Home shopping-to-education supplies company Findel (FDL), a running Shares Play of the Week, firms 3.8% to 257.5p on annual figures to 28 March. Pre-tax profits power 87% higher to £22 million on sales 4.8% ahead at £514.7 million, driven by discount mail order business Express Gifts and the Findel Education business. The group's core bank debt falls 19% to £97.2 million, south of £100 million for the first time since 2002.
Grocery titan Tesco (TSCO) falls 1.3% to 293.65p on poor first quarter trading statement. UK like-for-like sales are down 3.7%, reflecting well-flagged market share losses to the discounters as well as recent price cutting, while international sales slide 8%. Read our news analysis here.
Flexible office and warehousing provider Workspace (WKP) rises 5.4% to 616p on a consensus-beating performance in the year to April. We explain why analysts are getting excited about the company's prospects in this article.
Lots of big name stocks go ex-dividend today, explaining the declines in National Grid (NG.), down 4.4% to 838.5p; technology specialist Laird (LRD) slips 3.5% to 291.3p; steel producer Evraz (EVR) declines 2% to 101.4p; and housebuilder Taylor Wimpey (TW.) retreats 1.9% to 105.8p.
Police-to-teacher recruitment agency Servoca (SVCA:AIM) slumps 9% to 15.25p as investors take profits following this year's rally which has seen the stock more than double in price. The recovery story now looks fully priced in; the key worry going forward is margin pressures in several areas of the business flagged in the half-year results.
Camco Clean Energy (CCE:AIM) jumps 9.4% to 7.25p as a manufacturing agreementwill see its technology used by Jabil Circuit (JBL:NYSE) to make flow batteries for energy storage.
Foils, laminates and holographics play API (API:AIM) gains 4.9% to 72.4p as it restoresthe full-year dividend after a 10-year break. The company reports pre-tax profit unchanged at £5.6 million but investors like the restored payout and the first reported net cash position (of £200,000) for 15 years. We last wrote on API in April in this article, flagging its attractions.
Rigid plastic packaging firm RPC (RPC) advances 2.7% to 639.2p on finalsslightly ahead of expectations. Sales for the year to the end of March top £1 billion, pre-tax profit increases 22% to £59 million and the group signals trading in the current financial year is in-line. The group, which has been on the acquisition trail for the last 12 months, says it continues to explore further opportunities in the US, Asia and southeast Europe. You can read our 'griller' interview with RPC from last December here.
Intellectual property commercialisation group Imperial Innovations (IVO) improves 2.7% to 429p as its disorder-focused pharmaceutical Autifony Therapeutics securesa £2.2 million grant to fund stage II clinical trials of its tinnitus treatment.
Life sciences services provider Synergy Health (SYR) slides 1.1% to £13.01 despite a positive outlookand a 13% pre-tax profit rise to £42.9 million in the year to April, fuelling a 10% dividend hike to 22.77p.
