3.35pm: Hammerson wraps up stake sale
Hammerson PLC (LON: HMSO) shares fell 6.4% to 393.10 late afternoon Thursday as the property developer wrapped up the sale of 50% stake in the Highcross shopping centre in Leicester.
The FTSE 250 constistuent said the stake was sold for £236mln to an Asian investor that was introduced by M&G Real Estate. Hammerson reiterated the sale price represented a 5% discount to a December 2017 book value.
But British American Tobacco plc (LON:BATS) shares picked up 2.6% to 2,809p following a ratings upgrade by RBC Capital Markets to ‘sector perform’ from ‘underperform’, although the price target was cut to £27 a share from £34 a share. Jefferies, meanwhile, reiterated its price target of 5,000p, saying it believes a US ban on methol cigarettes won’t materialize.
READ: Jefferies reiterates blockbuster £50 price target for BATS
Advancers were joined by ITM Power PLC (LON:ITM), rising 3.9% to 27.00p as the HyDeploy consortium, of which it is a member, received a £14.9mln UK grant to perform hydrogen trials on the public gas network.
The grant was given by UK energy regulator Ofgem. HyDeploy is a project aiming to blend up to 20% hydrogen into an existing natural gas network in an effort to help the UK sharply cut carbon emissions.
READ: ITM Power shares jump as consortium receives Ofgem grant for hydrogen trials on UK public gas network
12.50pm: FireAngel shares light up
FireAngel Safety Technology Group PLC (LON:FA.) shares jumped 18% to 42.40p early Thursday afternoon as the company won a supply contract from a housing association in Glasgow.
The AIM-quoted company will supply the Queens Cross Housing Association with more than 12,000 battery-powered smoke and heat alarms for more than 3,500 properties. The agreement was reached as Scottish law in 2019 will require homes to have interlinked, sealed life-long battery or mains wired alarms.
Meanwhile, Mycelx Technologies (LON:MYX) gained 4.4% to 10.00p as the clean water technology company raised its yearly profit and revenue outlook after winning a new order from an affiliate of chemical producer Saudi Basic Industries Corp., or Sabic.
Mycelx now expects revenue of $25mln to $26mln for the current financial year, and net profit of $2.4mln to $2.8mln. The company in October raised its revenue and profit guidance on a new project order in Saudi Arabia.
But shares of Intu Properties PLC (LON:INTU) plunged 35% to 124.90p as the company said a consortium led by billionaire shareholder John Whittaker ditched plans to buy the shopping centre owner because of market uncertainty.
Earlier this month, the consortium, which included Peel Group, the Olayan Group and Brookfield Property Group, made a proposed indicative offer of 210.4p per share for Intu.
READ: Intu to slash 2018 dividend after consortium ditches takeover plan
11.15am: Altona Energy shares pull back
Altona Energy PLC (LON:ANR) shares gave up 4.7% in late-morning trade Thursday after the specialist coal miner said it’s temporarily halting activities at a project in Australia, and that the company’s chairman has been replaced.
“Given the opportunity to both develop the Company's own assets with pyrolysis technology and to work with other holders of coal assets, the Company has decided to temporarily suspend its survey and exploration activities at the Westfield Tenement,” Altona said in a statement. AIM-listed Altona also said it named Timothy Jones as non-executive chairman, replacing Qinfu Zhang with immediate effect. Zhang will remain on the board as an executive director. Also, Philip Sutherland, operations director in Australia, tendered his resignation.
Struggling shares also included those of Daily Mail & General Trust PLC (LON:DMGT), which slumped 9.7% to 624.00p as the company warned that newspaper circulation volumes may continue to decline next year as more people get their news online.
The Daily Mail and Metro newspapers owner expects underlying revenues in the consumer media division to decline by “mid-single” digits in the 2019 financial year as it foresees advertising market conditions remaining volatile and circulation volumes falling.
READ: Daily Mail and Metro owner's shares plunge as it warns on challenging newspaper market
On the upside, Britvic PLC (LON:BVIC) climbed 5.9% to 828.50p after the soft drinks maker posted a 5% rise in annual revenue and profit.
Shares of the FTSE 250 group reached all-time highs after the company, whose brands include Tango, said revenue rose to £1.50bn in the 12 months through the end of September 30, from £1.43bn a year ago. Profit increased to £117.1mln from £111.6mln.
READ: Britvic annual profit rises despite “challenging environment”
9.55am: Coral Products posts profit
Coral Products (LON:CRU) shares zoomed up 15% to 11.80p Thursday morning after the plastics products manufacturer swung to half-year profit and posted growth in sales.
