As London's fabulous FTSE pauses for breath on Wednesday, easing back 5.99 points to 7,013.69, one eye-catching riser is Balfour Beatty (BBY), as investors react positively to its first set of finals under recently instated chief executive officer (CEO) Leo Quinn. Shares in the heavy construction specialist are up 5.9% at 244.9p despite the posting of pre-tax losses of £80 million, as investors are hoping Quinn can turn around the embattled group's fortunes.
Housebuilder Bellway (BWY) advances 5% to £21 after the Newcastle-headquartered £2.4 billion cap posts interims showing a 53.1% profit before tax gain to £158.9 million.
Roadside assistance provider AA (AA.) reverses 1.5% to 421p as it announces a ?200 million equity raise alongside its full-year results. The proceeds will be used to pay down 9.5% loan notes issued by the AA's former private equity owners and will give it more flexibility to invest in the business. We look at the story in more detail here.
Tour operator TUI (TUI) ticks 3.7% higher to £12.27 following an upbeat pre-close trading statement showing the £6.3 billion cap's summer bookings and prices up 1% each on average. TUI also tells investors that online bookings are up 12% year-on-year.
Banking giant HSBC (HSBA) rises 0.9% to 583.6p on plans to move its retail and business division to Birmingham. This is believed to be in response to regulator demands to ring-fence these units - funding and management - from the rest of the group to reduce risk of another financial crisis.
Cancer fighting proton machine-maker Advanced Oncotherapy (AVO:AIM) leaps 56.7% to 7.1p on selling its first LIGHT therapy system. China-focused Sinophi Healthcare has paid an initial $40 million for the device and signed a 15-year agreement to distribute the system in parts of Southeast Asia. The system is expected to treat its first UK patient in 2017.
Value gifts-to-greetings card seller Card Factory (CARD) softens 9.3p (3.12%) to 288.7, despite posting record annual sales and profits and announcing a 6.8p full-year dividend. Disappointment reflects the absence of a capital return, as well as the outlook statement, where cash-generative Card Factory mentions increased competition.
Men's suit specialist Moss Bros (MOSB) gathers up 2.13p at 107.63p on better-than-expected finals and a positive current trading statement. CEO Brian Brick says like-for-like sales are 7.5% ahead in the first seven weeks of this year and flags an uptick in hire bookings for the 2015 wedding season.
Tile and wood flooring specialist Topps Tiles (TPT) is marked down 6.5% to 115p despite delivering a robust first half trading update. CEO Matthew Williams reports impressive 5.2% like-for-like growth, though this represents a slowdown on last year's 10.2% comparative.
Devon-based Wolf Minerals (WLFE:AIM) jumps 8.9% to 21.5p after boosting the amount of tungsten-rich ore that is economical to mine by a third. This follows yesterday's news that it has temporary permission to work seven days a week once its Hemerdon mine is ready to start production later this year.
Tri-Star Resources (TSTR:AIM) advances 16% to 0.14p on the appointment of Mark Wellesley-Wood as chairman. Investors clearly have forgotten how he only lasted five months in a similar role at Mwana Africa (MWA:AIM) just over a year ago, leaving abruptly without explanation; so too his colourful history with DRDGold.
North Sea oil firm Xcite Energy (XEL:AIM) slumps 5.3% to 27.7p - a recovery from a larger fall earlier today - as it reveals alongside prelims it is casting the net wider as it looks to finance the development of its Bentley heavy oil field. Much of the technical work on the project is complete but significant capital is required to get to first oil.
Israeli digital ad technology play Marimedia (MARI:AIM) slumps 6.75% despite reporting revenue up 46% in 2014 to $63.1 million. This may reflect some profit-taking after a strong start to 2015 for the counter and concern over a drop in average revenue per user which the company says reflects the pace of expansion.
Cameroon focused oil explorer Bowleven (BLVN) falls 6.8% to 29.8p despite revealing alongside its interim results that it has $155 million in the bank following the completion of a farm-out deal for its Etinde project. This may reflect some disappointment that none of this cash is being returned to shareholders and instead the company is looking use its relative financial strength to take advantage of opportunities in the depressed oil and gas market.
