FTSE 100 movers: Informa rallies on guidance upgrade; Halma heads lower

London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.2% at 7,621.06 in afternoon trade on Thursday.

Informa was a high riser as the events organiser lifted its full-year profit and revenue outlook, citing strong performances in all businesses, with revenue now expected to exceed pre-Covid levels.

Pointing to "strong underlying performances combined with portfolio additions", the company upped its adjusted operating profit guidance by 10% to between £750m and £790m, while revenue guidance was boosted 7% to between £2.95bn and £3.05bn.

Halma was in the red as it posted a dip in full-year pre-tax, but lifted its dividend as revenues jumped 21%.

In the 12 months to the end of March, statutory pre-tax profit declined 4% to £291.5m, mainly due to the non-recurrence of a gain on disposal of a Safety Sector business in the prior year. Adjusted pre-tax profit was up 14% to £361.3m.

Revenues rose 21% to a record £1.85bn, with broad-based revenue growth in all sectors and regions.

Melrose Industries fell after chief executive officer Simon Peckham sold 2m shares in the company - half his shareholding - at 524.5p "as a result of a change in personal circumstances".

Legal & General was also down after it announced the appointment of António Simões as chief executive officer.

Simões - who succeeds Sir Nigel Wilson - joins from Banco Santander, where he has been regional head of Europe since September 2020.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "The new boss at Legal & General has a hard act to follow. Since Nigel Wilson was appointed to the top job in June 2012, Legal & General shares have outperformed its life insurance peers, Aviva and Prudential, to chalk up a total return of more than 200%.

"Wilson didn’t necessarily make a big splash but was busy in the background, turning Legal & General into a more focused and efficient business."

FTSE 100 - Risers

Ocado Group (OCDO) 428.40p 4.72%
Informa (INF) 724.40p 2.84%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 6,010.00p 1.76%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,770.00p 1.58%
Unilever (ULVR) 4,029.00p 1.55%
Relx plc (REL) 2,618.00p 1.47%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 11,670.00p 1.39%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 73.69p 1.17%
Shell (SHEL) 2,330.00p 1.11%
Haleon (HLN) 322.40p 1.10%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Halma (HLMA) 2,303.00p -5.19%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 505.00p -3.70%
Smurfit Kappa Group (CDI) (SKG) 2,838.00p -3.21%
NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 257.10p -3.13%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,800.50p -2.86%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 231.30p -2.82%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 306.20p -2.42%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 1,718.00p -2.41%
Bunzl (BNZL) 3,034.00p -2.32%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 144.95p -2.23%