Gross profit jumped 24.8% to £5.04mln from £4.04mln a year ago, and an “excellent turnaround” for the mouldings operation should continue, said Coral. Group sales increased 9.8% to £13.08mln from £11.91mln a year ago.
Advancers also included Ariana Resources PLC (LON:AAU) as shares gained 6.4% to 1.49p after the company said it has had “excellent” exploration results from Salinbas gold project in Turkey.
The AIM-quoted company said at Salinbas, located within the ‘Hot Gold Corridor’, sampling activities have returned gold grades up to 5.02 grams per tonne. The findings come ahead of plans for drilling in the second quarter of 2019.
But Dignity PLC (LON:DTY) shares landed among losers, sliding 17% to 838.50p after the funeral services company said the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority proposed a full investigation of pricing in the industry.
Main market-listed Dignity said it is considering recommendations made by the CMA in its provisional report, and, among other things, is committed to unbundling the price structure of its funeral business to create greater flexibility for clients.
Other Proactive news headlines:
Haydale Graphene Industries PLC’s (LON:HAYD) Taiwanese operation HTW has started to ship commercial quantities of its graphene ink for diabetes test strips. Trials have been underway for a year by the customer, but sizeable deliveries have now started as part of a 100Kg order.
OptiBiotix Health PLC (LON:OPTI) has agreed a production, packaging and supply agreement for its CE Marked weight management product. Italy’s Nutrilinea will formulate and distribute SlimBiome Medical, which also has medical device status, in boxes of 30 single sachet doses for sale across its network and the UK firm’s growing list of partners.
Graphene specialist Directa Plus PLC (LON:DCTA) has signed a collaboration agreement with Ambienthesis, a Milan exchange-listed reclamation and hazardous waste disposal group. The agreement will see Directa’s G+ enhanced Grafysorber adsorbent tested as a cleaning agent for soil, groundwater and industrial waste.
genedrive PLC (LON:GDR) is to trial its hepatitis C (HCV) testing device in recovering heroin addicts as it looks to see if its diagnostic is cheaper and more effective than what is currently on the market.
KRM22 PLC (LON:KRM) has announced two new customer contracts for two recently acquired businesses, Irisium and ProOpticus, expanding its Global Risk Platform.
Shefa Yamim (ATM) Ltd (LON:SEFA) has increased the estimated mineralised tonnage at the Kishon Mid-Reach project following the results of a Note For The Record (NFTR) report.
Europa Oil & Gas Holdings PLC (LON:EOG) has maintained positive in its support for the Wressle oil project, in Lincolnshire, despite yet another disappointment in efforts to secure planning permission to develop the field. Late in Wednesday’s session, it was announced that Wressle project operator Egdon Resources had been frustrated again as the North Lincolnshire Council Planning Committee refused the new application for planning consent. Europa owns a 30% stake in Wressle, while Union Jack Oil PLC (LON:UJO) holds a 27.5% project stake.
Bushveld Minerals Limited (LON:BMN) has revealed that discussions with potential electrolyte customers are ongoing with its 84%-owned energy subsidiary, Bushveld Energy Limited expecting to supply samples in the coming months.
Eco Atlantic Oil & Gas Ltd (LON:ECO) (CVE:EOG) chief executive Gil Holzman in Thursday’s quarterly financial results statement described the explorer’s farm-out deal with Total as a “confirmation of the great value”. AIM-quoted Eco confirmed the completion of the transaction on Wednesday, with the explorer receiving US$12.5mln in cash in return for a 25% stake in the potential high-impact Orinduik offshore acreage.
Asiamet Resources Limited (LON:ARS) confirmed it raised US$3.3mln (£2.6mln) in a share placing on Wednesday to help fund a feasibility study at its Beruang Kanan Main (BKM) copper project in Indonesia. The exploration firm said it had issued around 60.7mln new shares in the oversubscribed placing at a price of 4.25p each.
e-therapeutics PLC (LON:ETX), the network-driven drug discovery (NDD) company, said it will be presenting at the 6th Drug Discovery Innovation Programme in Frankfurt, Germany. The conference will be held on 29-30 November at the Leonardo Hotel Frankfurt City – South, and the firm will be presenting an overview of the company's NDD approach at 13:00 CET on 30 November.
BATM Advanced Communications Limited (LON:BVC) is hosting a Capital Markets Day in London today which will provide institutional investors and analysts with an opportunity to enhance their understanding of the group's business, including a detailed review of its divisions and units, through a series of presentations given by senior management. The group said presentations will be made available on the BATM website later today.