24th Mar 2016 10:46
LONDON (Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices on Thursday.
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FTSE 100 - WINNERS
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SSE, up 0.3%. The utility firm said it expects adjusted earnings per share to have fallen in the current financial year and said those earnings continue to face "significant uncertainties", but said it will raise its dividend. SSE said it expects to report adjusted earnings per share, which excludes certain exceptional items, to be in the range of 117.0 to 119.0 pence for the financial year to the end of March, which would be down from the 124.1p reported in the previous year. On a more positive note, SSE said the increase in its dividend for the year is expected to be "at least" equal to RPI inflation, which is currently expected to be around 1%.
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FTSE 100 - LOSERS
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Next, down 8.6%. The clothing and homewares retailer reported growth in profit in its recently ended financial year, as it grew sales in both the directory and retail businesses, but noted that 2016 will be a "challenging year" due to an uncertain global economic environment. Next said pretax profit in the year to January grew to GBP836.1 million from GBP794.8 million the year before, as revenue rose to GBP4.18 billion from GBP4.0 billion. Shore analysts George Mensah and Clive Black said the downbeat mood music around the year ahead, both at a company and economy level, will not provide investors with great confidence.
Fresnillo, down 4.0%. Goldman Sachs downgraded the gold miner to Sell from Buy.
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FTSE 250 - WINNERS
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International Public Partnerships, up 0.4% The infrastructure investor said its net asset value per share grew in 2015 and its pretax profit increased as it made a record number of investment commitments. INPP said its net asset value per share at the end of December was 130.2 pence, up 2.5% from 127.0p at the end of 2014. Its total net asset value grew to GBP1.29 billion from GBP1.06 billion in the year, up 22%. INPP said it will pay a total dividend for the year of 6.45p per share, up from 6.3p a year earlier. INPP will target a minimum dividend of 6.65p for 2016 and 6.82p for 2017, it said, delivering at least 2.5% growth per year in its payout.
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FTSE 250 - LOSERS
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Renishaw, down 9.9%. The engineer trimmed its profit and revenue guidance for its financial year to the end of June due to weaker trading conditions in the second half. Renishaw said trading conditions have weakened in the second half, leaving it now expecting pretax profit of GBP67.0 million to GBP83.0 million for the full year, down from its previous guidance of GBP85.0 million to GBP105.0 million. It also cut its revenue guidance for the second time this year, down to GBP420.0 million to GBP440.0 million from GBP440.0 million to GBP465.0 million previously.
Mitie Group, down 7.1%. The outsourcer said profit for the full year will meet market expectations, but revenue will fall short following a softer second half. Mitie said it has seen some revenue shortfalls emerge in the second half of the financial year to the end of March, meaning revenue will miss market expectations. The company has been cutting costs to preserve margins, which will mean profit will be "within the range" of current market expectations, it said.
Diploma, down 3.5%. The technical products and services provider said revenue in the first half of its financial year should be around 9% ahead of the comparable period the year before, following acquisitions it has made over the past year. Diploma said the businesses acquired during the past year have made a good contribution to revenue in the six months ending March 31, at around 8%. Currency movements, however, will hit revenue by about 1%.
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MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS
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Northcote Energy, up 37%. Oil and gas company Northcote Energy and Red Rock Resources, which has interests in gold and oil exploration, revealed they expect their partner to begin drilling the Lutcher Moore-21 well on the Shoats Creek field in the US in the middle of May. Both companies outlined the work programme for the field, which is in Louisiana, in early February, but have now said the operator of the field, Shoats Creek Development Inc, will begin drilling the Lutcher Moore-21 well on May 16. The well will be a twin to Lutcher Moore-8, which was originally drilled in 1950 and initially produced 185 barrels of oil per day and 185 million cubic feet of gas a day when it was completed. Red Rock was down 2.6%.
Trading Emissions, up 25%. The fund, which invests in environmental assets, said it is now in a position to resume dividend payments to shareholders despite reporting a wider loss and a fall in net asset value in the first half of the financial year. Trading Emissions will pay a 5.0 pence per share dividend in relation to the first half of the current financial year, costing the company a total of GBP12.5 million. That decision comes despite the closed ended investment company, which focuses on renewable energy projects and emissions instruments, reporting a fall in its net asset value in the six months to the end of 2015 to GBP26.3 million from GBP26.6 million at the end of June, leading its NAV per share to follow and fall to 10.5 pence from 10.6 pence.
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MAIN MARKET AND AIM - LOSERS
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Intelligent Energy, down 79%. The energy technology group said it will be unable to complete a funding process by the end of the first quarter. The company said there is no certainty a funding plan can be completed at all and is it now reviewing its options. Intelligent Energy said in late February it has received proposals to invest in the equity of its Indian energy management business and has received offers for a convertible bond. But it said these will not be completed in line with its target of the end of the first quarter.
Progility, down 23%. The professional services and communications company said it swung to a half-year loss and said the full financial year will be heavily dependent on an improved second half. Progility said it swung to a pretax loss of GBP1.4 million for six months to the end of December, from a GBP1.7 million profit a year earlier, with the main difference being a GBP2.8 million exceptional gain the company made on its Indian business a year earlier.
CPP Group, down 13%. The assistance products company said it swung to a pretax profit in 2015 due to a one-off gain, as it continues to work to recover from past scandals. CPP made a GBP21.9 million pretax profit in the year to the end of December, compared to a GBP4.9 million loss a year earlier. CPP booked a GBP17.8 million one-off gain in 2015, mostly driven by the compromise reached on its commission deferral agreement. CPP is aiming to recover after it was rocked by its part in a scandal that saw its card protection and identity protection products mis-sold to clients through a number of the UK's high street banks. CPP was fined GBP10.5 million over the scandal in November 2012.
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By Arvind Bhunjun; [email protected]; @ArvindBhunjun
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