FTSE 250 movers: Superdry unravels, Ultra Electronics leaps
London's FTSE 250 closed down 0.91% at 19,183.82 on Thursday, as a handful of clothing retailers bundled the index lower.
Street fashion retailer Superdry was the top faller days after announcing restructuring that will see the dismissal of between one hundred and two hundred employees from its headquarters in Cheltenham, while Ted Baker was not far behind.
Almost all shares in the general retail sector were in the red, with Halfords, Dixons Carphone and Card Factory also down more than 2%.
Likely factors included the profit warning from clothing chain Quiz, where store sales tumbled 11%. Broker Peel Hunt said, however, that it was "without doubt... a QUIZ-specific problem".
There was also increased Brexit anxiety that was also putting pressure on the pound, and possibly retailers too. Market analyst David Madden at CMC Markets said "dealers are holding out little hope for Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement".
Online gaming group 888 Holdings was down ahead of the release of its full-year results next week, though analysts at Canaccord said they expected the upcoming results to underline the gambling outfit's "broad geographic spread", proprietary technology to maximise scale benefits and a strong balance sheet, making it a "compelling investment opportunity".
Likewise, fellow gambling outfit William Hill was also down ahead of the release of its annual report next week.
Housebuilder Redrow and engineer Renishaw dropped lower as they were among the several stocks going ex-dividend.
Going the other way, Ultra Electronics surged as JPMorgan upgraded the stock to 'overweight' from 'neutral' saying that the company's full year results on Wednesday and "confident" meeting draw a line under a challenging two years.
"ULE should now benefit from an improving US defence market, EBITA margins stabilising in the mid-teens, a return to more normalised cash conversion (from 2020), and improved management," said a note from JPMorgan analysts.
Satellite telecommunications group Inmarsat shot up as it reported a 14.6% rise in full-year earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation.
Credit Suisse said the results showed evidence of a "strong" fourth quarter, with group revenue 3% ahead of consensus and EBITDA 12% ahead of consensus, as the key Maritime business was "no worse than Q3 (and slightly ahead of consensus)" and management confirmed capex is falling.
Premier Oil was in hot pursuit after it posted record production for 2018, helping the outfit to turn a profit and cut debt more quickly than anticipated, even as it moved ahead on developing several new prospects, bumping up its plans for capital expenditures in the process.
Small-to-medium enterprise lender Funding Circle Holdings was on the up after it reported “strong” group performance in its final results, saying it delivered its initial public offering guidance while continuing its strategy of investing for growth.
Finally, telecommunications outfit Spirent climbed after reporting that it grew revenues and profits last year as it capitalised on the demand for high-speed broadband and the roll-out of 5G mobile networks.
Market Movers
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,161.52 -1.02%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Ultra Electronics Holdings (ULE) 1,605.00p 11.38%
Inmarsat (ISAT) 421.20p 5.48%
Premier Oil (PMO) 77.47p 4.83%
Funding Circle Holdings (FCH) 367.85p 4.80%
Spirent Communications (SPT) 157.18p 3.96%
Indivior (INDV) 116.15p 3.75%
Clarkson (CKN) 2,620.00p 2.75%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 1,132.60p 2.66%
Ascential (ASCL) 349.00p 2.47%
FDM Group (Holdings) (FDM) 883.00p 1.49%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Superdry (SDRY) 520.41p -5.89%
William Hill (WMH) 163.90p -5.80%
Vietnam Enterprise Investments (DI) (VEIL) 438.00p -5.40%
Ted Baker (TED) 1,824.00p -5.05%
888 Holdings (888) 163.20p -4.73%
Elementis (ELM) 159.09p -4.34%
TP ICAP (TCAP) 304.50p -4.03%
Restaurant Group (RTN) 125.90p -3.89%
Redrow (RDW) 617.50p -3.89%
OneSavings Bank (OSB) 369.80p -3.60%