FTSE 250 movers: Amec Foster Wheeler ascends while SIG shares sink

The FTSE 250 was in the green in afternoon trading on Tuesday, with the markets boosted by a some positive results announcements during the morning.

Amec Foster Wheeler surged after its higher sales and lower earnings in the first half were better than the market expected, while the engineer also impressed with cost cutting and its continued expansion into renewable energy.

Revenue in the six months to 30 June of £2.8bn was up 7% on the same period last year, beating consensus expectations of £2.5bn, and 4% higher on a like-for-like basis.

First-half trading profit of £177m, which excluded £440m of non-cash impairments - mostly directly against goodwill, was down 6% but better than consensus forecasts of £158m.

Online grocer Ocado was also rising after it agreed a new 30-year deal with FTSE 100 retailer Morrisons, ending their profit-sharing agreement but with the grocer taking roughly 30% capacity of the online specialist's new customer fulfilment centre (CFC) in Erith by 2018 and easing restrictions on which other UK supermarkets it can work with.

A previous restriction on 'store pick' has been lifted, with Ocado providing a software solution that will enable Morrisons to fulfil online orders via its stores all over Britain as soon as next year.

Restrictions on which UK grocers Ocado can work with have also been eased, with only Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, Lidl and Aldi on the banned list, opening up potential for deals with the likes of Co-Op or Iceland as it struggles to secure the long-trumpeted overseas contract.

SIG was under serious pressure, even after it reported on Tuesday a 20% increase in first half underlying profit before tax as group sales were boosted by acquisitions and foreign exchange benefits.

The London-listed supplier of insulation, roofing, commercial interiors said pre-tax profit came to £47.7m in the six months ended 30 June, up from £39.8m in the corresponding period a year ago.

Revenue gained 11% to £1.37bn with acquisitions contributing 4.6% to growth. Group like-for-like sales grew 0.7%.

FTSE 250 - Risers

Amec Foster Wheeler (AMFW) 510.50p 9.46%
Entertainment One Limited (ETO) 209.80p 6.01%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 221.90p 5.42%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 290.30p 5.07%
Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 4,279.00p 4.31%
William Hill (WMH) 339.10p 3.57%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 809.00p 2.93%
G4S (GFS) 195.70p 2.84%
Marshalls (MSLH) 280.00p 2.68%
DFS Furniture (DFS) 219.50p 2.33%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

PayPoint (PAY) 983.50p -4.05%
SIG (SHI) 103.00p -3.83%
International Personal Finance (IPF) 265.30p -3.53%
Galliford Try (GFRD) 983.50p -2.72%
Vectura Group (VEC) 142.30p -2.27%
Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 1,091.00p -2.15%
Genus (GNS) 1,897.00p -2.12%
International Public Partnerships Ltd. (INPP) 157.40p -2.05%
Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 329.00p -1.97%
Domino's Pizza Group (DOM) 376.50p -1.83%