20th Jul 2016 09:47
LONDON (Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices on Wednesday.
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FTSE 100 - WINNERS
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Admiral Group, up 1.4%. UBS upgraded the insurer to Buy from Neutral saying Admiral Group's valuation attributes very little to what the Swiss bank sees as "major growth drivers of group earnings". UBS analyst James Shuck believes Admiral's story will be increasingly driven by new opportunities. These include transitioning into a full-service retail insurer, international expansion, and price comparison websites.
Johnson Matthey, up 1.1%. The platinum and chemicals company affirmed expectations for its financial year to the end of March 2017 following a robust trading performance in the first quarter. The company said sales grew 6.0% year-on-year in its first quarter to the end of June and rose 2.0% in constant currencies, with the group getting a benefit from the strength of the dollar against sterling. Johnson Matthey said its full-year outlook in constant currencies remains unchanged.
Hikma Pharmaceuticals, up 1.0%. The Jordan-founded pharmaceutical company said it has launched generic Xeloda cancer treatment tablets in the US. Hikma said the tablets have been launched through its West-Ward Pharmaceuticals Corp affiliate in the US and have been indicated for patients with Dukes' C colon cancer, as a monotherapy for metastatic colorectal cancer and for metastatic breast cancer.
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FTSE 100 - LOSERS
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Anglo American, down 5.4%. The miner said the majority of its commodity units suffered falls in production during the first half of the year as the miner lowered its full year guidance in some segments. In the first half of 2016, Anglo American said production of diamonds, copper, coal and iron ore were all lower year-on-year, while the platinum division and some smaller segments reported minor rises in the period. Anglo American reiterated its full-year guidance across most of its commodity units, except for copper and Brazil iron ore.
BHP Billiton, down 1.8%. The Anglo-Australian miner reported that its total iron ore production for the 2016 financial year to the end of June was 226.96 million tonnes, down 2.0% from the previous year. Total iron ore production is expected to increase to between 228 and 237 million tonnes in the 2017 financial year, excluding production from Samarco.
International Consolidated Airlines Group, down 1.0%, easyJet, down 0.5%. The airline stocks were cut to Neutral from Overweight by JPMorgan.
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FTSE 250 - WINNERS
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Electrocomponents, up 7.6%. The electronic components distributor said trading in its first quarter was in line with its expectations and said it had made margin improvements in the period. The group said underlying sales growth for the first quarter, in constant currencies, was 1.0%. The first half of the quarter was slower year-on-year against a strong comparator for orders in southern and central Europe. This since has improved, and Electrocomponents said trading so far in July has been encouraging. Gross margin improved in the first quarter by 30 basis points year-on-year, driven by cost cuts made in the business and by a higher-margin revenue mix.
Wizz Air Holdings, up 3.5%. The Eastern and Central Europe-focused carrier reported growth in profit in the first quarter of its financial year. Wizz Air said pretax profit in the three months ended June 30 grew by more than half to EUR52.3 million from EUR34.4 million in the same period the year before. Wizz Air noted weakness in the pound following the Brexit vote has led to a weakness in fares in euro terms on routes to and from the UK. In response to this, it has started readjusting its network and halving its intended second-half growth to the UK. It will redeploy this capacity to other non-UK routes.
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FTSE 250 - LOSERS
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Man Group, down 4.3%. The hedge fund manager said Luke Ellis has been appointed to take over as chief executive of the company on September 1. Ellis will take over from Manny Roman, who will leave the group at the end of August to move to become the CEO of US fund manager PIMCO. He will start at PIMCO on November 1.
Henderson Group, down 1.9%. The Anglo-Australian asset manager was downgraded to Underperform from Sector Perform by RBC Capital, according to traders.
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MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS
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IQE, up 19%. The semiconductor designer and manufacturer said the first half of 2016 showed significant growth in revenue and profit, leaving it in line to meet full year expectations. IQE said it expects to deliver a "significant increase" in revenue and profit for the six months to June 30, compared with the same period in 2015, and is confident it will achieve full-year expectations. IQE said sales in the first half will be at least 15% higher year-on-year. The photonics unit continued to grow and is expected to deliver a "double digit rate of growth" in the first half, with wireless and infra-red sales expected to show a slight year-on-year increase. License income from joint ventures is expected to be around GBP3.5 million for the first half, the company said.
Clinigen Group, up 11%. The pharmaceutical services company said its revenue and gross profit surged in the year to the end of June thanks to acquisition contributions and good organic growth. Clinigen said revenue for the year to the end of June increased 87%, while gross profit rose 90% against the comparable period a year prior. This was boosted by solid organic growth in the year and by the contributions made by acquisitions including ethical unlicensed medicine supplier Idis and Australian pharmaceutical and medical technology business Link Healthcare. The group saw a significant step-up in its performance in the second half, driven by strong trading in its Clinical Trial Services, Specialty Pharmaceuticals and Managed Access divisions.
Restore, up 8.1% at 311.30 pence. The office services provider said it has agreed a GBP83.1 million deal to acquire PHS Data Solutions and will back that agreement with a placing, while trading in the first half met its expectations. Restore, which provides records management and office relocation services, said it will acquire PHS Data Solutions from Personnel Hygiene Services. The deal will be backed by a GBP35.2 million share placing, through which Restore has issued 12.1 million shares priced at 290.00 pence apiece. Around GBP27.7 million of the funds raised will be used to back the deal, with the rest to be backed by existing debt facilities.
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MAIN MARKET AND AIM - LOSERS
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Xtract Resources, down 31% at 0.0666p. The miner said the purchasers of the Manica gold project in Mozambique will now pay USD2.5 million less than planned and issued a huge amount of shares priced at a significant discount. Nexus and Mineral Technologies will make an initial payment of USD2.0 million to Xtract and, in return, the total consideration has been lowered to USD15.0 million - meaning the purchasers are paying USD2.5 million less in total than first envisaged. Xtract also said it plans to spend USD350,000 to construct a new flotation plant at the Chepica gold mine in Chile and a further USD160,000 to refurbish the existing crushing plant on site. The work will be funded through a placing, with 1.53 billion shares issued at 0.065p per share solely to new investors, raising just shy of GBP1.0 million.
Kennedy Ventures, down 27% at 3.49p. The natural resources sector investor said it has raised GBP2.0 million for investee company African Tantalum. Kennedy Ventures will issue 66.7 million shares at 3.00p per share to raise the funds. The funds will be used by African Tantalum to upgrade and expand its Tantalite Valley Mine project in Namibia. "The TVM project represents a rare and exciting combination of lithium and tantalite in a country that has enjoyed one of the longest stretches of political stability and peace in Africa. We are pleased to continue to receive institutional and retail support and are now well positioned to progress operations towards lithium and tantalite delivery into two demand-led markets," said Chairman Giles Clarke.
Oxford Pharmascience Group, down 26%. The specialty pharmaceutical company said it has held discussions with several global over-the-counter pharmaceutical companies with the aim of securing a partnership deal for the OXPzero platform. The OXPzero platform aims to mask the bitter taste and irritation of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs ibuprofen and naproxen, and to provide reduced risk of gastrointestinal side effects. Oxford Pharmascience said it has held discussions with OTC pharmaceutical companies with a strategic interest in the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug market, which have indicated that they would prefer to see the assets further developed and have more clarity on the regulatory pathway for the OTC product approval before committing to a partnership agreement.
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By Arvind Bhunjun; [email protected]; @ArvindBhunjun
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