UK WINNERS & LOSERS SUMMARY: Amigo Down 22% As Puts Up For-Sale Sign

Mon, 27th Jan 2020 10:30

(Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices on Monday.

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FTSE 100 - WINNERS

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Polymetal International, up 0.2%. The gold miner was tracking spot gold prices higher. The safe-haven assest was quoted at USD1,582.50 an ounce Monday, up from USD1,571.18 late Friday, amid growing concerns about the spread of the coronavirus in China.

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FTSE 100 - LOSERS

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Anglo American, down 4.9%, Rio Tinto, down 4.7%, Antofagasta, down 4.7%, Glencore, down 4.3%, BHP, down 4.1%. The miners were lower on fears the coronavirus epidemic will weaken China's demand for industrial metals. "The heavy weighting of the index towards the resources sector has exacerbated the situation, given how these companies' fortunes are closely tied to the commodity-hungry Chinese economy," said AJ Bell's Russ Mould.

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International Consolidated Airlines, down 6.0%, easyJet down 5.7%. The airline operators were lower amid worries that international travel restrictions could be imposed should the World Health Organisation declare the coronavirus outbreak a global health emergency.

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FTSE 250 - WINNERS

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Computacenter, up 1.3%. Berenberg raised the IT services provider to Buy from Hold.

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FTSE 250 - LOSERS

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Fidelity China Special Situations, down 6.5%. Shares in the China-focused investment trust were lower on the health crisis in China.

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OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS

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Nektan, up 45%. The mobile gaming and casino technology platform said first half revenue of business-to-business division more than doubled on the previous year following a group restructuring programme. In the six months to December 31, Nektan recorded B2B revenue of GBP787,000, more than double the GBP311,000 reported the year before. In December alone, Nektan's B2B revenue was GBP225,000. Nektan now has 28 live sites, generating revenue, which is sharply higher than the 5 live sites the year before. The company has 6 sites in beta stage and a further 21 in its pipeline to launch. As a result, Nektan is now guiding for monthly earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization to be break-even by the end of financial 2020.

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OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - LOSERS

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Amigo Holdings, down 22%. The guarantor loans provider launched a strategic review and formal sale process in a bid to "maximise value for its shareholders". This may result in a sale of the company. Amigo said controlling shareholder Richmond Group is a "willing seller" of its 60% stake. The review will be looking into the lender's "strategy, ownership and operating model". Amigo said it is considering the potential sale of the company as a whole, the sale of parts of the group, the sale of the UK business, and a potential de-listing of the company's shares. The announcement follows a board clear-out in early December. James Benamor, founder and previous chief executive of Amigo, returned to the company and was appointed a non-independent non-executive director with immediate effect. Benamor holds his stake in Amigo via Richmond. "Amigo has been under pressure from the regulator to improve the way it conducted business. The Financial Conduct Authority has been worried that many guarantors do not fully understand the risks they are taking on, as well as too many guarantors ending up paying part of the loan, as well as interest rates potentially being too high," said Mould.

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Safestyle UK, down 15%. The PVC windows and doors maker said it expects to report a loss for 2019, albeit a narrowed one, with costs from its ongoing transformation programme likely to hurt 2020 profitability as well. Safestyle is predicting an underlying pretax loss of up to GBP1.5 million, narrowed from GBP8.7 million in 2018. This underlying figure excludes items such as non-recurring costs and share based payment. The narrowing of this loss has been mostly driven by revenue, which for 2019 is forecast at around GBP126 million, an 8.2% rise from GBP116.4 million. This would put Safestyle's second-half revenue around 11% ahead of the year before. Safestyle said the reason it is still expecting to post a loss is that it incurred "additional lead generation costs" in the fourth quarter. In 2020, Safestyle will invest around GBP3.0 million in these initiatives, which is "expected to have a negative impact on short-term profitability" but is ultimately planned to "deliver material benefit" starting in 2021.

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By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com