Carpets manufacturer Victoria (VCP:AIM) vaults 10.7% higher to 346p on news profits for the year to 29 March will be better-than-expected, boosted by successful turnaround initiatives and last year's acquisition of Westex Carpets.
Global beer brewing behemoth SABMiller (SAB) sags 2.2% to £30.55 on a soggy full-year and fourth quarter trading update. The Grolsch-to-Peroni Nastro Azzurroi maker delivered 3% organic sales growth for the year to March, below Investec Securities' 4% forecast, and cautions Q4 was tough and depreciation of key currencies against the dollar will weigh on results.
Embattled department store Debenhams (DEB) rises 5.2% to 81.58p on some tweaks to its strategy and relief half-year figures contain no further nasty surprises. You can read our detailed story here, but taxable profits fell 24.5% to £85.2 million, in line with a New Year's Eve profits warning following disappointing clothing sales and margin crimping Christmas promotions. The shares have collapsed from 111.8p highs in October. Shares looked at the retail sector in-depth a couple of weeks ago.
Earnings upgrades lift industrial fastenings specialist Trifast (TRI) 5.8% to 88.1p as the company guides for March 2014 results to exceed expectations. We look at the story in more depth here.
UK onshore oil firm Europa Oil & Gas (EOG:AIM) falls 3.4% to 7.85p despite posting a 125% increase in interim pre-tax profits to £450,000. The group also says it is fully funded for two wells targeting the Wressle and Kiln Lane prospects but with work on the first of these (Wressle) not expected to commence for a couple of months a lack of immediate drilling catalysts may be behind today's sell-off. The decline is at odds with finnCap's interpretation of the announcement: 'A positive update today and we feel that there are a number of key share price drivers in the second half of this year. We continue coverage with 12-month risked target price of 10p.'
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) edges ahead 14.5p (0.9%) to £16.29 on well-received full-year figures. Taxable profits are 27.3% ahead at £77 million with JD Sports flagging strong sales in its core sports businesses and progress with the turnaround of its Millets and Blacks outdoor clothing chains.
Mobile components and antennas supplier Laird (LRD) inches 1.3% higher to 293.5p after taking a 51% stake in South Korean 3D printer and injection moulding specialist Model Solution. This is all part of the group's plan to cosy up to key clients, in this case, Samsung.
Fibre optic networker CityFibre (CFHL:AIM) shoots up more than 7% to 75p after agreeing a deal to run out superfast broadband in York with TalkTalk (TALK) and British Sky Broadcasting (BSY). The company IPO'd in January at 60p.
Insurance claims outsourcer Quindell (QPP:AIM) slides 5% to 38p in early trade despite no new news. Investors could be fretting over falling insurance volumes and profits at Nationwide Accident Repair Services (NARS:AIM), in which Quindell owns a 25.3% stake, although Nationwide's own share price is surprisingly up 1.8% to 83p, perhaps bolstered by market share gains. We updated on our Quindell Play of the Week a couple weeks back in Shares.
Minimally invasive surgical tools maker Surgical Innovations (SUN:AIM) leaps 6.2% to 4.25p despite its pre-tax profits slipping 54% to £796,000 in 2013. However, the company is building a solid US business and the outlook is positive.
Real estate developer and manager Helical Bar (HLCL) rises 2% to 358.2p as it spends £40 million buying a mixed-use portfolio of 10 properties in the Midlands and South Yorkshire on an 8.3% net initial yield. Shares interviewed chief executive Michael Slade in February.
Testing kit specialist Immunodiagnostics Systems (IDH:AIM) improves 1.8% to 506.5p as trading for the year to April is in-line with expectations thanks to a pick-up in demand in the fourth quarter. Revenues are up 5% during the year at £52.3 million, although there is no hints given about pre-tax profitperformance.
Despite yesterday's shock 40%-plus rise, 3D conversion technology supplier DDD Group (DDD:AIM) gets hammered today as 2013 revenues collapse plunging the company into the red. The shares are crunched more than 16% to 4.5p.
