9th Mar 2018 10:40
LONDON (Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices on Friday.----------FTSE 100 - WINNERS----------
Anglo American, up 1.4%. Investec raised the miner to Buy from Hold.
Severn Trent, up 1.3%. JPMorgan raised the water firm to Overweight from Equal Weight.----------FTSE 100 - LOSERS----------
Vodafone, down 0.7%. Bernstein cut the telecommunications firm to Market Perform from Outperform.----------FTSE 250 - WINNERS----------
GVC Holdings, up 3.7%. The online gaming company said net gaming revenue rose strongly in 2017 with its pretax loss narrowing, a day after both its own shareholders and those of Ladbrokes Coral Group approved the impending merger of the two firms. Sports betting and gaming firm GVC's net gaming revenue in 2017 increased 17% year-on-year on a pro-forma basis to
EUR925.6 million from
EUR794.3 million in 2016. On a statutory basis, GVC's pretax loss narrowed significantly to
EUR25.6 million after a loss of
EUR173.5 million in 2016. The company is paying a second interim dividend of
EUR0.175, taking the total for 2017 to
EUR0.34, up 13% compared to 2016. Trading since the start of 2018 has been "strong", with net gaming revenue up 16% year-on-year at actual currency rates to March 4. Shares in Ladbrokes were up 2.0%.
Esure Group, up 1.3%. RBS raised the car insurer to Outperform from Underperform.----------FTSE 250 - LOSERS----------
Inmarsat, down 7.8%. The satellite telecommunications company slashed its dividend due to a "lack of visibility" over future cash payments from its Ligado Networks contract, as it said 2017 earnings dropped year-on-year despite a rise in revenue. Inmarsat is to pay a final dividend for 2017 of 12 US cents per share, which it said is in line with a new annual payout rate of
20 cents, taking the total for 2017 to
33.62 cents, having paid a total dividend of
53.96 cents in 2016. Inmarsat said the annual dividend will remain at this reduced level of
20 cents until cash flow recovers. Free cash flow for 2017 fell to
USD41.2 million from
USD274.5 million in 2016. Revenue for 2017 rose to
USD1.4 billion, though pretax profit fell to
USD229.8 million from
USD299.2 million.
Renewi, down 5.2%. The waste-to-product firm said it will recognise
GBP73.0 million of impairments and provisions after a review of several contracts, though expectations for its current year remain unchanged. Renewi said these provisions will have "no material impact" on cash flow or banking covenants, and outlook for its year ending March remains unchanged in terms of underlying profit and cash performance. Underlying trading for the Municipal division in its current year is in line, and the action taken will boost performance in its next year, Renewi said. No further exceptional charges are expected related to Municipal division assets.
Acacia Mining, down 3.3%. Berenberg initiated the gold miner with a Sell rating.----------MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS----------
RM2 International, shares more than tripling to
3.75 pence, having closed at
1.10 pence on Thursday. The sale of a non-core office building in Switzerland, and the repayment of the related mortgage, has given
RM2 net proceeds of
USD2.0 million, extending the company's cash resources to continue operating through April. In addition, the trials of
RM2 ELIoT smart pallets have produced significantly positive results for customers' supply chains in the US. Significant opportunities with Fortune 500 companies are in final trial phases, the company added. As a result,
RM2 expects to report positive earnings before interest, tax, deprecation and amortisation in 2019.
Oracle Power, up 15%. The coal exploration and development company said partner Sichuan Provincial Investment Group has formally approved its role in the Block VI joint venture. Oracle signed a memorandum of understanding in November with Sichuan Provincial and PowerChina International Group Ltd over the project, located in the Thar desert in Pakistan's Sindh province. The partners now need to obtain the necessary approvals and licences as required by the Chinese and Pakistani governments. The two Chinese partners have undertaken preparatory work on the project and are now completing due diligence, which Oracle believes will be finished in the second quarter of 2018.----------MAIN MARKET AND AIM - LOSERS----------
Polemos, down 53%. Shares in Polemos were restored to trading on Friday after it said on March it has terminated, by mutual consent, its reverse takeover SecurLinx Corp.
Katoro Gold, down 39%. The miner said changes in Tanzanian mining legislation have led it to conduct further assessments on the economic viability of the Imweru gold project. After undertaking an expanded drilling programme and various studies in 2017, Katoro will look to finalise a resource update and pre-feasibility study at Imweru. All the technical aspects of the study have been completed and the economic feasibility is now being assessed, with specific attention to the new regulations passed in July. A new Finance Act has been approved by the country's parliament, which imposes a 1% clearing fee on the value of all minerals exported from Tanzania from July 1.
Conviviality, down 11%. Shore Capital cut the firm to Hold from Buy, after the alcohol distributor on Thursday said it expects earnings for its current year to be below market expectations.----------
