FTSE 250 movers: Ophir takeover reports continue to drive market

The FTSE 250 continued on track to finish the week on a high, as the market was up 73.65 points (0.43%) to 17,184.96 by mid-afternoon Thursday.

Shares in oil and gas exploration company Ophir Energy continued to rise through the ranks following a report on Wednesday that it has received informal takeover and merger interest from several parties as a drop in crude oil prices forces independent operators to consolidate. Bloomberg cited people familiar with the matter as saying that Ophir has attracted interest from both companies and financial investors.

Kaz Minerals had a big day due to the rise in copper prices. The shares rose over 6% after three month copper futures rose 2.6% to $119 per tonne halfway through the London Metal Exchange session.

SSP Group posted a 15% rise in pre-tax profit as like-for-like sales saw good growth across all regions. For the year to the end of September, the company, which operates food and beverage concessions at airports and railway stations, said pre-tax profit came in at £82m from £71.5m last year as revenue nudged up just 0.3% to £1.83bn. Like-for-like sales were up 3.7%, driven by growth in air passenger travel and retailing initiatives and SSP declared a final dividend of 2.2p per share, bringing the full year dividend to 4.3p.

The good news was flowing at Marston’s as the brewer posted a 7% growth in revenue for the year and grew profit in all its trading areas. The company, which runs around 1,600 pubs and brews cask and bottled ales, posted preliminary results for the 52 weeks to 3 October showing underlying group revenue rose to £845.5m. Underlying profit before tax bubbled 10% higher to £91.5m as the company enjoyed profit growth in all its trading areas, helped by the disposal of a number of lower-end pubs, which in turn helped generate £69.6m of asset sales.

Owners of Lancashire Holdings today sold off their stake in the company as it went ex-dividend, seeing the company leading the market’s fallers. The company declared in November a special dividend for the year of $0.95 per share.

Paypoint also had a poor day of trading after the Point of Sale (POS) payment systems provider reported a 1.4% drop in revenue for the six months to 30 September, to £102.8m. Operating profit before goodwill impairment was down 5% to £21.3m, and adjusted earnings per share was down 4.6% to 24.8p. Paypoint outlined its ‘strategic’ success in the period, including signing on its first big six energy client and early talks with a housing consortium to collect customer payments.

FTSE 250 - Risers

Ophir Energy (OPHR) 97.50p 7.14%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 95.55p 6.28%
SSP Group (SSPG) 312.00p 5.23%
Marston's (MARS) 167.70p 5.14%
TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 250.30p 4.47%
Sophos Group (SOPH) 285.00p 4.40%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,186.00p 3.49%
Entertainment One Limited (ETO) 214.40p 3.42%
RPC Group (RPC) 741.50p 3.42%
SIG (SHI) 132.40p 3.20%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 678.00p -10.55%
PayPoint (PAY) 933.00p -5.99%
Aldermore Group (ALD) 233.50p -4.69%
Paragon Group Of Companies (PAG) 362.90p -3.48%
Poundland Group (PLND) 204.20p -2.99%
Pets at Home Group (PETS) 259.50p -2.44%
Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 905.00p -2.27%
DFS Furniture (DFS) 341.00p -2.26%
3i Infrastructure (3IN) 173.00p -2.20%
Ted Baker (TED) 3,270.00p -2.13%