FTSE 250 movers: BTG rewarded as Halma loses out

The FTSE 250 managed to stay in the green in afternoon trading on Tuesday, as investors largely ignored the worse-than-expected slowdown in UK inflation.

Healthcare company BTG was surging ahead, after more than doubling its full-year pre-tax profits.

The firm announced before the open that it had doubled the number to £57.5m on the back of a 22% jump in revenues to £447.5m.

BTG raised investor sentiment about the current state of things too, saying it expected revenue for 2017 to be in the range of £485m-£515m, with selling, general and administrative costs to be £160m-£170m and research and development investment to be £85m-£95m.

Chief executive Louise Makin said the company was “making good progress in implementing our growth strategy, investing in geographic expansion, product innovation and indication expansion to maximise the value of our portfolio”.

Motor retail and aftersales service company Lookers was another top riser, after posting some strong results after a period of uncertainty.

The company said total gross profit from new cars in its motor division increased by 23% overall or 5% on a like-for-like basis, with used cars also improving 23% overall or 7% like-for-like, and aftersales gross profits improving 25% overall and 7% like-for-like.

Perhaps most importantly for investors, Lookers reaffirmed its current market expectations, saying its full-year results to 31 December should represent a “significant increase” over its 2015 performance.

Crude prices were also rising in afternoon trading, giving a boost to related companies such as engineering firm Weir Group.

On the downside, ICAP lost out after Monday’s announcement of its rebrand to NEX following the spinning-out of its interdealer broking business, which rival Tullett Prebon is picking up for £1.1bn.

The all-share deal, which still needs to be approved by regulators, will see ICAP become NEX and remain an electronic trading and markets infrastructure provider.

It also posted some disappointing preliminary numbers on Monday, with group revenue falling 6% to £1.3bn and pre-tax profit also slipping 6%, to £89m.

Operating profit slid 26% to £46m in the year to March.

Investec was another firm losing favour in afternoon trading, after it announced the closure of its Global Bond fund due to a recent fall in size.

The fund peaked at £184m in 2012, but has since shrunk significantly as was sitting at £80m in February, with Investec not expecting demand to pick up in the future.

“In order to best serve the needs of our clients, we constantly review our product range,” an Investec spokesperson said.

“Our priority is to ensure that our funds are aligned with investor requirements and perform at a cost effective level.”

Health and safety technology firm Halma was under pressure as well, after analysts at UBS downgraded the stock to ‘sell’ from ‘neutral’ in a morning note.

“If the world is better than expected, Halma will likely underperform versus the group as it is less cyclical and if the economic outlook weakens we still see absolute downside risks,” the UBS researchers said.

Acknowledging the FTSE 250 group's strong organic growth track record amid a declining sector, the Swiss bank noted that Halma has previously endured organic sales weakness in recessionary phases as its niche portfolio reduces its risks but does not completely remove them.

Also falling on the day was Shawbrook, amid the release of provisional findings from the Competition and Markets Authority from its investigation into the banking sector. The proposed measures are seen as a let off for the big banks, with backers of 'challenger banks' having hoped for more to level the playing field.

However, other smaller banks such as OneSavings, Aldermore and Virgin Money were all in positive territory.

FTSE 250 - Risers

BTG (BTG) 620.50p 5.80%
Lookers (LOOK) 139.30p 5.77%
Aggreko (AGK) 1,084.00p 5.14%
NCC Group (NCC) 289.20p 3.58%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,187.00p 3.58%
Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 984.50p 3.14%
DFS Furniture (DFS) 304.70p 2.97%
International Personal Finance (IPF) 252.50p 2.81%
AO World (AO.) 167.50p 2.76%
Marshalls (MSLH) 346.70p 2.76%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Halma (HLMA) 890.00p -3.10%
ICAP (IAP) 441.80p -2.64%
TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 251.70p -2.06%
Interserve (IRV) 308.20p -1.97%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 620.00p -1.82%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,265.00p -1.52%
Shawbrook Group (SHAW) 262.60p -1.46%
Investec (INVP) 471.70p -1.32%
Ibstock (IBST) 209.60p -1.13%
Essentra (ESNT) 814.00p -1.09%