Synectics Share News (SNX)

LONDON (Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices midday Wednesday.
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FTSE 100 - WINNERS
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Hammerson, up 1.1%, British Land Company, up 0.7%, and Land Securities Group, up 0.4%. The interest-rate-sensitive real estate investment trusts are among the leading gainers in the blue-chip index after Bank of England governor Mark Carney watered down his message from the previous week about an early interest rate rise. Speaking before the UK government's Treasury Select Committee on Tuesday, the BoE chief insisted there is still a lot of slack in the UK labour market to be used up, a much more dovish tone than he had just days earlier at his Mansion House speech. A significant deal in the industry also has provided a boost to the sector. Land Securities has bought a 30% stake in the Bluewater shopping centre in Kent from Australian property business Lease Group, in a deal worth GBP656 million in cash. Press reports had suggested that Hammerson and British Land were looking to buy the stake in the shopping centre. While they missed out, both companies' share prices jumped on the news as there had been concerns over the viability of the deal for both of them, particularly Hammerson, which would likely have had to carry out a share placing to finance the transaction, analysts say. In fact, Jefferies' analyst Rob Duncan believes that Hammerson is experiencing a "relief-rally" after it missed out on the deal.

Shire, up 0.6%. The pharmaceutical company said that it has received the backing of a US court over claims against patents on its Vyvanse hyperactivity disorder drug. Shire said that the ruling prevents five pharmaceutical manufacturers which have filed applications to launch generic versions of Vyvanse from doing so unless they successfully appeal the ruling or until the patents expire in 2023.
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FTSE 100 - LOSERS
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Bunzl, down 2.9%. The company said it expects to report 6% revenue growth at constant exchange rates for the first half of 2014, due to underlying revenue growth of about 2% and an uplift from acquisitions, but it reiterated its reported results will be hit by foreign exchange fluctuations. In addition, Bunzl said that it has made two new acquisitions, as it looks to give a boost to its safety business in the Netherlands and expand its cleaning and hygiene supplies business in Brazil.

Experian, down 2.6%. The credit checking and information company is one of the biggest fallers in the blue-chip index after going ex-dividend, meaning new buyers no longer qualify for the latest dividend payout.
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FTSE 250 - WINNERS
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Northgate, up 1.1%. The vehicle rental company said it swung to profit in its last financial year, as it reaped the cost benefits of a refinancing. It posted pretax profit of GBP51.2 million for the year to end-April, compared with a GBP11.4 million loss a year earlier, as it benefited from a GBP24.5 million reduction in interest payments following the group's refinancing in April 2013. In the previous year, the company's results were affected by GBP53.9 million in finance costs including the cost of exiting the group's legacy debt and hedging. Revenue, which incorporate vehicle and hire sales, dropped slightly to GBP571.5 million, from GBP609.9 million.
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FTSE 250 - LOSERS
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Tate & Lyle, down 4.6%, AVEVA Group, down 4.3%, Electrocomponents, down 2.6%, TR Property Investment Trust, down 1.9%, MITIE Group, down 1.4%, and Paypoint, down 1.2%. All six have gone ex-dividend Wednesday.

Premier Oil, down 1.7%. The oil and gas producer said it has appointed Tony Durrant as chief executive officer with immediate effect. Durrant has been with the company since 2005, serving as finance director. Before this he worked at Lehman Brothers, latterly as managing director and head of the European natural resources group.
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AIM ALL-SHARE - WINNERS
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Akers Biosciences, up 17%. The company has inked a distribution agreement for its PIFA Heparin/PF4 and PIFA PLUSS PF4 test kits with Medline Industries Inc. Under the agreement Medline will begin marketing the tests over its network of hospitals and surgery centres across the US. Its sales representatives will market to multiple departments within each hospital, which Akers believes will increase the market penetration of the products. The tests check for heparin-induced thrombocytopenia, which may occur if a patient develops an allergy to the blood thinning drug heparin. No financial details of the agreement were disclosed.

Stellar Resources, up 8.4%. The company said its two tonne per hour gold processing plant has now arrived at the Clogau St David's gold mine in North Wales. The company said the plant will now be constructed in modified facilities near the entrance to the Clogau mine, a famous site which once provided gold for the British Royal Family, before commissioning. The new treatment plant will allow the start of small-scale pilot processing of gold ore and also to help assess underground samples. The underground workings of the mine have been rehabilitated over the past few years, and the owners are hoping tests will show that gold can again be mined profitably at the site using new technology.
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AIM ALL-SHARE - LOSERS
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Synectics, off 25%. The surveillance technology and networked security systems company has seen a quarter of its market value wiped out after it said results for the first half of its current financial year, and for the year as a whole, will be "significantly below market expectations" largely due to contract delays. It said it now expects to report an underlying pretax loss of around GBP2.5 million for the first half of the year, and will therefore not pay an interim dividend. It said the biggest hit to its full-year results for the year to end-November is being caused by the current fighting in Iraq.

Acta SPA, down 17%. The company's shares have tumbled after it cautioned that its revenue for the year may be below current market expectations after the company under-estimated the length of sales cycles in the telecoms market. The company said that, whilst its remains confident it will see strong revenue growth for the year across its business lines, its experience over the last six months has shown that sales cycles in the telecoms sector are longer and more difficult to determine than it had previously estimated.

Byotrol, down 16%. The company's loss narrowed in its last financial year, as revenue rose slightly, it cut administrative expenses and booked a one-off gain associated with the acquisition of Byotrol Consumer Products. However, shares in the company are down sharply as it also said it had raised GBP1.25 million before expenses via a share subscription and placing priced at 3 pence per share. It said it would use the funds raised to invest in sales and marketing resources, expansion, intellectual property development, and working capital. Byotrol's shares are currently quoted at 3.255 pence.

Petrel Resources, down 11%. The oil and gas explorer said its pretax loss widened slightly in 2013 and warned that its assets in Ireland, Ghana and Iraq all face difficulties. The company, which is yet to produce any revenues, said its pretax loss widened to EUR526,783 from EUR469,767 the previous year. The vast majority of its costs were administrative expenses, which increased to EUR528,597 from EUR481,427 during the period. The company said its interest in the Block 6 oil exploration licence in the Anbar province of Iraq has been hit by the ongoing crisis in the country, and in Ghana, it has struggled with a dispute over its rights to an exploration block, known as the Ghana Tano 2A block, in shallow water offshore. Furthermore, the company's flagship projects in the Atlantic Ocean's Porcupine Basin, offshore Ireland, may be hit by changes to the fiscal regime in Ireland, including royalties and higher taxes, which have pushed some investors from the country.
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By James Kemp; jameskemp@alliancenews.com; @jamespkemp

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