FTSE 100 movers: Beazley surges on results; Spirax slumps

London’s FTSE 100 was down 0.3% at 8,142.82 in afternoon trade on Thursday.

Beazley surged to the top of the index as it delivered a record first-half profit of $728.9m.

Hikma rose as it reported a jump in first-half profit and revenue and upgraded profit and revenue guidance for the full year.

The pharmaceuticals firm said it now expects group revenue to grow by 6% to 8%, up from previous guidance of 4% to 6%, and for core operating profit to be between $700m and $730m, up from a forecast of $660m to $700m.

Entain rallied as the sports betting and gaming group lifted its full-year guidance after a stronger-than-expected second quarter. The Ladbrokes and Coral owner now expects 2024 EBTIDA of between £1.04bn and £1.09bn, having previously said that EBITDA would reduce by around £40m from last year's £1.01bn.

Building materials group CRH gained after lifting its full-year guidance as it posted a jump in second-quarter core profits. The company now expects full-year adjusted EBITDA of between $6.82bn and $7.02bn, up from a previous forecast of $6.55bn to $6.85bn.

Housebuilder Persimmon advanced as it reported a decline in first-half pre-tax profit but said it was on track to deliver full-year completions at the top end of guidance.

Spirax-Sarco tumbled as its first-half pre-tax profit came in 10% below consensus estimates amid challenging trading conditions.

BT Group, Fresnillo and Ashtead all fell as they traded without entitlement to the dividend.

FTSE 100 - Risers

Beazley (BEZ) 715.00p 12.24%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,986.00p 7.93%
Entain (ENT) 561.80p 7.34%
CRH (CDI) (CRH) 6,360.00p 3.55%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,560.50p 1.43%
GSK (GSK) 1,550.00p 0.98%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 695.40p 0.49%
Darktrace (DARK) 597.80p 0.44%
Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 14,400.00p 0.38%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,911.00p 0.21%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Spirax Group (SPX) 7,940.00p -6.97%
BT Group (BT.A) 129.25p -4.89%
Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 3,047.00p -3.97%
SEGRO (SGRO) 874.40p -2.91%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 122.40p -2.82%
Schroders (SDR) 334.00p -2.62%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 985.60p -2.61%
Fresnillo (FRES) 531.50p -2.48%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,138.00p -2.36%
Frasers Group (FRAS) 837.50p -2.33%