UK WINNERS & LOSERS SUMMARY: Astra Rises On Positive Trial Results

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

----------

FTSE 100 - WINNERS

----------

AstraZeneca, up 1.9%. The drugmaker said its phase 3 Adaura trial of Tagrisso in early-stage cell lung cancer found that the drug reduced the risk of disease recurrence or death by around 80%. The detailed results were from a trial of Tagrisso, the brand name for osimertinib, after surgery in patients with "epidermal growth factor receptor-mutated (EGFRm) non-small cell lung cancer after complete tumour resection with curative intent". EGFR mutations are associated with some lung cancers. In the primary endpoint of disease-free survival in patients with stage 2 and 3A disease, treatment with Tagrisso reduced risk of disease recurrence or death by 83%. Disease-free survival in the overall trial population, covering stages 1B to 3A, found a 79% drop in the risk of disease recurrence or death. At the two year mark, 89% of patients in the trial who had been treated with Tagrisso were still alive and disease free compared to a 53% figure in patients who were given a placebo.

----------

FTSE 100 - LOSERS

----------

Fresnillo, down 2.3%. The Mexican gold miner said it is responding to operational challenges caused by Covid-19 after a tough 2019. Fresnillo said it has focused on responding to the Covid-19 over the past three months, implementing a range of safety measures across the business. It confirmed that the board and senior management took voluntary and temporary pay cuts to help the company get through this "unprecedented" situation. Fresnillo said its operations are critical to the economies in which it operate, with mining now confirmed as an essential activity in Mexico. "Operationally, 2019 was a more challenging year, as expected," said Chair Alberto Bailleres. Both silver and gold production fell from 2018 levels, due to lower-than-anticipated grades in its key mines. The company said its response has been to increase the pace and scale of investments in a series of projects and take corrective actions to bring production back to acceptable levels in the short-term, and to achieve steady growth in future years.

----------

FTSE 250 - WINNERS

----------

Provident Financial, up 8.4%. The lender got an upgrade from Jefferies to Buy from Hold.

----------

B&M European Value Retail, up 4.1%. The retailer reported a strong end to the fourth quarter - which ran to March 28 - driven by an exceptionally strong March performance in Grocery, with the B&M UK fascia like-for-like revenue up 6.6%. Going forward, B&M said it experienced strong revenue growth in the first 8 weeks to May 23, with B&M UK fascia like-for-like revenue up 23%, driven by exceptionally strong Do It Yourself and Gardening categories, and despite a significant fall in customer count. If DIY and Gardening categories are excluded, the B&M UK fascia like-for-like revenue over that 8 week period was up 10%. "We have encountered exceptionally strong demand in our UK business over recent weeks. Customers have been coming to our stores much less frequently through the lockdown but their average spend has been much higher than normal," said Chief Executive Simon Arora.

----------

FTSE 250 - LOSERS

----------

Energean, down 2.0%. The oil & gas producer said its shareholder gave a green light for the name change from Energean Oil & Gas PLC to Energean PLC. In terms of trading, the company noted that it retains its strong commitment to sustainable development regardless of the impact of the global Covid-19 pandemic.

----------

OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS

----------

Helios Underwriting, up 9.1%. The insurance company reported profit before impairments and tax of GBP2.4 million for 2019 compared to GBP608,000 a year prior. Adjusted net asset value per share grew to GBP2.06 from GBP1.90 year-on-year. Helios said, during 2019, a further four corporate members were acquired, resulting in a 31% increase in the capacity portfolio. The four acquisitions in 2019 were purchased for a total consideration of GBP10 million, the company said. Helios said it will not be paying a dividend for 2019, having paid 3.0 pence a share in 2018. The company explained that it intends to maintain its available cash resources, given the uncertainty for the potential funding of the Covid-19 and other losses in the immediate future. "The coronavirus pandemic will be a manageable loss for the property and casualty insurance and reinsurance industry, unless there is some kind of structural change to drive the cost to the sector much higher," said Non-Executive Chair Michael Cunningham.

----------

OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - LOSERS

----------

Johnson Service Group , down 9.3% at 129.64p. The textile services provider said it intends to raise GBP85 million through the issue of 73.9 million shares at a price of 115p. The company said the placing will be conducted through an accelerated bookbuilding process, which will be launched immediately. Investec Bank is acting as sole broker and sole bookrunner in connection with the placing. Johnson Service said it is fundraising to improve its liquidity position and further strengthen its balance sheet. The company explained that trading for the first two months of 2020, before the impact of Covid-19, was in line with its expectations, but it continues to see a significant amount of disruption across its markets. However, Johnson Service said the full implications of Covid-19 on its financial performance and position are difficult to determine at this stage.

----------

By Evelina Grecenko; evelinagrecenko@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.