The FTSE 100 stabilised after yesterday's big losses as investors await the latest meeting of the US Federal Reserve tonight.
Beleaguered support services firm Capita (CPI) sinks 38.1% to 215.8p as new chief executive Jonathan Lewis unveils a pretty drastic transformation plan. A £700m rights issue is planned and the company is also suspending any dividend payments until it starts generating ‘sustainable’ free cash flow.
Robinsons squash maker Britvic (BVIC) fizzes up 1.2% to 774.5p on saying it has made a ‘solid start to the year’ in the first quarter to 24 December. Revenue for the period hit £337.2m, up 3.3% year-on-year. Declining revenue in France and its international market were offset by increases in Ireland and Brazil.
Budget airline Wizz Air (WIZZ) descends 2.7% to £34.78 after releasing its third quarter to 31 December results. While it has increased the number of passengers carried, its revenue and profit, the company’s profit margin has shrunk by 0.6 percentage points.
High tech defence company Ultra Electronics (ULE) drops 2.4% to £14.83 after saying that its acquisition of US company Spartan may be further delayed. The deal had already been held up by the US Department of Justice’s (DoJ) request for further information and the decision from the DoJ may delay the deal past the original agreement date of 31 March.
Utility firm SSE (SSE) charges up 1.6% to £13.11 on issuing a positive trading statement for the third quarter to 31 December. It says that expects to increase its dividend in line with retail price index inflation. The company also says that it expects adjusted earnings per share to be in the range of 116p to 120p against previous guidance of at least 116p.
