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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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Kingfisher Group, up 3.1%. The DIY retailer reported a drop in profit in its recently-ended financial year as it booked higher exceptional costs and revenue was hit by negative currency movements, but said it is on track with its turnaround plan. Kingfisher said pretax profit in the year ended January 31 dropped to GBP512 million from GBP644 million the year before, as revenue fell to GBP10.44 billion from GBP11.0 billion. Kingfisher will pay a full-year dividend of 10.1 pence, up 1.0% on 10.0p the year before.
Sky, up 2.8%. The pay-TV company was upgraded to Outperform from Neural by Exane BNP.
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FTSE 100 - LOSERS
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Tesco, down 1.4%, Antofagasta, down 1.4%. The supermarket chain was downgraded to Sell from Hold by Stifel, while the miner was also downgraded to Hold from Buy by the same investment bank.
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FTSE 250 - WINNERS
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Phoenix Group Holdings, up 2.3%. The closed-life fund consolidator said it met its cash generation target for 2015 as its operating profit for the year declined. Phoenix said its IFRS operating profit for the year to the end of December was GBP324.0 million, compared to GBP483.0 million a year earlier, reflecting the sale of the Ignis business in 2014. Cash generation for Phoenix was GBP225.0 million, sharply down from the GBP567.0 million generated a year earlier but within Phoenix's guidance of GBP200.0 million to GBP250.0 million.
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FTSE 250 - LOSERS
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William Hill, down 12%. The bookmaker issued a profit warning for 2016 due to a weaker-than-expected online performance in the year so far. The company said in the period to March 20, the online business has been hit by two main factors, including the "worst Cheltenham results in recent history". William Hill said the broader business continues to trade well and is overall in line with its expectations. However, taking the disappointing online performance into account, the group's overall operating profit for 2016 is now expected to be in the range of GBP260 million to GBP280 million. Mid-cap rival Ladbrokes was down 2.7%, while blue-chip peer Paddy Power Betfair was down 1.2%.
DFS Furniture, down 4.9%. The sofa retailer said it swung to profit in the first half of its financial year, reflecting lower one-off charges following its listing in London last year. The company said its pretax profit for the 26 weeks to January 30 was GBP16.2 million, compared to a GBP14.4 million loss a year earlier when the group booked costs related to its listing in London and to its international expansion. Gross sales for the half increased 7.0% to GBP461.3 million from GBP431.2 million. Although DFS left its expectations for the full year unchanged, "it is not clear what the impact of the EU referendum campaign and outcome will be on consumer confidence and sterling," Chief Executive Ian Filby said.
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MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS
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Premier Foods, up 45%. The food producer said it received an unsolicited takeover approach from US spice company McCormick & Co, which it rejected. It also said it signed a cooperation agreement with Nissin Foods. Premier said McCormick had made two bids, with the larger of the two valuing Premier at GBP495.5 million, but it rejected both significantly undervaluing the business and its prospects. Under the Nissin deal, Premier will get distribution rights for the noodle maker's products in the UK, while its own products will be distributed via Nissin.
Eclectic Bar Group, up 12%. The bar and nightclub operator said it swung to a profit in the first half of its financial year as it works to reduce its cost base, although attempts to boost revenue are still ongoing. Pretax profit in the half year ended December 27 of GBP0.3 million, having suffered a GBP0.5 million pretax loss in the same period the year before. Revenue, however, fell to GBP10.7 million from GBP12.1 million, as the company faced lower student numbers in its bars, increased competition and difficult trading at its Dirty Blonde bar in Brighton.
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MAIN MARKET AND AIM - LOSERS
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Lighthouse Group, down 10%. Financial advisory group AFH Financial Group said it will not make a firm offer to acquire smaller peer Lighthouse Group. AFH disclosed last week it had made an approach to Lighthouse in March at 13.00 pence per share, valuing Lighthouse at around GBP17.4 million. The offer represented a 27% premium to Lighthouse's closing price on March 8, prior to the initial approach being made. Lighthouse said the offer tabled by AFH "fundamentally undervalues" the group and its prospects and advised its shareholders to take no action in relation to the AFH bid.
Game Digital, down 8.9%. The video game retailer said pretax profit and revenue fell in the first half of its financial year as the group struggled against a tough UK market. Game said its pretax profit for the 26 weeks to January 23 was GBP22.5 million, down 32% on the GBP33.2 million posted a year earlier, as revenue declined to GBP549.2 million from GBP585.9 million, off 6.3%. In response to the problems, the group slashed its interim dividend 77% to 1.67 pence per share from 7.35p a year earlier.
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By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com; @ArvindBhunjun
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