FTSE 250 movers: Mitie gains but Galliford tanks on £98m hit from legacy contracts
London's FTSE 250 was down 0.7% to 19,662.79 in afternoon trade as investors sifted through corporate news.
Outsourcer Mitie was the best performer on the index after it said it will take a hit of as much as £50m following an accounting review but that trading before the impact of the review was largely in line with previous expectations.
RBC Capital Markets said:" Whilst clearly Mitie was in a mess, the key with this statement is that trading is in line, the FY net debt position is better than expected and the balance sheet review has been completed without any significant negative cashflow or ongoing impacts.
"Hence we would not expect any changes to 2018 forecasts today."
Pub operator JD Wetherspoon rallied as it said its trading outcome for the year is likely to be ahead of previous expectations following better-than-anticipated sales so far this year. In a trading update for the 13-week period to 23 April, the company said like-for-like sales were up 4% with total sales 1.3% higher. Year-to-date, LFL sales have increased 3.5% and total sales are up 1.4%.
IP Group was on the front foot after announcing that its portfolio company, Ultrahaptics, had completed a £17.9m fundraising.
On the downside, Galliford Try shares tanked as the company said it has had to set aside £98m to cover the cost of two major legacy contracts. In a trading update for 1 January to 2 May, Galliford said that following a reappraisal, it now expects non-recurring costs of around £98m, 80% of which relates to its share of the two joint venture infrastructure projects.
Support services company Carillion was weaker despite saying that trading conditions have remained largely stable since its full-year 2016 results in March and that it has made a promising start to the year.
Aggreko was hit by a downgrade to 'underweight' from 'equalweight' by Morgan Stanley, while gold miner Centamin lost its shine after it said profit and production fell in the first quarter.
Halfords Group retreated as it lost another chief executive to a larger retailer, with Jill McDonald poached by Marks & Spencer to be managing director of its non-food business.
Risers
Mitie Group (MTO) 223.30p 5.63%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 195.00p 3.56%
Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 1,040.00p 2.97%
PayPoint (PAY) 1,039.00p 2.47%
Go-Ahead Group (GOG) 1,801.00p 2.04%
Foreign and Colonial Inv Trust (FRCL) 576.50p 1.95%
Worldwide Healthcare Trust (WWH) 2,359.00p 1.94%
Inmarsat (ISAT) 838.50p 1.57%
IP Group (IPO) 139.40p 1.46%
AO World (AO.) 140.90p 1.44%
Fallers
Galliford Try (GFRD) 1,319.00p -9.78%
Carillion (CLLN) 216.50p -4.96%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 150.10p -4.15%
Aggreko (AGK) 840.50p -4.11%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 166.70p -3.92%
Rotork (ROR) 241.20p -3.17%
Booker Group (BOK) 189.50p -3.17%
Allied Minds (ALM) 150.70p -3.15%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 488.90p -2.90%
Halfords Group (HFD) 364.40p -2.77%