FTSE 250 movers: Equiniti slumps; Ultra Electronics gains on results

London’s FTSE 250 was down 1.3% at 17,017.05 in afternoon trade on Thursday.

Technology-led services and payments specialist Equiniti was under pressure after it posted a drop in first-half earnings and revenue as its business took a hit from the Covid-19 crisis.

Car dealer Inchcape lost ground after saying it would be cutting jobs globally as it swung to a first-half loss due to Covid shutdowns.

On the upside, Ultra Electronics was sitting pretty at the top of the index as it resumed dividend payments after recovering "very good visibility" for the back half of the year. The defence and security specialist grew both its top and bottom lines, while sharply improving its cash conversion and order book.

Molten metal flow engineering company Vesuvius rallied despite saying that first-half profit and revenue fell amid lower global steel production due to the pandemic.

Pets at Home was in the black ahead of its first-quarter trading update on Friday.

Hastings pushed higher for the second day in a row after confirming late on Wednesday that it had been approached by a consortium led by Finnish insurer Sampo and its biggest shareholder, Rand Merchant Investment Holdings, about a possible cash offer.

FTSE 250 - Risers

Ultra Electronics Holdings (ULE) 2,368.00p 8.23%
Vesuvius (VSVS) 405.20p 6.74%
Pets at Home Group (PETS) 258.60p 2.86%
Signature Aviation (SIG) 236.50p 2.78%
Hastings Group Holdings (HSTG) 206.00p 2.69%
Hill & Smith Holdings (HILS) 1,260.00p 2.61%
PayPoint (PAY) 611.00p 2.52%
PPHE Hotel Group Ltd (PPH) 1,090.00p 2.35%
Shaftesbury (SHB) 507.00p 2.09%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,224.00p 2.00%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Equiniti Group (EQN) 109.00p -23.88%
Inchcape (INCH) 439.80p -9.13%
Greggs (GRG) 1,234.00p -6.94%
Just Group (JUST) 44.00p -6.90%
Virgin Money UK (VMUK) 92.66p -6.01%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 259.00p -5.68%
TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 70.50p -5.05%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 3,334.00p -5.01%
Dixons Carphone (DC.) 75.20p -4.51%
WH Smith (SMWH) 950.00p -4.43%