29th Nov 2018 10:49
LONDON (Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices on Thursday.----------FTSE 100 - WINNERS----------Ashtead Group, up 3.6%. The equipment rentals firm said Chief Executive Officer Geoff Drabble will step down from his role with effect from May 1, 2019 and from the company on November 30, 2019. He will be replaced by current Chief Operating Officer Brendan Horgan, who is also chief executive of Sunbelt Rentals, Ashtead's North American business and its biggest earnings contributor. Horgan has been chief operating officer at Ashtead since January, and chief executive for Sunbelt for seven years since 2011. Drabble has been chief executive at the blue-chip firm since 2007, first joining the group in 2005 as a non-executive director. Over the next few months, Drabble will work to ensure a smooth transition to Horgan.----------FTSE 100 - LOSERS----------Land Securities, down 3.1%, Severn Trent, down 1.7%. The stocks went ex-dividend meaning new buyers no longer qualify for the latest dividend payout. ----------British Land, down 1.6%. Exane BNP downgraded the commercial property company to Neutral from Outperform. ----------FTSE 250 - WINNERS----------Greene King, up 6.6%. The pub operator and brewer said said it is working closely with suppliers to safeguard supplies in the event of a no-deal Brexit, as it reported a 3.2% rise in half-year profit on the back of good summer weather and the football World Cup. Greene King recorded pretax profit of GBP127.7 million for the 24 weeks to October 14, up from GBP123.7 million in the comparative year-ago period, on revenue of GBP1.05 billion and GBP1.03 billion, respectively. First half profit, before tax and exceptional items, increased to GBP128.2 million from GBP127.9 million. The core Pub division delivered total sales of GBP850.3 million for the first half of the current financial year - accounting for 81% of group revenue - up 1.6% year-on-year due to higher drink volumes. The strong momentum in Pub Company has been maintained since the period end with like-for-like sales up 2.9% after 30 weeks and Christmas bookings well ahead of last year, the company added. ----------Britvic, up 4.3%. The soft drinks maker reported a rise in profit for its recently-ended financial year, as revenue grew on increased sales volumes despite challenging conditions. For the year to the end of September, pretax profit rose 5.0% to GBP145.8 million from GBP138.8 million the year before, on revenue that grew by 5.1% to GBP1.50 billion from GBP1.43 billion. Revenue growth was due to increased sales volumes and prices during the period, with 2.4 billion litres sold in total, up 1.6% from the prior year. The averaged realised price per litre was 60.5 pence, up 3.2% from the year before. Britvic declared a final dividend of 20.3 pence per share, bringing the total payout to 28.2p, up 6.4% from 26.5p the prior year.----------Go-Ahead Group, up 3.5%. The transport operator backed its annual expectations for the current financial year after reporting like-for-like revenue growth in its bus and rail operations. For the period between July 1 and October 27, the company reported like-for-like revenue growth in the Regional Bus division at around 3%. Passenger journeys rose 1.5% helped by the "better summer weather". In London Bus reported revenue rose 0.5%. However, profit within the division is expected to be lower that the previous year due to contract losses. In Rail - within which the group operates via its subsidiary Govia the franchises Southeastern and GTR - passenger revenue was up 7.0% while journeys increased 5.0%. ----------FTSE 250 - LOSERS----------Intu Properties, down 35%. The shopping mall operator's shares fell after a a consortium announced it does not intend to make a formal GBP2.85 billion offer for the company amid ongoing market uncertainty. Intu said it intends to reduce its dividend payment, starting with its final payout for 2018. In October, a consortium comprising shareholders Peel Group and Olayan Group - which together hold a 30% stake in Intu - and Brookfield Property Group proposed a cash proposal of 215 pence per share. On Thursday, the consortium stated that it "does not intend to make an offer" for Intu citing economic uncertainty in the UK. This is the second time in 2018 that Intu has seen a potential takeover come and go. In April, peer Hammerson dropped its GBP3.40 billion offer for Intu after deciding it was "no longer in the best interests of shareholders".Senior, down 8.2%. The engineer was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight by JPMorgan. ----------OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS----------FireAngel Safety Technology Group, up 20%. The smoke alarms developer said it signed a supply deal with a Scottish housing association. The contract is with Glasgow-based Queens Cross Housing Association for the supply of over 12,000 battery-powered smoke and heat alarms. The new alarms will comply with Scottish regulations, requiring all homes to have interlinked sealed long-life battery or mains wired alarms, coming in effect in 2019. The alarms will be installed by Queens Cross's maintenance team over an eighteen-month period. ----------Coral Products, up 15%. The plastic products manufacturer said it swung to a profit in the first half of its financial year. For the six months to October 31, the company posted pretax profit of GBP582,000 compared to a GBP7,000 loss a year prior. The swing was due to revenue increasing 10% year-on-year to GBP13.1 million from GBP11.9 million, with administrative and sales costs broadly unchanged. Coral proposed an interim dividend of 0.25 pence per share. A year ago, it did not issue a payout to shareholders. ----------OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - LOSERS----------Dignity, down 16%. The funeral services provider said it is making changes to its funerals business to ensure price transparency, while also developing its low-cost Simplicity offering, in response to a consultation by the UK competition regulator over funeral prices. The UK Competition & Markets Authority said it is consulting on a major funerals probe because of concerns over large price hikes, hitting people at their most vulnerable. The CMA is eyeing a potential market investigation reference and said it welcomes any views on the issues identified in its report by January 4. Dignity agreed there is a need for greater transparency on pricing and a rising demand for lower-cost funeral options, but it also emphasised the need for high quality, minimum standards and stronger regulation. In addition, Peel Hunt downgraded the stock to Sell from Hold.----------
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