FTSE 250 movers: Keller tanks on fraud scandal
FTSE 250: 19,468.43, -0.19% at 1500 GMT.
Shares in ground engineering contractor Keller Group tanked after the company issued a profit warning after uncovering financial fraud at its Australia business that resulted in two directors being sacked.
In what it called a “deliberate and sophisticated” reporting fraud at Austral, a civil, mining and marine contractor, profits from 2019 onwards had been overstated.
The impact of the fraud on historical operating profits is currently estimated to be £6m related to the first half of 2022, and £8m to £10m relating to prior years.
“Whilst the fraud continued in the second half of 2022, and has impacted the board's expectations for the 2022 full year results, the group's overall performance in the second half has been strong, and therefore the board now expects the group to report a full year operating profit slightly below the bottom end of the range of market expectations,” Keller said in a statement on Monday.
Elsewhere on the 250, airlines Wizz Air and easyJet both gained on the back of sector optimism as China reopened its borders
FTSE 250 - Risers
Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 211.00p 6.62%
easyJet (EZJ) 394.50p 5.99%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 2,488.00p 5.29%
Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 2,664.00p 4.06%
Harbour Energy (HBR) 309.10p 3.48%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 156.30p 2.96%
Bytes Technology Group (BYIT) 397.60p 2.90%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 153.70p 2.74%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 150.40p 2.73%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 141.05p 2.54%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Keller Group (KLR) 746.00p -11.30%
Rathbones Group (RAT) 1,970.00p -5.06%
Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 141.60p -3.54%
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 344.00p -3.48%
Telecom Plus (TEP) 1,986.00p -3.36%
Drax Group (DRX) 624.50p -3.25%
W.A.G Payment Solutions (WPS) 75.00p -3.23%
Auction Technology Group (ATG) 765.00p -3.04%
Clarkson (CKN) 3,210.00p -2.87%
Syncona Limited NPV (SYNC) 177.00p -2.75%