FTSE 250 movers: G4S surges on results; Regus slumps on downgrade

London’s FTSE 250 index was steady at 17,687.92 in afternoon trading.

Shares in G4S surged after the security company reported a jump in earnings and revenue for the first half as it said it has made substantial progress with the ongoing transformation of the group.

In the six months to the end of June, earnings were up 43.8% to £69m as revenue grew 3.2% to £3.5bn. In the UK and Ireland, however, revenue dropped 1.9% to £563m.

Peppa Pig owner Entertainment One gained after saying it has rejected a takeover offer from ITV that values the company at 236p per share.

“The board of eOne has reviewed the proposal and has unanimously rejected it on the basis that it fundamentally undervalues the company and its prospects,” the Toronto-based film and TV distributor said.

Payment solutions provider Paysafe – known as Optimal Payments before it merged with competitor Skrill in August last year – advanced after it posted a rise in first-half profit as it upgraded its guidance for 2016 revenue and adjusted earnings.

In the six months to the end of June, pre-tax profit rose sharply to $74.6m from $4.6m in the first half of 2015 as revenue grew to $486.7m from $223m. The year before, the group had incurred costs related to the reverse takeover of Skrill.

B&M European Retail was firmer after Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to ‘overweight’ from ‘equalweight’.

The bank said: “With an increasingly credible international growth story, we think the shares are now looking very attractive.”

Centamin was higher following its results for the second quarter to 30 June, as it said EBITDA was up 51% on the first quarter to $101.6m.

Regus slumped as Numis downgraded its stance on the stock to ‘hold’ from ‘buy’ following the company’s first-half results, saying the shares are up with events.

The workspace provider said on Tuesday that first-half profit rose 7% to £84.3m on revenue of £1.08bn, up from £937m in 2015. However, it warned of “softening revenue growth” in some of its markets.

NCC Group was on the back foot after saying its chief financial officer Atul Patel has resigned from the board with immediate effect and will leave the group in February next year, possibly before if his successor is appointed.

Risers

G4S (GFS) 223.70p 14.37%
Entertainment One Limited (ETO) 237.50p 9.20%
Paysafe Group (PAYS) 420.40p 7.49%
OneSavings Bank (OSB) 225.00p 4.41%
B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 273.10p 3.49%
Keller Group (KLR) 885.00p 2.67%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 302.80p 2.64%
Inmarsat (ISAT) 867.00p 2.60%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 176.00p 2.56%
Sophos Group (SOPH) 232.10p 2.56%

Fallers

Regus (RGU) 302.90p -5.64%
NCC Group (NCC) 328.90p -4.61%
JRP Group (JRP) 95.10p -3.89%
Amec Foster Wheeler (AMFW) 505.00p -3.07%
CYBG (CYBG) 257.70p -2.97%
Rathbone Brothers (RAT) 1,787.00p -2.67%
HICL Infrastructure Company Ltd (HICL) 177.30p -2.58%
Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 869.00p -2.41%
Zoopla Property Group (WI) (ZPLA) 301.90p -2.39%
CLS Holdings (CLI) 1,363.00p -2.36%