FTSE 250 movers: Meggitt surges on results; Go-Ahead tanks
London's FTSE 250 was up 0.5% to 18,766.85 in afternoon trade, buoyed by some encouraging corporate news.
Engineer Meggitt surged as investors welcomed news that it has lifted its dividend, despite reporting a drop in full-year pre-tax profit amid a difficult oil and gas market.
Heat treatment firm Bodycote racked up healthy gains after it said full year pre-tax profits rose to £91.9m from £75m, beating market expectations, although sales fell as it felt the impact from the oil and gas industry downturn.
Derwent London was also in the black as it recommended a special dividend after it announced £327m of property disposals above book value that are expected to complete in coming weeks.
On the downside, transport operator Go-Ahead, which owns 65% of the Southern franchise through Govia Thameslink Railway, tanked as it reported a drop in first-half pre-tax profit as operating profit from the rail division slumped due to Southern Rail strikes. Investors were also unimpressed that it it lowered its full-year expectations for the bus and rail divisions.
Price comparison website Moneysupermarket.com lost ground. Although the company said profit for the year to the end of December grew and announced a £40m share buyback, it was hit by a downgrade from Credit Suisse. In addition, analysts noted the fact that group revenues are currently behind last year and said the stock had had a good run into the results.
ZPG, formerly named Zoopla, retreated after UBS downgraded its stance on the stock to 'sell' from 'neutral', saying "all the upside and more" is priced in.
Sausage roll king Greggs was also on the back foot as it reported a rise in revenue for 2016 but sounded a cautious note on the consumer outlook in the UK.
Risers
Meggitt (MGGT) 467.80p 12.42%
Bodycote (BOY) 775.00p 8.70%
Ultra Electronics Holdings (ULE) 1,969.00p 4.29%
Derwent London (DLN) 2,820.00p 3.87%
Senior (SNR) 182.00p 3.53%
Mitie Group (MTO) 206.50p 3.25%
Hays (HAS) 162.30p 2.79%
Fisher (James) & Sons (FSJ) 1,600.00p 2.63%
Inmarsat (ISAT) 717.00p 2.58%
Atkins (WS) (ATK) 1,454.00p 2.39%
Fallers
Go-Ahead Group (GOG) 2,000.00p -12.47%
Moneysupermarket.com Group (MONY) 330.20p -5.93%
ZPG Plc (ZPG) 371.50p -5.13%
JRP Group (JRP) 145.70p -3.32%
Greggs (GRG) 977.50p -3.31%
Brown (N.) Group (BWNG) 202.10p -3.16%
Polymetal International (POLY) 954.50p -2.95%
OneSavings Bank (OSB) 360.40p -2.75%
International Personal Finance (IPF) 183.50p -2.60%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 264.20p -2.51%