FTSE 250 movers: Britvic fizzes higher; Vedanta slumps as protests turn violent

London's FTSE 250 was down 0.6% to 21,064.66 in afternoon trade on Wednesday amid a flurry of corporate releases.

Drinks maker Britvic fizzed higher as posted a jump in interim revenue and earnings and expressed confidence over the rest of the year, although pre-tax profit fell.

In the 28 weeks to 15 April, revenue was up 4.5% to £733.2m, while adjusted earnings before interest and taxes were 9.4% higher at £80.5m. However, pre-tax profit for the half fell to £41.8m from £50.1m in the same period a year ago as it incurred costs of £21.6m from its planned business capability programme.

IT infrastructure products provider Softcat was a high riser after saying it expects to deliver full-year results ahead of expectations after a solid third quarter. The group said it has continued to trade well across all segments, maintaining momentum from the first half and reflecting further successful execution of its strategy, with market conditions and customer demand both remaining strong.

Travel operator Thomas Cook was on the front foot as Morgan Stanley upped its price target to 155p from 140p, saying there's scope for a dividend surprise.

Babcock gained after saying it was positioned for further growth as the defence contractor posted record annual profit.

Going the other way, Vedanta Resources was under the cosh despite saying it swung to a net profit in the year to the end of March, after as many as 12 people were killed and scores injured when police opened fire onto a crowd protesting against the expansion of its Tuticorin copper smelter in India.

The smelter, which is run by Vedanta's Sterlite Copper unit, is controlled by Vedanta Ltd, a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources.

The Madras High Court has ordered Vedanta to stop construction works on the Tuticorin Smelter plant 2 project with immediate effect and for authorities to hold public hearings before granting environmental approval to the construction. This follows more than three months of demonstrations against the doubling of the plant's capacity, with protesters concerned that the plant is a major source of pollution and a risk to fisheries.

Cathedral City owner Dairy Crest was weaker as it announced plans to raise £69.9m in a 7.7% discounted share placing to fund an expansion of its cheese production facility.

Polypipe was in the red as it posted a drop in revenue for the four months to 30 April but said it remained confident of delivering on its full-year 2018 expectations.

FTSE 250 - Risers

Britvic (BVIC) 813.00p 7.19%
Softcat (SCT) 702.00p 6.20%
Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 124.30p 3.84%
Greencore Group (GNC) 170.70p 3.71%
Card Factory (CARD) 224.40p 2.28%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 780.00p 2.04%
Tate & Lyle (TATE) 615.40p 1.99%
Pets at Home Group (PETS) 140.10p 1.97%
NewRiver REIT (NRR) 289.69p 1.82%
Homeserve (HSV) 865.00p 1.65%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Vedanta Resources (VED) 782.20p -7.32%
Dairy Crest Group (DCG) 499.20p -6.95%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 251.20p -4.78%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 261.50p -4.25%
Inmarsat (ISAT) 346.00p -4.18%
On The Beach Group (OTB) 475.50p -3.94%
Weir Group (WEIR) 2,234.00p -3.91%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 1,023.00p -3.72%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 869.60p -3.55%
Polypipe Group (PLP) 403.20p -3.08%