WINNERS & LOSERS SUMMARY: SABMiller Up As Takeover Passes Key Hurdle

LONDON (Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices on Friday.
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FTSE 100 - WINNERS
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SABMiller, up 1.3%. Brewing giant Anheuser-Busch InBev late Thursday said it agreed on its approach on public interest commitments in South Africa as it progresses its proposed takeover of the London-listed beverage company. On Thursday, AB InBev said it has struck a deal with the government of South Africa concerning employment, localisation of production and inputs used in the production of beer and cider, empowerment in the company, long-term commitments to South Africa and participation of small beer brewers in the local market. AB InBev is acquiring Anglo-South African SABMiller for GBP71.0 billion in a deal which will create by far the largest brewer in the world.
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FTSE 250 - WINNERS
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Man Group, up 5.1%. The money manager reported stable funds under management in a volatile first quarter of 2016, warning that market uncertainty has the potential to hit its clients' appetite for risk and have a knock-on effect on the company. Funds under management edged down slightly to USD78.6 billion from USD78.7 billion in the three months ended March 31, a result of net inflows of USD0.5 billion, a USD0.7 billion hit from the value of investments, and a USD0.8 billion boost from the weakening of the dollar against the yen and euro.
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FTSE 250 - LOSERS
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Polymetal International, down 1.8%. Polymetal said production slipped in the first quarter of 2015 due to declining grades whilst sales lagged behind due to seasonal factors, but the miner reiterated its full-year production guidance for 2016. The Russian-focused miner reported production of 260,000 ounces of gold equivalent in the first quarter of 2016, down 4% from a year earlier due to lower grades, as expected, at the mature Okhotsk operations, lower-grade stockpiles at Varvara, and a "one-off release of work in progress" at Voro, it said.
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MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS
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Herencia Resources, up 46%. The miner said it has been advanced the first USD100,000 from its recently secured loan to keep the company ticking over for at least another week, and said its chief executive has resigned and will leave later this year. Herencia had said it was close to securing the financing on Thursday, but confirmed it has drawn down part one of the first tranche, totalling USD100,000, on Friday. Importantly, those funds will only cover the company's working capital for "approximately a further week". Chief Executive Graeme Sloan said he will leave at the end of June to give Herencia time to find a replacement.

Circle Oil, up 15%. The oil and gas company said the International Finance Corp has agreed to extend the suspension of repayments due under Circle's reserve-based lending facility. The repayment deadline has been extended to May 13, having previously been due to expire Friday. Circle said IFC has indicated willingness to consider further waivers as may be required as Circle Oil continues its strategic review.

Acal, up 4.3%. The electronic products designer said its underlying earnings for the financial year to the end of March are set to slightly outpace its expectations. Acal said trading in the final weeks of the financial year was strong, with group sales ending the year up 6.0% year-on-year and up 14% in constant currencies. Design & Manufacturing division sales were up 3.0% on a like-for-like basis and rose 50% in constant exchange rates due to recent acquisitions the company has made.
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MAIN MARKET AND AIM - LOSERS
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Spirent Communications, down 7.7%. Liberum cut its rating on the communications software, hardware and testing services company following a warning from a Spirent rival which may indicate an area of strength of the company has weakened. Ixia, a US network testing services firm, trimmed its outlook on Thursday as it warned on a slowdown in the North American telecommunications market. The group raised worries about weakness at US equipment makers such as Cisco and Juniper, both major customers, and delays being faced in closing deals. Spirent competes with Ixia in its Networks & Applications division, which contributes 55% of the UK company's total revenue. This has been an area of relative strength of Spirent recently, and Liberum analyst Eoin Lambe said the Ixia warning indicates this business has softened.

Patagonia Gold. down 4.0%. The gold miner said its loss swelled in 2015 after its operations became unprofitable due to lower production and higher operating costs, as the company seeks to develop or acquire an asset to replace its soon-to-be closed Lomada mine in Argentina. The group said its pretax loss widened to USD18.5 million in 2015 from the USD6.8 million loss booked in 2014 as revenue dropped, making its operations unprofitable, and costs increased. Patagonia said revenue fell to USD26.1 million from the USD35.9 million generated a year earlier, which swung the company to a gross loss of USD3.6 million from a USD9.8 million gross profit.
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By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com; @ArvindBhunjun

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