UK WINNERS & LOSERS SUMMARY: Equiniti Slumps After Profit Warning

Tue, 19th Nov 2019 10:39

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

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FTSE 100 - WINNERS

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Halma, up 11%. The hazard detection and life protection products supplier said "good organic and acquired growth" resulted in a strong year-on-year rise in first half earnings and that it remains on track to deliver another good annual performance. For the six months to September 30, Halma recorded pretax profit of GBP105.8 million, up 12% from GBP94.5 million in the year-ago period. Revenue increased by 12% year-on-year to GBP653.7 million from GBP585.5 million. The revenue growth was attributed to good organic constant currency revenue growth of 5%, a 4% contribution from acquisitions and a positive currency translation effect of 3%. Halma raised its interim dividend 7.0% to 6.54p per share from 6.11p a year ago.

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Intertek, up 4.9%. Jefferies raised the testing and inspection company to Buy from Hold.

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Meggitt, up 3.5%. The aerospace and defence company secured a six-year contract with the Defense Logistics Agency in Philadelphia for the supply of fuel bladders for military aircraft. The Defense Logistics Agency is part of the US Department of Defense, and manages the global supply chain for the army, navy and air force. Fuel bladders are collapsible, flexible tanks used for providing temporary or long term storage for industrial liquids, mainly fuels. Specifically, Meggitt will supply fuel bladders for the F/A-18 Super Hornet, V-22 Osprey and CH/MH-53 Super Stallion aircraft. The contract extension has a potential value of USD130 million, with deliveries set to start in 2020.

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FTSE 100 - LOSERS

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Segro, down 0.5%. The warehouse property investor was downgraded to Neutral from Buy.

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FTSE 250 - WINNERS

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Intermediate Capital Group, up 6.7%. The asset manager said its diversification strategy resulted in continued asset growth and a 32% interim profit rise in its fund management business. The company's assets under management amounted to EUR41.07 billion at September 30, up 11% from EUR37.08 billion as at March 31, with EUR4.61 billion of new money raised across 14 strategies. For the six months to September-end, Intermediate Capital recorded group pretax profit of GBP153.4 million, up 24% from GBP124.0 million a year ago, helped by a 15% increase in profit in the company's investments business to GBP68.4 million. The fund management business saw a 32% year-on-year rise in interim profit to GBP85.0 million from GBP64.4 million, benefiting from increase in assets under management, increased fee income and a slower increase in operating costs. The company has raised its interim dividend by 50% to 15.0 pence per share.

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HomeServe, up 6.5%. The home emergency cover provider reported a solid interim performance, with revenue rising on organic growth and contributions from acquisitions. For the six months to the end of September, Homeserve reported pretax profit of GBP19.7 million, up 2% from GBP19.3 million the year before, mainly on one-off gains from the sale of its 49% stake in Homeserve's Italian associate. Revenue grew by 13% to GBP457.7 million from GBP404.3 million, driven by organic growth from all regions, and contributions from acquisitions in the Heating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning business, including Gregg Mechanical and Fred's Home Services. Homeserve declared an interim dividend of 5.8 pence per share, up 12% from 5.2p the year before. HomeServe announced the acquisition of a 79% stake in Home Experts business eLocal Holdings for USD140 million on a debt-free, cash-free basis.

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easyJet, up 4.5%. The budget airline reported a "strong" end to its recent financial year, with financial results meeting expectations. easyJet's pretax profit for the year to September was 3.4% lower at GBP430 million, with the headline figure dipping 26% to GBP427 million. This is towards the top of the guided range of GBP420 million to GBP430 million, for headline pretax profit. Revenue was 8.3% higher at GBP6.39 billion, with passenger numbers rising 8.6% to 96.1 million. easyJet said revenue growth was also helped by a 10% increase in capacity. The company also announced a new Holidays business as well as a plan to make all flights net zero carbon.

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FTSE 250 - LOSERS

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Equiniti Group, down 10%. The financial services administration outsourcer said annual earnings will be at the lower end of expectations. The company, which provides payroll and company secretarial services, said underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation for 2019 will be at the lower end of market estimates of between GBP136 million and GBP142 million due to lower activity in higher margin UK corporate business. However, annual revenue is predicted to be at the upper end of GBP550 million to GBP567 million market estimate range. In 2018, underlying Ebitda was GBP122.3 million on revenue of GBP530.9 million.

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Polypipe, down 3.0%. The plastic piping systems manufacturer slightly lowered its annual estimates due to "poor" weather in the UK and "challenging" market conditions. Polypipe reported a resilient performance in "tough" markets, with revenue growth of 4.3% in the ten months to the end of October to GBP381.7 million from GBP365.9 million. Trading in the last four months reflects strong 2018 comparatives and short-term political and economic uncertainty that is harming Polypipe's markets, it said, with revenue 1.7% higher than the prior year. Since the end of October, however, Polypipe said this has been compounded by flooding and "poor" ground conditions, most notably in the north of England and the Midlands, meaning contractors and developers have not been able to access sites for civil work and groundworks activities. As a result, Polypipe said it now expects underlying operating profit for the year to be just below its previous estimates.

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OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS

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AO World, up 15%. The online electrical goods retailer said its revenue grew in the first half of its current financial year, thanks to acquisitions. AO World reported a narrowed pretax loss of GBP5.9 million for the six months to the end of September compared to GBP10.9 million loss a year prior, as revenue grew 16% to GBP470.1 million from GBP404.2 million. On a like-for-like basis revenue advanced by 3.2%. Overall revenue in the UK increased by 20% to GBP402.7 million, excluding the impact of the acquired Mobile Phones Direct in December 2018. Product revenue from AO World's retail websites - comprising ao.com, marketplaces and third-party websites - increased by 6.8% to GBP311.2 million, largely driven by a good performance in MDA product sales. Service revenue increased by 14% to GBP16.1 million, while Commission revenue surged to GBP61.9 million from GBP14.6 million, largely attributable to the acquisition of AO Mobile in December last year.

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By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com