FTSE 250 movers: Renishaw surges; Greggs goes stale after profit warning
London's FTSE 250 was up 0.3% to 20,661.65 in afternoon trade on Wednesday, with energy-related shares among the top gainers as oil prices gushed higher.
Engineer Renishaw surged as it upgraded its forecasts for annual results after reporting a 39% increase in profit for the first nine months of 2018. Adjusted pre-tax profit for the nine months to the end of March jumped to £97.6m from £70.1m a year earlier as revenue rose 12% to £429.9m.
Doorstep lender Provident Financial was also on the rise after saying it made a good start to 2018 as it seeks to emerge from a disastrous period that threatened its survival. Reporting on business so far in 2018, Britain’s biggest doorstep lender said it was trading in line with its own expectations for the year.
Hill & Smith rose after completing the acquisition of the business and assets of Work Area Protection Corporation and its associated affiliates for $42m on a debt free, cash free basis.
Tullow, Cairn Energy, Hunting and Wood Group all gushed higher as oil prices rallied on the back of US President Trump's decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, which saw Brent crude hit its highest level since 2014.
On the downside, shares in Greggs were looking about as tasty as a stale sausage roll after the bakery chain struck a cautious note and said its underlying full-year profits are expected to be flat year-on-year, with trading in March and April hit by weaker market conditions.
In a trading update ahead of its annual general meeting, the company highlighted weak customer footfall in retail locations, which hit demand for food-on-the-go. This was further exacerbated by severe weather, which meant some of its shops could not be opened.
Total sales in the first 18 weeks of the year were up 4.7%, down from 7.4% growth in the same period a year ago, while company-managed shop like-for-like sales were up 1.3% versus a 3.5% increase the year before.
Peel Hunt said: "Weather conditions were clearly unhelpful in March/April but management’s newly cautious rhetoric is the real surprise this morning and we’re taking the hint with our forecasts and rating."
Zoopla and PrimeLocation owner ZPG was weaker as Credit Suisse cut its price target on the outperform-rated stock to 450p from 480p as it corrected an error in the share count that it used in its discounted cash flow in an earlier note published on 3 May.
FTSE 250 - Risers
Renishaw (RSW) 5,365.00p 12.90%
Provident Financial (PFG) 692.76p 7.91%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 236.90p 5.15%
Hill & Smith Holdings (HILS) 1,450.00p 5.07%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 241.20p 4.33%
RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 5,190.00p 4.01%
On The Beach Group (OTB) 632.00p 3.61%
TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 1,738.00p 3.33%
Hunting (HTG) 832.50p 3.10%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 586.80p 2.66%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Greggs (GRG) 1,076.00p -15.07%
ZPG Plc (ZPG) 371.60p -3.23%
Inmarsat (ISAT) 378.90p -3.05%
Ashmore Group (ASHM) 385.80p -2.67%
SIG (SHI) 141.10p -2.49%
Purecircle Limited (DI) (PURE) 385.00p -2.41%
Merlin Entertainments (MERL) 366.70p -2.32%
Sanne Group (SNN) 613.00p -2.23%
TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 130.00p -2.18%
Ted Baker (TED) 2,706.00p -2.10%