The FTSE 100 opens in positive territory following a record close yesterday and yet another record finish in Wall Street. The rise comes despite the price of Brent crude oil slipping by 0.4%.
In corporate news, car and plane parts manufacturer GKN (GKN) jumps 22.2% to 406.5p after it rejected a takeover offer of 405p a share by turnaround specialist Melrose (MRS). GKN says it 'considered the proposal together with its financial advisers ... and has unanimously rejected it’. Melrose is up 9.1% to 234.5p.
House builder Bovis Homes (BVS) gains 3% to £11.83 after saying it expects full year results to be in line with forecasts. The company has seen an significant improvement in customer satisfaction and has completed 3,645 homes in the year ending 31 December 2017
Restaurant and pub operator Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) drops 2% to 262.3p despite reporting that Christmas day was a record taking day for the company. However, adverse weather conditions in the run up to Christmas limited sales growth to 1.6% in the seven week period to 31 December.
Software company SDL (SDL) ticks up 2% to 438.5p after saying it expects around 8% growth in revenues for 2017, or £285m. The company’s net cash position was in excess of £22m at 31 December.
Physical retailer B&M European Value Retail (BME) gains 2.9% to 408.45p. The company’s ambitious store opening plan led to a sharp increase in sales over the Christmas period. Total sales in the three months to December 23 increased 22.7% on a year-on-year basis.
Mining company Sirius Minerals (SXX) sheds 1.5% to 23.55p despite announcing that its Woodsmith mine project in North Yorkshire remained on track to deliver first polyhalite and commercial production on time and on budget. However, the company also says that the ‘small loss of time’ would be recovered over the remainder of the project schedule.
Concrete equipment company Somero Enterprise (SOM:AIM) hardens by 6.3% to 365p as it upgrades annual earnings and revenue guidance. It now expects to be slightly ahead of revenue expectations of $84.7m and comfortably ahead of EBITDA expectations of $26m. This has been driven by volume increase and effective cost management.
Oil producing minnow Nighthawk Energy (HAWK:AIM) drops 13% to 0.5p on revealing its production numbers. The company says the decrease in production in November was down to several wells requiring non-routine workovers.
