UK WINNERS & LOSERS SUMMARY: US-Bound Ferguson Rises On Buyback Plan

(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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Ferguson, up 5.6%. The plumbing and heating products supplier announced it has started a USD500 million share buyback over the next 12 months. Ferguson said that its strong cash generation, as well as giving opportunities to invest in organic growth and acquisitions, means the group has surplus cash resources available. The company also said it is considering options for listing in the US following the planned demerger of its US and UK businesses, as Ferguson looks towards New York as the US business's "natural long-term listing location". Ferguson is considering two options - a dual listing on Wall Street while maintaining its existing listing in London, or switching its primary listing to a US stock exchange and losing its coveted place in the UK flagship index.

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Glencore, up 5.2%. The commodities house reported a mixed performance in production for 2019, with higher output of zinc, cobalt and coal, but lower of copper, gold, silver and nickel. Own-sourced copper production was down 6% to 1.37 million tonnes, partially due to the scaling down and placement into temporary care and maintenance of Mutanda in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as Mopani's extensive smelter refurbishment shutdown in Zambia. Due to a ramp-up at the Katanga mine in the Congo, however, cobalt output rose by 10% to 46,300 tonnes. Own-sourced zinc production edged up 1% to 1.08 million tonnes, as stronger output from Australia and Peru offset reductions at Kazzinc in Kazakhstan for safety reasons and at Antamina in Peru due to mine rescheduling.

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BP, up 4.5%. The oil major reported a fall in fourth quarter and annual earnings amid weak oil and gas prices. However, BP's preferred profit metrics beat analyst expectations and the company raised its dividend. In the three months to December 31, underlying replacement cost profit was down 26% year-on-year to USD2.57 billion from USD3.48 billion. For the full-year, it declined 21% to USD9.99 billion from USD12.72 billion. According to company compiled consensus from 20 analysts, 2019 RC profit was predicted to come in at USD9.50 billion and for the fourth quarter alone at USD2.10 billion. BP upped its fourth quarter dividend by 2.4% year-on-year to 10.5 cents.

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NMC Health, up 4.3%. The UAE-focused private healthcare firm said it knows of no specific reason behind the decline in the company's stock price on Monday and expects to report annual results in-line with management's expectations. NMC ended as the worst performer in the FTSE 100 on Monday, down 20%. Further, NMC said Tuesday its operations continue to perform strongly and expects to report full-year results in-line with management's expectations.

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FTSE 100 - LOSERS

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Polymetal International, down 0.8%. The Russian gold miner was tracking spot gold prices lower quoted at USD1,568.10 an ounce, down from USD1,576.67 late Monday, as coronavirus-spurred demand for safe-haven assets waned.

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FTSE 250 - WINNERS

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Electrocomponents, up 5.1%. The electrical parts maker reported a rise in revenue in the four months to the end of January, and also said Chief Executive Lindsley Ruth will be returning to the company following a temporary leave of absence. Electrocomponents said in the four months to January 31, group revenue was up 2%. Sales in Northern Europe and Southern Europe were both up 3%, but Central Europe saw a fall of 4%. Emerging markets sales rose 8% in the four-month period. In early November, Ruth was granted temporary leave whilst he received treatment for a medical condition. He was expected to return following a short period of recovery. He will now take back the role from Chief Financial Officer David Egan, who had assumed his CEO duties, on Monday next week.

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QinetiQ, up 4.5%. The defence contractor maintained its expectations for the financial year ending March 31, and said it has bought training and simulation solutions provider Newman & Spurr Consultancy for GBP14 million. The Farnborough, England-based company said it continued to perform in line with management expectations in the third quarter to December 31 and continues to maintain expectations for a full-year operating profit with high single-digit revenue growth. EMEA Services and Global Products have both delivered organic order and revenue growth in line with management expectations, the company said.

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FTSE 250 - LOSERS

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Micro Focus International, down 15%. The Newbury-based software firm reported the departure of its long-time board chair, Kevin Loosemore, as it said overall performance for financial 2019 fell short of expectations due to a challenging environment. Micro Focus said that Loosemore will be standing down as chair on February 14, after 15 years in the role. Greg Lock, former chair of Computacenter, has been appointed the company's new chair, effective from the same date. For the 12 months ended October 31, 2019, the FTSE 250-listed company reported revenue of USD3.35 billion, down 29% from USD4.75 billion in the 18 months to October 31, 2018. Company-compiled consensus saw revenue at around USD3.37 billion. The pretax loss amounted to USD34.1 million, versus an 18-month USD78.5 million loss. "There is speculation after last summer's major profit warning and the resulting strategic review that the company might be up for sale. Loosemore's departure would seem only to make it more vulnerable to an opportunistic bid," said AJ Bell's Russ Mould.

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OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS

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Keywords Studios, up 11%. Berenberg raised the video games services firm to Buy from Hold.

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By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com

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