London’s fabulous FTSE 100 firms another 6.2 points to 7,521 on Thursday, a busy day for corporate reporting which sees specialist asset manager Intermediate Capital (ICP) improving 7.2% to 865p on stellar full year results and a confident outlook.
Intermediate Capital’s (ICG) pre-tax profits of £237.5m came in a whopping 17.5% ahead of Liberum Capital’s forecast and investors also welcome a new dividend policy targeting 6-8% growth per annum.
Central and Eastern Europe’s largest low-cost carrier Wizz Air (WIZZ) rises 5.9% to £20.60 after announcing record annual profits, up 27.5% to €246m for the year to March. There’s also an optimistic outlook with Wizz guiding to growth in profits to between €250m and €270m for the current fiscal year.
Gambling firm GVC’s (GVC) strong run continues, the shares chased 31.5p higher to 796.5p on news the positive trading enjoyed in the first quarter has continued into the second quarter.
Car parts-to-bicycles seller Halfords (HFD) accelerates 7.6p higher to 366.4p despite a fall in pre-tax profits. The retailer’s full year figures were hit by the fall in the pound which drove up import costs.
However, Halfords’ fundamentals remain strong with like-for-like sales up and market share gains in both motoring and cycling. Halfords has also continued to make progress with its 'Moving Up A Gear' strategy with sustained growth in service-related sales.
A share that is decidedly in the doghouse, specialist retailer Pets at Home (PETS) perks up 1p to 161.6p as investors focus on a return to merchandise revenue growth for the fourth quarter. Nonetheless, weak annual numbers reveal sluggish like-for-like growth, a modest drop in profits and there’s also guidance towards rising operational costs.
Food ingredients giant Tate & Lyle (TATE) cheapens 14p to 776p as investors take profits off the table following a sweet share price run. Solid full year results show adjusted pre-tax profits rising 20% to a consensus-beating £271m, reflecting increased margins in Tate’s speciality food ingredients and bulk ingredients divisions.
The performance was also boosted by strong sales of new products and there’s also a positive outlook from Javed Ahmed, Tate’s CEO confident the company will make underlying progress in the new financial year.
Troubled oil services business Petrofac (PFC) slumps 23.6% to 470p after updating the market on a Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigation. Petrofac says chief operating officer Marwan Chedid has been suspended until further notice and has resigned from the board.
Plugs, wires and lighting specialist Luceco (LUCE) clips ahead 7.5p to 248p on news of continuing positive trading; CEO John Hornby expects full year results to be marginally ahead of market expectations.
