25th Feb 2020 10:39
(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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Prudential, up 2.0%. The insurer said it was willing to facilitate a positive dialogue between shareholder Third Point after the US hedge fund sent a letter to the company on Monday saying it had acquired a stake of just under 5%. Dan Loeb's New York-based fund wrote to Prudential's board calling on the 332-year old insurer to split its existing US and Asian operations and list them as separate entities, saying there was "no strategic rationale" for the company to be listed in London, following its demerger of UK unit M&G last year.
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Anglo American, up 0.9%. Barclays raised the miner to Overweight from Equal Weight.
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FTSE 100 - LOSERS
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Croda International, down 4.0%. The speciality chemicals company reported a dip in profit for 2019, on flat sales, but was able to up its dividend payout. In 2019, the Yorkshire-based company recorded pretax profit of GBP302.3 million, down 4.9% on the GBP317.9 million seen in 2018. Revenue was marginally lower year-on-year at GBP1.38 billion from GBP1.39 billion the year before. Croda declared a total ordinary dividend of 90.00 pence in 2019, up 3.4% in the 87.00p distributed in 2018. The company declared a 115p special dividend in 2018. Looking towards 2020, Croda expects its future performance to be underpinned by its "healthy" innovation pipeline. The company also noted the new capacity at its biosurfactant plant in North America as reason for optimism in the year ahead.
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Meggitt, down 3.5%. The aerospace parts maker warned of a difficult 2020 due to the continued grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft and the coronavirus outbreak, The company also said Chair Nigel Rudd is to stand down, but will stay with Meggitt until a successor is found. He will not stand for re-election at the company's 2021 annual general meeting. For 2019, Meggitt reported revenue of GBP2.28 billion in 2019, up 9.6% from GBP2.08 billion in 2018, lifting pretax profit 33% to GBP286.7 million from GBP216.1 million. Looking ahead, Meggitt said "sector specific factors" including the production halt of the grounded Boeing 737 MAX and supply chain disruption, as well as the "wider macroeconomic impact" of coronavirus are expected to hold back margin progression in the short-term. Meggitt expects 2020 organic revenue growth in a range of 2% to 4% and 2020 underlying operating margin improved by 30 to 50 basis points.
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FTSE 250 - WINNERS
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Derwent London, up 1.5%. The property company hiked its dividend and said its net asset value was higher following a substantial revaluation surplus. Derwent's total return for 2019 was 6.6% versus 5.3% in 2018, largely due to a GBP156.4 million revaluation surplus - representing a 3.9% rise in its underlying portfolio. Consequently, EPRA NAV rose 4.8% to 3,958 pence per share at December 31 from 3,776p the previous year. Derwent is proposing a final dividend per share of 51.45p, 10% higher than in 2018, with the full dividend per share for the year up 10% as well at 72.45p per share from 65.85p. Derwent also announced it has brought forward its net zero carbon target to 2030 from 2050, having signed the Better Building Partnership's climate change commitment. The company is now one of the Mayor of London's eleven "Business Climate Leaders".
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FTSE 250 - LOSERS
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SIG, down 15%. The building products firm said Chief Executive Meinie Oldersma and Chief Financial Officer Nick Maddock have both resigned with immediate effect. Oldersma returned to work on a full-time basis on February 10, following a leave of absence of just under two months due to a family illness. SIG said Steve Francis will become CEO, also with immediate effect, on an initial contract until the end of 2020. SIG noted that he is a "strong" leader with a proven track record of returning radically restructured businesses back to growth. SIG said Kath Kearney-Croft - who joined SIG in January - was appointed as interim CFO with immediate effect. Kearney-Croft was initially hired to provide support to the executive team during the leave of absence of Oldersma. SIG said its 2019 results are anticipated to be in line with the guidance provided in January of underlying pretax profit of GBP42 million. In January, the building products supplier guided for a substantial drop in profit for 2019, amid challenging market conditions and declining revenue.
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OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS
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Itaconix, up 25%. The chemicals company said it has received its first order from a second undisclosed European customer for its Itaconix CHT 122 bio-based detergent ingredient. Itaconix CHT 122 allows formulators to meet increasing consumer and commercial demands for sustainable products without compromising on cost or performance. The order follows the London-based chemicals company's announcement in May 2019, when its first unnamed European customer ordered Itaconix CHT 122 to use it as a key ingredient in a new non-phosphate detergent.
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OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - LOSERS
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Ricardo, down 13%. The engineering consultancy said delivered a "good" performance in the first half of its current financial year, but it expects this to worsen in the second half as the coronavirus outbreak has already started to hinder operations. Ricardo reported pretax profit of GBP8.3 million for the six months to the end of 2019 compared to GBP10.3 million a year earlier, as administrative expenses grew to GBP56.5 million from GBP53.1 million. Looking ahead, CEO Dave Shemmans said: "As we start the second half of the year, we have seen increased headwinds in the automotive sector which we anticipate will lead to suppressed order intake in our US, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and China Automotive businesses." Ricardo said it is already experiencing an operational disruptions amid the coronavirus outbreak at the start of the second half of its current financial year. The virus is hurting the company's Automotive and Rail operations in China and it said it anticipates "continuing disruption to client engagement", project delivery and business development in the coming months in mainland China and surrounding countries.
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By Arvind Bhunjun; [email protected]
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Related Shares:
PrudentialSIGAnglo AmericanRicardoMGGT.LCroda InternationalDerwent London