WINNERS & LOSERS SUMMARY: Countrywide Shares Sink On Large Annual Loss

LONDON (Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices on Thursday.----------FTSE 100 - WINNERS----------Associated British Foods, up 1.9%. Goldman Sachs raised the Primark clothing chain owner to Buy from Neutral.Rolls-Royce, up 1.8%. Societe Generale raised the jet engine maker to Hold from Sell. Rolls-Royce on Wednesday reported a turn to profit for 2017, laid out more of its restructuring plans and predicted underlying revenue growth for 2018. The stock closed up 11% on Wednesday. ----------FTSE 100 - LOSERS----------Evraz, down 3.5%, Persimmon, down 3.6%, BHP Billiton, down 3.9% and Standard Chartered, down 1.4%. The stocks went ex-dividend meaning new buyers no longer qualify for the latest dividend payout. G4S, down 3.3%. The security services firm raised its dividend as both profit and revenue rose in 2017, though the former figure did come in short of analyst consensus. G4S's adjusted profit before interest, tax, and amortisation for 2017 came in at GBP491.0 million, 6.5% higher at actual currency rates than 2016's figure of GBP461.0 million. However, this was short of analyst consensus which forecast PBITA of GBP502.0 million. Revenue for 2017 was GBP7.83 billion, 3.1% up year-on-year from GBP7.59 billion at actual currency rates, and above consensus of GBP7.50 billion. G4S had originally been guiding for revenue growth of between 4.0% to 6.0% in 2017, but downgraded this at the end of its third quarter to a range of 3.0% and 4.0%. G4S has increased its final dividend by 5% to 6.11 pence per share. This takes the firm's total payout to shareholders to 9.70p for 2017 compared to 9.41p in 2016. Aviva, down 2.2%. The insurer hiked its dividend and said it planned further shareholder returns as annual profit expanded significantly on the back of growth in written premiums and despite weakening of combined ratio. In 2017, pretax profit widened by a third to GBP2.4 billion from GBP1.8 billion the year prior. Gross written premiums advanced 8.5% to GBP27.61 billion from GBP25.44 billion the year before. Aviva reported its combined ratio weakened to 96.6% from 94.2%. A figure below 100% shows the group was making a profit from its underwriting. Aviva hiked its final dividend 20% to 19.00 pence per share from 15.88p the year prior. For the full year, its dividend was improved 18% to 27.40p from 23.30p the year before. "Underwriting performance has deteriorated somewhat (driven by poor performance in Canada) and Life expenses are climbing sharply," noted Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Nick Hyett. ----------FTSE 250 - WINNERS----------Britvic, up 6.3%. The soft drinks maker was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight by Morgan Stanley. ----------FTSE 250 - LOSERS----------Alfa Financial Software, down 19%. The asset finance software developer reported strong growth in 2017 in its first annual results since its London initial public offering last year, though it did warn growth will be slower as the dollar weakens. At reported rates, revenue for 2017 rose 20% to GBP87.8 million, and at constant currency rates the figure increased 9% year-on-year to GBP86.1 million. Billings for the year increased to GBP76.8 million from GBP74.0 million. Alfa's pretax profit for 2017 came in at GBP33.9 million, double the previous year's GBP17.2 million. The company, which is paying no dividends for the year, said revenue growth was driven by completing larger projects in the Software Implementation segment, with customers then moving into Ongoing Services & Development. A strong dollar in the first half of 2017 also boosted revenue. However, as this currency weakens, Alfa Financial said it expects to report "low" double-digit growth on a budget rate in 2018, with new customer projects achieving run rate in the second half of the year.AA, down 7.7%. Shares in the roadside assistance provider were down amid a report by the Daily Mail saying that former Chairman Bob Mackenzie is suing the company for up to GBP220.0 million. Mackenzie, who was fired as the firm's chairman last August after a fight with a fellow executive, claims he is being denied bonus payments because he should not have been dismissed.John Laing, down 3.9% at 263.60p. The infrastructure investor launched a GBP210.2 million one-for-three rights issue. Funds from the issue will be used to " take advantage of a larger proportion of its growing pipeline of opportunities", the company explained. The rights issue marks the end of John Laing's self-funding operating model which has been in place since 2007. The issue will see GBP122.3 million shares issued at 177p per share, a 29% discount to the closing price of 274.20p on Wednesday. ----------MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS----------Spirent Communications, up 9.9%. The communications technology company declared a special dividend on top of its regular payout, as profit increased despite a slight drop in revenue. Spirent is paying a 5.00 US cents special payout for 2017, having not paid one the year before. The final dividend is 2.40 cents, taking the year's total to 4.08 cents compared to 3.89 cents in 2016. Adjusted pretax profit increased to USD59.2 million in 2017 from USD44.2 million in 2017, and on a reported basis the company swung to a USD46.6 million pretax profit after a USD46.0 million loss in 2016 Spirent's 2017 revenue came in at USD454.8 million, slightly down from 2016's USD457.9 million. Free cash flow was significantly improved at USD56.4 million, compared to USD25.9 million in 2016. ----------MAIN MARKET AND AIM - LOSERS----------Countrywide, down 13%. The estate agent's stock dropped after it swung to a pretax loss, axed its dividend payout and warned of further pain in the new year. In 2017, it sunk to a pretax loss of GBP212.1 million from a GBP19.5 million profit the year prior. Revenue also fell to GBP661.1 million from GBP724.0 million the year before. Profit was hurt by GBP237.2 million in exceptional charges in 2017, compared to GBP33.2 million in 2016. This was following a massive GBP216.1 million impairment charge to goodwill. This was primarily due to a GBP192.3 million impairment of goodwill on its UK and London sales and lettings business. This followed further declines in income and profits from both units. Countrywide axed its dividend payment for 2017. In 2016, it paid 5.0 pence per share dividend. Countrywide warned that 2018's pipeline was "significantly" below 2017 levels. The company therefore expects profit from the first half of 2018 to be lower than in 2017 and do not expect the remainder of the year to make up this reduction. Shares hit an all-time low of 66.64p in early trade. ----------