Wetherspoon (J.D) Share News (JDW)

LONDON (Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices on Wednesday.----------FTSE 100 - LOSERS----------ITV, down 4.9%. The broadcaster said the first quarter of 2019 proceeded as expected, with overall revenue down on a decline in advertising amid economic uncertainty. For the three months to the end of March, ITV reported total external revenue of GBP743 million, down 4% from GBP772 million the year before. Total advertising revenue, which includes net advertising revenue, online videos-on-demand and sponsorship, was down 7% at GBP417 million from GBP448 million the prior year. Looking ahead, ITV's first half of 2019 is expected to be hampered by lower advertising demand due to continued economic and political uncertainty, as well as the absence of the Football World Cup event.----------Imperial Brands, down 4.7%. The tobacco major said profit rose sharply in the first half of its financial year due to reduced expenses and the growing strength of the company's Next Generation Products, such as e-cigarette brand Blu. The tobacco company posted a pretax profit of GBP1.02 billion for the six months to March 31, a sharp 70% rise from GBP600 million a year before. Revenue for the half was GBP14.39 billion, rising 2.3% from GBP14.06 billion year-on-year. Of this, Next Generation Product revenue amounted to GBP148 million, more than triple the GBP42 million achieved a year ago. ----------Direct Line Insurance, down 1.5%. The insurer said total gross written premiums decreased in the first quarter in a "tough trading environment". The FTSE 100-listed general insurer reported a 2.1% decrease in total written premiums to GBP753.9 million from GBP769.9 million. The company's own brands total written premiums fell 1.9% to GBP520.6 million. Direct Line's written premiums in its motor division decreased 4.2% to GBP386.9 million from GBP404.0 million. The low average premiums in the Motor market were attributed to reduced risk, which arose from the company's pricing initiatives. Claims inflation in the Motor division was at the upper end of the company's long-term expectations of between 3% to 5%, attributed to high third-party damage costs.----------FTSE 250 - WINNERS----------Travis Perkins, up 3.2%. The builders' merchant said it made a strong start to 2019, with all businesses aside from Plumbing & Heating giving strong performances in the first quarter. For the three months to the end of March, total sales grew by 5.4% on a year before, while like-for-like sales were up by 7.3%. The Retail division, which includes home improvement retailer Wickes, saw total sales rise by 9.4% , with like-for-like sales up by 10%, due to strong performance from core DIY and Kitchens & Bathroom showroom ranges.----------Grafton Group, up 2.5%. The building and DIY materials merchant reported a positive start to 2019, in part helped by better weather. For the four months to April 30, revenue rose 6.1% on the year prior to GBP962 million, with like-for-like revenue rising 6.4%. Grafton's Retailing and Manufacturing revenue increased by 11% and 7.2% respectively for the period, with like-for-like growth 12% and 7.3%. Within Merchanting, UK revenue rose 4.9% and 4.8% like-for-like, while Irish revenue climbed 9.3% and 11% like-for-like. In the Netherlands, revenue was up 6.7% and 3.5% like-for-like, and Belgium was up 4.9% and 15% like-for-like. ----------FTSE 250 - LOSERS----------JD Wetherspoon, down 3.8%. The pub operator said like-for-like and total sales were up in the third quarter and it expects to deliver on its existing expectations. The company said like-for-like sales in the 13 weeks to April 28 rose 7.6% from the prior year, while total sales were up 8.4%. Year-to-date, meanwhile, like-for-like sales were up 6.8% and total sales grew 7.6%. The company has opened three new pubs since the start of its financial year and closed seven. It plans to open another two pubs in its current financial year ended July 28. In the current financial year to date, JD Wetherspoon has spent GBP70.9 million to buy the freeholds for pubs where the company used to be a tenant. JD Wetherspoon Chair Tim Martin said: "We continue to anticipate a trading outcome for this financial year in line with our previous expectations."----------OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS----------EQTEC, up 28%. The bioscience company has entered into a conditional memorandum of understanding to develop a 25 megawatt waste gasification and power plant in Haverton Hill, Billingham, in north east England. EQTEC signed the deal with COBRA Instalaciones Y Servicios and Scott Bros Enterprises Ltd to jointly develop the plant, which is expected to process 200,000 metric tons per annum of refuse derived fuel from municipal waste. EQTEC will act as lead developer and technology provider for the project. The company, alongside COBRA, will now seek funding for the project from third-party equity and debt investors. ----------PCI-PAL, up 10%. The secure payment services provider said it has started to expand its live customer cloud services beyond its core markets of the UK and US. The cloud services developed through platform provider Amazon Web Services Inc have been deployed in Canada, Australia and Germany. "The majority of our partners have businesses in multiple countries and they can now confidently choose PCI Pal as their only PCI compliance vendor capable of delivering a true, proven cloud model worldwide," said Chief Executive James Barham.----------OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - LOSERS----------Gem Diamonds, down 4.0%. The miner reported a surge in prices helped offset a decline in carats sold during the first quarter of 2019. Gem recovered 29,458 carats of diamonds during the three months to March, flat on the last quarter of 2018, with the average grade up 5% quarter-on-quarter. However, carats sold fell 18% on the prior quarter to 27,335, but their total value rose 24% to USD51.9 million. Gem achieved a price of USD1,900 per carat, 51% higher quarter-on-quarter. Gem, which mines from the Letseng project in Lesotho, southern Africa, found two rocks bigger than 100 carats during the period. Eight diamonds were sold for over USD1 million each. ----------