UK WINNERS & LOSERS: LED International Off 58% As It Awaits Cash

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
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WM Morrison Supermarkets, up 4.2%, J Sainsbury, up 2.6%, and Tesco, up 1.6%. The supermarkets are among the biggest risers in the blue-chip index after rival Asda Stores Ltd reported late on Thursday that its first quarter like-for-like sales grew 0.1%, excluding petrol. "Ordinarily, 0.1% like-for-like sales would not be a whole much to be writing home about," said Shore Capital analyst Clive Black on Thursday. However, "within the context of a British food retailing segment where superstores are being eschewed by a significant number of customers in favour or small stores, discount outlets and online, such a performance actually merits a degree of credit to our minds," he added.
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FTSE 100 - LOSERS
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Intertek, down 4.9%. The firm's shares have fallen after it said variable market conditions, weaker-than-expected activity in its energy infrastructure market, and the appreciation of sterling hit its first quarter revenues. For the four month period to the end of April, the company said revenue grew 3.6% at constant exchange rates, comprising organic growth of 0.3% and 3.3% growth from acquisitions made in 2013 and 2014. However, at actual exchange rates, total revenue declined by 4.9% as sterling appreciated against many of its currencies.
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FTSE 250 - WINNERS
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Grainger, up 1.5%. The residential property business has reported an increase in profit and revenue for the first-half, boosted by profit from joint ventures. It posted pretax profit of GBP49.8 million for the period to end-March , up from GBP11.0 million a year earlier, helped by profit from joint ventures and a change in fair value of derivatives. The company benefited from GBP10.1 million in profit from joint ventures during the period compared with a GBP200,000 loss a year earlier. It also made a GBP4.9 million gain from changes in the fair value of derivatives, compared with a GBP18.6 million loss a year ago. Revenue rose to GBP190.0 million from GBP125.2 million, as retirement solutions revenue rose to GBP104.3 million from GBP14.9 million. UK residential revenue fell to GBP69.8 million from GBP91.4 million a year ago.
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AIM ALL-SHARE - WINNERS
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Rose Petroleum, up 11%. The natural resources company said it has increased its acreage in the shale gas prospective western Paradox Block in Utah by 35,000 acres giving it the opportunity to become a "significant player in the US oil and gas industry". It said the additional acreage is part of an ongoing deal by which the company can acquire 75% of certain oil, gas and hydrocarbon leases in the region, bringing its total acreage to 230,000 acres. The company said the new leases are for 10-years and were supposed to be a part of its original agreement for leases in the region but were withheld due to an accounting error by the US Bureau of Land Management, which has now been solved.
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AIM ALL-SHARE - LOSERS
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LED International Holdings, off 58%. The Chinese LED lighting company has warned that it is yet to receive a CNY100 million investment from mainly Taiwanese investors announced in March, and it continues to experience difficult trading conditions which it said could lead to a significant reduction to shareholder value unless it secures new funds. It said it is yet to receive cash related to the placing and issue of convertible loan notes, and said it is unable to confirm when, or even if, the funds will be received.
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Falcon Oil & Gas, down 11%. The oil and gas exploration and development company said its second exploration well at the Mako Trough in Hungary has gone into test drilling, but results from its first well at the site have failed to show commercial levels of hydrocarbons. It said Besa D-1, its second of three exploration wells to evaluate the gas potential of the Algyo Formation in the Mako Trough, has started test drilling. The company said results from Kutvolgy-1, the first well on the site, showed improved recovery rates from certain intervals during drilling, but well production did not meet commercial rates and it has discontinued testing the well.
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By James Kemp; jameskemp@alliancenews.com; @jamespkemp

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