FTSE 250 movers: Alfa Financial sapped by delays but Halfords nails it

London's FTSE 250 was down 0.78% at 20,535.01 in afternoon trade on Tuesday.

Alfa Financial Software tumbled as it posted a decline in first-half profit due in part to contract delays, the weaker dollar and a customer contract delay.

The company reported that in the six months to 30 June, pre-tax profit fell to £8.62m from £14.02m on revenue of £32.9m, down 27% from the same period a year ago.

Alfa said that aside from currency related issues, it had been informed by one of its major customers that it wanted to delay its implementation project for internal reasons, with an understanding that a restart is expected in early 2019.

Satellite telecommunications firm Inmarsat dropped after a downgrade to 'sector perform' by RBC Capital Markets, with a target price cut to 650p from 725p, as it assessed that the company has now given up on wholesaling a GX satellite to the Chinese government.

Similarly, Auto Trader was down after UBS cut the stock to 'neutral' from 'buy', with a target price of 445p. The broker's report said the stock had recovered and that pricing power remains strong but better visibility on new opportunities is needed before forecasts can be upgraded.

London-listed South African company Investec saw its shares fall after a sharp fall in the rand followed GDP data confirming that the country had entered a recession.

At the other end of the scales, Halfords surged as it said group like-for-like sales were up 2.8% in the 20 weeks to 17 August despite a challenging retail environment and maintained its guidance for the current year.

Motoring retail sales, which are higher margin, increased 3.8% to overtake cycling sales growth of 0.8%, which rebounded as a good peak summer period offsett the impact of poor weather at the start of the year.

Broker Liberum felt it was a strong trading update across all areas of the business that "sets Halfords apart from the broader volatility in the retail sector" and deserved an upgrade to a 'buy' rating from its former 'hold'.

Liberum was also behind gains for Equiniti as the analysts reiterated their 'buy' rating and said the company's ongoing roadshow and capital markets day later this month should act as a catalyst for a reversal of much of the recent share price decline.

Meanwhile, Dechra Pharmaceuticals saw its shares recover after dropping on Monday following the release its full-year results which showed revenues as having fallen short of expectations.

BBA Aviation was higher after being raised to 'buy' by Berenberg, while Hunting saw its shares rise after Kepler Cheuvreux upgraded it to 'buy' with a target price of 1000p.

Market Movers

FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,535.01 -0.78%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Halfords Group (HFD) 349.40p 6.27%
Equiniti Group (EQN) 238.50p 4.84%
Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 2,551.00p 4.04%
Spectris (SXS) 2,418.00p 2.37%
Premier Oil (PMO) 128.50p 1.74%
TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 130.30p 1.56%
Ascential (ASCL) 438.20p 1.53%
Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group (JLT) 1,474.00p 1.52%
Hunting (HTG) 838.50p 1.39%
BBA Aviation (BBA) 307.80p 1.25%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Alfa Financial Software Holdings (ALFA) 148.80p -6.06%
Charter Court Financial Services Group (CCFS) 343.00p -4.93%
Inmarsat (ISAT) 521.40p -4.65%
Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 431.10p -4.56%
Go-Ahead Group (GOG) 1,618.00p -4.49%
Investec (INVP) 493.40p -4.34%
TI Fluid Systems (TIFS) 279.80p -3.52%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 98.10p -3.49%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 462.40p -3.45%
Hill & Smith Holdings (HILS) 1,015.00p -3.43%