Benchmark Holdings Share News (BMK)

LONDON (Alliance News) - The following stocks are amongst the biggest risers and fallers within the main London indices midday Tuesday.
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FTSE 100 WINNERS
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EasyJet, up 3.5%. The low-cost airline said it expects to report a smaller first-half loss in its current financial year, after it said revenue rose on the back of strong demand from business and leisure travellers and fuel costs fell in the first quarter. In a trading update, the company said it expects to report a pretax loss of between GBP10 million and GBP30 million in the first half of its financial year, narrower than the GBP53 million loss it reported in the first half of last year.

International Consolidated Airlines Group, up 1.4%. Aer Lingus said its board has indicated to IAG that it would be willing to recommend the British Airways owners' EUR1.36 billion bid for the Irish airline.

United Utilities Group, up 0.8%. The company matched rival SSE by saying it is targeting dividend growth of at least inflation as measured by the Retail Price Index in coming years, as it also accepted the price controls enforced the UK water regulator Ofwat. The utility company said its expected total dividend for its 2014/15 financial year us 37.7 pence, and it targeting growth of at least RPI inflation from that base each year through to 2019/20.
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FTSE 100 LOSERS
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Dixons Carphone, down 5.5%. The electronics retailer has been cut to Underweight by Morgan Stanley, according to traders.

HSBC Holdings, down 1.0%. Investec has cut the bank to Hold from Add with a price target cut to 630.00p from 650.00p. The stock currently trades at 620.80p.
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FTSE 250 WINNERS
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Britvic, up 5.3%. The soft drinks company said revenue dipped by 0.4% in the first quarter, citing "challenging trading conditions" in the UK and internationally, where volumes fell and selling prices remained flat. However, Shore Capital says Britvic's first-quarter financial result was slightly better than expectations, with a subdued UK market improving after a slow start and a successful Christmas campaign which helped Pepsi and fruit carbonates brands.

Crest Nicholson Holdings, up 3.8%. The house builder reported a 44% increase in pretax profit in its last financial year, buoyed by higher house completions and average selling prices, and said it's on track to hit its revenue growth target of between 70% and 80% by 2016 compared with the 2013 level after a strong start to its new year. It also offered a sweetener to shareholders, saying it intends to move its dividend towards being covered 2.0 times by earnings over the next three years, reflecting its strong cash generation.

PZ Cussons, up 3.7%. The consumer products group reported a drop in both profit and revenue in the first half of its financial year, due to recent business disposals and weak trading in Africa. The company posted a pretax profit of GBP39.7 million for the half-year to end-November, down 7.9% on the prior year's GBP43.1 million profit, as revenue fell by more than 10% to GBP386.7 million from GBP431.8 million. However, brokers Shore Capital and Investec said the results were in line with their expectations.

Ashmore Group, up 3.1%. Berenberg raised the rating from the emerging markets asset manager to Buy from Hold and its price target to 340.00 pence from 310.00p. The company is currently trading at 290.30p.

Entertainment One, up 2.9%. The media company said that it expects full-year earnings to be ahead of its expectations, despite a 5% fall in revenue in the first nine months, due to a strong performance from its family-entertainment business and controlled costs in its film segment.
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FTSE 250 LOSERS
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Afren, down 58%. The oil and gas explorer said it has entered into talks with a committee of bondholders, warning that it will require equity funding beyond its market capitalisation if its debt structure remains as it is. The company reiterated that is in talks with the lenders of its USD300 million Ebok facility with a view to obtaining a deferral on the USD50 million amortisation payment due on January 31. It is also considering whether to utilise a 30-day grace period under its 2016 bonds regarding USD15 million in interest due on February 1 as it completes the work on its capital structure review and seeks alternative funding arrangements.

Hunting, down 4.6%. HSBC has cut the energy services provider's rating to Neutral from Overweight and slashed its price target to 500.00p from 1,000.00p. The stock currently trades at 423.074p.
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AIM ALL-SHARE WINNERS
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Rangers International Football Club, up 14%. The company said it has entered into an agreement with Sports Direct International under which the retailer will provide the company with a credit facility of up to GBP10 million, a deal that means Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley will no longer have a direct loan to the club. Rangers said the directors of the club have considered a number of options to secure its funding, but said the deal with Sports Direct represents the "optimum combination of quantum and duration of funding, allowing the company time to arrange permanent capital which can be used for strengthening the playing squad."

ANGLE, up 14%. The company said that patient data from the Medical University of Vienna supports the use of its Parsortix system for the detection of ovarian cancer. The University will now collaborate with ANGLE on a clinical study of the use of Parsortix for this purpose, along with the European Network for Translation Research in Ovarian Cancer and the Tumour Bank Ovarian Cancer Network. ANGLE expects this study to take 18 months to complete.

UK Oil & Gas Investments, up 9.0%. The group said that it has appointed Stephen Sanderson as Chief Executive Officer, although he won't be on the company's board.

Greenko Group, up 6.6%. The Indian clean energy company said it was performing in line with expectations, with its power generation rising significantly in the final nine months of 2015. The company said that its power generation in the nine months to December 31 rose to 1,565 gigawatt hours, up from 1,072 gigawatt hours in the twelve months to December 31, 2013.

Gamma Communications, up 6.4%. The communications services firm said its revenue and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation, exceptional costs and share-based payments for 2014 are to be slightly ahead of its original expectations. The company expects to post GBP2.1 million in exceptional items for the year including GBP1.3 million in initial public offering costs, and to post GBP3.4 million in share-based payments also related to its listing.
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AIM ALL-SHARE LOSERS
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Nyota Minerals, off 33%. The company said its Towchester Investment Company Ltd subsidiary hadn't been granted a mining license for alluvial gold mining on the Abay River in Ethiopia and it won't be appealing the decision. It said the Ethiopian government had decided that a new dam being built on the river with the aim of transforming the country's economy was so much in the national interest that it wasn't going to risk any negative impact from mining activities. The government decided the risks outweigh the potential economic gains it would get from gold royalties and taxes from mining ahead of the flooding that would follow completion of the dam.

Volga Gas, down 25%. The company said it has taken itself off the auction block after failing to attract any acceptable offers, and said it expects its costs to come down in line with a decline in revenue.

Benchmark Holdings, down 13%. The animal health company said it swung to a loss in its last financial year as it ramped up headcount to help drive future growth and invested heavily in research and development and manufacturing, although sales grew strongly. The company reported a pretax loss of GBP1.4 million for the year ended September 30, 2014, compared with a GBP4.9 million pretax profit a year earlier, as it invested GBP6.5 million in scientific research and development and put aside over GBP20 million for the expansion of its UK vaccine manufacturing facilities.
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By Daniel Ruiz; danielruiz@alliancenews.com;

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