed a settlement agreement with RSM Production Corp in relation to its cash-call dispute for the Logbaba gas project in Cameroon. Victoria said that the parties have agreed to an independent audit to determine the final balance payable by, or to be refunded to, RSM. The audit is due to start during the first quarter and be completed within 90 days.

ITM Power, up 12%. The energy storage and clean fuel company said it has secured a contract with AMEC and National Grid to assess efficient usage of Power-to-Gas energy storage. The project will look at the cost and energy benefit of deploying Power-to-Gas technology at specific sites on the UK gas network. Power-to-Gas is a technology which converts electrical power to a gas fuel.

Stadium Group, up 11%. The electronic technologies company said that it had traded in line with expectations in 2013. The company said that, as it had expected, it delivered "significantly improved" profits in the second half as it began to see benefits from its restructuring programme.

President Energy, up 7%. The company said the results of an independent audit of its prospective resources are substantially better than expectations. The company said its three drilling target prospect areas in Paraguay are now estimated to have a gross mean unrisked prospective resource of 1.09 billion barrels of oil equivalent, which equates to 647 million barrels of mean unrisked oil equivalent to President and 130 million barrels of mean risked resources. President Energy said earlier this month that the sites were expected to have a gross risked resource potential of in excess of 500 million barrels of oil equivalent.

Stellar Resources, up 6.7%. The company said Gold Mines of Wales (Operations) Ltd, in which Stellar owns 49.9%, agreed a 12-month extension of its exclusive option agreement with the Crown Estates.

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AIM - LOSERS

Strategic Minerals, off 28%. The company, which experienced a 94% increase in its share price in the week between January 15 and January 22, said it knows of no reason for its sharp drop in share price.

Akers Biosciences, down 15%. The company's shares have plummeted after it recommenced trading on the alternative market. The company also announced late on Thursday the pricing of its public offering on the NASDAQ. Akers will offer 2.7 million shares at USD5.50 each, hoping to raise around USD15 million in gross proceeds.

E-Therapeutics, down 18%. The firm has announced the temporary halt of recruitment into ETS2101 cancer trials because of a drug supply issue. Patients already receiving treatment will continue to be dosed in accordance with trial protocols.

Biome Technologies, down 11%. Biome said that it expects to meet forecasts for its full-year results. However, it noted that its Stanelco RF Technologies business had seen a subdued end to the year due to turbulence in the Chinese fibre optic market.

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By James Kemp; jameskemp@alliancenews.com; @jamespkemp

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