UK WINNERS & LOSERS: Synergy Health Recommends Takeover, Surges 30%

LONDON (Alliance News) - The following stocks are amongst the biggest risers and fallers within the main London indices late-morning Monday.
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FTSE 100 WINNERS
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Anglo American, up 3.8%; Randgold Resources, up 2.6%; Fresnillo, up 2.4%; Rio Tinto, up 3.0%; BHP Billiton, up 2.4%. The mining stocks are providing the main support for the London indices as precious metal prices continue to rise due to safe haven demand amid ongoing concerns about the spread of the Ebola virus and a slowdown in the eurozone economy. A US healthcare worker in Texas was confirmed Sunday to have caught Ebola, becoming the second person outside of Africa to have contracted the potentially deadly disease.

GKN, up 1.8%. The car parts and engineering company received an upgrade to Buy from Add from Investec. The asset manager says that negative commentary from a number of GKN's customers in recent weeks has led it to lower its full year forecasts by between 4% to 6%, and lower its price target to 330p from 380p. However, the stock has heavily underperformed recently, falling 18% in three months, leading the asset manager to make the recommendation upgrade. GKN closed Friday at 286.5 pence.

Associated British Foods, up 0.5%. The food producer and owner of discount clothing retailer Primark received an upgrade to Buy from Hold from Societe Generale. The French bank left its price target of 2,950 pence unchanged as the upgrade follows a heavy fall in the price of the stock. ABF shares have fallen 25% since July. The unchanged price target suggested a 19% upside from Friday's closing price of 2,488p.
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FTSE 100 LOSERS
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Smith & Nephew, down 1.8%. The medical device maker said a Phase III study in North America into developmental venous leg ulcer treatment HP802-247 failed to meet its primary endpoint, and there was no statistically significant improvement in healing compared with a placebo.

Tesco, down 1.5%. Shares in the troubled supermarket have been brought back into focus following reports that two more of its directors are are leaving. Jonathan Lloyd, company secretary at Tesco, will leave the retailer next March after serving his notice period, and Ken Hanna, audit committee chairman and non-executive director, is also expected to stand down when his six-year tenure comes to an end later this year, the Financial Times reports, adding that neither departure is linked to the discovery of the overstatement in profits.

TUI Travel, down 1.3%. The travel operator has been amongst the worst performing blue chip stocks on a daily basis since the first case of Ebola transmission in Europe was confirmed last week. The confirmation Sunday of the first case of human-to-human transition in the US has kept the stock under pressure Monday. TUI Travel has lost 15% of its value in the last week.
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FTSE 250 WINNERS
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Synergy Health, up 30%. The health services company has seen its shares rally strongly after it recommended a USD1.9 billion takeover offer to its shareholders. US-based Steris Corp offered GBP19.50 a share for the UK company, comprising 439 pence a share in cash and 1,511p a share in Steris shares. The offer represents a 39% premium to Synergy's closing price on Friday of 1,400 pence. Synergy also said its revenue in the six months to September 28 was GBP197.6 million, up from GBP192.1 million in the equivalent period a year earlier, although underlying revenue, which excludes currency movements, was up 7.4%, thanks to a particularly strong performance by its Applied Sterilisation Technologies business.
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FTSE 250 LOSERS
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Essentra, down 2.0%. Share in the packaging components company have slipped despite the company saying its revenue was up 8% on the year at constant currencies in the third quarter, as higher sales of components and protection products and filter products offset a decline in sales of its porous technologies, meaning its on track to hit the targets set out in its strategic plan three years ago. The company said like-for-like sales growth was 7% in the third quarter of 2014. Like-for-like sales also exclude the impact of acquisitions and disposals.
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AIM ALL-SHARE WINNERS
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Clontarf Energy, up 45%. The exploration company has seen its shares rise following the news that an agreement has been reached among Pan Andean Resources, the Ghana National Petroleum Corp and the government of Ghana on the specific revised co-ordinates of the signed petroleum agreement for the Tano area of Ghana. Pan Andean Resources is 60% owned by Clontarf Energy PLC, 30% by Petrel Resources PLC, and 10% by local interests, and the news was noted Monday by Clontarf and Petrel in separate statements to the London Stock Exchange. Both companies said the solution is satisfactory and brings their interests in acreage closer to existing discoveries. Petrel Resources shares were flat midday Monday.

Premier African Minerals, up 6.4%. Shares in the mining group have risen after it said a revised Preliminary Economic Assessment model for its RHA Tungsten project in Zimbabwe has more than doubled the life of the mine to 15 years, and that it has started infrastructure work at the site. In a statement, Premier African said Bara Consulting has been updating the Preliminary Economic Assessment, and now gives a pretax project net present value at 5% of US183 million and an internal rate of return of 455%.

Armadale Capital, up 5.0%. The investor in African mining projects upgraded its estimate of the natural resources at the Mpokoto gold project in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The estimated resources of gold has increased to 678,100 ounces from 506,700 ounces.
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AIM ALL-SHARE LOSERS
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Scotgold Resources, down 16%. The gold miner said it will undertake a 1-for-1 fully underwritten rights issue to raise funds to put in on a more "robust" financial position, using the money for exploration work, debt retirement, working capital and developing its Cononish mine. The company said the rights issue shares will be issued at AUD0.006 a share. Its has been fully underwritten by new Non-Executive Director Nathaniel le Roux and new Non-Executive Chairman Alexander Littlejohn.
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By Jon Darby; jondarby@alliancenews.com; @jondarby100

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