FTSE 250 movers: Ophir surges but Morrisons slips after results

London’s FTSE 250 index was up 0.2% to 16,616.49 at 1455 GMT, underperforming the broader market as stocks in Europe surged after European Central Bank chief Draghi delivered the “big bazooka” investors had been hoping for.

Ophir Energy was the star performer on Thursday as it reported on an exceptionally challenging year.

The oil and gas company said it swung to an operating loss of $376m after pre-tax impairments of $169m due to the lower commodity environment, and exploration write-offs of $149m. Ophir made a profit of $288 the previous year.

There were some bright spots, however, in the form of a healthy cash balance and news the Fortuna project was likely to go ahead with final investment decision expected in the middle of this year.

Amec Foster Wheeler rallied. Although the oil and gas engineer said it swung to a loss in 2015, investors welcomed the company’s debt figures and outlook.

The group posted a pre-tax loss of £235m compared with a profit of £155m in 2014 amid challenging conditions in the oil and gas markets.

Amec announced plans to sell its Global Power Group unit and halve its net debt in the next 15 months through non-core disposals.

"2016 is expected to be another year of challenging market conditions across upstream Oil & Gas and Mining. However, our exposure to a number of end markets, including downstream Oil & Gas, renewables and government work means we expect to see only a slight fall in like-for-like revenue, and a reduction in trading margins significantly less than the decline in 2015,” McHoul said.

Canaccord Genuity said the results were in line in terms of the earnings and dividend, “but the excitement is in the debt line and the outlook”.

Auto Trader raced ahead after Peel Hunt upgraded the stock to ‘buy’ from ‘add’ with an unchanged price target of 445p.

The brokerage said trading was healthy for Auto Trader and its clients in the sector.

“Share price weakness related to the US internet sell-off is spurious in our view, and represents a buying opportunity.”

Supermarket chain Morrisons was under the cosh. Annual profit fell more than a quarter but like-for-like sales dropped only 2% after a strong improvement in the fourth quarter. However, investors were left disappointed that the dividend was cut by nearly two thirds.

Shares in Domino’s Pizza, Hiscox and Jupiter Fund Management slid as the stocks went ex-dividend.

Risers

Ophir Energy (OPHR) 90.30p 6.17%
Entertainment One Limited (ETO) 152.50p 5.10%
Amec Foster Wheeler (AMFW) 491.00p 4.74%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 200.50p 4.37%
Allied Minds (ALM) 374.90p 4.23%
International Personal Finance (IPF) 285.30p 3.11%
Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 379.40p 2.87%
FirstGroup (FGP) 96.00p 2.84%
Grainger (GRI) 216.30p 2.71%
Ashmore Group (ASHM) 266.90p 2.65%

Fallers

OneSavings Bank (OSB) 259.00p -6.73%
Countrywide (CWD) 363.10p -3.61%
Shawbrook Group (SHAW) 277.40p -3.34%
Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 945.00p -3.13%
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 196.20p -2.87%
Domino's Pizza Group (DOM) 1,002.00p -2.72%
Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 394.50p -2.69%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 207.80p -2.58%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 88.70p -2.53%
Ibstock (IBST) 196.60p -2.19%