Land Securities Share News (LAND)

LONDON (Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices on Tuesday.----------FTSE 100 - WINNERS----------DCC, up 3.0%. The Irish distribution group upped its dividend payout after posting strong rises in annual revenue and profit on the back of acquisitions and organic growth. DCC raised its final dividend by 14% to 93.37p per share, giving a total payout of 138.35p, up 13% from 122.98p paid a year ago. For the year ended March 31, the company reported pretax profit of GBP327.4 million, up from GBP260.2 million in the year ago period, on a revenue of GBP15.23 billion and GBP13.12 billion, respectively. Adjusted operating profit for the year increased 20% to GBP460.5 million from GBP383.4 million, ahead of company-complied consensus of GBP451.8 million.----------Vodafone, up 3.0%. The telecommunications firm cut its dividend as it swung to an annual loss, while it is also set to unveil 5G across the UK. Vodafone returned a final dividend of 4.16 euro cents for the 12 months to March 31, taking the year's total to 9.00 cents, down 40%. In its prior year, Vodafone paid 15.07 cents, and consensus had been for a cut to 15 cents. Vodafone's loss from continuing operations for the 12 months to March was EUR4.11 billion, after a EUR4.76 billion profit the year before. Vodafone's 5G is to go live in seven cities on July 3 in the UK, and then 12 others by the end of 2019. It is also to start in Germany, Italy, and Spain during the summer, making Vodafone the first company to offer 5G in four countries. "A high yield is often a signal that a dividend could be cut and it is important to look at the balance sheet, the earnings and cash flow situation and the other demands on a company's capital when assessing the safety of an income stream. In Vodafone's case the fact the shares were higher this morning likely reflects some relief that they have finally lanced this boil," said AJ Bell's Russ Mould. ----------Fresnillo, up 1.8%. Panmure Gordon started coverage on the Mexican gold miner with a Hold rating. ----------FTSE 100 - LOSERS----------Land Securities, down 0.7%. The commercial property company said it had a strong year operationally in financial 2019 but saw a widened loss against a backdrop of political uncertainty and well-documented difficulties in the UK retail sector. For the year ended March 31, the company's pretax loss widened to GBP123 million from a GBP43 million loss the year before. However, adjusted pretax profit was up 8.9% to GBP442 million from GBP406 million last year, reflecting the benefit of income from completed developments, high occupancy, and the effect of refinancing bonds in the previous financial year. At March 31, Land Securities net asset value per share stood at 1,341 pence compared to 1,404p at the same time last year, a 4.5% decrease. Going forward, the company said it will focus on its London portfolio as it sees no near-term improvement in retail market conditions.----------FTSE 250 - WINNERS----------Greggs, up 12%. Shares in the food-on-the-go retailer hit a record high of 2,070p after it said sales have continued to grow strongly, underpinned by the popularity of its vegan sausage rolls range. Sales in the first 19 weeks of 2019 were up 15% year-on-year, well ahead of the 4.7% growth reported for the same period of 2018. On a like-for-like basis, company-managed store sales growth was 11% from 1.0% a year before. Greggs in March reported a "very strong" start to 2019, in part due to the publicity around the launch of its vegan sausage roll. This momentum has continued, it said, helped by the new vegan sausage rolls now being available in all stores. As a result of the continued momentum, Greggs sees underlying profit for its year ending December 29 "materially" ahead of previous expectations. ----------Ei Group, up 5.5%. The pub operator announced an extension to its current share buyback programme, after a solid interim performance. Ei is to add GBP30 million to the programme, on top of the GBP35 million announced in March. Ei does not currently pay a dividend. For the six months to March, Ei's revenue rose 7.0% to GBP353 million, but pretax profit slipped 71% to GBP13 million due to a net loss on a property sale. On an adjusted basis, Ei's pretax profit increased by 3.5% to GBP59 million. There were 419 pubs in the division as of March's end, from 319 a year before, and it hopes to have between 460 and 470 by September's end. ----------G4S, up 3.0%. Morgan Stanley resumed coverage of the outsourcer at Equal Weight. ----------FTSE 250 - LOSERS----------Renishaw, down 5.7%. The precision instruments maker reported a steep fall in nine-month profit, leading to a cut in guidance for both annual profit and revenue. Renishaw reported a 19% fall in pretax profit for the nine months to March, at GBP84.8 million. The adjusted figure dipped 18% to GBP79.6 million. Revenue in the period was GBP431.1 million, up 0.3% year-on-year, with the core Metrology unit falling 0.5% to GBP404.5 million. Healthcare revenue climbed 14% from a much smaller base to GBP26.6 million. As a result, Renishaw now expects pretax profit in the range of GBP111 million to GBP126 million for its year ending June, and adjusted pretax profit between GBP105 million to GBP120 million. In March, Renishaw guided for a pretax profit of GBP123 million to GBP141 million, and the adjusted figure GBP117 million to GBP135 million. ----------