FTSE 250 movers: Cobham rallies on earnings but Inmarsat drops

London's FTSE 250 was up 0.3% to 19,907.65 in afternoon trade.

Aerospace and defence group Cobham was the standout gainer after saying it swung to an operating profit in the first half as revenue grew. In the six months to the end of June, the company made a statutory operating profit of £34.7m versus a £12m loss the year before, as revenue rose to £1bn from £916.7m. Meanwhile, the underlying pre-tax profit came in at £69.5m, down from £75.8m. Revenue and profit were ahead of expectations for £925m and 362.3m, respectively.

Serco rallied as it said first-half profit fell but kept its full-year guidance unchanged, while Ferrexpo shone as it said its revenue rose 29% to $591m in the first half and the C1 cash cost was 23.7% ahead at $31.70 per tonne.

On the downside, Inmarsat retreated after first-half results showed sales growth slowed slightly and profits declined in the second quarter but the satellite operator kept full year guidance unchanged.

Esure was on the back foot despite reporting a jump in first-half profit and lifting its guidance, while Halfords was weaker as its stock went ex-dividend.

Risers

Cobham (COB) 143.20p 6.87%
Carillion (CLLN) 56.35p 4.93%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 175.90p 4.02%
Serco Group (SRP) 117.30p 3.81%
Just Group (JUST) 146.90p 2.73%
TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 1,716.00p 2.57%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 245.30p 2.38%
Indivior (INDV) 391.90p 2.24%
Hastings Group Holdings (HSTG) 321.60p 2.10%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 370.90p 2.09%

Fallers

FDM Group (Holdings) (FDM) 913.00p -4.80%
Inmarsat (ISAT) 754.00p -4.31%
Halfords Group (HFD) 328.20p -3.73%
esure Group (ESUR) 285.20p -3.32%
Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 92.65p -2.78%
Dignity (DTY) 2,509.00p -2.15%
William Hill (WMH) 262.70p -1.98%
Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 6,345.00p -1.86%
UDG Healthcare Public Limited Company (UDG) 824.50p -1.85%
CLS Holdings (CLI) 206.20p -1.81%