IWG PLC (LON:IWG), which provides serviced office space under the Regus and Spaces brands, added 4% to 240.70p despite a 7% drop in full year profits to £138.7mln.
Investors took heart from positive comments from chief executive Mark Dixon, who said the company had seen a strong start to 2019 and had taken action to deal with underperforming parts of the business. He said he was confident about the outlook, despite the current global economic worries which made it sensible to develop the business with some caution.
11.40am: Biffa shares boosted by update
Where there’s muck there’s brass is a saying that seems to still hold true.
Biffa PLC (LON:BIFF) gave a positive update ahead of the waste management group’s full year results announcement in June.
The company’s shares jumped 6% to 197p as it said its second half performance was in line with expectations, with improvements at its recovery and treatment business as well as is municipal division. It is developing its plans to invest in energy from waste plants, in a joint venture with US group Covanta.
Lower down the market, Inland Homes Plc (LON:INL) has been hit by a delay to one of its major planning applications.
The AIM-listed brownfield developer and housebuilder, which focuses on the south and south east of England, saw its shares fall 1.25% to 63p after Broxbourne District Council requested further clarification on a number of points.
Stephen Wicks, chief executive, said the move was disappointing but it expected to satisfy the concerns and resubmit the application at the earliest opportunity.
10.30am: Costain profits slip
Costain Group PLC (LON:COST) crumbled 4.6% to 379p as the construction company reported a £1.6mln fall in full year profits to £40.2mln and a drop in its cash balance from £177.7mln to £118.8mln.
The company also announced that Andrew Wylie, chief executive for 14 years, was retiring. News of a record order book of £4.2mln and an 8% rise in the total dividend did little to soothe investors, with the UK construction sector out of favour since the collapse of Carillion.
Burberry Group PLC (LON:BRBY) dropped 3.8% to 1,878p after analysts at Goldman Sachs cut their recommendation on the luxury goods group from neutral to sell.
ThinkSmart Limited (LON:TSL) soared 14% to 13.96p after the digital payments group moved from a £1.2mln full year loss to a £6.9mln profit, thanks to the sale of its ClearPay Finance business to Afterpay for a £7.7mln profit.
Analyst Nik Lysiuk at the company’s broker FinnCap said the shares were undervalued: “Opportunities exist for the company to continue its proven record of developing new technology to rapidly increase shareholder value. The price target remains 33p.”
9.00am: TT Electronics' results boosted by acquisitions
TT Electronics PLC (LON:TTG) was among the leading risers on Wednesday morning, sparking up 4.4% to 211p after the Woking based company lifted full year profits by 43% to £31.5m .
The figures were boosted by the acquisitions of specialist electronic groups Stadium and Precision. It is also establishing a technology centre in China to help develop its strategy for the Internet of Things.
88 Energy Ltd (LON:88E) jumped 27% to 1.175p after it said its Winx-1 exploration well had hit its pre-drill targets, reaching a total depth of 6,800 feet.
One of its partners Red Emperor Resources NL (LON:RMP) also benefitted, adding 46.06% to 4.82p, while the other, Pantheon Resources Plc (LON:PANR) rose 14% to 27p.
Heading in the other direction was Nautilus Marine Services PLC (LON:NAUT), down 19% to 5.75p after it announced that Mikel Faulkner, the company’s chairman and one of its founders, was stepping down with immediate effect, to spend more time with his family as the saying goes.
Proactive news headlines:
88 Energy Ltd (LON:88E) has told investors that on Monday 3 March the Winx-1 exploration well reached its total depth of 6,800 feet. It added that all the well’s pre-drill targets were intersected by the well and multiple potential pay zones were identified, including a zone within the Nanushuk primary target.
Allergy Therapeutics PLC (LON:AGY) enjoyed another six months of revenue and market share growth as it ended 2018 with plenty of money in the bank ahead of what will be a busy year for the drug developer.
VR Education Holdings Plc (LON:VRE) said it is targeting the release of two new “showcase” experiences in 2019 in what it said would be “a busy year” for the group.
Victoria Oil & Gas PLC (LON:VOG) has revealed that executive chairman Kevin Foo is signing off his tenure at the head of the company with a £12.6mln equity-based funding that promises a “new beginning” for the Cameroon gas firm. Foo will retire as a director and executive chairman upon completion of the fundraise.
BATM Advanced Communications Limited (LON:BVC) shares jumped in early deals Wednesday on the back of bullish 2019 forecasts that predicted earnings (EBITDA) and revenue growth would be “ahead of market expectations”.
Photonstar LED Group PLC (LON:PSL), which is seeking shareholder approval to become a cash shell, said it has already met with a number of promising potential acquisitions and has raised cash through a placing and a director’s subscription to enable due diligence on its targets.
Oriole Resources PLC (LON:ORR) said a trench programme at one of its Cameroon gold assets had returned what it described as “very encouraging” results. At the Bibemi project, geologists found orogenic-style gold mineralisation, which is formed when the earth’s crust folds.
African Battery Metals PLC (LON:ABM) has already received offers of new projects but will focus first on its existing portfolio, said executive director Paul Johnson. ABM, which was refinanced in January, owns copper, nickel and cobalt assets in the DRC, Cameroon and Ivory Coast.
Salt Lake Potash Ltd (LON:SO4) (ASX:SO4) has started constructing the first evaporation ponds at its Lake Way Sulphate of Potash (SOP) Project near Wiluna in Western Australia. The first phase will enable de-watering of the Lake Way Williamson Pit that contains the highest-grade brine resource in Australia.