20th Sep 2019 10:24
(Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices on Friday.
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FTSE 100 - WINNERS
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Royal Bank of Scotland, up 2.5%. The state-backed lender said Alison Rose will succeed Ross McEwan as chief executive officer. McEwan will formally step down on October 31. RBS announced McEwan's departure in April. He will be joining National Australia Bank when his notice period is finished. Rose - who will be the bank's first female boss - is currently deputy chief executive of Natwest Holdings, RBS's ring-fenced holding company. She will also be appointed as CEO on the boards of NatWest Holdings, The Royal Bank of Scotland, National Westminster Bank and Ulster Bank. Her selection as RBS group chief executive was widely expected.
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Burberry Group, up 1.7%. Credit Suisse raised the fashion house to Outperform from Neutral.
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FTSE 100 - LOSERS
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Rolls-Royce Holdings, down 3.8%. The jet engine maker warned fixing the Trent 1000 jet engines will take longer than expected and, as a result, the reduction in the number of grounded aircraft to less than 10 will now be delayed until the second quarter of 2020. Rolls-Royce said it has accelerated intermediate pressure turbine blade replacement for a limited number of Trent engines. This resulted in additional engine removals, leading to further delays. Rolls-Royce had to start a major Maintenance Repair & Overhaul programme due to faster-than-exected deterioration of the high-pressure turbine blade on the Trent 1000 TEN series of jet engines. The engines are used to power passenger aircraft such as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. It has retained its cash cost guidance of the Trent 1000 Package B and C in-service issues for 2019 and 2020.
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Antofagasta, down 1.4%. UBS cut the Chilean copper miner to Sell from Neutral.
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FTSE 250 - LOSERS
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Investec, down 6.1%. The Anglo-South African bank and asset manager said first-half adjusted operating profit will be slightly behind the prior-year period due to challenging market conditions. Investec attributed this to persistent uncertainty relating to Brexit, and depreciation of the South African rand against sterling. The dual-listed company forecasts adjusted earnings per share for the six months to September 30 to be 4% to 7% lower year-on-year. Headline earnings per share for the first half are expected to be 15% to 18% behind the prior period. On a divisional basis, the company's banking and wealth management businesses are expected to report year-on-year falls in adjusted operating profit, while the asset management business is expected to report a rise in adjusted operating profit. Investec also expects first half revenue and costs to be slightly lower than a year before.
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Great Portland Estates, down 1.2%. HSBC cut the property developer to Reduce from Hold.
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OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS
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Applegreen, up 3.5%. The petrol forecourt retailer reported a sharp rise in revenue with UK sales soaring due to the addition of Welcome Break motorway rest stops, as the Irish company also continues to expand in the US. In the six months to June 30, revenue rose by 73% to EUR1.48 billion from EUR854.9 million. Pretax profit rose by 12% to EUR10.2 million from EUR9.1 million, but on an adjusted basis, it more than doubled to EUR23.8 million from EUR10.2 million. UK revenue soared to EUR812.8 million from EUR356.9 million, usurping Ireland as the largest revenue contributor for the Dublin-based company. The UK business was bolstered by the acquisition of Welcome Break, a motorway service station operator acquired in October 2018. Applegreen hiked its interim dividend by 4.8% to 0.66 euro cents per share from 0.63.
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OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - LOSERS
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Thomas Cook, down 22%. The troubled travel operator confirmed that it has requested an extra GBP200 million during discussions with core lenders and its largest shareholders Fosun Tourism Group. Thomas Cook issued the statement in response to media reports on Thursday which said the company would need to find an extra GBP200 million to secure its future. Thomas Cook said the "seasonal standby facility" of GBP200 million will be in addition to the previously announced GBP900 million cash injection from Chinese firm Fosun. Thomas Cook said: "Discussions to agree final terms on the recapitalisation and reorganisation of the company are continuing between the company and a range of stakeholders, including its largest shareholder, Fosun Tourism Group and its affiliates, the company's core lending banks and a majority of the company's 2022 and 2023 senior noteholders." The firm added that the recapitalisation is expected to dilute interests of shareholders with "significant risk of no recovery".
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