FTSE 250 movers: Halfords skids lower while Mitchells & Butlers bubbles up
London’s FTSE 250 finished down 0.1% at 18,435.62 on Thursday, as Halfords crashed by more than 20% following a warning of deflated profits.
The bikes and motor accessories retailer skidded 20% as it warned that underlying pre-tax profit for its current financial year would be lower than it had recently guided, at between £58m and £62m.
Peel Hunt reiterated its 'sell' rating of the stock, stating that there were "very few reasons to hold on" and that the retailer's current woes came as "years of overdistribution and under-investment are coming home to roost".
Retail was a dominant theme, with Card Factory followed close behind, slumping after it reported a 0.5% decline in like-for-like sales over Christmas and warned that FY20 would be "another difficult year".
Ted Baker also dropped on the back of a downgrade from 'buy' to 'neutral' at Goldman Sachs, while Merlin Entertainment was knocked from 'neutral' to 'sell' and had its price target cut from 380p to 295p by UBS due to concerns about lower customer review scores at its Midway brand attractions such as Legoland and Madame Tussauds.
Rathbone Brothers also dropped as it reported that, while the final quarter of 2018 reflected weaker investment markets, total year-end funds under management and administration benefitted from its recent acquisition of Speirs & Jeffrey.
At the other end of the scales, restaurant, pub and bar operator Mitchells & Butlers surged after it reported a strong Christmas as it welcomed record levels of festive feasting from customers looking to escape their own kitchens or in-laws.
Premier Oil also rose after releasing a statement that said it had cut debt to $2.3bn at the end of 2018, below previous forecasts of $2.4bn, a $390m reduction on 2017.
FTSE 250 (MCX) 18,375.25 -0.21%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 287.20p 7.00%
Rank Group (RNK) 155.08p 6.22%
FDM Group (Holdings) (FDM) 824.00p 5.24%
Premier Oil (PMO) 79.48p 4.44%
Dixons Carphone (DC.) 127.95p 4.02%
Fisher (James) & Sons (FSJ) 1,884.00p 3.86%
Aveva Group (AVV) 2,638.00p 3.13%
OneSavings Bank (OSB) 367.60p 3.03%
TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 1,450.00p 2.98%
Clarkson (CKN) 2,370.00p 2.82%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Halfords Group (HFD) 217.01p -22.11%
Card Factory (CARD) 165.90p -14.75%
Ted Baker (TED) 1,945.00p -8.25%
Merlin Entertainments (MERL) 320.60p -6.94%
Rathbone Brothers (RAT) 2,328.06p -6.28%
Softcat (SCT) 657.51p -5.26%
Intu Properties (INTU) 107.90p -3.45%
Games Workshop Group (GAW) 3,115.00p -3.11%
Avast (AVST) 299.35p -3.08%
Funding Circle Holdings (FCH) 320.00p -2.88%