WINNERS & LOSERS SUMMARY: Sports Direct Sinks After Auditors Hang Back

(Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices on Wednesday.----------FTSE 100 - WINNERS----------Admiral Group, up 5.0%. The insurer reported "modest" profit growth in the first half of 2019 as its main Motor business saw a slight rise in premiums and customers. In the six months to June 30, pretax profit increased 3.6% to GBP218.2 million from GBP210.7 million the year before. Admiral's turnover grew 6.0% to GBP1.77 billion from GBP1.66 billion the year before. Admiral defines its turnover as total written premiums and other revenue & income from Admiral Loans. Admiral's underwriting profit, however, increased 2.8% to GBP96.0 million from GBP93.4 million the year before. Admiral upped its payout by 5.0% to 63.0 pence - comprising an interim dividend of 41.8p and a special dividend of 21.2p. The insurer distributed 60.0p for the first half last year.----------AstraZeneca, up 0.5%. The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker said its Calquence remedy received breakthrough therapy designation, while trials showed the drug maker's Lynparza medication allowed ovarian cancer sufferers to live longer without disease progression. The designation from the US Food & Drug Administration means Calquence, which specifically treats chronic lymphomatic leukaemia, one of the most common types in adults, will have its development accelerated. The regulator granted the designation following positive results from two separate clinical trials of the drug which showed that patients lived longer without disease progression or death, Astra said. Separately, Astra said the Lynparza Phase Three Paola-1 trial met its primary endpoint. ----------FTSE 250 - WINNERS----------Balfour Beatty, up 9.0%. The construction company increased its annual cash forecast and hiked its interim dividend by almost a third, amid positive interim earnings. Revenue, which includes its income from joint ventures, rose by 1% to GBP3.88 billion in the six months to June 28 from GBP3.84 billion a year before. Pretax profit jumped by 26% to GBP63.0 million from GBP50.0 million and on an underlying basis by 14% to GBP64.0 million from GBP56.0 million. For 2019, Balfour said it now expects to deliver average net cash in a range of GBP280 to GBP300 million, versus the previous range of GBP220 to GBP260 million. Balfour raised its interim dividend by 31% to 2.1p. The UK government is a major customer of Balfour Beatty's construction unit and the company also has interests in the transport sector. "Since 2015, Balfour has been hell bent on making its Build to Last programme a success. The cornerstone of that being to make sure Balfour bids for more profitable projects, and not partaking in a race to the bottom when it came to bidding prices - like many of its peers," said Hargreaves Lansdown's Sophie Lund-Yates. ----------Avast, up 6.8%. The antivirus software maker said it expects like-for-like revenue to increase by high single-digits in 2019 following strong performance in the first half. The cybersecurity provider reported pretax profit for the six months to the end of June of USD186.0 million, up 14% compared to USD162.7 million a year earlier, as revenue rose 5.8% to USD426.8 million from USD403.3 million. Avast proposed an interim payout of 4.4 US cents a share, which will be paid in October. In the first half of 2018, the company did not make any distributions. Avast listed on the London Main Market in May of last year. Looking forward, Avast said its first-half performance gives it confidence for a strong full-year outcome. The antivirus software maker said it expect like-for-like revenue growth in 2019 to be at the upper end of the previously stated high single-digit percentage range.----------CLS Holdings, up 3.6%. The property investment company reported double-digit profit growth in the first half of 2019, boosted by portfolio valuation gains. CLS said pretax profit rose 28% to GBP84.6 million in the six months to the end of June from GBP66.0 million reported a year earlier. Net asset value per share also improved, rising by 5.0% to 325.3 pence from 309.8p year-on-year. Net rental income increased by 5.9% to GBP53.8 million from GBP50.8 million year-on-year. CLS Holdings declared an interim payout of 2.35p a share, up 6.8% from 2.20p paid a year ago.----------FTSE 250 - LOSERS----------Sports Direct International, down 10%. The sportswear retailer confirmed auditor Grant Thornton UK does not intend to seek reappointment at the retailer's annual general meeting on September 11. "A further announcement will be made in due course," Sports Direct said in a statement Wednesday. Grant Thornton came to the decision "following a review of its client portfolio", the sportswear retailer said. Earlier on Wednesday, the Financial Times reported that no other firm is willing to replace Grant Thornton, and Sports Direct is discussing its options with the UK government as it risks becoming the first major London-listed firm to fail to appoint an auditor.----------