Cineworld Group PLC (LSE:CINE) was the top riser in the FTSE 250, up 6% to 64.92p, after forecasting strong trading in the coming months as people want to have fun outside their homes.
The cinema operator has reopened most of its estate in the US and the UK and said that since the removal of most restrictions on July 21 it has seen a gradual recovery of admissions and demand, supported by strong retail sales.
In the six months to June 30, which included around four months of closures due to lockdown, Cineworld reported a pre-tax loss of US$576.4mln, narrowed from a US$1.64bn loss a year ago, while revenues dropped to US$292.8mln from US$712.4mln.
2.40pm: Shield Therapeutics higher after securing licence agreement in South Korea
Shield Therapeutics PLC (LSE:STX, FRA:1JS) added 5% to 50p in the early afternoon after securing a licence agreement in South Korea for its Accrufer iron deficiency therapy.
Under the deal with Korea Pharma Co Ltd, the pharma group will receive an upfront payment of £0.5mln and is also eligible to receive a further £1.5mln upon the first commercial sale of Accrufer in Korea.
It will also receive up to £4mln in milestone payments upon the achievement of specified cumulative sales targets, as well as royalties of 15% on net sales of Accrufer for the duration of the intellectual property in Korea.
1.10pm: IDE Group (AIM:IDE) slips after chief financial officer leaves
IDE Group (AIM:IDE) Holdings PLC slipped 12% to 0.725p in the early afternoon after its chief financial officer David Templeman resigned from the board with immediate effect.
The mid-market network, cloud and IT managed services provider said it plans to recruit another chief financial officer in due course.
It didn’t say why Templeman decided to leave.
12.10pm: John Lewis Of Hungerford surges after making unexpected profit
John Lewis Of Hungerford PLC surged 24% to 1.3p at lunchtime after announcing that recent performance has topped expectation and it will make a small profit before tax for the full year.
The specialist kitchen manufacturer and retailer made a loss in the first half but it will be offset by a profit in the second half, which ended on 30 June.
The group, not to be confused with John Lewis Partnership, added that it has entered the new financial year with an order book substantially higher than in recent years, with forward orders of £4.7mln.
11.15am: Global Petroleum (AIM:GBP) tumbles after £1mln share placing
Global Petroleum (AIM:GBP) Limited tumbled 14% to 0.515p after raising £1mln by placing 2mln shares at 0.5p per share.
The energy group will use the fund to part-fund the new licence commitments, as well as provide general working capital, for its operations in Namibia.
Earlier this month it was granted an extension to a licence where it will acquire and process 2,000 square kilometres of 3D seismic data, done through a farmout.
Meanwhile, Abingdon Health PLC (AIM:ABDX) was also down 14% to 32p after announcing that it had to let go 60 employees over the past four months.
It was “a direct consequence of the Department of Health and Social Care not paying for products they have taken delivery of”, chairman Dr Chris Hand said, and legal proceedings are ongoing.
The group also admitted it has not seen significant commercial traction with the AbC-19(TM) COVID-19 test to date.
9am: Stock Spirits on the rise after agreeing on £767mln takeover offer
Stock Spirits Group (LSE:STCK) PLC was an early riser on Thursday, surging 43% to 383.5p after agreeing on a £767mln takeover offer by CVC Advisers.
Shareholders will receive 377p per share in cash, which is a 41% premium to Wednesday’s closing price.
“We believe that CVC's support for our existing strategy and the investment that it intends to make in order to grow our business means that this offer will benefit all of Stock Spirits' stakeholders,” said the vodka producer’s chairman David Maloney.
Elsewhere, Deltic Energy PLC (AIM:DELT) rose 12.5% to 2.25p after inking a farm-out deal with Cairn Energy PLC (LSE:CNE) for five licences in the Southern North Sea.
Cairn will acquire between 60 and 70% of the licences, and, it will cover 100% of the agreed work programmes for each of the five licences. If the exploration assets advance to drilling, Cairn will cover 70% of the costs of the first well up to a maximum US$25mln.
Deltic will receive US$1mln upfront, representing a contribution towards historic back costs.