WINNERS & LOSERS SUMMARY: Unilever Up After Posting Solid Sales Growth

LONDON (Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices on Thursday.----------FTSE 100 - WINNERS----------Unilever, up 3.2%. The consumer goods giant said revenue dipped in the first quarter of 2019, due to the sale of its spreads business, but said it is on track to meet expectations. Moreover, Unilever also upped its quarterly dividend to EUR0.4104 per share, a 6.0% rise from its EUR0.3872 dividend for the same quarter of 2018. The Anglo-Dutch firm posted revenue of EUR12.42 billion for the three months to March 31, down 1.6% from EUR12.62 billion the year before. This was the result of the sale of its spreads business. For the quarter, underlying sales growth was 3.1%, with 1.2% attributed to volume and 1.9% to price. In 2019 as a whole, the company expects to report underlying sales growth in the lower half of its 3% to 5% range.----------FTSE 250 - WINNERS----------Moneysupermarket.com, up 9.6%. The firm reported a double-digit increase in revenue for the first quarter of the year on the back of a "strong trading performance". For the three months to March 31, the FTSE 250 price comparison website's revenue rose 19% to GBP104.9 million. Revenue in the company's Home Services division surged by 70% to GBP19.6 million, while Money and Insurance revenue rose 9% and 3% respectively to GBP25.3 million and GBP48.3 million. Looking ahead, the company expects Home Services performance to moderate through the year, after an "exceptional" quarter. The outlook for the remainder of the year is unchanged and the board is confident of meeting market expectations, Moneysupermarket said.----------Avast, up 3.3%. Avast reaffirmed guidance for 2019 following strong revenue and earnings growth in the first quarter. The cybersecurity provider said adjusted revenue in the three months to the end of March rose by 8.5% to USD209.1 million. For the first quarter, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization increased by 5.4% to USD117.5 million, resulting in an adjusted Ebitda margin of 55.5%. Looking ahead, Avast reaffirmed its annual outlook for high single-digit adjusted revenue growth, excluding currency impact, and a broadly flat adjusted Ebitda margin.----------FTSE 250 - LOSERS----------Hastings Group, down 4.8%. The stock went ex-dividend meaning new buyers no longer qualify for the latest dividend payout.----------Drax, down 4.8%, Vesuvius, down 4.1%, NewRiver REIT, down 3.3%, Polypipe, down 2.4%, John Laing, down 2.1%, Bodycote, down 2.4%. All went ex-dividend.----------OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS----------SimiGon, 48% higher. The firm has signed a blanket purchase agreement with the US Department of Defence's Enterprise Software Initiative. The simulation training solutions provider has agreed on pricing and processes with the US defence department for government customers to purchase SimiGon's products and services. The total potential sales amount for all selected vendors under this deal is USD238.6 million over a period of 10 years, starting form April, SimiGon said.----------MX Oil, up 40%. The firm has proposed a share consolidation and a name change. The oil & gas investing company is proposing to consolidate its ordinary share capital on the basis of 1 consolidated share for every 100 existing shares, thereby reducing the number of shares in issue to 44.7 million from 4.47 billion. Furthermore, MX Oil is proposing a resolution to shareholders to change the company's name ADM Energy PLC. The rationale for the name change follows a recent strategic investment by Shaikh Ahmed Bin Dalmook Al Maktoum. ----------Venture Life, up 13%. The firm registered double-digit revenue growth in 2018 following the acquisition of Dentyl last August. The consumer self-care company reported a pretax profit of GBP710,000 for 2018 compared to just GBP63,000 a year prior, as revenue rose 17% to GBP18.8 million from GBP16.1 million. The Brands segment, which includes the Dentyl mouthwash brand, increased revenue by 50% to GBP6.6 million from GBP4.5 million in 2017. ----------OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - LOSERS----------Starcom, down 24%. The firm intends to raise GBP637,500 via a subscription of shares to pay suppliers, meet product demand, and for working capital purposes. The company will issue 51.0 million shares at 1.25 pence per share to new and existing shareholders.----------