FTSE 250 movers: Serco plunges after issuing profit warning

Under-pressure business-to-government outsourcing group Serco saw shares sink as the company delivered a profit warning to investors and said it is planning a rights issue after writing down the value of its business by £1.5bn.

Meanwhile, oil explorer Cairn Energy announced a “significant” oil find off the coast of Senegal, with preliminary estimates pointing to commercial viability. The new find was the result of drilling of its new SNE-1 well located approximately 100 kilometres off-shore from the West-African country in the Sangomar block, at a depth of about 3,000 metres.

Plant and marine engineering firm Aveva beat Numis Securities' forecasts with its interim results, though the broker has scaled back its forecasts for the full year. Nevertheless, Numis kept a 'buy' rating and 1,810p target price for the stock.

Just Retirement investors appeared to be relieved by its first quarter results, despite a 42% year-on-year slide in total sales. The group, which has suffered since the government announced its pension reforms in the March Budget, reported quarterly individually underwritten annuity sales of £129.3m, a 59% slump compared to the comparative quarter a year earlier.

The situation appeared to be similar for Lonmin, with shares higher despite it saying that its full-year performance was "dominated" by the impact of a five-month strike in South Africa, resulting in a sharp drop in profits as production slumped and costs soared. The company, which is one of the largest primary platinum producers in the world, said platinum sales totalled 441,684 ounces (oz) in the year ended 30 September, compared with the 696,000oz sold the year before.

Carillion has been selected by the Highways Agency (HA) as one of five contractors that will deliver highway schemes with values between £100m and £450m as part of the HA's collaborative delivery framework (CDF). FTSE 250-listed Carillion expects to generate up to around £500m of revenue from the CDF over the five-year period.

FTSE 250 - Risers

Cairn Energy (CNE) 175.60p +11.21%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 337.30p +9.83%
Aveva Group (AVV) 1,488.00p +6.67%
Just Retirement Group (JRG) 132.90p +5.90%
AO World (AO.) 203.70p +5.82%
Lonmin (LMI) 195.60p +4.38%
Brown (N.) Group (BWNG) 350.10p +3.67%
Man Group (EMG) 133.50p +3.25%
Evraz (EVR) 128.20p +3.14%
Synthomer (SYNT) 208.20p +3.07%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Serco Group (SRP) 209.20p -34.03%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 77.30p -3.19%
Brit (BRIT) 250.60p -2.87%
Diploma (DPLM) 701.00p -2.64%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 452.40p -2.50%
Fenner (FENR) 308.90p -2.49%
SSP Group (SSPG) 239.80p -1.92%
Infinis Energy (INFI) 221.70p -1.51%
Ted Baker (TED) 2,059.00p -1.48%
Fisher (James) & Sons (FSJ) 1,185.00p -1.33%